Well all,
I had a chance to go out and shoot my flintlock for the first time and formally intitiate myself into this new facet of the sport. The experience was rewarding but taught me a few things as well. First, this is not a skill acquired in a day. I can tell that this is going to be a life long journey. Compared to shooting my percussion, I can tell you that "we're not in Kansas anymore". Getting the hang of the follow through is going to take some time and much more training. It's hard to sit there and force yourself to be deadly still while a small explosion is going off near your face. I can only hope that faster ignition times will help. I began the day using 2F powder and the delay in ignition was noticeable. I experimented by using different amounts of 4F prime to see if my gun liked a lot, or a little. At this time, I am not able to distinguish a discernable difference. I'm sure there is one, I am just not far enough along to pick up on it. I did notice that switching to 3F granulation noticeable improved ignition time. Basically, my trip to the range yesterday was to get my feet wet and to start understanding my gun. It will take many sessions before I am able to divine all of the many subtleties that lead to efficient and consistent ignition. However, the good news, my gun did go off, I had very few flash in the pans. I have posted some targets that I shot at from 40 yards. Again, at this point, I have no idea how much of the accuracy, or lack thereof, is the gun or is me. Probably much more me. Anyway, this was simply my first day and I guess I shot around 30 rounds or so. I will continue to experiment with different variables, not the least of which is the flint, it's sharpness and approach angle to the frizzen. I feel that this may be a science unto itself. The bottom line is that a good, fun day was had and served to wet my appetite for future experimentation and learning.
Jeff
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I had a chance to go out and shoot my flintlock for the first time and formally intitiate myself into this new facet of the sport. The experience was rewarding but taught me a few things as well. First, this is not a skill acquired in a day. I can tell that this is going to be a life long journey. Compared to shooting my percussion, I can tell you that "we're not in Kansas anymore". Getting the hang of the follow through is going to take some time and much more training. It's hard to sit there and force yourself to be deadly still while a small explosion is going off near your face. I can only hope that faster ignition times will help. I began the day using 2F powder and the delay in ignition was noticeable. I experimented by using different amounts of 4F prime to see if my gun liked a lot, or a little. At this time, I am not able to distinguish a discernable difference. I'm sure there is one, I am just not far enough along to pick up on it. I did notice that switching to 3F granulation noticeable improved ignition time. Basically, my trip to the range yesterday was to get my feet wet and to start understanding my gun. It will take many sessions before I am able to divine all of the many subtleties that lead to efficient and consistent ignition. However, the good news, my gun did go off, I had very few flash in the pans. I have posted some targets that I shot at from 40 yards. Again, at this point, I have no idea how much of the accuracy, or lack thereof, is the gun or is me. Probably much more me. Anyway, this was simply my first day and I guess I shot around 30 rounds or so. I will continue to experiment with different variables, not the least of which is the flint, it's sharpness and approach angle to the frizzen. I feel that this may be a science unto itself. The bottom line is that a good, fun day was had and served to wet my appetite for future experimentation and learning.
Jeff
If the feds ever find out about this they'll ban all flintlocks as addictive. graybeard
