Are we doing a disservice to new flint shooters?

[Zonie]

I think the most distracting thing about the pan flash is when it dumps a few burning embers on your balding forehead. Now, that will get your attention pretty fast.
I wouldn't advise using a comb over like President Trump does but wearing a hat with a bill on it does a lot to keep this from happening.

 

[SDSmlf]

I think the most distracting thing about the pan flash is when it dumps a few burning embers on your balding forehead. Now, that will get your attention pretty fast.
I wouldn't advise using a comb over like President Trump does but wearing a hat with a bill on it does a lot to keep this from happening.

Pretty brave observation. Almost political. Me, I always wear a hat and and safety glasses, and have still been hit in the face with stuff when shooting flintlocks. Would only worry if I had polyester hair. Stuff burns like rocket fuel.

 

[Britsmoothy]

 

[Oldhickory]

Some folks just cant hold over very well. It is just their nature. Anxiety control is not the same for everyone, just as not everyone can be taught the same method. Science of Human Nature at work.

 

[Oldhickory]

Some folks just cant hold over very well. It is just their nature. Anxiety control is not the same for everyone, just as not everyone can be taught the same method. Science of Human Nature at work.

I have read many years back an article on frontier colonial firearms, where only the skilled marksmen were allowed to venture very far into the forest. Least they gave the natives the impression of how poorly many folks shot flintlock rifles/muskets. If you want flintlock participation, set more diverse shooting applications so novices can hone their skills with a flintlock.

 

[tenngun]

We do have to keep in mind that Forsyth kept missing birds because they would see the flash in the pan and veer off before the shot fired. The poor reverend kept coming home empty handed till he invented percussion.
I wonder if his bags got bigger?

 

[Britsmoothy]

We do have to keep in mind that Forsyth kept missing birds because they would see the flash in the pan and veer off before the shot fired. The poor reverend kept coming home empty handed till he invented percussion.
I wonder if his bags got bigger?

That's the best excuse for being a lousy shot I ever heard !

 

[Feltwad]

We do have to keep in mind that Forsyth kept missing birds because they would see the flash in the pan and veer off before the shot fired. The poor reverend kept coming home empty handed till he invented percussion.
I wonder if his bags got bigger?

Lets not forget that in Forsyth day duck shooting was mainly sitting birds on the marshes , locks etc , if we also look at punt gunning in the early percussion most double barrel punt guns one barrel was percussion and the other flintlock , when both were fire together at siting birds the percussion took the siting birds and with the delay of the flintlock it took birds has they lifted of the water
Feltwad

 

[Ricochet]

For me, I don't think it was necessarily as much the actual flash in the pan as much as it was the small delay from the sound of the pan and all thats happening there to the actual feel of the percussion on the shoulder that caused the whole freakout phase. Once I started noticing how much concentration and focus was needed, especially on holding the front sight on the target, the delay started to get more unnoticeable. From my baseball playing days while working on hitting, I learned that if I had a problem with something in the process, put my focus on another part of that process to eliminate the problem. In the end, and after countless rounds, I found that if I put my focus on part of the baseball, my muscle memory would take over. With my flintlock, I am still working "in the cage" so to speak, and am in the process of building the muscle memory. Its gonna take shooting the gun to build the muscle memory is all. Sorry to ramble about something other than flintlocks, but that comparison to hitting a ball works for me and may help some newcomers like myself.

 

[Feltwad]

For game or clay shooting I find that the flash from the pan does not bother me .To take a left or right crossing bird and also the going away is little different than shooting percussion .The one that bothers me is the incoming bird resulting to a overhead one and the burnt powder from the pan burning my face although I wear glasses but to a newcomer can make him or her flinch from the ignition of the pan and put them off shooting flintlocks.
Feltwad

 

[PluggedNickel]

That's the best excuse for being a lousy shot I ever heard !

Hum, Maybe my wing shooting hasn’t deteriorated as bad as I thought, yeah, that’s the ticket! Birds just getting the jump on me do to 5 minute lock time! Har, har, har! Funny though, Britsmoothy doesn’t seem to have any trouble nailing them on the wing. Man, he must really have those locks tuned, huh? LOL

 

[tenngun]

Lets not forget that in Forsyth day duck shooting was mainly sitting birds on the marshes , locks etc , if we also look at punt gunning in the early percussion most double barrel punt guns one barrel was percussion and the other flintlock , when both were fire together at siting birds the percussion took the siting birds and with the delay of the flintlock it took birds has they lifted of the water
Feltwad

I don’t know that Forsyth was using a punt gun, although he may have shot birds in the water. This was common enough that gentleman hunters are shown doing that from blinds.
If I was shooting a duck on the water that could manage to get air born between trigger pull and shot or even react in the time frame between flash and shot, even if I did every thing wrong like over fill the pan and have just a drilled vent, l would bless the bird and wish him a long life.
Half a second or even a full second would be a long delay but I doubt a bird could move very far in the water.

