Since we know everything here..... flintlocks!!!

My father loves black powder guns, and I've fired a few but he was mentioning how he would love to own a flintlock.

I know nothing about flintlocks. Christmas is coming. Help me find an affordable starter flintlock? Pistol or rifle really

Pistols are cheaper than rifles.  There is a pause between the flash in the pan and the main charge lighting off so accuracy is  a function of holding steady during An explosion going off in your face.  

Since i was in the game there are now several Indian and Chinese manufacturers making reproductions   My civil war reenacting friends tell us to stay away 195% of these weapons  

if you you need fast  Dixie gun works is around 

Finding used ones is cheaper than buying new. Search around on renactor forums or find a group of mountain men near you.  Some one will be wanting out of the hobby and can sell you the whole rifle and care kit for not much money.   You’ll need a powder flask and measure and cleaning supplies and balls and patches. 

I used to shoot a lot of black powder. It’s been a while. 

Also forgot that you dont need a license to buy them so dig around gunbroker.com for cheap auctions. 

I build flintlocks.  Specifically traditional American longrifles or Pennsylvania/Kentucky longrifles.  I'm finishing up one now actually and most of the parts came from Track of the Wolf.  They sell complete guns as well.  I'd guess the parts to build a good quality gun to cost around $1500.  It also takes some time and a bit of ability with wood working and metal working since you start with a 3x12 curly maple board 6 or 7 feet long and some as-cast metal parts.  I think places like Cabela's sell imported guns, like Traditions, that are probably half that price or less.  You could probably get a used one for a few hundred.  I'd really recommend a gun that someone built (well) using quality parts.  It's more expensive, but they hold their value and perform better.

What is your budget? The accessories can be a few hundred on top of the gun. A quality gun is recommended, but I've had decent results with the Traditions guns for starting out if you're not sure how much you will enjoy it. They don't have to go through an FFL and can be shipped directly to your door. I've had good experiences with https://www.possibleshop.com/. They have complete guns, kits, and accessories. They make synthetic black powder, but most people recommend real black powder for flintlocks. I use Goex. You can have it shipped to you, but if you are only buying a few pounds the hazmat fees can be more than the powder. I recommend asking some local gun stores for local places to buy black powder. Deer Creek gun shop in Marietta, GA is real good and has a good selection for powder and guns, if you are anywhere near Atlanta.

Apis Mellifera said:

I build flintlocks. 

Impressive.  I built a potato gun once.  I guess I'll have to up my game.

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

https://www.dixiegunworks.com/  <-- go buy a kit.. it's not hard.

If you want easy, the kits from Dixie are kits you just assemble from the parts they give you.  If you want to build one, that is make or source the parts and mill the wood to produce a custom gun from scratch, The Art of Building the Pennsylvania Longrifle is a pretty good book to start with.  Buying one someone else built is probably the best starter option.  The prices on those assembly kits is close enough to what a collection of quality parts would be, but with those kits, when you're done you have a cheap gun at a high cost.  If you can't find a what you're looking for locally, there are some places in WV that have used muzzleloaders for sale.  Cain's Outdoors sells guns, parts, and supplies and Ed Rayl is a barrel maker I use.  He generally has guns around his shop.  People are also selling built guns here: http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php

If Dad is handy this would give hours and hours of entertainment.

I don't really have a budget in mind, sub $500? The kits posted look like a cool solution, we both do construction, he's built a few basses and models over the years so that could be a lot of fun.

He has a rifle and a pistol both cap and ball/percussion/whatever so he has a powder horn, powder measure etc for accessories already so that covered.

Love the fact that this site has people on it with a wide variety of knowledge

In reply to 914Driver :

My brother and I built a pair of their kits in high school.  They went together fairly well for kids that didn't really know what they were doing.  I probably didn't need to see their website, now I want a cannon.

Wally said:

In reply to 914Driver :

My brother and I built a pair of their kits in high school.  They went together fairly well for kids that didn't really know what they were doing.  I probably didn't need to see their website, now I want a cannon.

You didn't want a cannon before?!? I thought everyone wanted a cannon

In reply to Antihero :

Been there, done that with the cannon.  We had to get rid of it after discovering it could fire a golf ball with enough force to shear off a 4 inch tree branch 300 yards downrange and keep going.  

3/4 cup of black powder per shot.  

Wally said:

In reply to 914Driver :

.....  now I want a cannon.

How big?  We gotta talk.

No desire for a flintlock, but I’d love a smallish bore squirrel rifle ala Whitworth.   

Antihero said:

Wally said: Now I want a cannon

You didn't want a cannon before?!? I thought everyone wanted a cannon

Oh, he wanted a cannon before, he just didn't know he could *get* one that easily. 

Brett_Murphy said:

Antihero said:

Wally said: Now I want a cannon

You didn't want a cannon before?!? I thought everyone wanted a cannon

Oh, he wanted a cannon before, he just didn't know he could *get* one that easily. 

Yes I misspoke, I've always wanted a cannon.

I'm not sure how active the group is anymore, but you could check out n-ssa.org's forum classifieds.  It's primarily a civil war group, but you can find all manner of black powder stuff there.

Including cannon- like the big, real ones.  Those are fun to shoot.