Ramblings and ? of a Novice

[Seeking Trad Deer]

Enjoyed shooting my new 54 barrel today on my Lyman DeerStalker. I know the 45 and 50 are super for deer but when I put a ball from my 50 caliber barrel next to the 54 I just gravitate to the 54.

Had a front fiber optic site installed and it really seemed to help me at the range today finding the front sight.

Question for those more experienced than I...if a right hander flinchs what generally happens to the point of impact on the targer.

Had to pull my fist ball today after ten years of this stuff. hey...it really worked. My wife grabbed the gun and held on for life while I pulled the ball out :winking:

If a guy is shooting low I am thinking the back sight needs to come down a bit. Am I thinking correct?

 

[Maestro]

If a guy is shooting low I am thinking the back sight needs to come down a bit. Am I thinking correct?

Just the opposite! You want to either lower the front sight or raise the rear (either one causing you to raise the muzzle). :thumbsup:

Welcome to the dry-ball club! :winking: :hatsoff:

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

Enjoyed shooting my new 54 barrel today on my Lyman DeerStalker. I know the 45 and 50 are super for deer but when I put a ball from my 50 caliber barrel next to the 54 I just gravitate to the 54.

That's because the .54 cal ball is roughly 30% heavier while only being .04" larger. It's why many .58 cal shooters move up to a .62 caliber gun too. You really don't give up range when going to larger calibers. The heavier ball makes up for it's typically lower velocity by providing better on target performance. Besides that, a .45 cal that shoots 1 MOA is really no better than a .54 caliber that shoots 2 MOA--unless you're punching paper for prizes.

Had a front fiber optic site installed and it really seemed to help me at the range today finding the front sight.

It's a little "untraditional", BUT if it helps you see better. Well, to me it's like using glasses for near sightedness. Safety is of prime importance to me and if I can aim better, then I'm not going to miss as much, IMO.

Question for those more experienced than I...if a right hander flinchs what generally happens to the point of impact on the targer.

Probably going to go high and to the right. How much depends on how much you anticipate your shot firing. Practice always helps... but if the recoil makes you a bit timid, step back to a smaller caliber for a while and shoot a LOT!

Had to pull my fist ball today after ten years of this stuff. hey...it really worked. My wife grabbed the gun and held on for life while I pulled the ball out :winking:

Those CO2 powered ball/load discharge units have worked great for me. If you can afford one, then by all means get one. I had my doubts at first, but it proved itself.

If a guy is shooting low I am thinking the back sight needs to come down a bit. Am I thinking correct?

If using a correct sight picture, a low impact on target means the rear sight needs to be higher. (or lowering the front sight will also raise the impact) If you have fully adjustable sights (both windage and elevation adjustments), then you can usually have enough leeway to get point of aim to match point of impact. If for some reason you don't have enough sight to satisfy that requirement, you may have to change out the sights. Please remember though that sometimes "primitive sights" may be specified for hunting or target matches, so you need to check your regs. before making changes.

I hope this was helpful. There is always someone one here that can help out with the problems that we run into. Doesn't matter if we've been shooting 35 years or 2 years, "we all drink at the same well".

Regards, and shoot safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[paulvallandigham]

The problem with new ML shooters shooting the .54 is recoil, no matter how small the powder charge you use. That is still 230 grains of lead you are moving from a dead start, and its going to produce recoil. That leads to flinching.

We can't tell where you are going to flinch as a right hander, because we aren't there to see what else you are doing, and how you are flinching. Do all your testing with those sights shooting off a bench rest, to eliminate most of your problems affecting where the ball goes. You have to concentrate on the front sight, only, or you will make two different groups on target. One will be when you focus on the front sight, and the second will be when you are focusing on the target- generally higher on the target. If you are not following through your shot correctly, you may be dropping the barrel when you pull the trigger and that is causing your gun to hit low. So take your time before you make any permanent adjustments to your sights, or to the gun.

I like to take a .22 rimfire rifle to the range and practice shooting it, before I pull out my centerfire rifles, or my MLs. The .22 knocks a lot of rust off my shooting form for pennies, so I don't waste my time, money, and ammo on my bigger guns. If I don't feel right, or just can't seem to hit anything consistently with my .22, I pack it up and go home, and come back the next day. Usually, that is all it takes to get my shooting skills back. If you are flinching, dry fire those guns every night at home.

 

[Seeking Trad Deer]

You guys are great! Thanks for the answers! I just moved the rear sight up as far as it will go. It was nearly 75% up so I'm not sure if the adjustment today will move the ball up the 6" I need. I'll just have to shoot it tomorrow for a quickie after work to find out :winking: .

I was shooting bp earlier in the winter and not flintching. Now I am and I am consistenly about four inches to the right. :redface:

Now where do I buy a .62 caliber and how much is it going to set me back :grin:

 

[Seeking Trad Deer]

I am flitching with my .50 caliber also.

 

The rear sight always is moved in the direction you want the move the impact of the ball. shooting low -- raise the rear sight; shooting to the right -- move the rear sight to the left.

 

[Seeking Trad Deer]

Another rambling...

I am as hardcore of a stickbow guy as one could find and I have several great publications I order. Is there any such publication for the hardcore blackpowder hunter/shooter out there?

