Uphill/Downhill Shooting

[stormcrow]

I hunt deer in an area that is mostly low rolling hills so inevitably my shots are aimed at an angle, mostly downhill. Wondering if those of you who hunt with flintlock use a any general rule of thumb to compensate for the angle, such as aiming low to point of impact or just aim straight-on and not worry about it. I recognize that any effect will vary by caliber and load, just wondering if I'm over thinking it and what others do if anything to adjust when using a flinter.

 

[George]

For most of us it's not a problem. The amount the guns shoot high either up or down hill is an inch or less if we are shooting at 50 yards of less, which I guess most of us do. And that's even up or down some steep grades, 45 degrees, 60 degrees.

The error is greater with slow bullets, long shots and very steep grades. Our guns are certainly slow, and we may shoot up some pretty steep grades, but what saves us is that we shoot close in. Lyman gives figures which show that at 100 yards with a Minie traveling 1400 fps up a 60 degree grade the error is 5.2 inches. But it's down to 3 inches with a 45 degree grade and only 1.4 inches with a 30 degree grade. At 50 yards the errors are 1.2", .7" and .3", nothing to be concerned about.

Even a 30 degree grade is less than most of us shoot, I'd guess, but they tend to look steeper than they really are.

Spence

 

[Bill Hall]

There is a general ballpark rule of thumb to compensate for any kind of firearm. Convert the range into just the horizontal distance, as if you were looking down on the distance from a flat map, instead of calculating the entire developed distance. For example, if you were shooting up or down at a 45 degree angle at a range of 141 yards, the horizontal distance would be only 100 yards, so you would aim as if you were only shooting at 100 yards. Or another way of looking at it would be to picture a deer, say on a hill above you, and suddenly the deer takes an elevator straight down to your same level. That would be the horizontal distance, and you would adjust your sight picture accordingly. Like I said, just a ballpark rule of thumb.

In reality, I just aim an inch or two lower, depending on the angle of the animal, and the distance of the shot. Kentucky windage, or elevation in this case.Bill

 

[George]

Even a 30 degree grade is less than most of us shoot, I'd guess, but they tend to look steeper than they really are.

What I was trying to say is that most of our shots are at less than a 30 degree grade, and therefore not a problem, but that they tend to look steeper than they are.

Got my tongue over my eye teeth and couldn't see what I was saying. :grin:

Spence

 

[Rev_William]

I would suggest some stump shooting just to get the hang of it. It then becomes 2nd nature and you don't have to conciously think about it.

 

[oletymepreacher]

Most guys shoot over the game on these kinds of shots. Problem is that they think the game is farther than it is. With muzzleloaders a long shot is 100 yards on the flat and level. If your deer is at that range, but appears further, put the sights where you would if you were in a level cornfield. You can't fight gravity, and gravity doesn't change on angles, up or down. Your range estimation should be horizontal, as mentioned above.