Acceptable Accuracy with a Flintlock

[HuntAway]

Hello All,

I own several Lyman flintlocks. My favourites are the 54 & 50 GPR's

What would you consider acceptable accuracy with the flintlocks (round ball or conicals) of today through various ranges. ie 25, 50, 75, 100,.....

125, 150 or further :youcrazy: :grin:

I've seen that fella on Shooting USA Mr Flintlock do some pretty good shooting so I was curious how the rest of us mere mortals make out.

HA

 

[rabjr]

Pretty much one hole groups at 25 yards, 50 yards are clover leaves and on a good day cover the group with the palm of my hand at 75. Eyes won't let me shoot beyond that. They are extremely accurate if you do your part.

 

[jamesthomas]

Monday at the range I shot about 15 times, 1 big ragged hole about 1 1/2 to 2 inches at 40 yards. at 25 its slightly smaller say no more than 1 1/2 inches. This is using a GM barrel, 65 grns.3fff KIK, spit for lube. .490 rb with a .24 pillow ticking patch. I think the GPR's will do the same thing. Ya just have to find out the proper load combo.

 

[Stumpkiller]

What would you consider acceptable accuracy with the flintlock . . .

Half as big as the vital area of what I am hunting at the range I can see it with iron sights.

These two groups were fired with my hunting load (.530" round ball & 85 gr FFFg) at 25 yards (five shots) and 50 yards (three shots) while butt-on-the-ground using my elbows resting on my knees.


Lower is the 25 yard

Here's a 3 @ 50 yard offhand shoot 3" x 5" card.

After about 75 yards lately I'm not seeing the sights as I once did. I'm thrilled to do a 100 yard 6" five shot group rested anymore.

 

[rich pierce]

I'm one hole-ish at 25 yards, like to keep 5 shots covered by a tennis ball at 50 yards, and at 75 yards, inside a grapefruit. At the same time I can keep a good scoped .22 or centerfire inside a half dollar at 75 yards, so I think it's the eyes more than the gun. With an iron sighted cartridge "cowboy" gun I cannot shoot better than with my flintlocks. I am an infrequent shooter and could probably do better if I shot every week. When I was young and had good iron sights on a bolt action centerfire, I could do 4" at 100 yards and with the same gun with a scope, 1".

 

[HuntAway]

Thanks fella's. That is pretty much on par with what I was thinking. I've started working on my 50 yd offhand shooting. I've managed 3" groups but I'm trying to get that down to 2" if I can.
I find that the peep sights on the GPR help out a lot.

HA

 

[Larry Pletcher]

I pretty must agree with Rich. I can keep a five shot group with a .54 inside a quarter at 25 yds. My eyes are my problem.

Take an open sighted rifle and put good target apertures and everything changes. Putting a set of Redfield Olympics on flintlock isn't PC, but it shows what the potential of a good flintlock roundball gun is. I'll keep my flintlocks equiped with primitive open sights, but I know my eyes are the weak link, not the flintlock.

In one of the tests we have planned for spring, we will use a flintlock in testing accuracy with seating pressure as the variable. We'll equip a rifle with Redfield OLympics for this test.

Regards,
Pletch

 

[HuntAway]

I just googled those Redfields. Pretty fancy sights.

HA

 

[Celt5494]

Holy moly, a .490 RB with .24 pillow ticking. Man you must have a gorilla jumpin on that ball to get it down. About the thickest patch I can go is .20 and prefer .15 Using spit patch I really don't have to swab much maybe 10 shots or so and things start gettin a little too tight for comfort around the middle of the barrel.

 

[Stubert]

With the right load, Our guns should be capable of 2-3" or less at 100 yd's. Our handicap is the sights.

 

[jamesthomas]

Not hard at all to load it, one slap with the short starter and it goes down easy. I use an aluminum range rod with a T handle. I can even just press it in without slapping it. I even shoot a .495 with no trouble, though I can't press it in, needs a slap but then slides down easy . Btw I'm 5'0" and weight 110 lbs soaking wet so I'm no Gorilla! But my brother is one, he's 6'2" 260 lbs.

