First impressions of my first flintlock

[Gene L]

I fired the thing yesterday (photos in another thread.) The range was being used during the day and couldn't get down there until nearly 7 p.m. which made for a short range time due to failing light. Takes a bit of time to load it properly.

It's a .36 caliber, so I started off with 35 gr. of FFF. Because I've never fired a flintlock before (owned one when I was a kid, but never fired it) it was a completely new experience.

At first, I found it hard to stay on the stock when the hammer fell. That priming powder distracted me. Lock time was fast, but not IMO as fast as a caplock. No "ssss...boom" but a "s-boom".

The rifle shot a little high at 25 yards, but not all that bad. It also shot right four or five inches. Drifted the rear to the left, the front to the right. I got it into about an inch of windage before the light ran out.

I swabbed between shots, first with alcohol and then with Moose Milk, which I believe took out more fouling. Patch was .015, which was right for the bore, with Crisco/Bore Butter. Recovered patches looked great.

Anyway, I'm happy with the rifle. Almost zero recoil; I found upon reflection that I shot the rifle a little down my shoulder, at least from the bench. (This probably won't make sense since I'm not describing it accuratelly.) Off hand, I'd no doubt put that buttplate on my shoulder cup.

May have fired it 20 times or so. The flint was still sharp and throwing good sparks; don't know how long it'll last before it needs picking.

Clean up was pretty simple, Ballistol/water, then warm water with soap and drain, dry up and then WD 40 (I know, I know) but the patches came out clean. I was able to clean out the back of the chamber, which I'm convinced I couldn't have done with just swabbing.

Any tips on shooting flintlocks would be greatly appreciated. I had a good time.

 

[MSW]

welcome in, Gene! If you poke around in this forum, you will find a wealth of 'how to' stuff on the care and feeding of flintlock rifles.

you may want to check out Dutch Schoultz' method: here's a link:
http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/

if you follow his instructions, Dutch will guarantee that your groups will shrink .. this is, to my mind, one of (if not the) best non- shooting accessory you can buy.

to paraphrase the little green Star Wars guy: Once rocks banged have you, forever dominate your range time will they!

good luck with your new rifle!

 

[amcmullen]

Getting over the flinch was the hardest part of flintlock shooting for me. I consciously and continually make an effort to focus on the front sight and maintain that focus through the shot and continue the effort after the shot goes off...what experts call follow through. obviously no one can hold on target through recoil but by trying to makes you at least hold your sight picture until the bullet is down range.

This is key for all shooting but since there is an added delay it is even more important.

I am finally at the point where I know that a flyer was due to some reason other than my shooting. Now I am working on load combinations.

I second the link above. It goes over, in detail, how to go from a 3-4" group at 50 yds to a 1" group at 50 yds...and yes these guns are capable of this with open sights and the flintlock delay. Just takes a little effort, patience and time.

As far as cleaning, I use WD-40 after Warm Water/ Murphy's and I have found that over the last two years cleaning has become so easy it makes me nervous. I do not use bore butter, only mink oil, moose milk and now ballistol dry (the system).

All of these tips that I share I have received from this site and all have made more a better shooter, easier cleaner and most importantly gave me an understanding of the differences and how they effect shooting.

Have fun!! :thumbsup:

 

[Gene L]

I overcame the flinch, but had to concentrate to do so. I tried Ballistol/water on the patch material, but it is so tightly woven, the solution ran off.

I have a copy of Dutch's instructions, and they're right for any muzzle loader. My rifle grouped pretty well @ 25, although elevation was a bit high and as I said, it grouped to the right...but still it grouped. The rear sight drifted easily, a little too easily for good adjustment and we ran out of light before I could finalize the zero and stake it down.

Swabbing the bore after each shot made the last round loading as smooth as the first round.

 

[54ball]

Gene,

The butt of your rifle is early Golden Age with the gentle curve so really anywhere that makes you comfortable in your shooting position. I will say this though, this mainly goes for rifles with a deep crescents but it's a benefit for all rifles that will be shot off hand, build up your rest to mimic more of a upright position. Also do not rely on the rest to hold the rifle. Hold it like you would in real life and use the rest as a prop. What you are doing is developing a consistent hold. While not as critical in a rifle, if you ever get a smoothbore this will help tremendously.

