Flash Guards?

[Commodore Swab]

I've been hearing a rumor that this year there may be enforcement to the parks rules of requiring flash guards and frizzen stalls on all small arms. Is there anybody that can confirm this?

[Lily Alexander]

Not an easy question to answer at the moment. At the beginning of the year, several members of the pub, the Park manager and I have been working with the FPS to have our weapons included in the FPS Historic Weapons Firing Safety Manual without the need to use flash guards. We have not received an answer yet. Most likely, long guns will need to have them but at this point it's a guess. As soon as we get an answer from the FPS, we'll let everyone know.

[michaelsbagley]

I don't want to stir the pot on this, but has it not been that flashguards have been in the rules for this event for years? And not very strictly enforced? Or at least judging from the weapons I have seen on the field.

[Lily Alexander]

No, you're not stirring the pot. You are correct in that it is in the rules and has not been strictly enforced. For the past several years it's been a struggle to use our weapons without flashguards. While there are many things that have led to this point, the basic issue is, the FPS does not acknowledge weapons prior to the 1800's. They mainly deal in Civil War events where flashguards are more of a safety necessity. We've always argued that since we don't fight shoulder to shoulder, we don't need to use them and most of our weapons cannot be equipped with them without either specially made flashguards or modifications made to the weapons itself. I've yet to find a manufacturer that makes flashguards for pistols. How would someone put a flashguard on a matchlock or a wheellock? So we set out on a great journey to change the rules in the Florida State Parks. It's been a long process but hopefully worth it in the long run not just for this event but for other events in the Florida Park System.

I don't want to stir the pot on this, but has it not been that flashguards have been in the rules for this event for years? And not very strictly enforced? Or at least judging from the weapons I have seen on the field.

[Guest]

They mainly deal in Civil War events where flashguards are more of a safety necessity.

Now I'm really confused.....Most Civil War muskets are caplocks, not flintlock....Arn't flashguards more of a Rev War kinda thing?

[Lily Alexander]

Now I'm really confused.....Most Civil War muskets are caplocks, not flintlock....Arn't flashguards more of a Rev War kinda thing?

My apologies Patrick. I was using Civil War as an example to keep my answer short and simple. A good portion of events that occur in Florida State Parks are Civil War events.

[Cascabel]

I may be the only one here that is old enough to remember when and how some of the Park Service rules came into being, so a bit of background info might be helpful. A great many of the rules we deal with today were created at the time of the Revolutionary War Bicentennial activities, and were heavily influenced by input from MILITARY re-enactors.

Many black powder related events were hosted by Park Service facilities, and were mostly military oriented, as they commemorated historic battles and were conducted in the shoulder to shoulder lines of battle which is correct for military procedures. The rules about the use of paper cartridges also have the same ancestry. For military re-enactment, the rules worked just fine. So now we have a set of military-specific rules that don't really apply very well to non-military situations. The procedures for Civil War re-enactments are similar, but also apply to military situations. I think the Park Service prefers to take "the easy way out", and since they have a set of rules in place, they don't want to make exceptions, even though the rules are cumbersome to comply with for non-military events. I also believe that nobody in the Park Service has a clue as to why certain rules were instituted years ago, which is why they are unwilling to consider modification of the rules.

[Lily Alexander]

Thank you Cascabel. On a good note, they are considering them now. Change might not come easy but they are working on it.

[William Brand]

Everybody should be very grateful to Lily and others in recent years who have submitted weapon lists and explanations on weapons for our chosen period. Were it not for their efforts of late we would be denied the use of some unusual and unique firearms at some of these events.

[Capt. Sterling]

I'm right there with ye Cascabel! When we started AWI flashguards weren't even mandatory yet. By the time I was one of the founding members of the British. Brigade, they were, for all long arms but never pistols. Pistols were only supposed to be used by mounted dragoons...where distance over came the need for them, as those that could shoot boot to boot under fire were few in number. Harry over the rule for them at the fort by insisting the small arms maintain a distance of at least eight feet between shooters.

