Flintlock flinching

I reckon we've all done that, especially before we learned not to. I learned decades ago, and my method is what I thought about before each shot. My question is for anyone who wouldn't mind revealing how they mastered the 'no flinch.' My method was/is a bit different from what experienced and great shooters do. I've heard it taught that we should learn to ignore the pan flash. I suppose that works very well after much practice. Quality, fast locks like Siler and Kibler lessen the need to deal with a delay, I know, but we can't always tell what might slow the process. Dull flint, flint not aligned, dirty flash hole.
Decades ago I flinched. So I practiced with a wooden flints. When I got to the point my sight picture didn't change while 'firing,' I started priming the pan and firing without a loaded gun. After mastering that (ignoring the flash,) I was good to go.
But now at advanced age, and shooting less often, my method is a tad different. Now, when aiming, even with a very fast lock, I've taught myself to EXPECT the flash, to know that the flash is all important and that once that occurs, it is over; that the gun will fire on it's own and that my sight alignment won't change. Mental procedures are incredibly difficult to explain, and I've not really said what my mindset is at that critical instant, but it works for me. I've said all that to ask, HOW DID OR DO YOU OVERCOME FLINCHING, before or during the firing process. This is likely the longest thread opening question ever asked.

Oh no! I see I asked that question long ago. I am dreadfully sorry. I don't remember stuff in my old age. Please feel no need to respond.

For me it was getting off the bench and shooting in offhand positions, getting the sights lined up on target and pulling the trigger. It was never the flash or a flinch , my mind would break it all down; the klack of the flint hitting steel, the whoosh of the powder in the pan and the boom of the shot. All with in a fraction of a second but felt like 5 seconds in my head and I would lift my head or move the rifle ever so slightly. Offhand/informal shooting cured this issue, don't know why or how but it did.

Simple … don’t look there!

I am left-handed and I started out shooting right-handed flintlocks. Although I now have some LH’d flinters I still shoot right-handed earlier fire locks.

When shooting, all of one’s focus should be on that front sight, front sight, front sight … keeping all of their focus there all the way through the shot, knowing where it is on the target at the moment the trigger breaks and following through … and I have never seen any pan flash.

One tip to help accomplish this is to also learn how to “call your shots”, i.e., out the left, high right, or ‘it felt good’, etc. To call one’s shot properly you need all that focus on that front sight blade at the trigger break, so this will help you.

Thanks for posting this thread. As I've never fired a Flint lock (soon though), I'll be following along and all the advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks for posting this Mike.

I think just dry fire practice, keeping that sight picture rock solid all the way through the full trigger pull, and for a moment thereafter, develops "muscle memory" and proper habit pattern that will make it automatic. Flinching is mostly the result of anticipation, not of reaction. You can replace the flint with a little piece of wood so you don't scuff up the frizzen and waste a flint with your practice.

All the above works especially the wood flint and dry fire, dry fire, dry fire.

One of the best ways (I have posted this before) is to have a group of friends watch you shoot, when you have a klatch and they hoot and holler making fun of your flinch you will stop it.

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Actually if you following the fundamentals of marksmanship breath, relax, aim, squeeze, and follow through you will never see the flash. Keep your head down on the stock and focused on the sights. If your seeing the flash your doing something wrong. Now yanking or jerking the trigger in expectations is something totally different, that goes back to the squeeze portion of marksmanship.

Looking forward to ''not flinching", as I'm waiting on a kit to arrive so I can join in the fun.....

kyron4 said:

For me it was getting off the bench and shooting in offhand positions, getting the sights lined up on target and pulling the trigger. It was never the flash or a flinch , my mind would break it all down; the klack of the flint hitting steel, the whoosh of the powder in the pan and the boom of the shot. All with in a fraction of a second but felt like 5 seconds in my head and I would lift my head or move the rifle ever so slightly. Offhand/informal shooting cured this issue, don't know why or how but it did.

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Thanks for affirming that time slows when shooting a flintlock.

The best cure for my flinch when shooting a flintlock was the shooting of blank rounds in my King's Musket. Once you get used to that 5 to 10 grains of powder going off in the pan, the pan flash of a normal 3 to 4 grains of 4F is nothing. Of course, one must concentrate on the front sight and the target. Then the only indication you have that there was a pan flash is that the target is obscured by smoke.

Never had the flinch problem, can't say why I just didn't.

I've not mastered the flintlock flinch, although I have gotten somewhat better. There must be some naturals out there and I've seen one, young fellow who'd never fired a muzzleloader. I gave him brief instructions one day on both percussion and flintlock. I'd brought along two T/C PA Hunter Carbines, a caplock and a flintlock. The targets were clay pigeons at roughly 50 yards. He'd no trouble breaking targets with the percussion model offhand, I was impressed. Next up was the flint version. He shot it amazing well, about as well as the caplock gun. I watch a couple of misfires, he didn't even blink. I could hardly believe it. I'd recommend he start with a percussion model. After shooting that day he seemed much more interested in the flintlock.

I never had a flinch problem. I think shooting bottle rockets out of a shoulder mounted pvc pipe in my youth cured me of that.

In looking back over forty years of shooting flintlock rifles & trade guns, I'm not sure my memories are all that reliable. I do remember using a wood chip in the cock jaws. I do remember priming the pan with no load down bore. I presume all these practices were useful. But mostly I remember doing as much shooting as I possibly could.

Mike in FL said:

HOW DID OR DO YOU OVERCOME FLINCHING

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Shoot, shoot, shoot and then.......shoot some more. Really, after a while you don't even notice the flash.

Only three things.
1. Follow through
2. Follow through
3. Follow through

one is to reduce the priming in the pan. most people use way to much. some people i know use so much they get particle splashed when the prime goes off. sure sign it's to much.
two is to concentrate on your sight picture and follow through.

deerstalkert said:

concentrate on your sight picture and follow through.

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That what my grandfather taught me when I was ten or so squirrel hunting with him and his 36 cal Ohio flintlock. I can still hear him saying keep the front sight on the squirrel until it falls. He also insisted that I wear shooting glasses and ear plugs. Which helped me concentrate on the front sight and target (squirrel).

CaptainVane said:

I never had a flinch problem. I think shooting bottle rockets out of a shoulder mounted pvc pipe in my youth cured me of that.

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Ahhh..... the 80's, fond memories.