A Man Has to Know His Limitations!

[Grenadier1758]

@PastorB, what is your accuracy with your other custom flintlocks?

The fact that you can shoot your Frontier accurately when it has been converted to percussion is interesting. The only cure that I know of to shoot the rifle as a flintlock a lot of times until you are tired of shooting it without accuracy. Use secure rests. Wear safety glasses and ear protection. Concentrate on the front sight when shooting. These are instructions I am sure you have heard before. Well, I have to say them again.

You may indeed know your limitations. But, since you know them, you can practice to overcome them. Build up your confidence with your rifle. You can master those limitations as these can be eliminated by confidence in your abilities with your other rifles.

 

[Rató:rats]

 

[waksupi]

Put away your caplocks for a year, and only shoot flint. You will know how to shoot them by the end of the year.

 

[M. De Land]

I've "spent some time at the range", having shot thousands of shots from various guns just in the last few months. Been muzzleloading since the mid 1970's, I am very competent when it comes to load development. As I stated in my original post, I SUCK with a flintlock. Always have, always will. Still love shooting flinters. I accept my limitations, which was the title of the thread I started. As means of comparison, check out my ability with an identical percussion rifle, another Pedersoli Frontier, only difference is ignition. This target was also shot at 100 yards, just a few weeks ago, at the same range and the same exact bench. Top circle is Lee REAL conicals, bottom circle is PRB's. There are around 20 shots in each of those groups. I am that bad of a shot with a flintlock, but tomorrow morning in the Siberian air mass that has invaded North Missouri, I will be in the pre-dawn woods with my flinter waiting for a buck to wander within 20 yards or so.

I heard it once said and believe it an infallible truth , ( if you think you "can" or you think you "can't" your correct on both accounts) !

 

[Rudyard]

I heard it once said and believe it an infallible truth , ( if you think you "can" or you think you "can't" your correct on both accounts) !

A once skilled NZ Barrel maker I did work for once told me" The only limitations there are in life , are the ones you except " . He was a Clark but he wanted to be an Engineer no firm would take him as an apprentice so he bought tools and ruined a lot but became a brilliant engineer by what he called the 'El Muncho Cruncho School of engineering"
Rudyard

 

[M. De Land]

A once skilled NZ Barrel maker I did work for once told me" The only limitations there are in life , are the ones you except " . He was a Clark but he wanted to be an Engineer no firm would take him as an apprentice so he bought tools and ruined a lot but became a brilliant engineer by what he called the 'El Muncho Cruncho School of engineering"
Rudyard

God gifted me with a mechanical mind I suppose as most mechanical things seem easy for me. I have had some formal gunsmith school training but what they taught me was the technical knowledge one needs for this type of precision work. The farm I grew up on and high school shop class in the upper four grades taught me how to run welders and machine tools then it was the experience of the "hard school of knocks"that probably taught me the most. One can do a job successfully a hundred times but the one time it didn't work out correctly was probably the time you learned the most.
It's at least as important to learn what "not" to do as what "to" do in my opinion.
I have a tendency to try and make a good job jussssssssssssssst a little bit better ,then often as not the wheels come off the project and things start going South! It's called being "anal" or type "A" personality which can be a plus if kept in check with a bit of "horse sense", as your always trying to improve on your skill level !
I have a close shooting friend that told me of a quote by another mutual friend of us both who is an excellent machinist. He stated " Well how do you know it's as good as it can be until it starts down hill the other way" ! That really made me laugh as I knew exactly how he felt about excellence of precision on a project.
I once had another friend pay me a left handed complement that also made me laugh out loud.
I had machined a part that was pretty technical and was showing it to him. He took a long hard look at it from all angles and after a pause quipped " You know Mike, for a farm boy your just to damn dumb to know you shouldn't be able to do this" !

 

[pilot]

The problem with Missouri is one of numbers. Too many diverse special interests all wanting a piece of the pie. Not enough traditional muzzle loader hunters to make a difference. I think they gave up and just lumped us all together.

As to access, that is an ongoing problem. The Conservation Commission has tried to provide opportunity by buying a lot of land in small and large parsels with proceeds of the conservation sales tax. There is a huge number of acres all over the state.

Personally, I was lucky enough to realize what was coming with hunting private land and bought my own 33 years ago. I would be in the same boat you are had I not. Land prices are now pricing me out of the market. Between population growth and inflation, prices are unbelievable.

 

[Africa58double]

Wow… Here they allow only front stuffers, yet the modern super duper flat shooting is not my opinion of traditional.

Wish they had “Traditional only season” like some states.

 

[bud in pa]

Pastor you are not alone. It took me a while to completely ignore the dropping flint hammer. Concentrating solely on the front sights. At one point I blamed the gun until I worked it out. Believe it or not in NJ there was so little people out in ML season I had hundred,s of acre,s to my lone self....

