[Gatekeeper]

My father just bought a Kentucky rifle from cabelas, his first flintlock.
It is made by Pedersoli. It is a 7lb full walnut stocked 50cal with a 35 1/2" barrel. Twist is 1 in 48"

Took it out today to sight it in.
Using 4f pan and 2f Goex main charge. 350gr Maxi-Hunter bullet
First shots were low and left using max charge of 100gr. Gave a few taps with a drift on the rear sight to correct windage.
Decided to try a load of 90gr FF before beginning to file down the front sight and the elevation was dead on at 50yds. Lucky me No filing needed.

Fired a few more shots from rest at 50yds to confirm. Might be hitting just a tad to the left but Im going to leave it alone for now.

Walked up to 25yd and fired one shot offhand and it's the shot at 8 o'clock of the bulls eye. Not bad grouping overall---I'm not the greatest with a flinter
Nice rifle, the top edge of the hooked buttstock began to smart a little when firing from the bench, it was digging into my shoulder. It was not an issue firing offhand.
Only complaint I have is the flash hole is very small, none of the picks I have would fit. Had a few "flash-in-the pan" misfires due to fouling in the flash hole. Ended up using a large straightened fishhook to clean the hole.
Im considering opening the flashhole up just a bit to make more reliable.
Any suggestions to this from the more experienced BP guys/gals is welcomed.---Gate

[jbshoots]

nice gun and range report. i've always wanted to shoot one of those types of guns.


i don't know much about flintlocks here, but for your flash hole problem i might suggest a small safety pin to clear the hole. safety pins come in pretty small sizes and it would be a straight piece of metal that comes to a sharp point. might be easier than altering the gun. just a thought, i could be wrong.

either way, like i said, nice gun there...

[TXnorton]

Gate:

I just use a bent paper clip for cleaning out the flash hole. I find that a dirty flash pan contributes to misfires, so I clean it with a wet patch every 4-5 rounds.

Don't bother filing the front sight, you will have to file too much. Go to Dixe Gun Works and buy one of the shorter silver blade front sights and drift it in place of the original one. You wil need to "dimple" the underside of the brass wedge to make sure it fits tight in the barrel wedge slot. I do not know why Pedersoli does not ship these rifes with a corrrect front sight.

[Gatekeeper]

I got lucky TX, I didn't have to touch the front site as the 90gr FF load's elevation was dead on at 50yds, but I will remember Dixie if I need it in the future.

After tearing it apart last night, I think the ignition problems may have had to do with my loading technique and the rifle's design.
The rifle has a recessed breech (dont know if thats right term) The flash hole doesn't go directly into the side of the chamber.
There is a smaller than bore diameter recess at the bottom of the breech that connects to the flash hole.
I usuallly run a spit patch between shots and I think I was pushing fouling down into the recess where the jag couldn't reach. That was(I think) preventing powder from the main charge from dropping into the recess adjacent to the flash hole. I noticed I didn't really feel any powder when I picked the flash hole.
Its a different design than my A&H flintlock. I think I'll have to not patch before loading and see how that works.----Gate