 

[Shifty]

:hmm: Hey friend was there a powder charge in this rifle when you pulled the ball? If so what you did was very dangerous instead insert range rod with tee handle into barrel with ball puller attached point rifle down place tee handle on ground twist rifle clockwise about 10 times then hook tee handle in fork of tree or such hold gun in hands an pull. enjoy Shifty

 

[Seeking Trad Deer]

Shifty...that is good advice. Nope...no powder charge...I forgot to add powder before I loaded my patched roundball :redface: . I had my son with me and was obviously distracted. Guess this is good reason why I generally like to shoot alone on a range. My brain is too small to handle lots of stimuli when shooting and still concentrate 100% on my own shooting :redface: :hmm: :redface:

 

[Chiefs50]

With regard to your question about flinching, it's hard to predict where you will hit. This is because there is more than one thing going on here. The flinch itself is a reaction - you are anticipating the recoil. Probably means you are pulling the trigger rather than squeezing it. If you squeeze the trigger smoothly you will not be able to anticipate just when the weapon will fire and because the discharge comes as a surprise, the weapon will be into recoil before you can flinch. So,work on your trigger control and you will be well on your way to curing that flinch. I'm assuming that you are using hearing protection too. If the recoil does bother you I would invest in a slip on recoil boot, a recoil shield, or simply some extra padding to protect your shoulder.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Seekoing: A couple of tricks to work on that flinch. Besides working at concentrating only on the front sight, don't wrap that thumb over the wrist of the rifle. Lay the thumb down along side your index finger. That will keep you from clenching your fist around the wrist to anticipate recoil. Also, you can put your trigger finger against the bottom of the trigger guard and then move it back against the trigger, concentrating on keep the finger in contact with the trigger guard.

If you are shooting a gun with a hook buttplate, like hawken style guns, the butt is suppose to be where your shoulder and arm meet, and not up in the pocket at your collar bone. The pocket is used to hold shotgun butts. The hook buttplates were designed to be held out on the upper arm, above the bicep. If you put that against your shoulder it will hurt you no matter how little a powder charge you use.

As for your stance, that can also help you deal with recoil. By moving your feet just beyond the width of your shouders, you lock your hips so that the recoil can be taken in the entire upper body, and also down your right leg, as your weight shift from being centered on both feet to your back( right ) foot. If you also angle your feet out from square to your shoulders 20 degrees for each foot, ( total 40 degrees) you will find a much more stable platform.

Finally, learn to mount the gun to your face, and not to your shoulder first. Bring the butt forward of your body, and then draw the gun back to your upper arm so that your face is against the comb of the stock. If you mount the stock to your shoulder first, you tend to mount the gun too low, and have to lean your face over to make contact with your cheek. When the gun goes off, it rises up and smacks that cheekbone hard. You also are looking out your eye sideways, instead of with your head in its normal vertical position. Mount the gun to your face and you will hold your face and head stright upright, the stock will be at the side of your face, and not under it, and any recoil will go up and away from your cheekbone, rather into it.

To learn not to flinch you have to learn follow through. When you are ready to shoot, take a deep breath, let part of it out, then begin a count of seconds. Between 4 and 7 seconds is the period when your heartbeat will disturb the muscles in your chest walls the least. That is when you want to fire your shot, not before, or after. When the shot is fired, keep your cheek against the stock and ride the gun up and back down in recoil. Keep a count after you fire-- a new count! You should hold that position and return the gun back on target in a count of 3 to 5 seconds. By doing this, you will teach your brain not to react to the gun going off, and allow you to concentrate on that front sight, so that you should know exactly where your front sight was aligned against the target with the shot fired. You should be able to see the smoke and fire go out the barrel under your front sight before the barrel rises in recoil.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

How you doin, bud? Sorry to hear of the dry-ball incident and welcome to the club!
I have worked-out a little system so that I NEVER do that again. It all starts with those little red plastic tubes I get from Dixon's. I use two cigar boxes for the tubes, one for tubes with 70 gr. 3F and one for empties. I count how many tubes I start with, set aside that many balls. If I have poured the powder first, the empty tube is in the "empty box" BEFORE I reach for a ball. If I pour a charge and forget to follow-up with a ball, I have too many balls :shocked2:. If I'm interupted for what ever reason, I know what to do when just by looking at what I have left . Since I regularly shoot in a BP League, there are plenty of possible distractions, people, stories, helping another shooter on the line with a missfire, etc. Doing what I just said will eliminate the problems, increase safety and FUN.

The tubes are available as a single or in a five-pack (how I bought mine, now have 80 tubes!). My son Andy shoots the BP League alongside me at the same time, thus the need for double the tubes. We use 15 tubes each for the revolver shoot and at least 20 tubes each for the rifle shoot. All powder is measured & poured on my kitchen table, resulting in increased accuracy . I pre-load all 80 tubes before a League shoot. Saves time, powder from spilt loads, etc. and increases accuracy and the amount of rag-chew time at the range :rotf: . Lot's of other League members also use the red tubes...it's where I learned to do it.

Oh, by the way, the first Sunday in April is Palm Sunday, NOT Easter...so if you're still up for a little drive, shoot me an e-mail to [email protected] :thumbsup: All the best, Dave

 

[Seeking Trad Deer]

Paul and Dave I have learned more from your last two comments than I probably could have five years on my own. wow...this is the best site with the best and smartest folks. I'm going to have to start printing all the good advice I am getting here and saving it since I forget 2/3 of what I learn :shocked2:

 

[AZ-Robert]

Is there any such publication for the hardcore blackpowder hunter/shooter out there?

Take a look at Muzzleloader Magazine.
[url] http://www.muzzleloadermag.com/[/url]

Check out the index of articles in back issues to decide if the topics are what you are looking for:
[url] http://www.muzzleloadermag.com/Index_of_Articles/index.htm[/url]

.

 

[Seeking Trad Deer]

thanks for the tip and link on Muzzleloading Magazine. I've never heard of it before now or seen it on a newstand :thumbsup:

Well, I moved the back site all the way up and I am still shooting too low. Looks like I will need to swap out the original back site for a fiber optic with more adjustments to work with the front fiber optic site I added.

The tip about not putting my thumb on the gun on the trigger finger hand seemed to help my shooting tonight. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: