Happiness Comes In .50 Cal.

[Aaron]

I ordered and picked up a Traditions Pennsylvania Pellet Flintlock in .50 cal at the end of March and thought a few folks might be interested. Range day is looking to be near the end of April to give her a first firing, weather permitting. Thanks goes to The Duchess for recommending Traditions to me.




Shot of the pan, frizzen and jaws:


Pan, frizzen, jaws and touchhole:


Sabot (L) and some cheap bulk ammo for target shooting (R):


Now with flint installed:


I know the pictures suck, seem to have a problem taking decent ones.

[phred]

I'm not big on those old-timey types of firearms, but that is sorta beautiful.

[Ilya Muromets]

There's something both strange yet pretty cool about an old-style muzzle-loader actually having an apparently plastic stock.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

There's something both strange yet pretty cool about an old-style muzzle-loader actually having an apparently plastic stock.

Exactly what I was thinking. Very strange dichotomy indeed with the wildly anachronistic combination of advanced sights and stock with such an ancient action. The case-hardened parts are beautiful and well-figured as well.

[Bounty]

I've always liked the look of flintlock, especially pistols. Not to shoot, just... the look.

It's amazing they still make these guns. Understandable, since there's bound to be a market for them, but still, amazing.

EDIT: Now this is what I'm talking about.

[Venator]

What can you tell us about it (other than that it looks downright awesome)?

I really don't know much about firearms of that era beyond "they take a long time to reload"... do you have to load the powder separately/what kind of effective range/etc.?

[Aaron]

What can you tell us about it (other than that it looks downright awesome)?

I really don't know much about firearms of that era beyond "they take a long time to reload"... do you have to load the powder separately/what kind of effective range/etc.?

Yes, you have to load the powder and shot separately, down the muzzle of the weapon. This one isn't a traditional flintlock, as it can use "pellets" as well as traditional powder, which cuts down on the loading time and is just plain easier to use. This one was also designed to use either conical bullets (Minie ball), sabot or the traditional ball and patch, the later will be less accurate thanks to the type of rifling twist though.

The effective range should be around the same as the rifles of that era; 300 yards or so. Unfortunately the range I belong to only goes out to 200 yards, so I won't be able to test that easily. Loading time I'm not sure of yet, I haven't had a chance to try it out but I've seen figures up to two minutes using ball, patch, powder and swabbing out before reloading. The manual also quite explicitly says to wait a minute after firing before reloading to reduce the risk of igniting the new powder.

I've always liked the look of flintlock, especially pistols. Not to shoot, just... the look.

It's amazing they still make these guns. Understandable, since there's bound to be a market for them, but still, amazing.

EDIT: Now this is what I'm talking about.

I've been thinking about picking up one of their flintlock pistols (the one in your link uses a percussion cap), though I'm also tempted by their Josey Wales reproduction.

[JointStrikeFighter]

Needs picatinny rails.

[Aaron]

Needs picatinny rails.

Yeah, I can see why I'd need a flashlight on that.

[Venator]

Thanks for the info; I've always been curious about the guns of that era, but never really gotten 'in' to them.
I guess it's partially due to the fact that I prefer weapons that are easier to use than Vista .

[Ryan Thunder]

Needs picatinny rails.

Yeah, I can see why I'd need a flashlight on that.

Not for flashlights, silly. For the 40mm under-barrel grenade launcher.

[Davey]

Hahahaa you lucky guy, where's the laser sights and tactical pistol grip?

Bring it to my shop, I'll mount a chainsaw bayonet on it for you.

[Venator]

Seriously, lads, as odd as it is to see a flintlock in tactical black, there is a point of transition from "tacticool" to simply "wrong" .

[YT300000]

Needs picatinny rails.

Yeah, I can see why I'd need a flashlight on that.

Not for flashlights, silly. For the 40mm under-barrel grenade launcher.

And a pouch for the matches you use to hand-light the grenade fuses.

[Simplicius]

Seriously, lads, as odd as it is to see a flintlock in tactical black, there is a point of transition from "tacticool" to simply "wrong" .

Would that point be at the holographic sight, or the laser?

[Tsyroc]

My father has a .50 caliber Hawken percussion cap muzzle loader. It's been a while but I've shot it quite a few times. Most of the time it was just ball and patch since that kicked the least and I was just learning to shoot the weapon. I have shot it with mini/maxi balls before and with the tighter fit and the additional powder the kick is a bit more noticeable. I've never shot sabot rounds out of that particular rifle but IIRC I've used them in one of his smaller caliber black powder rifles. They really improve the accuracy, range, and can allow you to get away with using less powder (less kick).

Since you went with the cool looking synthetic stock I was a little surprised that you didn't go for stainless steel too. I can't say that I've seen flintlocks made out of stainless but I've seen other muzzle loaders made out of it. There are even some modern design mussle loaders that ditch the historical styling all together. Synthetic stock, stainless steel, and the hammer looks a bit more like a bit you pull straight back from the but of the barrel instead of a hammer.

It has been a very long time since I fired my dad's muzzle loader pistol. What I remember of it was that I had to be awfully close to hit what I was aiming at, and that it made things filled with water explode nicely. I don't remember the caliber but it was less than .50.


Will Canada allow you to have black powder revolvers? Those can be kind of fun and interesting too.

[Aaron]

We can have black powder revolvers, though you need a special license for pistols. I'm seriously considering it, Traditions has some nice ones.

Funny you should mention the stainless, I was going to get one but they were out of stock.

[tim31]

Aaron.

Get video footage or ban.

*snip image*

...cannot be unseen

[Aaron]

Aaron.

Get video footage or ban.

*snip image*

...cannot be unseen

I'll update the thread after range day with a vid for you Tim.

[tim31]

Bodacious

God I hope Modern Warfare 2 has something like this as the 'retro' weapon in the multiplayer

[Ilya Muromets]

Seriously, lads, as odd as it is to see a flintlock in tactical black, there is a point of transition from "tacticool" to simply "wrong" .

Would that point be at the holographic sight, or the laser?

*snip*

That made my day. Can I use that pic? It'd be perfect for the Anachronism Stew Page in TVTropes.

[Karmic Knight]

Would that point be at the holographic sight, or the laser? :P

[*snip*]

That honestly could be the coolest thing I have seen in recent memory.

Oh, and the holographic sight, obviously, the laser at least has some purpose.