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Who dry fires?

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doverdog

40 Cal.
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I have a 25 shot woods walk coming up tomorrow and felt I should get in a little practice. Thing is, I was in the dual grasp of sloth and lethargy, and as a result was too lazy to clean the gun. I resorted to a method I frequently use in such cases. I replaced the flint with a piece of hardwood and just practiced breathing, trigger squeeze, and sight alignment. As you all know, probably from bitter experience, a flintlock takes some work to be able to shoot with any degree of skill. Dry firing is one inexpensive method of helping acquire more skill. Does anyone else out there do it besides me? This would be especially helpful to beginners, then graduate to a flint and a charged pan but an unloaded gun. If you happen to be lazier than I and don't want to fuss around making a wood flint, do not dry fire by snapping off while the hammer is in the half cock position. This is a good way to snap off the half cock notch. Either use the wood flint or do it with the hammer all the way down. I recommend the wood flint. Any other good practice tips out there?
 
Take one of them long rectangular school erasers that are pointy on each end and cut it to size and use it in the jaws instead of the wood?
 
Rebel,
You would likely experience repeated hammer stalls with the eraser. I can see it bending or breaking instead of pushing the frizzen forward. A lot of cock energy would be soaked up by the eraser. Sorry, just had to comment on that one.
God bless.
volatpluvia
 
I agree that dry firing is a great way to practice the basic principles of marksmanship. I remove the flint from the jaw entirely and dry fire with the frizzen open. I tried dry firing my C&B revolvers with the cylinders removed, but that doesn't have the right feel.
 
I have a 25 shot woods walk coming up tomorrow and felt I should get in a little practice. Thing is, I was in the dual grasp of sloth and lethargy, and as a result was too lazy to clean the gun. I resorted to a method I frequently use in such cases. I replaced the flint with a piece of hardwood and just practiced breathing, trigger squeeze, and sight alignment. As you all know, probably from bitter experience, a flintlock takes some work to be able to shoot with any degree of skill. Dry firing is one inexpensive method of helping acquire more skill. Does anyone else out there do it besides me? This would be especially helpful to beginners, then graduate to a flint and a charged pan but an unloaded gun. If you happen to be lazier than I and don't want to fuss around making a wood flint, do not dry fire by snapping off while the hammer is in the half cock position. This is a good way to snap off the half cock notch. Either use the wood flint or do it with the hammer all the way down. I recommend the wood flint. Any other good practice tips out there?

I've read of using a piece of hardwood before...never tried it...now I think I'll just have to...think I'm going to be rained in tomorrow anyway.

Have you (or anyone) noticed if bits of wood get imbedded into the surface of the frizzen when doing this?
 
I have done quite a bit of dry firing and have never seen any indication of wood adhereing to the frizzen. Although my frizzen is not exactly as smooth as a baby's butt, it isn't nearly rough enoungh to catch wood particles. If a little did happen to stick to it, a few swipes with a wire brush should remedy the problem. We are supposed to be getting a mixture of rain and snow, with a high of 37 degrees, for the shoot tomorrow. Perfect weather for a flintlock shoot. :bull:
 
I have heard that you should never let the cock snap down on it's stop, with the frizzen open...and I can see where that would be REALLY bad for the cock, and impart a lot of shock to the lock-plate...don't sound good. Definately metal smacking against metal. Again I can see where that would be a real stress on the cock...the frizzen acts as a "cush", when the flint strikes it, kind of like a primer in a cartridge gun cushions the pin, or prevents a metal bashing on metal situation.

Not sure but I think the Chamber's locks come with a warning not to do that.

Rat
 
Use hardwood instead of an eraser. It won't throw a shower of sparks when it strikes the battery/steel/hammer/frizzen/thing that swings forward when it's hit.

Wood is cheap and you can always use scrap. Never dry fire without the wood or something to strike the frizzen/battery/steel/hammer/thing goes towards muzzle when stone/wood hits impacts it. Per Master Jim Chambers (Odell to his friends) since the parts are investment casted, they can bend b/c of the momentum if they don't have something to strike the forward-flipping thingy/steel/bat'try/Hammer/frisen. :what:
 
Dittor for the Rat. Never fire the rifle with nothing in the jaws and the frizzen open. Eventually something will break as it is not designed for this.
I have wrapped leather around a flint and dryfired with this.
I have a Lyman GPR LH flint with a toothpick broke off in the touchhole. The only thing this rifle is used for is practicing with a pan of powder and flint. When I want to work on my flinchlock flinch I just pick up this rifle and some prime and walk out the back door. Then I'll just wipe out the pan and wipe the flint. Every week or so I'll remove the lock and clean it up real well then start over.

