The old saw: "If God wanted us to shoot caplocks, he would have strewn caps all around, instead of rocks." You're in for some great shooting fun. The hard part is the wait. You can acquire all the cool stuff to go with it over the time you wait for the gun. Shop around, and you can find really beautiful accoutrements and even period clothing. I've wanted a flintlock since I was a kid, and I finally have a beautiful one, and I'm having a wonderful time shooting it and playing dress-up with my black powder club. This forum has some really experienced shooters with good advice on all the minutiae like ball size, patch material, lubes, powder and flints etc etc. I do most of my shooting at a public range in Vancouver, WA, and the guys with their plastic fantastic "zip guns" really take notice when that white smoke roars out of what they think is an antique. You'll have a merry, merry "Christmas" when that gun arrives. Good luck!