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flintlock shooting tips?
- Thread starter JeffS
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MIL SPEC Hunting Clothes
Ladiga Sportswear - Alabama 1-205-447-6052
Walls Outlet - Cleburne, Texas 1-800-433-1765
http://www.shop.com/amos/cc/main/catalog/ccsyn/260/cid/82488
longshadow
Pilgrim
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Take your time but be aggressive with your weapon, have full control over your firearm, this will come with time, good luck. :m2c:
There are some good suggestions here.
I read ALL of the posts but don't remember seeing a classic 'cure for the flinch'.
Load the rifle in your regular manner but have someone else prime the pan for you. Sometimes there will be priming and sometimes there isn't. Don't look at the pan for any tell-tale clues; hold & sight the flintlock as normal.
Even some of us more experienced flint shooters will develop a flinch from time to time and for some it is very difficult to work through. I've used this technique to help with that and also to teach new shooters.
If you notice a time lag between the flash & the bang, you are shifting your concentration from the sights, trigger control & breathing to the lock so you CAN notice and I would bet that your lock needs some work. If the gun is clean and in working order, there shouldn't be any lag-time. I've shot my flintlock up-side-down for Pilgrims and the doubting, cap-lock guys and it has never failed to fire - and just as quickly as normal. (I've even hit the target on occasion and also burned the inside of my forearm from the flash.)
I have also shot my flinter from the wrong side. (Wrong for me.) Some matches require the shot to be made that way. Some targets are better shot that way because group size isn't critical. (The poker target come to mind.) I've not burned off any of my beard or put my eye out or anything.
And for the singing flintlock shooter . . . I softly sing some Nat King Cole while on the line.
I read ALL of the posts but don't remember seeing a classic 'cure for the flinch'.
Load the rifle in your regular manner but have someone else prime the pan for you. Sometimes there will be priming and sometimes there isn't. Don't look at the pan for any tell-tale clues; hold & sight the flintlock as normal.
Even some of us more experienced flint shooters will develop a flinch from time to time and for some it is very difficult to work through. I've used this technique to help with that and also to teach new shooters.
If you notice a time lag between the flash & the bang, you are shifting your concentration from the sights, trigger control & breathing to the lock so you CAN notice and I would bet that your lock needs some work. If the gun is clean and in working order, there shouldn't be any lag-time. I've shot my flintlock up-side-down for Pilgrims and the doubting, cap-lock guys and it has never failed to fire - and just as quickly as normal. (I've even hit the target on occasion and also burned the inside of my forearm from the flash.)
I have also shot my flinter from the wrong side. (Wrong for me.) Some matches require the shot to be made that way. Some targets are better shot that way because group size isn't critical. (The poker target come to mind.) I've not burned off any of my beard or put my eye out or anything.
And for the singing flintlock shooter . . . I softly sing some Nat King Cole while on the line.
Walks with fire
54 Cal.
I used to use 50 to 60 grains of powder then build up to a full hunting load. A 50 cal. doesn't kick much with 50 grains in it and the lighter loads are easy to hit with. Start out at 25 or 30 yards with a big target and light loads and you will be shooting good after 4 or 5 shoots within a couple weeks.
You giants aren't the only ones with clothing problems. I'm 5-7, have a 17 1/2 inch neck and 32 sleeves. They don't make dress shirts like that. Nor hunting clothes. I have a 42-inch chest so I have to buy a large and the cuffs come down to my fingertips. How about if I cut a couple of inches off the sleeves of my shirts and coats and send them to you guys? :front:
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Try a smaller target at a closer range so you are concentrating on the center of something only an inch or so big. That kind of focusing makes you forget all about flinching. Slow lock time also causes flinching as you were expecting the gun to go off at a certain time in your firing sequence, then it goes off a nano second later catching you by surprise. Between the time the lock falls and when the gun fires there should be virtually no delay. Make sure you aren't overfilling the pan causing the pan to burn lots of powder longer before it can get to the main charge and set it off. Also make sure the tough hole isn't too small causing a delay from the pan fire getting to the main charge. All the other advice is good and with more practice, your flinching disappears. I flinch occasionally, but the funny thing is I never flinch when fireing at live game, big or small. Im so committed to focusing on the killing spot to make a clean kill that flinching never comes to mind. When shooting at flying game, I'm busy swinging and leading and concentration of that fast moving pheasant, and again no flinching. Take your Caywood Gun out to the woods and go kill something .... A crow, groundhog, or other suitable types a vermin targets. See if you flinch when you shoot at something alive instead of a paper target on a frame. That's my best advice ...
Ohio Rusty
Ohio Rusty
Tom Curran
32 Cal.
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This is an idea I have thought of but never tried: load your gun as usual. have a buddy prime it for you. You don't know whether the gun will go off or not. Keep your eye on the target. When lock trips, do you flinch? Can you try with all your will to keep the sights on the target? Whether there's a flash or not? Do you flinch when the gun doesn't go off?
I would not do a lot of the above, but just as a test once in a while to see where you are with your flinching.
Practice, practice, practice.
It's not a natural thing to have fire so close to your face. You've got to train yourself to realize that it's OK, you're not getting hurt.
I have been able to train myself not to flinch, but it's not natural to me. When I get tired, I find I revert to flinching.
Good luck to you.
I would not do a lot of the above, but just as a test once in a while to see where you are with your flinching.
Practice, practice, practice.
It's not a natural thing to have fire so close to your face. You've got to train yourself to realize that it's OK, you're not getting hurt.
I have been able to train myself not to flinch, but it's not natural to me. When I get tired, I find I revert to flinching.
Good luck to you.
robert smith
32 Cal.
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Perfectly normal reaction when you are beginning to shoot a flintlock. After all, there is an explosion going on right in front of your eyes. So, let's work through it.
