Shooting new fowler

[Silky921]

So, long story short, I picked up a new cherry fowler from Keb, which I absolutely love. Took it out for a few shots yesterday, and, to my surprise, did very well with it.

My question is, besides keeping consistent anchor and aiming points, what other techniques help when shooting a gun with only a front sight?

I'll hang up and listen now. Thanks guys and gals.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Practice!

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Practice cheeking it, cheeking it, and cheeking it! Your cheek position will be your 'rear sight'. Also concentrate on the front sight all the way through the shot and follow-through.

If a large breech and tapered down to a slimmer muzzle, you may need to visualize a pencil lying astride the breech, where the bottom of the sight blade 'sits' atop the visualized pencil; meaning you may need to see a bit to quite a bit of the barrel flat/top. I've even taken short 1-1/2" sections of wood dowels and have taped them to the breech for newer smoothie shooters to get them to see just how much barrel they need to see. This tip works!

Also for highs or lows, figure out how much barrel YOU need to see on that arm to hit where you're pointing. Once and only once you have a load you really like, could you consider bending the barrel, of needed, to adjust where it hits. I've done three so far - easy/peasy they are.

Just don't chase a group ... get the tightest group you can for the load and where the gun cheeks easily and repeatedly for you. Then and only then would I ever consider a barrel, but I'd want 3-5 shots touching @ 25-yds and a tight group @ 50-yds before I'd bend a barrel.

Have fun with it and good on you, as Keb makes some nice firelocks!

 

[Silky921]

Figured practice was the key, so I went out again with my boy this morning. And again, at 25 yards I'm shooting near spiders on x targets, pretty consistently. I'm blown away by how much fun this gun is.

And yes, he's a heck of a good guy and makes a heck of a good gun.

 

[adkmountainken]

yup that's a beautiful smoothie ya got there had my eye on it too!

 

[coloradoclyde]

What no picture?.... :haha:

 

[Silky921]

http://muskratandholland.choppix.co...8-Ga-Cherry-Fowler/&m6e73ereturnid=57&page=57

Here you go, it does however have a blued barrel now.

 

[coloradoclyde]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Silky921]

I'm beyond happy with the gun. Shoots better than I ever would have imagined.

Guess a fella has to get lucky sometimes.

 

[hanshi]

That is one heck of a nice gun!

 

[Silky921]

Thank you. I'm one happy camper myself. Have been advised by my rendezvous buddies to quit talking about it.

 

[larryp]

They're just jealous. Brag away! I like it!. :thumbsup:

 

[bigted]

Silky ... Brag away ... That is a keeper for sho.

 

[jbwilliams3]

Congrats! I picked up a trade gun from him a couple of years ago because I had been wanting a smoothbore flinter and a "beater" gun (no matter how you gussy it up, a Type G trade gun is a beater, IMO). Man, even with a 46" barrel it's an airweight. It's a 28 gauge and shoots a bare ball nearly as well as a rifle at 40 or 50 yards. I used to shoot slugs out of an old double barrel 12 gauge and I was pleasantly surprised that the sight and the breech tang screw aligned well enough to hit POA (or point of... point?) Good luck on developing your loads!

 

[jrmflintlock]

I really want a 28 gauge!!

Unfortunately most western states require 20 or larger to hunt turkey! I know there is no harm in having multiple guns but that takes time and money!

Beautiful smoothy!! Can't wait to see hunting results!!

 

[Silky921]

Thank you. I was skeptical of the 48" barrel the whole time before handling it too. That all faded away the moment I held the gun.

He helped me with the rifle load, figuring out shot load next. What do you have luck with?

 

[jbwilliams3]

I haven’t experimented with shot with this 28 gauge, only ball, buckshot, and “buck and ball.”