I see a lot of centerfire shooters who shoot with a sled. It might as well be remote control. While the sled has it's purpose, a shooter any shooter, needs to practice with his rifle in the position that it will be used in the field.

Practice follow through. You can use a wooden flint. Pick a target aim and pull the trigger. Do it over and over. This too will help develop muscle memory. Remember, when you pull the trigger it's the beginning of the shot, not the end. While a shooter may can get away with snatching a shot with a modern rifle...not so with a flintlock. As with shooting more off hand, follow through will benefit you in modern shooting as well.

A flintlock rifle is first and foremost a rifle, only more so. Master it and you have mastered them all.

A lot of the info about the "details" come from target shooters. Things like super tight loads, methods of prime that can be quite detailed, ect ect ect.....

While a lot of the info and beliefs are useful my approach is more from the hunter or soldier.

I care not what is in the pan and where as long as the rifle shoots. I prime and load out of the same horn. I undo the stopper pour some that way, close the stopper, close the frizzen shoulder and fire. I'm not worried about having 3.5 grains of priming banked at a 45 degree angle oblique to the right hand corner of the pan. I just pour some in and shoot.

I expect my rifles and guns to fire 20 or more shots (military blanks) in a row and they do. Every now and then I'll have to pick, most of the time a simple wipe with my shirt off the pan, frizzen and flint and I'm good to go.

Every new flintlock I have had has had to work in to perform it's best. Some have been hard on flints at first but all have improved. Personally I believe that a frizzen work hardens some. Being new you'll see some chatter marks developing where the flint makes it's first hit. As you shoot more these chatter marks can become deeper and develop burs that catch the flint. Polishing the frizzen face with fine emery smooths this out allowing the flint to properly skate down the frizzen instead of catching on these burs and chatter marks. I'll also polish the pan bright as this makes wiping gooey fouling out so much easier especially down here. Dry fouling can be easily brushed out.

Good luck :hatsoff:

PS
Dutch's system is good advice. When I do 20 shots in a row it's in a military situation....In hunting and target shooting you need to use care with each load. The point I was trying to make....I can shoot 20 times in a row, they will do it.

 

[amcmullen]

I tried Ballistol/water on the patch material, but it is so tightly woven, the solution ran off.

I put my moose milk in a small spray bottle (actually an old spray bottle for scent killer) the misty spray seems to adhere to the pillow ticking/ whatever patch material you are using. It also makes the amount more consistent and you get the minimum amount on that Dutch talks about. You could try that with the ballistol/water.

 

[19 16 6]

Seems that patch material may still have the sizing on it.
Wash & dry all new material before using it to patch.
This makes it absorbent.
O.

 

[Ohio Joe]

Agreed, washing the sizing out of the patching material... Also will add to give spit patching a try. Only time I use any type of patch lube is when I'm hunting.

 

[SgtErv]

Sounds like a highly successful range trip to me! Getting off 20 shots without incident sounds like a well tuned lock, too.

One of the ways I increased enjoyment was to get a pretty good loading rhythm down. I found that preparation is key; having some lubed patches, having moistened patches for wiping, sometimes some pre measured shots.

You will quickly find out what items you can leave at home or what items you might want to acquire. My priming horn, for instance, was gone after a couple of trips. A good whisk and pick was priority though.

 

[Onojutta]

Welcome to the sport! You have been bitten by the bug. My cousin let me try his flintlock at deer camp many years ago and from that moment I too was bitten. To this day there is no other weapon I would rather hunt and shoot with.

This is the best advice I was ever given when I learned how to shoot a rifle, and this helped me achieve and maintain Expert rifle qualification in the Army:

Concentrate on the front sight post.
Control your breathing.
Do not pull the trigger.
Gradually increase the pressure on the trigger until the gun fires.
This should surprise you when it goes off.