Granted, most shooters won't dedicate a flintlock solely for semi dry firing but it works real well. After you go on to buy or build a custom gun or two, then don't sell that old production rifle, keep it for pan firing.
 
SUPERFLINT: This is how I too practice. I have a 3/8 inch dot on my closet door at the end of the hall. I stand about 8 yards away with the woodend flint in the Haines rifle and have 10-15 'shots' each evening for a month prior to the rondy. Makes a HUGE difference to my shooting. :thumbsup:
 
Hey Musketman! Is your avatar a small version of your yearbook picture from the Children of the Corn High School yearbook?
 
Thanks for the info Rat. I didn't do it a lot, because I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. But now that I have an idea for a safer way to do it. I will feel more comfortable about dry-firing. I still think it's a good way to practice. I guess I'll cut a piece of wood to use and not worry about it now.
 
Hey Musketman! Is your avatar a small version of your yearbook picture from the Children of the Corn High School yearbook?

No, but its funny that a scarecrow has a corn allergy though... :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
 
I agree that dry firing is a great way to practice the basic principles of marksmanship. I remove the flint from the jaw entirely and dry fire with the frizzen open. I tried dry firing my C&B revolvers with the cylinders removed, but that doesn't have the right feel.

Flash, not to jump on you but I'm worried that you're going to really flub up a lot of expensive parts doing that. You can break your mainspring--always fun--over carry the cock into the lock plate or wood, loosen up the cock at the very, very least...it just puts a LOT of stress on the parts that they weren't meant to suffer.

there's just a lot of potential there for damage...I would rather use old dull flints than none at all.

I always dry fire before heading out to shoot or hunt to check the spark shower.
 
[quote
I always dry fire before heading out to shoot or hunt to check the spark shower
[/quote]

Funny how many different approaches there are to the same thing...for example, I'm just the opposite...never test fire a flint before hunting...I always start a hunt with a brand new, strong, sharp flint, and don't fire it for fear it might possibly stress it and the next time I drop the hammer (on a buck) it might shatter, etc...so far so good, never had a misfire
 
I dry fire every night beginning about a month before big matches...I hold on a spot on the wall for a minute (60 sec) sometime during that, I take the shot, but keep the hold on the spot until the minute is up, focusing on the front sight on the target...Then I rest for a minute and repeat the process...I will start out with 10 reps for the first week and then go up 10 each week there after...

Doesn't seem like much, but it will work on you just like a match and by the time the shoot gets there your muscles and timing will be down very tight and at the end of a long shoot, you'll still be holding like a rock...Works really well...

I use a clothes pin nose for my dry firing...

Thanks for reading my thoughts and opinions...

OHJ
 
I have done quite a bit of dry firing and have never seen any indication of wood adhereing to the frizzen. Although my frizzen is not exactly as smooth as a baby's butt, it isn't nearly rough enoungh to catch wood particles. If a little did happen to stick to it, a few swipes with a wire brush should remedy the problem. We are supposed to be getting a mixture of rain and snow, with a high of 37 degrees, for the shoot tomorrow. Perfect weather for a flintlock shoot. :bull:

I average shooting a 40 shot range session every Saturday until hunting season rolls around, but would still like the idea of dry firing if I wanted to...and the thought just occurred to me that I can just leave the hammer stall on the frizzen and use a small rounded blunt piece of wood in the cock...frizzen won't even get touched...will try it tonight
 
Before loading my rifle or Bess to hunt with, I put in a brand new flint, but I do snap/dry fire it one time, just to really make the flint hit the frizzen perfectly square...I figure that will take any high spots off the flint.

Or maybe it's just for luck. Always get good spark, so I'd probably be just as well off not doing it...still gives me some assurance that there's nothing wrong with the flint, and with just one strike it's very close to being as sharp as new.

???

That's my story and I'm sticking to it anyhow.

Rat
 
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