Turned Off To Flintlock Rifles

[arcticap]

Quite a few years ago I was offered the opportunity to shoot a flintlock rifle by a very experienced shooter while at my muzzle loading club range. I welcomed the chance and accepted the rifle at the firing line. I aimed and fired and the rifle moderately roared, belching smoke and particles up under my protective eyewear, irritating my eyes and making the memorable experience a temporarily uncomfortable one. I don't think it was the rifle or the loading, but just what I believed to be the normal powder blowback. However it was an uncomfortable and irritating enough experience to convince me that I shouldn't ever want to shoot a flintlock rifle again. I know it might sound harsh but that's how it happened. I spent at least an hour or two with irritated eyes and a negative impression. Has anyone else been turned off to flintlock rifle shooting this way? Is this something that flintlock rifle shooters experience on a regular or occassional basis? I don't know and I'm not sure, but I can imagine that some or many do with some degree of frequency.
The fact that it occurred despite wearing protective glasses is what really soured my outlook towards flintlock rifles. Did a similiar event affect anyone else in this way?

 

Odd... I wear glasses normally, and I don't change into "shooting glasses" when I shoot my flinter. I've shot it hundreds of times, and never had a problem with eye irritation. My glasses don't really hug my face, so if something wanted to come up into my eyes under the rim it could have.

 

[LRB]

If your experience was the norm, then flintlocks would not have been sucessful. Most users would have been blind. I don't know what happened in your case, but it was not the norm. I wear fairly small period glasses and have no problem, but glasses of any kind were not common among 18th century shooters. A good lock will have an adequate "fence" just behind the pan to deflect gasses and particles, although nothing of this nature is perfect, and sometimes one will get some debris to the face. Glasses of some kind are advised. Get some good shooters glasses and try again. There just is no substitute for a good flintlock.

 

[SquirrelsaurusR]

...belching smoke and particles up under my protective eyewear...

That's never happened to me.
Sounds like it had something to do with that particular rifle.

 

[musketman]

I would suspect that the priming pan was over-primed, it only needs to be just below or even with the flash hole...

Any extra is just wasting powder and adding to the "POOF" that is near your face...

 

[roundball]

I'm approaching 4000 shots with my Flintlocks and have never had that happen...shoot a flintlock every weekend.

I have had times when a strong breeze in my face blows smoke directly back on me, but never to the degree that would cause what you described.

Wonder if the stock may have been so short for you that your face was unknowingly up/around/over the lock area more than normal...or if there was some sort of abnormally large amount of priming in the pan or something...whatever it was that you're descriibing is not the norm...shouldn't really be any different to the shooter behind the stock than shooting a caplock...untold numbers of people did it / do it every week.

I hope you give it another try...forget about the lock mechanism, and just concentrate on the target...I'll be surprised if you don't enjoy it
:redthumb:

 

[Bob Riegl]

I would suspect that the priming pan was over-primed, it only needs to be just below or even with the flash hole...

My comments zackly---the pan was over primed and you got the dirty end of the stick---as it were. Go back and try it again---you will love it. :m2c:

 

[2172]

as a lefthander, I shot a righthanded flintlock for at least a half dozen years, and never had an experience as you describe, and my nose and eyes would have to be a lot closer than yours were...the only bad eye experience I ever had was a spent perc. cap entering through the nose opening of my glasses and hitting me just below the eye..fluke..Hank

 

[laffingman67]

Haven't you watched the movies? You're supposed to close your eyes before you pull the trigger. :crackup:

I way over primed the pan one time at a re-enactment and had this very same experience :redface:. try a little less prime and I think you'll love it.

 

[Richard Allen]

If the lock had a flash guard on it that could have caused or contributed to smoke and particles being deflected back into your face.

When watching documentaries, especially those involving militias, I often see the shooters closing both eyes and notice the flash and smoke seems to be more concentrated around the shooters' heads instead of jetting horizontally from the lock side.

Richard/Ga.

 

[big bore 75]

I agree whole heartedly , it happens to me also when I over charge the pan, and have a strong wind blowing directly in my face but I get over it. bb75

 

[No Deer]

One other possibility is if you were wearing a hat with a brim on it. It happened to me once that the hat I was wearing had a wider brim than others I had worn and the particles were deflected back into my face after bouncing off the brim. Has only happened that one time that I can remember.

 

[musketman]

I aimed and fired and the rifle moderately roared, belching smoke and particles up under my protective eyewear, irritating my eyes and making the memorable experience a temporarily uncomfortable one.

Let me ask you this, are you a left handed shooter that used a right handed flintlock? (or reversed for right handed shooters)

If so, that would place your eye closer to the flash where you would get the full effect of the priming powder exploding in your face...

 

[Tahquamenon]

[/quote]

Let me ask you this, are you a left handed shooter that used a right handed flintlock? (or reversed for right handed shooters)

If so, that would place your eye closer to the flash where you would get the full effect of the priming powder exploding in your face... [/quote]

I was thinking the same thing. I've only shot a flintlock a few dozen times and have never experienced getting a huge flash in the face. Once, I did get a bunch of flashsmoke blown back into my face as a gust of wind turned the flashpan smoke back into my face. But it was not really unpleasant. Did make my eyes water for a few minutes. But was not that big of a deal.

I've been coated in smoke and fouling much more by firing directly into the direction of the wind.

I can see where if its something you are not used having happen (a little blown back to you) to not have particularily a pleasant experience.

But hey, get back on the bike and keep trying!

:thumbsup:

 

[lanedh]

If I recall correctly, in the days of set piece infantry battles and volleys exchanged by opposing ranks, the standard practice when "giving fire" was to point in the direction of the enemy's ranks, turn the face away from the pan and pull the trigger. Accuracy was a sometime thing, and the idea was to get your mass of lead out there before the other guy, not to take deliberate aim--who needs rear sights, anyway??

Bluejacket

 

[Ridge]

Old British soldiers had "pock marks" on their left cheek because they didn't have flashguards on their muskets and the gas from the guy beside you would spray your face. I imagine quite a few learned to turn their heads before firing.

 

[arcticap]

Thanks to every one who responded for all the wonderful encouragement! I sincerely mean that too because I would have never known that my experience wasn't the norm. I've been keeping it under my hat for a long time, and come to think of it the rifle ignited quite instantaneously, I thought, for being a flintlock. Maybe it was a little over primed. Some of the men at the club never even wear hearing protection, which I never quite understood why.
With all of your encouragement, maybe I will give it another shot someday, and I'll be sure to keep one eye well squinted and the shoting eye ready to close upon squeezing that trigger. I guess it's more a matter of being better prepared for the possibility, or should I say, the eventuality of the blowback effect? :kid: :thanks:

 

[musketman]

I guess it's more a matter of being better prepared for the possibility, or should I say, the eventuality of the blowback effect? :kid: :thanks:

That is why I always try to position myself with the wind blowing the prime cloud away from my face if possible, just in case...

 

[Gary]

Like Hank, I've shot right handed flintlocks with no problem and it is probably is an overfilled pan. While HalfmoonRanger is only partially correct when he suggested that you close your eyes, :haha: you do that during reenactments just like some real soldiers did themselves. I'm glad you're open minded enough to give it another try. Flintlocks have a charm that percussion fired guns lack.

 

the standard practice when "giving fire" was to point in the direction of the enemy's ranks, turn the face away from the pan and pull the trigger.

I think the practice was to turn the face towards the pan (turn to the right) to avoid the flash from the guy shooting to the left.