carolina cowboy
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MK, I like that idea, will have to keep that in mind....Thanks
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first full day of shooting, and 2 dry balls
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carolina cowboy
36 Cal.
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curator, I do need to work on my beanch rest shooting, I will move the sand bags closer to where my off hand would be, I had them out toward the barrel more
carolina cowboy
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and Hunsfoot, I will try to take advantage of those rondys, I have shoot pins at multi lakes, and heard they have a woods walk, will have to check them out, Thanks...
Ken Cormier
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Dry ball 2 times in 1 day almost makes you a real muzzleloader. Let us know when you dry ball 2 in a row then you will be a pilgram no more and bee a real muzzleloader
George91946
40 Cal.
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If you need coaching on how to dryball really efficiently, let me know, I'm certified.
I spent 6 months on sand bags shooting nearly every day before I got any kind of groups. That flinch thing kept creeping in to every shot. Still have a long way to go after 2 plus years of constant shooting.
Lisle George
I spent 6 months on sand bags shooting nearly every day before I got any kind of groups. That flinch thing kept creeping in to every shot. Still have a long way to go after 2 plus years of constant shooting.
Lisle George
carolina cowboy
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I hope it takes me a while :blah: .....and George,the flinch for me is not too bad, but I found myself blinking my eyes and therefore taking my eyes off the target when the pan went "Flash" :nono: .....I shot around 50 times Sat, and got my group closer, but I got to work on my shooting and keeping my eyes open a little longer :shocked2:
paulvallandigham
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Always wear eye and ear protection, as the sound of the gun firing as well as the flash pan burning can often cause your nervous system to blink the eyes( flinch), in anticipation.
I recommend lots of dry firing, using a piece of wood instead of an expensive flint. Get used to hearing and seeing that hammer fall, while concentrating on that front sight. You should dry 10 times for every shot you fire at the range.
I discourage new shooters from long range sessions with their guns, as they tend to practice bad habits rather than overcome them. Firing 5, low recoiling loads at the range, off a rest, where you see the flash, and can call your shots on the target by focusing on that front sight is much better training, than shooting 50 times, and never knowing when you are going to blink or not. Learn to shoot correctly. Once that is achieved, the long shooting sessions can follow. You have to learn to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. I know its maddening to do practice correctly- on or in any field or instrument-- but you really do waste a lot of time when you do it wrong, and simply delay the day when you begin to see real improvement.
I learned this the very hard way learning to play the trombone and piano. I later studied the French horn, and then the Classical Guitar. I finally began listening to my instructor, and practicing correctly about the time I was studying the Guitar. I was 22 years old. Improvement came far more rapidly than I expected, practicing correctly. But, Oh, how those muscles in my fingers ached after each practice. I got serious about shooting after I finished law school, and could afford to buy ammo. By the time I began shooting MLers, I had learned my "lesson", and Did lots of dry fire practice at home to get used to the "new" gun(s).
If there is a Mrs.'s in your life, make sure she is doing something else when you practice. Its not a pretty sight to see you practicing, and its not fun doing so when you have an audience. Oh, when I was taking a pistol self defense course at age 35, and had a holster on my belt for the first time since I was 12 Yrs. old, I practiced my draw, and my return to holster slowly for over an hour each night in front of a mirror. Very slowly. I still was not "Quick drawing " the gun by the time I took my class, but when it came time to get that gun into action quickly, I surprised myself and my instructor with the times I recorded to respond to an audible signal, draw, and fire and hit my targets.
I don't know any way to learn MUSCLE MEMORY Fast. It has to be done slowly. After 500-5000 repetitions, depending on the activity, you will find that you can unconsciously do the action as fast as humanely possible without conscious effort. The same "rules" apply to your eyes, and working through that "flinch".
Just practice correctly, and stop if you find yourself doing things wrong. There is NO POINT gained by continuing to do something wrong. :hmm: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I recommend lots of dry firing, using a piece of wood instead of an expensive flint. Get used to hearing and seeing that hammer fall, while concentrating on that front sight. You should dry 10 times for every shot you fire at the range.
I discourage new shooters from long range sessions with their guns, as they tend to practice bad habits rather than overcome them. Firing 5, low recoiling loads at the range, off a rest, where you see the flash, and can call your shots on the target by focusing on that front sight is much better training, than shooting 50 times, and never knowing when you are going to blink or not. Learn to shoot correctly. Once that is achieved, the long shooting sessions can follow. You have to learn to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. I know its maddening to do practice correctly- on or in any field or instrument-- but you really do waste a lot of time when you do it wrong, and simply delay the day when you begin to see real improvement.
I learned this the very hard way learning to play the trombone and piano. I later studied the French horn, and then the Classical Guitar. I finally began listening to my instructor, and practicing correctly about the time I was studying the Guitar. I was 22 years old. Improvement came far more rapidly than I expected, practicing correctly. But, Oh, how those muscles in my fingers ached after each practice. I got serious about shooting after I finished law school, and could afford to buy ammo. By the time I began shooting MLers, I had learned my "lesson", and Did lots of dry fire practice at home to get used to the "new" gun(s).
If there is a Mrs.'s in your life, make sure she is doing something else when you practice. Its not a pretty sight to see you practicing, and its not fun doing so when you have an audience. Oh, when I was taking a pistol self defense course at age 35, and had a holster on my belt for the first time since I was 12 Yrs. old, I practiced my draw, and my return to holster slowly for over an hour each night in front of a mirror. Very slowly. I still was not "Quick drawing " the gun by the time I took my class, but when it came time to get that gun into action quickly, I surprised myself and my instructor with the times I recorded to respond to an audible signal, draw, and fire and hit my targets.
