Do 50 repetitions a day, in 10 "shot" series, resting in between, and 500 reps a week minimum. You will find your improve your follow through, and lose that " Flinch" if you do this exercise at home religiously for a month. However, along with the "dry-firing" using that wooden flint, you also will need to occasional take the gun out of doors, with a real flint, and simply fire off Priming powder, to get use to the ignition, and "flash" so close to your face. 5 such shots a week should help you learn to ignore the flash, and concentrate ONLY on that front sight.
When my brother, Peter, finally crossed over from Percussion rifle and pistol shooting, to his first flintlock, it took him about a year- shooting every week, to finally get over that flash, and see his groups shrink down to the same size that he was, and still gets shooting percussion.
He was VERY FRUSTRATED, as he knew then, and has known for a long time all the various exercises one needs to do when working OUT a "Flinch". And, HE KNEW he was flinching. For awhile, he alternating shooting his flintlock with his cap locks, simply because he had both guns at the range, and could switch. He thinks that also helped him work through the flinch with his flintlock. He called me from the range Each day, and I was his " Morale" coach through this process, as he has much less patience with this kind of problem than I do.
I also have had two different "slumps" in my shooting performances over the years, and worked through them with the aid of some friends. I did the dry-fire exercises at home, and other techniques at the range until I simply overcame the problems.
All the advice given on this post have been excellent suggestions. Without actually seeing someone shoot, its difficult to know for sure what might be the cause.
Here, because of the flint ignition, the "flinch" is commonly seen, and the "cure" well-known. Its only the willingness of the shooter to do the work that becomes the factor in how long it takes to overcome the problem. Thankfully, Peter has my same stubborn streak, and took my advice, and that of other shooters he sees on the club range! After all the work he put into learning to shoot his flintlock, he found his follow through with his Percussion guns, and modern rifles had also greatly IMPROVED! :shocked2: How about that! A Flintlock as a "Training aid". :hmm: :wink: