# Flintlock pistol question



## Gryphos (Aug 11, 2015)

Can you keep a flintlock pistol loaded indefinitely?

For context, I want a scene where the protagonists are suddenly ambushed by ghouls, and one of the characters pulls out her pistol and immediately starts fighting. I'm just wondering if it's feasible that she could have kept her pistol(s) loaded all the time while travelling, or if there's some kind of technical reason that's not possible.


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## Saigonnus (Aug 11, 2015)

A more important question is: Would a pistol do anything to something without a corporeal form? 

Seriously, I am no expert in firearms, but I think it would depend on the events leading up to the scene and the environment. If it is particularly humid, the powder might absorb moisture from the air, making it harder, if not impossible to ignite. If in doubt, you could potentially make a point of having the character in question load the pistols ahead of time. 


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## Russ (Aug 11, 2015)

the interweb suggests you can carry it loaded:



> Flintlock weapons were the first firearms designed to be carried loaded. Pistols were intended for self defense, carrying them unprimed would have defeated that purpose.
> 
> You will often read accounts of people repriming their guns after crossing a stream or checking it often on damp or foggy mornings. Blackpowder attracts moisture.
> 
> ...


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## Gryphos (Aug 11, 2015)

Cool, cool.

The environment in question is actually a desert, so humidity would definitely not be an issue.



			
				Saigonnus said:
			
		

> A more important question is: Would a pistol do anything to something without a corporeal form?



I'm going with the original ghouls of arabian myth, which are flesh and blood creatures and not blood.


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## Saigonnus (Aug 11, 2015)

Gryphos said:


> I'm going with the original ghouls of arabian myth, which are flesh and blood creatures and not blood.



Well then, I would say it would work well then! 

"Alright you primitive screwheads... This is my BOOMSTICK!"


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## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 11, 2015)

Flintlocks were quite an advancement in reliability. They were most certainly carried loaded. 

As long as the loaded powder stayed dry and nothing odd happened to the flint the shot would go off fine. The only thing a shooter might need to do is charge the pan with a little powder. 

The cock (hammer that holds the flint) strikes a frizzen (piece of angled steel). The resultant sparks drop into the pan, igniting the small charge of powder there, which burns into the chamber, & BOOM!


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## cupiscent (Aug 11, 2015)

I readily admit I'm not up to speed on firearms - my only concern is if the gun is muzzle-loading, would the ball falling out be a problem, depending on how it's carried? (If breech-loading, I assume not an issue.)


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## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 11, 2015)

cupiscent said:


> I readily admit I'm not up to speed on firearms - my only concern is if the gun is muzzle-loading, would the ball falling out be a problem, depending on how it's carried? (If breech-loading, I assume not an issue.)


No. It's not an issue at all. 

Ball & wad fit so tight in the barrel you have to force it down with a ramrod. Just starting the ball & wad into the muzzle, which is even tighter to the ball than the rest of the barrel, takes considerable effort. Once loaded, the bullet can't even move or shimmy, let alone roll. It takes the explosive force of gunpowder to move it down the barrel. 

Back in the days when muzzle loaders were used in war, panicked soldiers would load ball after ball forgetting to fire, OR they'd load a ball but forget to load the powder first. The only way to clear the barrel is to disassemble the breech (where all the firing mechanisms are) force the ball toward the muzzle from the rear to create enough space to load a powder charge, reassemble, & fire.

So, no. The bullet isn't going anywhere unless fired.


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## WeilderOfTheMonkeyBlade (Aug 12, 2015)

Seeing as it's a desert, then I recon you should be fine - though I'm not sure if sand and grit getting into the firing pan, frizzen or the mechanism would be a problem. 

I do think you might face a problem with the priming charge though, and you would also have to cock it first.

Also, what range is this from? Because smoothbore weapons are super inaccurate. I think an effective and reliable range for a pistol is about 15 yards. That said, if your character does hit the ghoul, that thing is going down!

- I haven't read any of my Sharpe books for a few years, so my technical knowledge of all things flintlock has got a bit rusty


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## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 12, 2015)

WeilderOfTheMonkeyBlade said:


> Also, what range is this from? Because smoothbore weapons are super inaccurate.


That's not entirely correct, and depends on your view of "accuracy". In my opinion, they're accurate, just not as accurate as rifled bores.  

A smooth bore musket from the flintlock era was accurate to 100-150 yards. A smooth bore pistol was accurate to about 20 yards, but to be fair, most shooters cannot accurately fire a modern handgun beyond that range.


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## CupofJoe (Aug 12, 2015)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> That's not correct. They just aren't as accurate as  rifled bores.
> 
> A smooth bore musket from the flintlock era was accurate to 100-150 yards. A smooth bore pistol was accurate to about 20 yards, but to be fair, most shooters cannot accurately fire a modern handgun beyond that range.



At a history re-enactment day a few years ago I saw a smooth-bore flintlock being used to score 5 Bulls/Golds out of 5 [on an archer target] at 100 yards. I think the Gold area is 5 inches across... Impressive in my eyes.

The Marksman did say that the gun was prepared for this type of shooting, so the balls were specially chosen to be a good fit and then polished extra smooth to fly straight The gunpowder was probably very good gunpowder too.


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## Kobun (Aug 12, 2015)

Well, and to Mr. Smith's point, the longer the barrel the better the accuracy you'll receive. Rifling is dandy, but it's not the only advancement that granted reach.


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## wordwalker (Aug 13, 2015)

cupiscent said:


> I readily admit I'm not up to speed on firearms - my only concern is if the gun is muzzle-loading, would the ball falling out be a problem, depending on how it's carried? (If breech-loading, I assume not an issue.)





T.Allen.Smith said:


> No. It's not an issue at all.
> 
> Ball & wad fit so tight in the barrel you have to force it down with a ramrod. Just starting the ball & wad into the muzzle, which is even tighter to the ball than the rest of the barrel, takes considerable effort. Once loaded, the bullet can't even move or shimmy, let alone roll. It takes the explosive force of gunpowder to move it down the barrel.



The only exception here would be something like a blunderbuss, an early shotgun-- with "just dump some bullets and nails and anything you want down the muzzle" as its ammunition. That's the weapon you don't tip forward.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 13, 2015)

wordwalker said:


> The only exception here would be something like a blunderbuss, an early shotgun-- with "just dump some bullets and nails and anything you want down the muzzle" as its ammunition. That's the weapon you don't tip forward.


You can't load a blunderbuss haphazardly and expect good, consistent results. Technically, you could use many things as projectiles, however, wads are needed to properly separate the powder from the shot. Otherwise, the weight of the shot and movement would mix the two and the powder could burn without propelling all the shot. Typically, a wad would also be placed over the shot to keep the projectiles from rolling down the barrel and out the muzzle. A blunderbuss properly loaded could certainly be tipped forward or held upside down with no problems.

A proper load is done in layers. 
1) Measured powder charge
2) Wad
3) Press wad tight with ramrod to compress the powder
3) Add Shot
4) Wad
5) Press second wad tight (with ramrod) to pack shot


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