Target setup.

[necchi]

except seein it at long range .My vision is goin south.

I ain't far behind ya, nuther couple years at best and I'll have to do like all the other previous generations an let the young guy's win.
I still like that little dot out there though when I'm benching for group.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Often I do not even put a dot on the target.
I just fire a clearing shot and use the bullet hole as a bullseye.

 

[mooman76]

You must have good eyes. I could only see bullet holes if I am 25y or closer.

 

[MSW]

on of the clever bits of 'field engineering' I picked up in the service was this: take a three foot (or more) length of 4"PVC pipe. Bury it vertically as deep as you can, and then put eight inches to a foot of coarse gravel in the bottom of the hole. Before you backfill, trim the pipe so only about three inches sticks above grade. Now, you have a pipe into which a 2x4 will slip and it should be snug, but not too snug as it requires a bunch of cutting. When you're done for the day, put a cap over the 4"PVC pipe (you can even attach the caps with a string to keep them from "wandering away." To keep stray shot from chewing up the part of the PVC that's above grade, use a sandbag (you remember sandbags, and the endless need to fill them, right?) ... put the sandbag right in front of the PVC, and all that will get shot up will be the 2x4.

Good luck with your project!

 

[coloradoclyde]

I do 20/15 in my dominant eye...but target lighting, caliber and distance play a big role.
However old age is catching me fast.
Many don't realize that you don't need to see the target to actually hit it.
I once demonstrated this by repeatedly ringing a 15" gong at 500 yrds IN THE DARK. granted it was with a Sweedish Mauser but I did demonstrate that sight is but one of many factors.

Try shooting for the center of a blank target sometime then measure and see how close you came.
compare against a target with a dot or reference point. you may surprise yourself.

 

[Claude Mathis]

How do you guys setup your target when you begin to workup a load for a flintlock? What size bull do you use and at what distance do you begin?

For me, the target isn't that important. Any small dot I can see is fine.

I start at about 15 yards, work up the smallest group I can, then move the sights to put that group on the bullseye. Then, adjust the sights for the distance I want.