What would you consider reasonable accuracy?

[smoothshooter]

At 25 yards I'd expect 2" groups to be reasonable accuracy. That's what I get with my flint .50.

I am a fair amount above average pistol shot, and have a few military and civilian awards to prove it, and if I can get 2 1/2" to 3" groups pretty consistently at 25 yards with any kind of conventional handgun with open sights, ( from a rest ) I am pretty darned happy.

 

[SDSmlf]

On a good day, when all the cosmic forces aligned, I was able to shot a 5 shot groups at 25 yds, that could be covered with a 50 cent piece.

Who has a 50 cent piece in their pocket right now? Don’t have a clue as to the last time I saw one.

 

[Carbon 6]

I'd wait until you have fired several hundred rounds through the gun before asking the question.
There's a learning curve to long pistols, especially flintlock ones.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I'd wait until you have fired several hundred rounds through the gun before asking the question .

Don't pistol barrels also need a "breaking in period" as do some of the rifle barrels ??

LD

 

[Grenadier1758]

They do, but mostly the breaking in period is the training of the shooter to develop the skills needed to get good groups even if the shooter is skilled in shooting other pistols.

 

[Carbon 6]

They do, but mostly the breaking in period is the training of the shooter to develop the skills needed to get good groups even if the shooter is skilled in shooting other pistols.

Exactly!
It's bad enough with a rifle but a pistol introduces a whole new set of variables that have to be dealt with. Shortened sight radius, trigger pull, grip, one or two hands, etc. The same can be said for the flintlock mechanism also. So the flintlock pistol shooter has 2 hurdles to overcome.

Expectation often does not meet reality but, at 15 yards I fully expect the ball to go where I want it to. Quite often the difference is simply practice, practice.

 

[hanshi]

Hanshi are those groups from a rest or offhand?

I would do that off hand with a two hand hold back when I taught firearms at the police academy. Now, with my bad eyes and shaky arms I can't do it from a bench rest!