250-yard Flintlock Shooting

I've always been interested in re-creating the long-range shooting accomplishments of America's Revolutionary war era riflemen, and this year's Historic Camp at Springbrook gave me the opportunity to shoot at 250-yard distant targets with a flintlock rifle.


In the video you'll see long range shooting, as well as the rifle, the load and the aiming techniques that got the job done.


I’m posting this here, rather than in the Media Forum, because it is time that we recognize that a post like this is, even though it references a video on YouTube, is fundamentally different than a posting about , “Last of the Mohicans”, or best muzzleloading book recommendations.


Fundamentally, this post is no different than a similar post that conveys technical material via typing and still photographs. Only the medium is different, not the content.


I hope the moderators recognize that.

Very impressive shooting ..

Boy, that IS good shooting!!!
Thanks for sharing.

I saw that video Mike, really enjoyed it and couldn't help but notice that you did it with a swivel breech- haven't seen anyone use one in any competition, however friendly.

My first thought though was that it was a very "downhill" target and if you though that helped.

[QUOTE="AlanG, post: My first thought though was that it was a very "downhill" target and if you though that helped.[/QUOTE]

Actually the target was a good bit uphill, which made me over-estimate the amount of drop I'd have. And the wind, which was blowing a nice breeze, maybe 10 MPH, drifted it farther to the right than I expected. When you get to 200+ yards, little changes make big impacts in POI.

Amazing what a BP gun will do. I have lost it at my age--82. But I was laughed at shooting revolvers to 500 yards and 500 meters (547 yards). I did not know a gun had a limit. Today it is 7 yards. Then you need a Ransom rest. I once took a deer my friend booted at 125 paced yards, leaping over brush with my .50 TC Hawken. I pulled ahead and a foot high to make a lung shot.
Great video. Good shooting.

And here I thought I was doing something hitting paper at 100 yards from a rest.. I can't even imagine copying what the guys in the video did.

Gives one some humility when seeing what these weapons are capable of.

Now that is some awesome shooting. Offhand no less. Think back 200 years and imagine a mass of British redbacks having to stand in ranks unable to return fire due to the limited range of their muskets while American riflemen are decimating them with accurate gunfire like that. Good video to show to those historians who don't know a rifle from a musket that claim riflemen were ineffective during the Revolutionary war. Great video, watched it three times.

Wow- that's fantastic shooting! I'll keep with being happy at being able to bounce a soda can at fifty or sixty meters, but I don't get out that much. (Last time I went to a public range, the .223 crowd was having trouble with soda cans at fifty meters, but they made up for it in volume of fire … must have scared the [bleep!] out of those soda cans!)

Mike, Dang! That looks like fun. Congrats on that great shooting.

Jeff

Mike, Dang! That looks like fun. Congrats on that great shooting.

Jeff

Sorry about the double post. Don't know why it happened.
Jeff

How high did you hold over for such a shot? And how much/what kind of powder/load? I wanna try this!

Ben Meyer said:

How high did you hold over for such a shot? And how much/what kind of powder/load? I wanna try this!

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Watch the video and he shows you exactly where he was aiming. Also, Mike has his gun sighted in for 200 yards.

Some of us went to Raton, at the NRA Whittington Center in the Early 80's for a Levi Garrett Territorial Match. After shooting on the line all day on paper targets they had some steel targets for fun and money shoots that the BPC shooters used. We were banging and knocking over some bears and turkey at 200 yards and was having a ball until it got too dark to see. That was a hoot. One of my friends from work made the trip with me since we were going to CO for some fishing after the shoot. He sat behind the line with a spotting scope and was amazed at us hitting the 200 yards targets with flintlocks, which is all I shoot in competition.
Never tried 250. Loved the way that swivel breech was doing the job.
Good shooting.
Mike

Big Rviers said:

Now that is some awesome shooting. Offhand no less. Think back 200 years and imagine a mass of British redbacks having to stand in ranks unable to return fire due to the limited range of their muskets while American riflemen are decimating them with accurate gunfire like that. Good video to show to those historians who don't know a rifle from a musket that claim riflemen were ineffective during the Revolutionary war. Great video, watched it three times.

Click to expand...

The redcoats could have easy returned fire with their muskets. The issue would have been one of accuracy then not range. Do not believe for one second that a smooth bore could not have fired a ball to 200 meters. Again it's getting one on target. That said I watched a guy once hitting a man sized target at 100 meters consistently with a brown bess. He did it from a bench and was using light loads but he was able to hit the target. His group looked like a constellation in the night sky, but he was still hitting the target.

Absolutely. There are musket shooters who are amazingly accurate with their weapons. But would and could seldom agree for British infantry tactics. In my years of research I've never found an instance of British troops being trained to fire nor having fired at anywhere that distance with their muskets effectively. Yet, there are many instances of British infantry standing fast without returning fire while being subjected to long range accurate rifle fire.

I dont know what kind of sights his gun has, but question....if ones rifle has traditional iron sights, how does one "sight in at 200 yds"? Filing? I wouldn't want to do that. If ones rifle with iron sights hits and groups at 50 yds, how high would you need to hold over at 200 and 250? Say, .490 ball, pillow ticking patch, 90gr of Swiss, 41" barrel.

Ben Meyer said:

I dont know what kind of sights his gun has, but question....if ones rifle has traditional iron sights, how does one "sight in at 200 yds"? Filing? I wouldn't want to do that. If ones rifle with iron sights hits and groups at 50 yds, how high would you need to hold over at 200 and 250? Say, .490 ball, pillow ticking patch, 90gr of Swiss, 41" barrel.

Click to expand...

Guess you haven’t haven’t taken the time to look at Mike’s videos where he explains. It is pretty straight physics. All depends on what kind of shooting and distance you want to shoot at.

I havent, but I will! I did watch the first one in this thread but I'll look for more.