 

[Feltwad]

I have never known Forsyth used a punt gun most of his shooting was a big bore s/b flintlock fowler with a long barrel and a slow ignition
Felwad

 

[Britsmoothy]

Hum, Maybe my wing shooting hasn’t deteriorated as bad as I thought, yeah, that’s the ticket! Birds just getting the jump on me do to 5 minute lock time! Har, har, har! Funny though, Britsmoothy doesn’t seem to have any trouble nailing them on the wing. Man, he must really have those locks tuned, huh? LOL

You don't get to see the ones I missed brother as there is nothing to report on.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I don’t know that Forsyth was using a punt gun, although he may have shot birds in the water. This was common enough that gentleman hunters are shown doing that from blinds.
If I was shooting a duck on the water that could manage to get air born between trigger pull and shot or even react in the time frame between flash and shot, even if I did every thing wrong like over fill the pan and have just a drilled vent, l would bless the bird and wish him a long life.
Half a second or even a full second would be a long delay but I doubt a bird could move very far in the water.

Gentlemen shooting from blinds at sitting birds! Disgusting!




Lol.

 

[Feltwad]

Image of my friends small flintlock punt gun ,it seems this duck did not see the flash from the pan
Fetwad

 

[Walkingeagle]

So after many frustrating attempts over the past 12-15 years, I decided that todays shooting session would be flint only. I went with a friend who only shoots flint and wanted to do likewise, and possibly get some advice if needed. I didn’t shoot great, likely only about 40% or so hits on targets (trail walk), and found myself flinching still quite a bit, but worked very hard on holding through and followed Zoni’s advice on focusing on the front sight only. It helped a lot and allowed me some decent hits on fairly tough targets when I was able to hold through the flash.
Perhaps there is hope for me yet?!?
Walk

 

[Sinner]

I haven't owned one yet. Hope to within the next year. Maybe then I can get to experience what y'all are talking about! I'm thinking it might be nice to not have to place a cap every shot.

 

[Brokennock]

So after many frustrating attempts over the past 12-15 years, I decided that todays shooting session would be flint only. I went with a friend who only shoots flint and wanted to do likewise, and possibly get some advice if needed. I didn’t shoot great, likely only about 40% or so hits on targets (trail walk), and found myself flinching still quite a bit, but worked very hard on holding through and followed Zoni’s advice on focusing on the front sight only. It helped a lot and allowed me some decent hits on fairly tough targets when I was able to hold through the flash.
Perhaps there is hope for me yet?!?
Walk

Like many other shooting disciplines, much your solution can be handled off the range. Lots and lots of dry fire. Teach your brain that the search breaking and the hammer hitting the frizzen is no big deal. In dry fire you must maintain proper form, full focus on front sight, good clean trigger squeeze, and breath control. You are building muscle memory here, you are training your muscles and mind to make the shot, without the noise, recoil, and in the case of a flintlock, the pan flash.
Start with a wooden flint. Several times a day pick up the gun, sight in, and "make the shot." Even if it's just once, if it was perfect put the gun down, come do another one later. Occasionally do 2 or 3, eventually 5, but all need to be perfect, don't put a bad shot "on your harddrive."
Do this every day.
After a few weeks of this, when the dry shots a pretty much always perfect, and, If you can get away with it in your yard, a couple times a week go do the same thing but with a flint in the jaws and a little 4f in the pan. Ideally do it once, then put the wooden flint back in and do a bunch more shots with that, then 1 more with just a little pan powder and real flint. Progress slowly to more and more primed pan shots in a row, alternating back and forth. Having a friend or spouse who can alternately prime or Not prime the pan, so you won't know which you are getting, is a huge help, but this is a long (and tedious) process.

Feel free to p.m. me for more details or questions.

 

[Rockvillerich]

So after many frustrating attempts over the past 12-15 years, I decided that todays shooting session would be flint only. I went with a friend who only shoots flint and wanted to do likewise, and possibly get some advice if needed. I didn’t shoot great, likely only about 40% or so hits on targets (trail walk), and found myself flinching still quite a bit, but worked very hard on holding through and followed Zoni’s advice on focusing on the front sight only. It helped a lot and allowed me some decent hits on fairly tough targets when I was able to hold through the flash.
Perhaps there is hope for me yet?!?
Walk

Hang in there, its only a matter of timing, and getting used to the distraction. Truth is, once you do become comfortable with a flintlock you'll be able to shoot everything better. It took me a couple of years for my flint scores to be the same as anything else. BTW a low velocity air-guns are good practice for the follow-through aspect needed to shoot well, and will help too.