 

[Walks with fire]

Under calm conditions shooting a .50 round ball with 90 grains of 2f I expect to shoot 3-4" groups @ 100 yards from the bench or a solid field rest. I wouldn't shoot that far without a rest when hunting. I would shoot offhand out to around 75 yards and would expect 6" pie plate sized groups but with a rest would probably be under 3" with no problem.

My eyes are still pretty good yet and my onboard computer/insticts are very good so I hold my shooting if everything doesn't say go. I listen to my subconcious and it works great in the field.

 

[pr.piburn]

Here is a 100 yd 5 shot target I shot in competition with my 45 cal Flintlock. Open sights.
sandbag rest. It will make groups under a inch
at 50 yds.

 

[jerrywh]

up to 100yds. you should expect the same accuracy you get out of a modern rifle with open sights.
That is with no wind.

 

[Walks with fire]

There is no doubt that a roundball muzzleloader is AT LEAST as accurate as a cartridge rifle with open sights too.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I'm with Lucky though not quite as precise..., my .54 rifle with a Colerain barrel will, from a bench, put three rounds in the 9 ring or better at 100 yards, using 70 grains of 3Fg. Now I don't like shooting when hunting without a good steady position, and the farthest I will go is say under 50 yards off-hand..., and last Tuesday at 42 yards the shot went right where I aimed off-hand, and I got a doe.

Basically, I'd say you want the rifle to do better from a bench than you can shoot without the bench, THEN figure out how far you can get her to work, and stick to that...

I met a fellow and found out he's deadly at 30 yards or less with his .50..., I asked him how well he does at 50 yards, and he really didn't know, as when he was growing up the rifle he had was a POS, and he had to get within 25 yards, got good at that, and has never needed to go farther...

The Magic is in the Wizard, Not the Wand
The Late James Funk, Raleigh NC

LD

 

[damron]

There is no doubt that a roundball muzzleloader is AT LEAST as accurate as a cartridge rifle with open sights too.

I shoot Springfield's and Enfield 30-06's with cast bullets in CBA matches and 2" at 100 is very common with issue sights.If your gun wont shoot under this you cant clean the target.These are 10 shot groups.The good 5 shot groups are under 1".Wind is the enemy with cast 200g @1600. So far with my roundball 54 its a battle in just a little wind.

George

 

[Celt5494]

That's fantastic, sounds like you have no trouble getting a great gas seal on ignition... :hatsoff: I'm sure the reason I have more difficulty is I just use my wooden ramrod and every now and then a carved short starter I keep on my bag. Lot's of my shooting involves walking around so I don't want to have to be lugging around a bunch of accoutraments. I'm gettin pretty decent accuracy with the .20 patch and .490 RB with about 40-50 gr of fffg out to 60-70 yds. After that I really need to play with the loads.

 

[Darkgael]

Here's a pic of a three shot group that i turned in for one of Jethro's Members Only postals.
Lyman GPR, flintlock/ 100 yards benched. .490 RB. 0.010" patch, 90 grains Goex FFg with a 0.030" Walter's Wad over the powder.
This is about as good as it gets for me.

Pete

 

[Ron_T.]

My results at 25 and 50 yards are like the majority of other shooters here... i.e., one ragged hole at 25 yards (off the bench-rest) and a 1½ inch or so "group" at 50 yards (off the bench-rest).

However, my "problem" is not with the accuracy of my rifle, but rather it's due to my "old" eyes and they're inability to see the iron sights as well as they once did.

This is why all of my modern rifles have scopes mounted on 'em, but naturally, I'd never mount a scope on my muzzle-loaders which is exactly why I have a self-imposed limit of 80 to 85 yards to taking a shot at a standing or only "walking" whitetail and won't attempt a shot at a running deer.

I'd do no different with a center-fire rifle. :thumbsup:


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.