I don't know any way to learn MUSCLE MEMORY Fast. It has to be done slowly. After 500-5000 repetitions, depending on the activity, you will find that you can unconsciously do the action as fast as humanely possible without conscious effort. The same "rules" apply to your eyes, and working through that "flinch".
Just practice correctly, and stop if you find yourself doing things wrong. There is NO POINT gained by continuing to do something wrong. :hmm: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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This is a weird one, Paul. I don't flinch with the flintlock and don't even notice the flash in front of my eyes, but with my .223 Savage with scope, I start closing my eye as I pull the trigger.
I was wondering why everything went white when I was about to shoot, and had somebody watch me.
And I have not dry balled since the first time I went shooting my flinter. Knock on wood!!! (in keeping with the topic)
The Doc is out now. :hatsoff:
PS, I'm practicing on the new world rifle with snap caps. :redface:
I was wondering why everything went white when I was about to shoot, and had somebody watch me.
And I have not dry balled since the first time I went shooting my flinter. Knock on wood!!! (in keeping with the topic)
The Doc is out now. :hatsoff:
PS, I'm practicing on the new world rifle with snap caps. :redface:
paulvallandigham
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Dr. law: Is this the first time you have shot a rifle with a scope sight on it? Should I assume that this scope is mounted in the typical position back on the action of the rifle, and not a scout scope out on the barrel?
If so, I suspect that your brain may be afraid of having that scope come back and smack you in the eyebrow when the gun fires. Shooting the gun often, so that your brain learns that is not going to happen, will help overcome the problem.( I experience this or a similar Flinch, whenever I try to shoot one of my guns from the prone position, when the scope was set for me shooting off-hand. Prone requires a longer LOP to the stock, and when you try to do this without changing that LOP, your eye naturally creaps forward on the stock, and closer to that scope sight.)
Moving the scope forward any amount available may also help. Usually, with most scopes, you can move the gun back and forth within 3 inches( depending on the scope mount) and not put the scope too much out of focus. Focal length of the optic lens can be adjusted by turning the barrel of the scope at the rear of it, until the scope focuses for your eye.
If you reload,you can down load some cartridges for practice, that don't recoil much at all, nor make the same loud Crack when the bullets leave the barrel. That often helps your brain make the adjustment, and stop the "flinch".
Remember to always wear ear protection, as most flinches are a product of BOTH seeing issues, and hearing issues. If the muzzle blast hurts your ear, your body may be flinching in anticipation of that harm to your ears, just as it might also be anticipating some injury to your eye.
It goes without saying that you should always wear protective lens when firing any gun. The eye you save WILL be your own. :surrender: :thumbsup:
Perhaps someone else has a better suggestion, but those are the ones that have worked for me, both personally, and for people I have helped. :surrender: :thumbsup:
If so, I suspect that your brain may be afraid of having that scope come back and smack you in the eyebrow when the gun fires. Shooting the gun often, so that your brain learns that is not going to happen, will help overcome the problem.( I experience this or a similar Flinch, whenever I try to shoot one of my guns from the prone position, when the scope was set for me shooting off-hand. Prone requires a longer LOP to the stock, and when you try to do this without changing that LOP, your eye naturally creaps forward on the stock, and closer to that scope sight.)
Moving the scope forward any amount available may also help. Usually, with most scopes, you can move the gun back and forth within 3 inches( depending on the scope mount) and not put the scope too much out of focus. Focal length of the optic lens can be adjusted by turning the barrel of the scope at the rear of it, until the scope focuses for your eye.
If you reload,you can down load some cartridges for practice, that don't recoil much at all, nor make the same loud Crack when the bullets leave the barrel. That often helps your brain make the adjustment, and stop the "flinch".
Remember to always wear ear protection, as most flinches are a product of BOTH seeing issues, and hearing issues. If the muzzle blast hurts your ear, your body may be flinching in anticipation of that harm to your ears, just as it might also be anticipating some injury to your eye.
It goes without saying that you should always wear protective lens when firing any gun. The eye you save WILL be your own. :surrender: :thumbsup:
Perhaps someone else has a better suggestion, but those are the ones that have worked for me, both personally, and for people I have helped. :surrender: :thumbsup:
rocky13540
32 Cal.
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Just have to share this with you guys, saturday 5/15/11 I took both of my grandsons to the club range to shoot flintlock rifles. The older one is 18 and the young one is 15. We had two 50cal rifles and shared the loading and shooting between us. abount 20 minutes after we started shooting the young one would say loudly, powder,patch and ball Gpa he repeated this every few minutes and grinned a lot. Within about 30 minutes after picking on me he dry balled, after pulling the ball his brother and I reminded him about the powder, he immediately dry balled again. :yakyak: :yakyak: He was quiet the rest of the morning. On the drive home he repeated powder,patch,ball. After we arrived home and cleaned the rifles he repeated his warning until he went to bed. We have a club shoot this Sunday and he is going, only time will tell.
I haven't read all the responses so I'll just give my impressions from your initial post. #1, you seem to be in a hurry. Slow down, this isn't a hurry up sport. #2 The best cure for dryballing is to have a loading routine and don't allow distractions. We all dry ball occasionally. But, I can say honestly, the only times I dry ball is when someone distracts me and I forget where I was in the process. #3 Dutch's system is very good and you will do well to read it and try his ideas. But, it is not a "quicker" way to better accuracy (see #4) #4 There is no answer for wether you will need a bigger, or smaller ball. There is only shooting and testing with different sizes and different patch combos. This experience does not come from a book or store, or even here. It comes from the shooting bench.