[Capt. Sterling]

Make that Harry over rode

[Constable Heartless]

I guess it's time for the old Constable to finally post something so people know that I'm still alive and kicking. The subject of flash guards is not one of my favorites for discussion since they are comparatively speaking a relatively modern creation that was not utilized by anyone that I know of in the 17th and 18th century. They started to become popular at some events during the bicentennial celebrations of 1976. Of course they were around many years before that. The Park Service adopted them primarily as a safety precaution for the military units that fired their weapons in formation. And I'm sure that those reenactors that were shoulder to shoulder with their fellow reenactors certainly appreciated the invention. They are absolutely essential if you're a member of the military unit in places like Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown doing Revolutionary War Danny boy type stuff. But on the other hand, we are Pirates by golly and we shoot those land lovers that are in formation shoulder to shoulder. They make pretty targets just standing there all lined up. Beginning with the very first Blackbeard Festival in Hampton in the year of our Lord 2000 I dismissed the requirement and addressed the issue in the rules and regulations for black powder being used in Hampton. To compensate for the lack of use of flash guards since they are not even a period correct item there is a mandated safe distance that must be observed to the right of the shooter when firing in the line. In other words you don't shoot the weapon if anyone is within 7 to 10 feet to the right of you. That provides an ample distance for the hot gases and flame coming from the vent hole to dissipate. I have found that it is difficult enough to keep a good flintlock firearm working correctly without adding a piece of metal to the flash pan. Flash guards will cause many malfunctions. We need to convince event organizers up and down the eastern seaboard to simply adopt the standardized safety rules utilized by the Blackbeard's Crew and the Colonial Seaport Foundation. They are posted on the Blackbeard's Crew website under visiting Crews. If we all used a single set of safety rules and regulations life would be much simpler. Well I believe I have rambled on long enough to convince most people that I'm still alive.

[HBlackthorne]

It is interesting to me how every group has differing rules on Blackpowder, from basic safety [well working firearm clear of dings or abrasions of the muzzle] to more draconian rules [a group up in OH I visited while I was there limited nipple size due to the chance of blowback,..admittedly their "Gun Marshal" had received a near blinding injury from blowback from an overly large nipple]. Personally myself and the crew I work with will be going to St Augustine to the Fort in the near future to take the NPS Certification classes just to be able to have that "under our belt" for when we do visit other shows and offer ourselves to bolster a firing line. I would like to see a more widely accepted "General Rulset" for shows such as ours where it is easier for visiting crews to participate without having to fret over "how strict is this show compared to others I go to".

[Commodore Swab]

The subject of flash guards is not one of my favorites for discussion since they are comparatively speaking a relatively modern creation that was not utilized by anyone that I know of in the 17th and 18th century.

Im going to have to disagree and agree with you. I disagree completly that they are a modern creation as there are multiple snaphaunce locks that have a form of flash guard built into the pan. I also have documentation showing that flash guards were a required piece of equipment on several different Spanish muskets.

Im also going to have to agree with you that flash guards are used for people firing muskets shoulder to shoulder and considering that most pirate reinactors do not even own muskets and our firing is Not done in a military formation flsh guards are completly pointless.

Having said this when I build a musket to sell it will have a flash guard and frizzen stall as it might be used in its future in a firing line. A blunderbuss, pistol, knee gun, etc will not.

[michaelsbagley]

It is interesting to me how every group has differing rules on Blackpowder, from basic safety [well working firearm clear of dings or abrasions of the muzzle] to more draconian rules [a group up in OH I visited while I was there limited nipple size due to the chance of blowback,..admittedly their "Gun Marshal" had received a near blinding injury from blowback from an overly large nipple].

What group in Ohio? I wasn't aware of a pirate group in Ohio? Specially one that uses caplocks!

Personally myself and the crew I work with will be going to St Augustine to the Fort in the near future to take the NPS Certification classes just to be able to have that "under our belt" for when we do visit other shows and offer ourselves to bolster a firing line. I would like to see a more widely accepted "General Rulset" for shows such as ours where it is easier for visiting crews to participate without having to fret over "how strict is this show compared to others I go to".

NPS training won't help you for visiting other sites.... Well it is a big name, and people who don't know better might be impressed by it. But those who are in the "know", know that NPS rules STRICTLY forbids "Opposed firing" of any sort. which means the mock battles most events do are completely outside of NPS rules and hence having an NPS certification won't help you out. Don;t mean to knock your idea, just trying to ensure you know what you are getting out of your time and/or money spent on NPS training.

[HBlackthorne]

The group in OH showed up to Great Lakes Medieval Faire and since I had my Traditions Caplock with me they invited me to a promo they were doing on Lake Erie, when I went to the meeting before the promo they examined my rifle and deemed the nipple too big. I did not argue I just asked why, got an answer about blowback, kindly thanked them and left,..went back to campground and had dinner. As to the NPS Certification figured it would be a basis for showing general knowledge of blackpowder,..but you make a good point about opposed fire at most shows.

