where to buy flintlock musket and minimum barrel length?

I'm looking for a flintlock musket, so a smooth bore. I found a few sites and the most promising one is http://www.militaryheritage.com/muskets.htm is this a good site to buy from I like there prices and it seems like there a pretty legit company. I'm also wondering about barrel length, I want to hunt mainly rabbit, grouse and ducks and I don't want a really long barrel, a lot of full size muskets have around 42" barrels and I was thinking more of a 30" barrel, would a shorter barrel affect patterns? I was think of a carbine version of a full size musket. So what is the minimum barrel length for ducks that throws a good pattern? Also this company sells there flintlocks with an undrilled vent/touch hole, how hard would it be to find a gun smith that could do it or could i do it on my own?Thanks in advance

A longer barrel will not do anything for your pattern, it may help you line things up and follow through on a sustained lead shot, but for pattern, the 42in barrel will give you 12in more range then a 30in barrel, the shot starts to open up once the shot has left the barrel no matter the length.

I will let the blackpowder guys step in for length when it comes to powder burn though, if you have powder blasting out of the barrel without being burned it is useless so you need the barrel long enough for that, how long? I have no clue.

Look at Shooters Choice and Marstar as possible places to buy.

Not sure where you are in Ont., but you could bring a flintlock across from the U.S., probably at a better price than you'd find here. Flintlocks don't require a PAL, but it might be good to clear everything with the RCMP beforehand of bringing from the U.S.. Check out http://flintlockrepair.com/flintlockmuskets1.html ; don't know anything about the quality, but the prices are good.

I've also heard that the reason for long barrels was to allow all of the powder to burn and provide the adequate pressure to create maximum velocity. What the minimum barrel length should be I'm not sure. there are some other posters here that know far more than me.

As to minimum length barrels - a lot of game has been taken (although probably at short range) with a blunderbus which has a barrel length of 15" to 24".

My Davide Pedersoli 12 ga SxS percussion muzzle loader has 28 1/2" barrels and shoots beautifully but it is choked Imp Cyl and Mod.

With a straight cylinder bore you are not going to get much of a pattern beyond 30 yards. I have a percussion Trade musket with a 40" barrel and that has been my experience.

As to the muskets being sold with no vent hole - most (all?) of those are made in India and there has been a lot of discussion on the GunNutz Forum as to their quality/safety. There is a YouTube video about it as well.

There is a place in Nova Scotia that has been highly recommended - Loyalist Arms (www.loyalistarms.ca). Apparently they check, finish, repair and warranty their muskets.

Good Luck with your search!

Loading some of those .75 cal muskets with some '000' buck would be a real hoot !!!! ....get me a watermelon :)

I've been looking around and it seems military heritage has a bad rep, which I find strange as they have had a lot of movie companies buy there stuff so there obviously good enough for movies. Loyalist arms has a better rep but they don't have any flinters I'm really interested in (carbine). Both companies sell Indian made guns and Indian made guns seem to be not so liked, some say fit and finish is bad and some say they dont work well. If it goes bang throws a good pattern and I don't die them I'm gonna be happy. So should I get a Indian made flintlock or is that to dangerous?

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Originally Posted by Danny20gauge

So should I get a Indian made flintlock or is that to dangerous?

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Do you have a PAL? If the reason you want a flintlock is that you don't have a PAL then I'd say go for an Indian-made gun but be very, very careful. To test it - strap it down to an old tire, use a string to pull the trigger. I personally wouldn't buy an Indian-made gun.

Try TVM and have a custom barrel made.
http://www.avsia.com/tvm/fowler.htm

HA

So I've decided to get a rifled flinter instead because its hard to find a smoothbore flinter for cheap thats not likely to blow up in my face. So I've been thinking of the traditions deer hunter or lyman deer stalker but from what I've seen online I'm gonna have to special order it. I recently bought a bpw from gagnon sports and like what they got going on over there and I would rather give them business than Bass pro, but if they can't order it in what places do you guy recommend Shooters Choice?

LeBarons should have a DeerStalker. Do yourself a favour and get one of the Lyman 57 peep sights for it too. You can order flintlocks from the USA with no problems. I have ordered directly from Lyman in the past.

http://www.lebaron.ca/pdf_files_fall...eat_plains.pdf

HA

Ya that's where I originally saw the Lyman but I want to find the traditions deerhunter because its a little cheaper:)

October Country in the US has them.

http://www.octobercountry.com/catego...-Stock-Rifles/

HA

Order direct from Traditions....only $323 US......what are they selling them for at Gagnon's ? Worth the trip to a U.S. UPS store ?

https://www.traditionsfirearms.com/p...leloader-blued

Dixie
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/default...dulnjhc74u0ok4