The idea is to concentrate on your sight post, concentrate on your breathing. When you do this, and you start to increase pressure on the trigger, you will be surprised when the gun goes off, because you did not anticipate the shot. And by not anticipating the shot, you will not flinch.

The trick then becomes to try to time this with your breathing rhythm so that the gun fires when you each the bottom of an exhale. Ideally, you want the rifle to fire when your lungs are empty.

If you concentrate on your front post and your breathing, that silly lock mechanism making all that motion, noise, and flash will just disappear and it won't bother you.

Don't worry so much about follow-through, because that will cause you to anticipate the shot, and you will flinch. Let the gun surprise you and do it's thing, and your bullet will end up exactly where you had the front sight post when you were concentrating on it.

Now matter what anyone tells you, you CANNOT learn not to flinch. The is an involuntary reaction that you cannot control, no matter how hard you try. The only way to avoid flinching is again to concentrate on the front sight post so that you forget about the lock, and let the gun surprise you when it goes off.

 

[Gene L]

Sounds like a highly successful range trip to me! Getting off 20 shots without incident sounds like a well tuned lock, too.

One of the ways I increased enjoyment was to get a pretty good loading rhythm down. I found that preparation is key; having some lubed patches, having moistened patches for wiping, sometimes some pre measured shots.

You will quickly find out what items you can leave at home or what items you might want to acquire. My priming horn, for instance, was gone after a couple of trips. A good whisk and pick was priority though.

Well, there were a couple of incidents, just not by me. The gun fired each time when I pulled the trigger, but my shooting bud was doing something which made the trigger hang up. I think he was pulling the hammer back too far, or pulling the set trigger too hard. Worked for me every time, for him a lot of FtF and having to lower the hammer and recock. We tried to figure it out, but didn't.

 

[Don Steele]

Excellent post Little Buffalo.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on flintlock shooting. I'm one of those battling the flinch.
It's really frustrating to post a 10-x-9-9-5..!!! :cursing:
But I'm workin' on it. :hmm:

 

[Onojutta]

Excellent post Little Buffalo.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on flintlock shooting. I'm one of those battling the flinch.
It's really frustrating to post a 10-x-9-9-5..!!! :cursing:
But I'm workin' on it. :hmm:

The lock definitely makes it a little harder to avoid anticipating the shot than with a centerfire gun, because obviously with the CF gun there is no distracting motion or flash.

When I as in the Army, a trick we used to do was have someone put a blank round in your magazine so you did not know where it was. Then, when you were shooting and the blank came up, you could tell if you flinched.

The nice thing about a flintlock/percussion gun is that every once in a while you will get the opportunity to see if you flinch. To this day I find those occasional misfires to be a gratifying verification that I did not flinch, because I was surprised by the gun firing.

 

[timothy prouty]

I find if you just put some powder in the pan and touch it off you can see if you Flinch or not and sometimes is not to flinch but it's the ball it might be too small and you get erratic shot the dry measuring the ball and seeing if 350 or less and then measuring the borer to see how the borers if the board is bigger you were thought you shot off if you need a bigger ball try moose mold dot-com they sell i-355 roundball and the prices are nice. Hopefully this help and go shooting

 

[satwel]

This is a simple tip, but it is the most important; Aim, fire, aim.
Follow through is important for shooting any firearm consistently, but it is especially important for flintlock shooting because of the long lock time. If you lower the rifle from your shoulder as soon as it goes off, your body begins to anticipate the movement and you start lowering the rifle as it is going off. Aim, fire, aim again - then lower the rifle. You will quickly develop perfect follow through.

 

[Gene L]

I worked on my follow through and vastly improved it. At first I raised my head like a prairie dog, but got over that. I have to think about it and concentrate to overcome my natural flinch due to lock time. I think follow through in shooting is extremely important in any shooting.

 

[Ames]

Good method. It helped me keep my groups up.

 

[Pete G]

If you concentrate on your front post and your breathing, that silly lock mechanism making all that motion, noise, and flash will just disappear and it won't bother you.

Especially true if your eyes are closed :blah: