flintlock firing

[traderlee]

I have enjoyed reading a lot of posts on firing a flintlock and flinching. I have just bought my first flintlock, and have no idea how much flame or blow back comes from the pan when fired. Is it recomended to wear glasses for the first time? I am excited to try it out, but a little hesitsant after reading the posts on flinching. Is there any fire or sparks that flash towards your face when it is so close? Does your face feel warmer after a shot? I love Mark Bakers's articles, and judging from what he has written, I should have no worries. Any thing I should look out for before firng my first flintlock, would be appreciated from this pilgim. ( I have shot percussion for 20 years).
TraderLee

 

[rabjr]

You should wear eye protection as a precaution, your only given two eyes.

I concentrate on the sights/target so much I never see any flash. Everything happens so quick, I don't see how it can be a bother.

 

[blacksmithman64]

You will notice no bad things from the lock. A lot of newbies watch the pan instead of the sights and thats a no-no. Not only will it cause you to flinch, but you'll miss yer target.Just keep yer sights lined up and follow through. Only thing you do want to be careful of is making sure nobody is close to the lock side of the gun when firing because a jet of fire has been known to shoot out of the touch hole from the ignition of the main charge. 'Course you don't want nobody in front of the gun either, unless its a burgler :shocked2: :haha:

 

[mckutzy]

if u have shot percussion u should have no problems shooting flint. it will will go off before u really think of it, and from what i have heard there is about equal danger from the pan to cap in regard to eye wear, aswell to any firearm.

 

[jtmattison]

Always wear eye protection shooting any type of firearm. It should go without saying.

Now that I've made my safety speech back to the heart of the question. You shouldn't even notice the pan flash. It happens so fast you won't see it. Concentrate on the sights and off she goes!

HD

 

[paulvallandigham]

1.Always wear both eye and ear protection when you are shooting any gun. The flame is not going to come back and get you, unless you have some very strange way to hold a flintlock, but bits of flint, or steel, or powder debris can come back and cause you injury.

2.Always ask people to stand back from you and away from the side of the lock so they are not hit with gases blowing out the vent hole when the gun goes off.

3.Ask people not to step up next to you to fire their guns until you have fired yours.

4.Wait for others to finish shooting and step back from the firing line before you step forward to shoot.

These are just common curtesies that are followed by flintlock shooter when they are shooting on a firing line with other people around.

Range rules should require people to wear eye protection and hearing protection if they are on or near the firing line. If they are sitting or standing behind the loading benches, they can make their own decision if they need to be protecting their eyes and ears.

The burning gases, if not the projectiles of these guns, breaks the sound barrier, so there is enough noise to harm your hearing. Over the years, I have been hit in the face with debris from other shooters guns, who stepped up and fired without warning me, or giving me time to step out of the way. They only did that once, because I made sure to let them know what I thought about their carelessness, and thoughtlessness. Because I am Left Handed, shooting a left handed gun, I try to find a spot on the far left end of any firing line to shoot, so I don't pose a danger to other shooters. It also puts me where I am in much less danger from shooters on my right, if they step up and fire without warning me, when my back is towards their position.

BE SAFE- first, and always. When in doubt, Don't Shoot! Find out what is bothering you, and ask! The only stupid question is the one not asked.

 

[hthomso]

Wear eye protection! Don't watch the pan. Don't over-prime the pan; a small amount of powder should do the job. Concentrate on your sight picture/target and follow through. Last but not least - practice, practice, practice. :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

As others have said, glasses for sure.

And, one thing you can do to quench a little bit of the excitement...make CERTAIN the bore is unloaded, then just step out the back door a fire a few times with just priming powder in the pan...dry firing but with priming.

After a handful of shots you'll realize it's no problem and you can then really start concentrating on the front sight...clean everything off when you're done of course.

 

[lonehunter]

Traderlee,I was in your shoes about 6 weeks ago,same situation,shooting bp percussion for many years,even own one of the new-fangled ones (that we dont mention here :grin Then I got my hands on a flintlock and WOW!! I am hoooooked!!You need to read this website.These fellas know what they are talking about :bow: lots of good quality advice here.I have only shot about 150 rnds through her, but not even a hang-fire yet(I know its coming)but without the knowledge and kind help I have been given here I dont think it would be as much fun or as successful :bow: as far as the flash,follow the advice given in this forum (read,read and read)I could not tell you a thing about the flash I never even notice it. Just look at the front sight and hang on for the ride of your life, it will change the way you think about trad. muzzleloaders.(And the way we live life today)I hope your experience will be as happy and successful as mine :grin: If you have any questions its on this site or someone will know. Good luck. :v

 

[sproulman]

47 years ago i started wearing AMBER GLASSES.

i still do today.

you can see target better,eyes are protected and you will not flinch.

what am i saying that all of above have not :rotf:

lowes dept store has a pair of amber glasses that are real nice,if i did not have 3 pairs i would buy those.

 

[Zonie]

traderlee
I'm betting that by the time you get down to this post you've figured out that you should use some sort of glasses.
The only thing that might come back towards your face is a few tiny sparks or some pieces of the flint so these glasses don't have to be bullet proof. Even some light colored sunglasses will work.
If they are good shooting glasses though that is all the better.

As for feeling the heat, no pun intended, yes you might feel some of it.
Generally speaking, the cock (hammer) and the fence (the little raised strip that is right behind the pan) will deflect most of the pans flash away from you.
It sometimes will direct some of the flash upwards and more than once I've had tiny bits of burning something land on my balding forehead. I learned to wear a hat with a brim or bill on it and that has solved any problem I've had with this.

The flint and cock block some of the fire that comes out of the vent hole when the main charge fires but as was mentioned you should make sure that no one is standing on the lock side of the gun when it fires.
(At least once, our rangemaster forgot I was shooting a flintlock and stepped up beside me to talk to the guy on the next bench. I didn't notice him as I was concentrating on making the shot so I touched her off. Darn near set the rear of his pants on fire. :rotf: )

 

[slowpokebr549]

I shoot a lot of musket caps and I find them much more distracting than a flintlock. I am used to that big ol bang right next to my cheek, a relatively quiet flintlock was a pleasant suprise to me. I do wear glasses though.

 

[Leonredbeard]

By the way,
One gent said: follow through. That simply means holding your sights on target until the recoil makes it impossible. Once the recoil has pushed your sights off target the shot is long gone and you can relax and bring the gun down off your shoulder and peer through the smoke. Hee, Hee!
volatpluvia
OH, be sure and breath a big lungful of the smoke. Snicker :v :surrender:

 

[renovato]

Eye and hearing protection are extremely important, regardless what kind of gun you shoot, modern or muzzleloader!

The blast from the vent blows out to the right for the most part, so make sure nobody is standing to your right when you shoot. The flint sometimes sheds splinters and they can sting quite a bit. A lot like cap fragments from your percussion guns. These are just a few reasons for eye protection.

 

[redwing]

When firing on the line always yell out "Flint Right" or "Flint Left". That warns other shooters that a jet of hot gas is on its way. I have seen shards of flint blown from the pan that really cut.
And yes protect your eyes and ears. :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

The flint sometimes sheds splinters and they can sting quite a bit.

These are just a few reasons for eye protection.

In addition, a small amount of vent blast against the side of the flint & leather can cause minute particles to be deflected back off the side of the flint & leather.

As an example, I use full size 1.25 diopter drug store glasses to keep my sights sharper and provide eye protection...and was amazed at the amount on very tiny, tiny pit marks that had collected on the front of the glass surfaces...and only from a couple years shooting which was about 2500-3000 shots

 

[Rollover Jack]

trader...

Please be aware that if your hat has a very wide brim, it may channel some of the pan flash back towards you. If wearing a ball cap, I turn it around in the fashion of the younger people to avoid this possibility.

I also second the advice to fire primed pans at your location. Make DANG sure the barrel is unloaded, though. You will have to clean the lock area afterward, the vent included.

Since there is no "SWMBO" here, I do so in my living room for the hell of it, my cats notwithstanding. Your significant other may not be so understanding, however.

Just have fun with it, it's a blast! :grin:


"Less powder, more lead.
Shoots further, kills dead."

 

[paulvallandigham]

"Follow through " should involve not only keeping the gun to your cheek and eye on the front sight while the gun fires, but also keep the gun to your cheek as you bring the gun back down out of recoil, back to the target.

This is the way you test if you are mounting the gun to your shoulder, or upper arm consistently. It also determines if you are "facing " the target properly when you mount the gun to your shoulder or upper arm. Foot work -- the wrong kind-- will "Pull " a shot off target when you think everything about your sight picture was " perfect".

How you square your shoulders to the line of fire also determines if and how the recoil will move the barrel, up, and sideways. All of that affects POI, because of the long barrel time of RB in long barreled guns shooting BP.

 

[J.D.]

In addition to what others have said, it takes 40 hours of practice to confirm muscle memory when learning any new skill, such as learning follow through. I suggest dry firing, with a wooden block in place of the flint, for as long as possible each day. Fifteen minutes is good, longer is better, even if in 5 minute increments.

Cock your piece and set the triggers, mount the gun to fire at a spot on the wall, or a small part of a picture, as if you were firing live rounds.

DO NOT LOAD THE GUN, NOR PRIME THE PAN.

DO DRY FIRE IN THE BASEMENT OR GARAGE, OR ANYWHERE, WHERE FOLKS WON'T WALK IN FRONT OF THE GUN.

Hold the follow through for a minimum of a full 5 seconds, after the lock finishes cycling. Take the gun down and breath naturally for several breaths before cocking the lock to prepare for another dryfire "shot".

Do this, every day, for several weeks prior to firing any live rounds, for best results.

Remember to practice good form, good natural point of aim, good breathing, and good follow through. Practicing bad habits only reinforces bad shooting.

 

[Onojutta]

traderlee,
At the risk of sounding like a broken record on this subject here is my advice:

Let the gun surprise you when it fires. Concentrate on the front sight post, control your breathing to hold steady, and gradually increase pressure on the trigger until the gun fires and surprises you. If you do this, you won't anticipate the recoil and flinch, nor will the pan flash distract you.

Not to brag but I want to qualify my advice by noting that I consistently qualified Expert with rifle and pistol in the army, and I took third place at my very first blackpowder club shoot with a new production flintlock (Lyman TR). My only secret is letting the gun surprise me.

I have only ever seen my pan flash once, and that's because I was consciously looking for it. And I pulled that shot something fierce.