Traditional Firearms > Flintlock Long Guns

L&R replacement locks

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ballen1900:
Hi all,
It's been quite a while since I posted on the forum, but only b/c of Covid and all the crap about that. I survived and I'm here to tell the tale.....

So my question revolves around Steve Selles video on 'imported' flint locks vs. US made locks. Would an L&R replacement lock really help my Lyman GPR be more reliable, given they're ~$220.

As it is, it's not very reliable at all - I get one good fire out of 4-5 attempts. It's really frustrating when I go a range shoot, and everything comes to a halt when my gun is the only one that hangs or doesn't fire at all. So... hence my question. I put enough hours into the gun that I would like to make it work, but..... Or maybe I should start over with a percussion gun....

I dunno, can you convert a GPR flint to percussion???

Thanks,
Bill

Winter Hawk:
Hmm. I've had several of the GPRs in flint and had no problems with the locks.  In fact, I saw a catalog recently where they sell the Lyman frizzens for T-C because they spark so much better.

What I DID find was that I needed to take the vent liner out, cone it on the inside and drill it out to 1/16" (no larger!).  The lock itself may need to be polished, depending on how old the rifle is.  Take it apart (don't lose the fly!) and take some crocus cloth to all the bearing surfaces.  You are only trying to smooth them, not take any metal off so don't get too aggressive.

There are several folks here who have a lot more experience than I.  RobD and Rondo come to mind; hopefully they will chime in also.  I put an L&R RPL on a T-C which Bigsmoke now has and feel that the hammer strike was much more aggressive than it needed to be.  Otherwise it was a good lock.

~Kees~

BEAVERMAN:
Like Kees, I've had several GPR's in flint over the years, all have worked well, is the lock not sparking every time or is it sparking and the rifle not igniting?

Bigsmoke:
Kees - now you tell me?
Yes, it is pretty aggressive, if I get 20 shots out of the flint, it is a truly amazing day.  More like 15.  More than likely, if one were to adjust the angle of the cock, it might be more forgiving.
I have been talking about this for more than a year, but I am seriously thinking about converting it to percussion.  I see two different ways to accomplish that.  One would be to get a drum, install that where the touch hole is.  Then one would have to mill a notch into the lock plate.  And that should pretty much take care of the problem.
The second thought is to get an English sporting rifle style breech plug and swap that with the stock T/C plug, then fit a shotgun lock to the stock and finally solder a rain bar to the barrel.  To my eye, the PA Hunter really does have English sporting rifle lines to it naturally, so that would surely lend more to the illusion.  The only question is:  Would everything fit correctly?  I don't know and I am hesitant to invest the money to find out.
John (Bigsmoke)

Ohio Joe:
L&R Locks are very good, they harden their Frizzen's correctly IMHO, and IMHO this is something "offshore" Flintlock - Locks - lack in... There was a time you could harden those offshore Frizzen's with Kassnet (Kasnet?) / but that's no longer sold (to my knowledge).

It would be nice to have a Forum "thread / board" on hardening a Frizzen, (the old fashion way) - as well as the modern way. I know there's a leather wrap that can be used in hardening a Frizzen by sealing it up in a tin can and putting it in the coals of a fire - then removing it after a time and letting it cool down before opening it... The Kassnet method was much easier IMHO...
 
 :shake

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/1017/1/TRU-SPARK-4

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