ML Shooting improves marksmanship

[AZ-Robert]

Forgive me brothers and sisters, for I have sinned....

Well, not actually, but feeling a little guilty about the lack of use I've been giving my CF rifles of late, and to justify keeping them around, I've been hauling them out to the range for a little shooting lately. Though not surprised, I was pleased to see that what I've suspected is, in fact, true... ML shooting has improved my marksmanship. My sense is that is primarily through the absolute need for good trigger control and follow through with a flintlock, but also because MLs are normally fired "off hand."

Add to my own observations an article I saw on Cabela's website. Among other things, Fred Everson writes:

I credit traditional styled muzzleloaders for bringing offhand shooting back into vogue...

Full article here.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

True. :hatsoff:

 

[Gary]

Longer lock time, slower ignition requires more follow-through. Simply less forgiving. Now, do you want an even slower time? Try archery and don't use a fancy release. Use the MK-I finger instead. Now that's slow and requires excellent follow-through.

 

[hawkeye1755]

Az, i can nothing say against it.
It's absolute true.I always say to me,'you only have that one shot'.Aim Small,Miss Small :grin:
:hatsoff:

 

[Walks Alone]

Geeze, even if I took 8-10 every day to the range, it would take me a full week to get to all them modern shooters again collecting dust in the safes. Not up to that kind of workout.

I do think being a handgun hunter for over 35 years actually helped me become a better off-hand shooter with the muzzle loaders though.

Did the archery thing too for a lot of years, but for a long time now only at my freetrapper groups primitive matches.

:hatsoff: to those who can still do it all.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Shjooting flintlocks in particular makes you a much better off-hand shooter of everything else. I also have been a handgun shooter, and I consider long range handgun shooting the best training to learn to aim small, hold, and follow through a shot. It makes short range pistol shooting feel easy, and taught me how to use the movement of the front sight to my advantage when shooting my flintlocks or percussion rifles, rather than curse the movement.

 

[playfarmers]

I am not into the flinters, but my percussion rifle has made me a better shot, and a better hunter. I have let most of my CF rifle go this past year, after using a muzzleloader for the past 17 or 18 years, I see no need for a modern rifle. I kept 2 Cf rifle for my wife and I, but they will see very little use from here on in. I am looking at another muzzleloader though.

 

[doc tc]

agreed on the archery.

as a teenager in the early 60's I practiced archery. and practiced and practiced.

Dad and I hunted mulies in the Rubies and Humbolt ranges of Nevada and elk in the Selway of Idaho. all of it was "bow and arrow". so I killed my first buck with a bow when I was twelve. 40 yard shot, broadside, single blade broadhead, feathers, fingers and personal management. the old man was a whoopin' and a' hollerin' and runnin' down the slope when I called to him "I got one! I got a buck!"

I have the arrow above the entry to our living room, one feather missing, mounted in a frame Dad made with his own hands.

yep.

sure improves your markmanship.

doc

 

[bwhoffman]

No reason to feel guilty about shooting your "other" guns..I'm sure a lot of us have them as well. its just that we talk about traditional front loading black powder burners here for the most part!
I used to shoot competitive trap and a lot of skeet. those disiplines really make you stay on target and use follow thru. so transitioning into muzzleloaders for me was a snap! no problem staying in the gun with the longer lock time and such.
Happy to here the traditional ways have made you a better allaround shooter! :thumbsup:

Brett

 

[walruskid1]

my highpower scores came up 10 points offhand after shooting a full season of bp matches. :thumbsup:

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Use the MK-I finger instead. Now that's slow and requires excellent follow-through.

Finger release does require considerable more skill.

 

[mark starr]

I belive it's the truth my oldest boy who is thirteen. He has been shooting a flinter for two
years. He took his first elk this year off hand
at 160 yards with a 30-06 open sights and hit her right in the neck. The flintlock time has done
some good for sure.

 

[renovato]

I tend to agree about muzzleloaders improving marksmanship. I had long ago reached a roadblock in my marksmanship progress. It began to bore me a bit so I started enjoying my muzzleloaders more and shooting them more. When I went back to modern guns, I found a pleasant surprise. I was shooting much more consistently, especially with handguns, where I had the most problems before. Yet another reason for the addiction!

 

[roundball]

I also agree...better shot and better hunter...when I stepped away from high power scopes 15 years ago I changed my hunting approach completely to close in work in thick stuff.

Then when I got into Flintlocks, I was so taken with them that most of my other activities stopped and I've gone to the range most every weekend year round for about 5 years now...just the sheer volume of thousands of shots has improved my shooting a lot too.

Have also sold off a lot in the past several years that I no longer used...a scoped inline, a special purpose deer shotgun, and half dozen scoped CF rifles...frankly I need to sweep through the inventory again...still too many that I no longer use

 

[mckutzy]

ya i would have to agree, a couple of years ago i had never shot trap. i had fired my bess countless of times but after a brief intro to the game and a quick lesson, playing my first game and a score of 18's for several more. they other members thought i was joking and new my stuff, no it was the bess that helped the most, mainly the weight is different to bring her up and fire. :grin: