Took a couple of days and went to see a friend and I swear, that man can be a persuasive cuss when he wants to be! He left me no choice and forced me to bring it home... honest! Since I was raised to be polite to my elders, who was I to disagree with him? Now THIS is a muzzleloader!

That looks fine. What model is that one?

Late Lancaster - 50 caliber

I doubt it took to much persuasion. A very nice rifle...a classic.

Doc

One of the handsomest MLs I've seen of late. Never been a fan of all that brass crap in the stock.

Is that maker still around?

Never mind. Googled it. Wow!

Sorry, missed that info in the title somehow. I like the look of those TVM guns a lot. That one looks really nice. Hope you go make some smoke and report back.

Ought to be a tack driver!! Well done!

50 yards, 75 grains 2f, 490 round ball patched with pillow ticking...

That'll do!

Very nice. Lucky you.

Beautiful rifle!

Just FYI - and I have no connection to the shop or the pistols - but I happen to know where there are a matched pair of .50 flintlock pistols made by Avance that would match that rifle nigh perfectly.

If you're interested, I'll get you the info.

Love it!!!

I kinda like this one:

.50 Flintlock by Tom Watson by Sharps Man, on Flickr

Nice rifle!

I don't participate in this forum too much but that is absolutely beautiful! I've been thinking about a Lyman Great Plains rifle in flint and have had percussion rifles in the past. For those who have flintlocks (which seem to be in the minority), how do you like them? Do you find the lock time to be any disadvantage?

A properly tuned and functional flintlock has no disadvantage at all. And once you are hooked, there is no turning back!

There is no choice for percussion in the post Christmas primative season in PA, flint only.

The speed of the ignition varies. Some are pretty fast.

Naturally the lock work is important. I saw a huge difference between a standard Thompson Center lock and a L&R RPL lock. Flash hole position relative to the pan is also a big deal. Generally the hole should be higher than the pan because the flame rises. I can see the difference of speed between my RMC with L&R lock and Thompson with L&R lock due to the Green Mountain barrel on the RMC. The RMC is quicker.

Most guys say, and I believe a half pan is quicker than a full pan. Pan powder gets slower as it sucks up moisture, so if it is foggy I dump that powder often. Once you fire, the burnt powder makes the pan/charge suck up water. You can clean that with an alcohol wipe or fletch dry-aluminum oxide.

Entry level flints are usually not at the same level as a good custom job. A good lock like a L&R or Siler lock is generally a good upgrade on a production rifle. Original/cheaper locks can be tuned, but a shortcut is a good drop in "speed" lock. Generally speed is everyone's goal.

My only flinter was a Pedersoli Mortimer. Ignition was iffy, until I found an article by Ross Seyfried on that exact rifle and how he got it working. A larger touchhole and coning out the back side of the liner turned it into a fast and dead reliable piece.

Opinions vary on this stuff, and I've read contrary notions; one writer going so far as to say that liners are dangerous and should never be used. My limited experience and a little pondering lead me to believe that guy was an opinionated crank.

I'm thinking about another traditional piece, and the choice of ignition will be determined by what style I go with, not any worries about speed or reliability.

A beautiful piece of work.