Thread: Matchlock

A mate turned the barrel from a bit of hollow bar, another mate gave me the hand forged lock, and patterns from a Tudor era gun. I cut the stock from a jarrah plank I had lying around, forged the trigger , trigger guard, and but plate in my smithy. Hemp rope soaked in nitre works well for slow match. It is crudely finished as per a period military piece. Stock is finished with pale boiled linseed and gum turpentine

That's fascinating, i've always thought it would be scary carrying around a smoldering wick and gunpowder. I bet it makes a cloud of smoke!

To be quite frank, the English longbowman was much more effective as far as kill rate goes, and rate of fire. It does hold and point well, and the trigger is crisp and fairly light, say 1/2lb pull.

Very nice looking piece! If you plan to fire it, I suggest you take it easy with the load and get some expert advice on recommended and maximum powder charge, but I have a feeling this is not your first black powder project and likely you know more about this than I do. Just out of curiousity, what caliber, and is the barrel tapered? Can you open it from the breech, for pass-through cleaning?

I never messed with a matchlock. Built a pair of .58cal flintlock pistols from a kit, a Walker Colt kit, and a Remington 1858 New Model Army cap and ball revolver from a kit, and I have an 80% 1911 kit waiting for me to find time to start building, but I have never built a gun from scratch. I don't have a milling machine or a lathe so it would be a bit of a PITA but I would like to try some day, maybe starting with a piece of a modern rifle barrel and turning it down. I bet a piece of a shot-out .50 BMG barrel would make a nice big bore black powder pistol. Lots of nice strong steel to work with, there.

Anyway nice looking gun, and thanks for posting. You may have inspired me to jump down another rabbit hole.

Originally Posted by heelerau

To be quite frank, the English longbowman was much more effective as far as kill rate goes, and rate of fire. It does hold and point well, and the trigger is crisp and fairly light, say 1/2lb pull.

I bet you are right on that, too. But you could probably train a man to use a musket a lot quicker than training him to be a competent archer. And a militarily useful longbow would need a reasonably strong man to draw and especially to draw, hold, and loose on command. The firearm is more of an equalizer.

I fitted it with a breach plug. Barrel is parallel turned. 50 to 55 grains of FFg. patched .490 ball. I have been advised matchlocks don't like large charges of powder, and the guns of the Mary Rose were quite small calibre, .40 and the like. I proofed the barrel with 90 grains of fffg with a patched .490 ball, out of the stock and sand bagged, let of with a fuse. It will only get used on occasion for a bit of fun. Flint and cap are much more practical for hunting, which is my passion. Looks like you have a bit of experience too, I have been shooting bp since the early 70's
thanks for the interest

Been shooting bp off and on since the mid-70's and still shoot some today. Back then it was a .45 cal. Kentucky rifle and a replica 1851 Colt Navy .36 cal. revolver. Currently have a CVA .50 cal. Kentucky pistol, a T/C .50 cal. Renegade rifle and a T/C .54 cal. Renegade rifle, all cap lock and am in process of trying to get funds for a replica 1851 Colt Navy in .44 cal.

Love the smell of bp any time!

Great looking thing! I would be scared sh*tless to shoot a self-built gun. Have you tried it?

Originally Posted by Kees

Great looking thing! I would be scared sh*tless to shoot a self-built gun. Have you tried it?

No gunsmithing knowledge is necessary to build from a kit, and if you do not exceed recommended loads, kit guns are perfectly safe to shoot, using normal safe gunhandling procedures. Just as safe as commercially built firearms. A few wrinkles exist in the use of black powder guns, most of which are obvious. No powder or cap containers left open, ever. If shooting from a bench, always make sure there is no powder residue laying around from sloppy loading. Use grease or a wad in every chamber of a revolver to prevent chain fires. A few other things like that. Very important to be safe when handling black powder or any black powder substitute, as well as percussion caps in quantity. Stay safe and you will be safe.

Building from scratch is a whole nother critter. You need to know what you are doing, or work under the guidance of someone who does, or follow stock instructions with care and precision. But if you are handy with tools and with steel, there is no compelling reason to avoid a gunmaking project. Study and a good mentor are essential. Mostly it is all about not using danerously strong loads in a gun not designed for big loads.

Remember, 200 years ago many if not most gun barrels were built one at a time, the barrel forged from a flat bar of steel spiraled around a mandrel and forge welded together. Very ordinary steel, not anything special. Failures happened but they were not so common, using safe loads. A machined barrel made from modern steel is naturally a lot stronger.

I did shoot it late last year, ver pleasant, hits to point of aim at 25 yds. Will likely put a simple pin fore sight with a simple v back sight. Recoil is light and it points and holds really well, nicely balanced.