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Can you see what I'm doing wrong?

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Do you get spray back from the primer charge? this will induce a flinch. also just the flash can, but you seem to be as steady as a rock when dry firing. wish i was half that steady. had one observer ask me who i was waving at!
when i started flintlocks (1970ish) it took a long time to get used to the pan flash. now if i have a misfire i have to actually look to see if the prime burned. though as bad as my memory is I may just forget I saw it.
I don't think I'm getting any spray back? If I am I'm not noticing it. Thanks. I've spent hours with my match rifle dry firing at a dot on the wall. I'm not as steady as the video appears, doing a small figure 8.
... And checked wiping and not wiping between shots? This very thing fixed a rifle for me 2 weeks ago. I had tried EVERYTHING, then had a match where it was a straight 20 shot string... Didn't swap targets which drives be to clean the bore. Best group in 2 years of shooting that thing.

Wild thought.. Bought used? Someone didn't try to 'cone' the barrel not using a proper tool perhaps? There will be many opinions on whether conning affects precision or not. But one thing is for sure, if it's not done uniformly it WILL ruin your barrel. I ruined my best shooter trying that.
It depends, my 40 with the colerain barrel and round bottom rifling doesn't care until after about 20 shots, and then things will open up at 50 yards to about the size of an apple. The GM on the Kibler seems to want a swab after about 8-10 shots. The flinter in the video was bought new, and my Kibler I built last summer. No coning... doesn't really interest me. I like the idea, but after owning many match guns, I won't be convinced anything other than a sharp crown is required for utmost accuracy.



BTW, Your Fred Ross Picture.... Elbow is touching the hip. 😉

Yeah, and probably a good 80lbs lighter than me in that picture too. If that aint my hip I'm feeling, then it's solidified BBQ and beer at this point. 🤣
 
I'll take video tomorrow with some flash in the pan like I said. I'm ready to get to the bottom of this. If I am looking at the flash and flinching, the camera will tell the story.
 
If you look at your picture of Fred Ross , he is using his using his finger tips on a stock block extension to balance his rifle , a hooked butt plate to steady it and his elbow is touching his hip bone . This type of stance is very hard to use successfully on a long barreled hunting rifle ., especially if there is any breeze .
Your shots going right and low from off hand when they are dead on off a bag really indicate a flinch of some type pulling to the right or your arms getting tired . If you have any doubts about what I say get some one else who is familiar with flintlocks to shoot your rifles . Off hand shooting is what these rifles is about and until I had my right shoulder replaced I shot every thing off hand ,
I sighted in, did load development , shot competition and game off hand .
I think you need the whole thing going off , recoil could make a difference .
 
If you look at your picture of Fred Ross , he is using his using his finger tips on a stock block extension to balance his rifle , a hooked butt plate to steady it and his elbow is touching his hip bone . This type of stance is very hard to use successfully on a long barreled hunting rifle ., especially if there is any breeze .
Your shots going right and low from off hand when they are dead on off a bag really indicate a flinch of some type pulling to the right or your arms getting tired . If you have any doubts about what I say get some one else who is familiar with flintlocks to shoot your rifles . Off hand shooting is what these rifles is about and until I had my right shoulder replaced I shot every thing off hand ,
I sighted in, did load development , shot competition and game off hand .
I think you need the whole thing going off , recoil could make a difference .
Like I said, if you have a better stance for shooting these rifles then I'm all ears. Fingertips, palm, doesn't matter, it's about finding natural point of aim, and two of the men I shoot with are multi-time state and national champs, one shoots fingers, one shoots palm, but again, if the classic shooting stance doesn't work with flinters as it does with cartridge guns regardless of buttstock shape, weight etc... then please, let me know. I want to enjoy shooting these rifles and hit what I'm aiming at like I do with everything else.

Either way, I agree, there is a flinch somewhere. I will get some live fire video as well as soon as I can. I can even do slow mo, which might show me more. Which brings me to another question, say I video live fire, and I am flinching due to the flash, what can I do to fix this?
 
Which brings me to another question, say I video live fire, and I am flinching due to the flash, what can I do to fix this?


shoot , shoot ,shoot, shoot! off hand helps this with flinters. it seems i am more concentrated on the target than the small nuclear explosion inches from my face.
really it is the only way. like i said above i don't even know for sure the pan has burned unless the main charge goes or i look.
 
Which brings me to another question, say I video live fire, and I am flinching due to the flash, what can I do to fix this?


shoot , shoot ,shoot, shoot! off hand helps this with flinters. it seems i am more concentrated on the target than the small nuclear explosion inches from my face.
really it is the only way. like i said above i don't even know for sure the pan has burned unless the main charge goes or i look.
Practice makes perfect.
 
Your position works well if your left hand is at or behind the center of gravity (carry point). If the COG is in front of your hand then the barrel is fighting you and the longer and heavier the barrel is the worse it gets. I suggest you get your upper arm away from the body and move your left hand out further and keep your elbow directly under the barrel. Grip the forearm with your hand or lay it in your palm with the fingers and thumb up along both sides. The right hand should be pulling the rifle firmly against the shoulder, or in the case of your rifle, the upper arm just above the biceps.
 
I to noticed your Lock!! It to is a Crucial part of the Target Game!!

Anthony
 
I don't see any issue with your form when dry firing. Live firing is a different situation. I also had this problem when first getting into flintlocks. The time delay between trigger squeeze and bullet out the barrel is much longer than with cartridge guns which makes time for any body movement to have significant effect on POI. I found three things to important. 1 - Follow through. concentrate on hold on target and trigger squeeze without anticipating the shot. 2 - Lock time. Fast ignition minimizes the effect of shooter movement. 3- With practice, I find I am now oblivious to the pan flash. There is a good reason why they call these "flinch-locks"
 
I agree that getting used to delay and flash is most important, dry fire, dry fire, dry fire, while insuring the sights do not move and are still aligned after the shot.
During live firing try to hold the same and if you do have a klatch, did your sights move?

Do the dry firing with a wooden flint and if you can hold the sight picture quit worrying about how you hold the gun.

A gun that is muzzle heavy with a flat butt plate needs the front hand farther out for balance and you can shoulder the butt plate, a light gun with a hooked butt plate needs the butt plate on your arm and you can bring your hand back further on the forearm. Different guns, different way to hold them.

Practicing dry firing will tell you how to hold the gun. As an aside, I have found that guys who shoot flintlocks well do on average better than others with modern guns as they have learned the importance of follow through.
 
I made this video hoping to show you guys what I'm doing, and see if anyone can help me out here... I'm at the point of losing sleep over this now. Any, and all help, is greatly appreciated. Help me shoot better!


If you are not already doing it try pulling the trigger slow and easy off the tips of your fingers and don't grip the forend just let it rest in your hand.You will have less of a tendancy to pull a shot which appears to be what you are doing. Your stance appears to be perfect?People that shoot rifles with a deep hook on the triggers rarely shoot well.
 
When the Colonel was Instructing Young Sportsmen to shoot a flint gun in the early 1800's he had his man load the gun with orders to some times not prime the pan,others No shot or just priming or full charge when the target was a gatepost. The Young Sportsman quickly learned about FlintFlinch!! Could be your problem ?? Also suggest you have someone sort that lock out to get the pan open correctly. Could be another of the problems.. OLD DOG..
 
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