Mike, I fully understand your point, and the need for discussion on such a topic.
I have been at this game a looong time....not the Rendezvous, PC, HC, developing a persona, etc, etc, but the actual gun part.
I have had a love for muzzleloaders that dates back to the 1940's when Grandpa promised me his old "homemade" muzzleloader that was built by some feller over in another county.
In those days there was no such thing as "custom"....It was either store bought, or homemade.
Be it a Capper, or a Flinter, no one can say these guns are not tremendously facinating, and a heck of a lot of fun learning to overcome what many see as short comings.
I mean after all, the only thing most folks have, or know, to compare a good muzzleloader to is a smokeless rifle of some kind, and they are just not the same breed of cat.
Reason tells me a Caplock is faster, but it seems to end right there.
Beaverman now has a .54 GPR Flinter that is as fast, or perhaps even faster, than any flintlock I have ever had the opportunity to shoot.
I have often "thought" there was a good chance that this particular rifle is possibly faster than any run-of-the-mill caplock....but that, of course, was based on perception and no actual measurements.
At any rate, there is no "flinch time" and no "hold through". You pull the trigger and the ball is on the way....is that fast? You bet!
My .69 cal has no flash hole liner, whereas all my other flinters do, and with age (since the early 1970's) I feel confident that particular flash hole has become enlarged, because I get the distinct feeling that the gun just may be getting better with age....Kirkland Turner sold these brand spanking new in the 60's and 70's for the ungodly sum of $135.00
But then we have to ask ourself, is it the fact there is better and better powder being made today than, say 35 / 40 years ago? or, have I just "learned" the gun? Heck! I dunnno. But I do know that .69 is a great old gun, both with roundball and shot.
With the "scientific" measurements I have read about, we talk about times that are so fast that I seriously doubt anybody can tell any actual difference...whether real or imagined.
When dealing with time measurements, it has always seemed to me that when we take a tennie tiny bit away from an already little bitty number, we stil have something very itty bitty...does that make sense?
Perception, and acceptance of fact, is a big thing to consider when shooting a muzzleloader.
If you have only one muzzleloader, be it capper or flinter, and you shoot it all the time under the "perception" that it is fast, then it will be fast...at least to you.
And that can be said about fast, or slow. (There is a lot in how you percieve the lock time.)
Now the "fact" may be that when I shoot that same gun, I just may feel the ignition is slow...slow, compared to what?
Slow compared to one of my very similar guns, because that is my own perception of how fast, or slow, that flinter or capper really is.
What I'm getting at here is the fact that no one can percieve a difference in .0005 seconds, and .005 seconds.
Can we live with what we have, and become proficient in its use?
I think so. I think that the more familiar we become with any gun, the more proficient we will become with that gun...be it slow, or fast.
Good thread with many good replies. I hope it continues.
By talking with others, and accepting the fact that our gun is what it is, after we have performed all the real tricks, along with all the old wives tales that we learn on the Internet, then I would say it would be time to turn to the fact that we have what we have...it is what it is, and we are going to learn that gun inside and out.
I think we will all have a fast, or fast enough gun.
Just my thoughts.
Uncle Russ....