I remember hunting Stokes and being alone.

 

[Africa58double]

Follow thru on sites, continuously

 

[SOLANCO]

Sight alinement, trigger squeeze as we said in the Marine Corps.

Front sight. Press.

 

[Critter Getter]

Iowa is
headed downhill too. Our reputation as a “trophy” state will be a thing of the past. Drives me crazy that our game laws and seasons are made by our lawmakers rather than our DNR and state Bioligist that actually know what is best for hunters and the wildlife. All about money and insurance companies here. As far as I can tell Farm Bureau has more way power and say so.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

In many areas deer are plentiful and have no other predators than humans. When deer overpopulate an area and they are not harvested they starve to death especially in winter. Longer seasons, etc allow more to be harvested leaving fewer left to starve. I could really care less what the next person uses to harvest their deer as long as I can use my flintlock.

 

[Cvkotvkse]

Went to the rifle range today with my Pedersoli Frontier in .45 in flint. I am an OK shot with a caplock, but just plain suck with a flinter. All these shots were at 100 yards, circles are off-hand, "X"'s are from a rest. I limit myself to about 40 yards when actually hunting deer, and only about 25 when firing off-hand. Like I said in the title, a fella has got to be aware of his limitations.

Speaking of deer hunting, I live in Missouri and I choose to limit myself with a traditional muzzleloader. We now have an abomination called "Alternative Method Season", whereas we used to have a Muzzleloader Season. You had to chose to buy a modern rifle tag, or a muzzleloader tag. Now anything goes, except regular centerfire rifles for Alternative Season. One tag is good for all seasons, and you can buy as many antlerless tags as you like. The woods used to be empty for ML season, now they are full of guys with modern handguns, including scoped bolt action single shots, and dudes with short barrels AR's with detachable stocks that are qualified as handguns here in MO. If you live in a state that still has real Muzzleloader Season, count yourself very fortunate. Missouri game laws are driven by tags sold by the MO Dept. of Conservation, and car insurance companies wanting to eradicate deer populations to avoid paying claims on deer/car collisions. Yeah, we got big bucks on private ground, if you can afford a $1000 per day deer lease. Commoners like myself are left without options, and since Alternative Season became a reality, the public areas are even packed during that season. I'm done ranting, just as I am about done hunting. Had a good 50 years of so.

This might sound weird, but... Are you shouldering your longrifle against your shoulder, or on your upper arm against your biceps? Those deep crescent stocks were made to do the latter. A number of potential benefits in doing this... Compared to your "rest group," your offhand shots are dispersed lower, with a couple of flyers. This sugests diffficulty holding the barrel up through the shot; the flyers suggest "wavering. " In looking at your target, it might help you "lock in" your stance and hold. The crescent/biceps hold keeps the weapon from "see-sawing" with your forward hand as the fulcrum, thus helping prevent vertical spread. This hold also tends to make the shooter stand more at a sideways angle to the target, with the rifle across the chest. It's a tighter, steadier hold, with less horizontal waver to the barrel.
Just an idea...

 

[Christophero]

Good hunting. Pastor B. Hope to see your smiling mug posing over a dandy whitetail on here. That would be wonderful.

And I have no plans to continually badger you on how to, or not how to shoot. Just pleased to enjoy your posts and the knowledge you share.

 

[Sun City]

Here’s THE SECRET to flintlock shooting! All the bad stuff goes out the muzzle! Watch the front sight!!!

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

The much-maligned UK has no tag system that can cost you a fortune, but on the downside has no muzzleloading season of any kind, as they are not deemed 'powerful' enough to deal with UK's deer genres.

Y'know, the UK built a world-wide empire that somewhat endures even today using Brown Bess muskets. You'd think that someone would take a look at history. I guess you got political correctness in the UK as well. I suppose the population should be thankful that they can still own a Brown Bess...

 

[TFoley]

Y'know, the UK built a world-wide empire that somewhat endures even today using Brown Bess muskets. You'd think that someone would take a look at history. I guess you got political correctness in the UK as well. I suppose the population should be thankful that they can still own a Brown Bess...

I have 23 rifles, only three of which are muzzleloaders, and two handguns, one of which is a muzzleloader.

PC is endemic.

 

[TFoley]

Somebody needs to show them the math compared to whatever is now allowed i.e bore size, load, ,projectile weight, f per, second - muzzle energy and foot #s of energy at various ranges compared to allowable cartridge rifles .

Buzz

It's not a matter of math, but of ensuring that the animal gets a quick death, with a second follow-up shot if necessary, something difficult to achieve with a single-shot muzzleloader.

Whinemeal, I'll do some axing with the British Deer Society.

 

[APG]

You'd be surprised how many folks are shutting their eyes when the gun fires. It's a reflex form of flinch that needs to be and can be overcome with informed practice.

So you say I should keep my eyes open? Hmm.. I'll have to give that a try.