I shoot the black as a natural progression from muzzleloader rifle to cap&ball revolver to cartridge revolver and rifle. May as well experience the full spectrum of the "Holy Black" life style. It's a part of who I am. A black powder shooter.
I thunk when folks speak of the wait while firing a flintlock rifle they aren't experiencing the sweetness of a well tuned flintlock.
A fast lock time(like an L&R lock) with a short hammer throw(unlike a Siler lock) is the place to start. The size and position of the vent hole beveled inside and out and the setting of the flint in the jaws of the lock all matter.
The sparks from the flint "shoot" down to the prime powder and get there before the cock(hammer) stops.The prime powder can ignite before the lock reaches the end of it's throw which means the main charge can ignite faster since the prime powder sparks "fly" into the vent hole beveled to guide them in with the bevel placing the main charge closer to the prime powder.
When those things are done well considering how sparks literally fly(speed) to the prime to the main charge the "wait" is very short.
When the prime powder is not blocking the vent hole and is just level with the vent and placed away from the vent so the ignited prime flys into the vent guided bt the bevel on the outside that is,sort of, canted to ramp from low into the vent hole(more bevel at the low side of the vent hole) there is no pffffft-whoooosh. It's more like a spitbang.
Make any sense? That whooooosh comes mostly from when the prime powder amount and placement "fuses" instead of flys.
The vent hole is said to be placed proper when it's bisected thru the center by the line of the top edge of the pan.
The one extra step in the flint lock sequence compared to percussion cap is the prime ignition spark fly to the main charge. If the flint spark flys before the hammer(cock) bottoms then the prime sparks can also get to the main charge before the hammer bottoms.
That means the main charge can ignite before the hammer bottoms. No spiffft-whoosh.
That's justa milli-second slower than percussion cap. The milli-second is not much of a wait.......when all things happen the right way.
Anywhoooo....comin from the muzzleloader rifle to the cap&baller revolver and liking the time period and function fer the guns....how can I not love the Holy Black? It smells like heaven.
When I consider the game I've hunted and harvested with the "black" it's no wonder Pavloves response makes me and my hound dog and wife salivate when I shoot the black powder.
When my cap&baller revolver starts to drag from fouling I just drool on it in the right places and keep on "shootin".
Since the "black"can mean roasted squirrel or venison my hound likes to lick my cylinders clean of fouling fer me too. Same with the old lady.