[michaelsbagley]

The NPS training and certification is definitely good for general handling and demonstrating firing. It is probably some of the best you can get with regards to that, however if battle re-enactment is what you are interested, I would suggest one of the State systems... Although you would want to do a bit of research on which states have decent training for such a thing.

Or better yet, train with one of the bigger Rev-War or F&IW societies, they will train you in shoulder to shoulder firing, but it is easy to adapt that to more open formation use.

Another good source for general black powder training would be the NMLRA (National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association), they are basically the NRA for black powder. Membership is about $40 a year.

Speaking more on topic and in general, I would advocate more for the open adaptation of one of the big established societies rules for open pirate combat rather than building up something new (why reinvent the wheel, when you can take the training wheels off and use tried and true methods?). Considering how "proprietary" some of the regional or smaller groups can get, I would be very reluctant to "buy into" a local ruleset trying to go national.... Let's "pirate" a national rulset and adapt it as an open source project rather than start with someone's "branded" rules.

[Commodore Swab]

While on the topic of rules we have been working on a set of rules more geared towards pirate festivals where people may arrive and desire to fire with us. We have tried to take a little from the NPS and a little from common sense and gear it all towards putting on a show with safety formost.

Small Arms Black Powder

No weapons may contain black powder outside of the designated demonstration area.

We request that anyone not approved to fire remove the flint from his or her weapon.

For those interested in participating in any of the event’s black powder demonstrations, we

have some guidelines and safety rules that must be adhered to! Each day before the event

opens to the public, your weapons must be safety inspected. Those shooting with us for the

first time will be asked for a verbal description explaining how you fire your weapon.

The safety inspection will check for,

1. Loose or damaged pieces on the weapon

2. Smooth lock operation

3. Secure half cock or safety (flintlocks, flint must not touch the frizzen on half cock)

4. Obstructed touch hole (percussion, cap must seat properly on undamaged nipple)

5. Clean barrel

6. Good Spark

7. Flint does not touch the frizzen on half cock

Weapons that successfully pass will be tagged for use that day.

Safety is our primary concern. This is a public demonstration, so extra care must be taken.

Demonstrating an unreliable weapon is something we wish to avoid. For this reason, if you have

an unreliable or damaged weapon, please do not attempt to fire it.

Firing rules

Black powder will be provided rolled in cartridges sized correctly for your weapon (help rolling

cartridges is always appreciated)

All black powder will be locked up under the gun masters control and redistributed before the

demonstration

As a guideline FFF under 65 caliber FF over 65 caliber

Priming Flasks: Only approved priming flasks will be allowed

 A positive stop control is mandatory

 No more than 1 oz. of black powder regardless of size

 No nozzles larger than 20 grains allowed

Weapon Guidelines and Rules

Page

Firing rules

All black powder weapons will be loaded from cartridges

All cartridges will be stored in an approved cartridge box (a limited number of “loaner”

cartridge boxes will be provided)

 Cartridge boxes must be made of leather

 Cartridge boxes must close and be held shut

 Metal cartridge boxes will not be allowed

 No ramrods will be allowed

 No wadding will be allowed

 No original weapons will be allowed to fire

Each participant may hold two weapons during a demonstration, a primary and secondary piece

Secondary pieces will only be used if the primary fails (i.e. cracked flint, misfires, ect)

Any piece misfiring twice in a row will be pulled from the line and inspected after the

demonstration.

If your weapon fails after two attempts to fire, shout out “misfire“ and keep the barrel above

shoulder height at 45 degrees or greater until it is retrieved, you may then load your secondary

piece.

When surrendering your failed weapon,

 Remain facing forward

 Keep the barrel elevated

 Hand your weapon off from your right side.

 The person retrieving your weapon will dump the powder and keep it secure.

[Constable Heartless]

Commodore Swab I agree that there were devices either attached or in some cases forged on the flash pans of some of the Spanish military flintlock's. But if you check your documentation or actually translate the manual of arms in print at the time on those particular weapons you'll see that the intent of the device was to assist in priming and/or to block the wind from the flash during firing. The flash guard commonly used by reenactors today was derived from trial and error starting in the 1950s. There has been a lot of publications and other documents written over the years but very few actually cite the documents from the actual time period. Another example would be rifling in modern weapons. The first rifled bore weapons actually date back to the late 1500s. The original intent was not for accuracy but due to fouling from repeated firing. The rifling simply gave the fouling someplace to go making it easier to reload the weapon. It took several centuries before anyone realized that the rifling caused the projectile to spend giving it more accuracy and further range. Fortunately for us when it comes to the wide range of safety rules at different events, the basic safety rules are essentially the same wherever we go. But one set of safety rules for all living history interpreters or reenactors like the National Park Service uses simply don't work. The differences in the weapons from each period of time dictate deviation in the rules. I've been to events where the event organizer insisted that the World War II reenactors and the Revolutionary war reenactors operate their weapons in the same manner. Fortunately some event organizers and even some National Park Service locations are starting to recognize that safety rules need to be specific to the time period for the event. So we are making progress we just need to remember that every single person on the field of combat is a safety officer and has the responsibility to exercise common sense and ensure that they receive proper instruction and/or training prior to their participation.