First, wear glasses to protect your eyes and your perception of what's going on.
Now, grip the wrist of the stock firmly, but not tightly with your left hand, being a lefty like me, and snug it back into your shoulder. Then get a good, solid weld between your cheek and the stock and relax the rest of your body. Doing this will make your whole body absorb recoil gently instead of sharply in the face and shoulder.
Find your natural point of aim, adjust your feet, knees or seat as necessary so that you don't have to wrestle the muzzle toward the target, breathe in, let half out and hold it, burn your concentration on your front sight (you'll still see the target) and the first time the front sight moves to the target, squeeze the trigger and keep focusing on that front sight for the count of three. I promise, this will help.
First, wear glasses to protect your eyes and your perception of what's going on.
Now, grip the wrist of the stock firmly, but not tightly with your left hand, being a lefty like me, and snug it back into your shoulder. Then get a good, solid weld between your cheek and the stock and relax the rest of your body. Doing this will make your whole body absorb recoil gently instead of sharply in the face and shoulder.
Find your natural point of aim, adjust your feet, knees or seat as necessary so that you don't have to wrestle the muzzle toward the target, breathe in, let half out and hold it, burn your concentration on your front sight (you'll still see the target) and the first time the front sight moves to the target, squeeze the trigger and keep focusing on that front sight for the count of three. I promise, this will help.
Sorry if I'm a late poster to this thread but I'm a new to the forum.
I've shot muskets for 20 years at reenactments and have just started shooting a 50 cal. flint rifle at targets. I was surprised at the accuracy I was able to shoot as I was not flinching and was able to absorb the recoil. My only advise is like the others shoot more to be accustomed to the feeling and to be able to remove the emotion of the lock going off by your face. The years of musket work prepared me for actual shooting.
Keep up the work.
I've shot muskets for 20 years at reenactments and have just started shooting a 50 cal. flint rifle at targets. I was surprised at the accuracy I was able to shoot as I was not flinching and was able to absorb the recoil. My only advise is like the others shoot more to be accustomed to the feeling and to be able to remove the emotion of the lock going off by your face. The years of musket work prepared me for actual shooting.
Keep up the work.
Guest
my son started flinching when he went from caplock to flintlock .prime with 4f to start with.if you have a hard trigger pull it will cause you to flinch.lighten the pull if you can.and try shooting off the bench.and look at sight and target only.and like somebody said aim at something small it will make you forget about the gun going off.i have been shooting flintlock for 22 yrs and i still flinch sometime.
Hi, I started shooting flintlock about a year ago. I had the filnch problem bad. This problem was cured by a drill that a friend of mine taught me. We went the the range with my 44 mag (big recoil!). He loaded it for me with one, two maybe 3 rounds in the cylinder and spent cartridges in the others. I did not know which squeeze was going to have a live round. Under the intense scrutiny of several by standers, (to tell me if I flinched or not - not that I needed them to tell me) and about a box of ammo later I learned the kind of concentration that I needed to defeat the flinch reflex. This is a drill that I plan on continuing every few months to keep sharp. Nonetheless, this helped me tremendously. Good luck, I hope you find something that works for you.
Okay, as trite as the quote is....I seem to suffer from it.Aim small miss small!
I was shooting Saturday in our club matches. I was using a gun that I just haven't shot much, so I really wasn't doing so well. I had errant holes all over the targets.
BUT...the smallest target of the bunch was a plain black diamond maybe 2" on the side. On that one I placed all three shots inside it forming a single cloverleaf shaped hole. Go figure?
Aim small miss small? ::
Jack
Cruzatte
50 Cal.
It's late at night as I type this, and I haven't read through all the posts. At the risk of repeating something that may have already been said try this: put a small chip of wood, or even a piece of Pink Pearl
Mad Irish Jack
40 Cal.
Another little forgotten part of the flintlock shot is flash powder amount and the location of it in the pan. If you try 1/3 to 1/2 full pan of your flash powder. Close the frizzen, tip the gun so the powder goes to the far outside part of the pan. Level out the gun and check the powder location by opening the frizzen. The powder should lay high away and trickle to a point going toward the flash hole. This should just be shy of touching the barrel land or side. This speeds delivery of the flash into the flash hole since the flash now goes outward at a better angle, instead of up and then hopefully in. :m2c:
I have helped many folks with the flinching thing.
1. Alot of dry firing-- get the technique correct first
2. At the range I load for the shooter - Sometimes it is
primed/loaded some times it isn't. This really exposes
any flinching.
3. Use light loads, deal with flash flinching first,
recoil flinching later.
4. DON'T shoot at targets!!! Shoot at tin cans, pine cones
blocks of wood UP CLOSE (worry about shooting correctly
first, the tight groups will come with practice).
6. Practice with a friend who won't make fun of you.
7. Shoot, shoot, shoot.
:m2c:
1. Alot of dry firing-- get the technique correct first
2. At the range I load for the shooter - Sometimes it is
primed/loaded some times it isn't. This really exposes
any flinching.
3. Use light loads, deal with flash flinching first,
recoil flinching later.
4. DON'T shoot at targets!!! Shoot at tin cans, pine cones
blocks of wood UP CLOSE (worry about shooting correctly
first, the tight groups will come with practice).
6. Practice with a friend who won't make fun of you.
7. Shoot, shoot, shoot.
:m2c:
Cruzatte
50 Cal.
Good advice, sure enough. :agree:
Cruzatte
Take your flint out and put in a similar shaped piece of wood. Cock and fire if you were shooting at a deer. The most important thing to remember is to follow through ! Do it until you do not flinch or move off of the target. Practice alot and then go to the range and shoot reduced powder lodes until you do not flinch and stay on target. Then move up to the loads that you will be shooting with and practice some more.
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