MLs are improving my shooting

[Nuthatch]

Absolutely true! And to get even better practice you can go to a lower velocity rifle/pistol (as in air powered).

Putting a few thousand shots downrange with a spring airgun about 10 years back led to my first big improvement in shooting skills. PCPs are a lot more useful for hunting. But those springers sure make you do everything exactly right. They're capable of far more accuracy than most people realize.

 

[Newtire]

With the ammo shortage over the last couple of years, I have all but put aside my centerfires. I've gone to the range to confirm zero on my hunting rifles before a hunt. And I've shot my pistols a couple of times. But I used to get out to the pistol range about once a month. What little shooting I get to do these days has been with my percussion muzzleloaders. And I find them more fun lately anyway.

So I was a little unsure how I would do on a handgun qualification test I had to take last night. It's not a tough test by any stretch. But my results this year, compared with 2 years ago were surprising. Somehow, I improved from 2 years ago. I wasn't bad 2 years ago either. In fact, the instructor had even said I was among the best shooters of the class (a low bar but a complement all the same). Yet, with far less practice, I managed to do better than before. Go figure.

I credit the improvement to spending my shooting time behind muzzleloaders. CFs seem so much more forgiving and lightening fast after shooting these old-style guns. Having to really pay attention to holding sights on target through the entire lock time and firing of a percussion rifle is a challenge for me. I still have to battle a flinch in all shooting that I do -- including archery. My brain just wants to anticipate that shot. I have to focus on keeping that sight picture locked until I hear the ball hit the target because sometimes I still want to lift my head up after hearing the cap go off (doesn't take much of a hang fire to mess up that up). All that adds up to better shooting of everything -- MLs and CF. I'm pretty convinced at this point that a ML is one of the best tools for teaching shooting fundamentals.

Just wanted to share that bit of success. I hope that more people learn about traditional MLs and how it can improve their shooting. I had originally picked one up so I could participate in a lottery hunt. I never thought it would be so addicting. Now I've sold a couple CFs and looking to sell another while also looking to pick up more MLs. Good stuff.

I find that getting over the flash of flintlock guns has helped me shooting modern unmentionable ones.

 

[Daveboone]

The best way to be a better shot is to shoot...and it doesnt make a difference what you shoot. I am shooting (weather allowing) usually at least once a week with BP league. Even though we only shoot 12 shots, you are focusing and making each shot count. Not only that, I love the trouble shooting, tinkering, and variables that we can modify to improve our groups/scores, etc. As we are strictly open sights, the practice carries over to open sighted handgun shooting.
I was very surprised that I was shooting better groups with my percussion pistols at 10-20 yards, then I was with my moderns! I give credit to the finer bead and longr sighting plane on the 1860.