[William Brand]

More important than any rules are the safety meetings and attendance at such meetings. Too few people assume that they know the rules and have them well in hand from one event to another. Attendance and Safety are key.

[michaelsbagley]

More important than any rules are the safety meetings and attendance at such meetings. Too few people assume that they know the rules and have them well in hand from one event to another. Attendance and Safety are key.

I both agree and disagree with you here William.

Last year while there, I found that there were far too many people at the meetings, and there was a lot of chatter going on, and half the message of the meetings were lost. I do believe folks need to attend and pay attention to the meetings, but I think fewer should go. However... I also don't see that happening, as I think the odds of the message not getting relayed is too high, nor do I envision a willingness for folks to not attend and make a modest effort to get the information after. Kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Worst part was those I felt needed to listen the most were not...

[William Brand]

Worst part was those I felt needed to listen the most were not...

This is sadly true, which tends to be a personality issue, not a training issue. The point that I was making is that too many people skip the meeting and the inspection of their guns expecting to be fully embraced on the field. Last minute changes to battles lines, skirmishes and the like can happen in a moment and too few people skip the meetings where such things are generally announced. I can think of one gentleman in particular who skipped all the safety meetings and inspections and presented himself on the field expecting that his mere presence alone (not his understanding) would be enough to allow him access to the field.

And, you can't teach some people. I've handed down safety rules only minutes before a battle, only to see them blatantly ignored.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled topic of flash guards.

[Commodore Swab]

Well almost back to flash guards . . .

I have seen both of these issuse and my "solution" since there are so many experts out there that all know exactly how to be safe is that when they are having their weapon inspected a verbal rundown of how they shoot becomes part of the inspection. This allows everyone to be on the same page so to say and also identify possible issues, simple things like finding out if they typically shoot with wadding or prime then load etc etc. As far as being on the same page for a battle my thoughts are to have a small number say 4-6 people that know whats going on. The rest of the shooters are assigned to these 4-6 people and shoot when they do.

I will try to find the documentation I have on flash guards and get back to you with it. I know where it is, but I need to look it up, and there is no internet there.

[Crudbeard]

Back to the safety meetings ---- I think the comment that they were well, "clunky" last year is accurate, and this year, now that those putting them on have had a first go at it (a bigger more complicated battle was attempted last year than previous) they should do a lot better with keeping attention, cutting chatter, and clarity of message. We had last year to find out what didn't work so well, and since the safety officers are mostly the same for this year, things should improve. They'd better.

[Hawkyns]

First, I agree that we need a standardised set of rules for the pirate community. It is ridiculous that the same core group of people go to many of the same events and have different rules at each one, depending on the organising group.

I'm a solid proponent of flash guards. I've done a lot of firing from the regimental line and from skirmish order. The gas and flash have never, to me, been an issue. What has been an issue is the shards of flint that come ripping out of the pan. I've been hit in the face more than a few times and at distances of up to 10-12 feet. This seems to be more and more of an issue lately, since we seem to be getting an inferior grade of flint.

Hammer stalls are even more of a requirement for us, IMO. We fight in a manner more similar to skirmishers. We load and then move. Moving with a loaded weapon over rough ground is an invitiation to unintentional discharge. The hammer stall is just a sane safety measure.

Flashguards are easy for matchlocks. Solder an 'L' shaped piece of steel to the top of the pan cover, so that it is against the back plate of the pan when closed. When the pan opens, the 'L' piece aoutomatically becomes the flash guard. And yes, burning shreds of match do fly out, especially with a big pan, or a loosely woven match.

Lastly, another thing that I am a proponent of, and that I rarely see at pirate battles, is a line safety inspection that includes ringing the barrel. I don't know how many of us actually shoot live, but I know I do and so do some of our crew. I like to make sure that someone doesn't have a ball down that didn't discharge, or they forgot.

Hawkyns

Master Gunner.