Question on flintlocks

[flconch53]

You can take it one step further if you have powder to spare and prime the pan and fire to get used to all the movement and flash going on. This can be done in the back ysrd

 

[Coinneach]

When I built guns I liked to polish the lock smooth enough that it surprised you when the gun went off.I mean surprised you in a good way.

Me too, I always buy good quality Locks with whatever I'm building, I want those wearing internal surfaces mirror finished, and I'm particular about the Mainspring in that I use a Linisher to "cool" wear the Mainspring inside edges back so they dont bear on the lock plate internal surface.

I mirror polish the inside surface of the Lock Plate itself, before moving on to the internal components.
Surfaces like the Tumbler need to sit on the internal surface of the Lock plate, never the less it should carefully polished to a mirror finish.

Important point: DONT use a Dremel or any other power tool to fast track Lock tuning, just sit back and wrap some fine grit around a small flat Jewellers file, put your Spectacles on and watch what you doing as you go......listening to some good Country music and sippin whatever you like to sip.....when the Missus isnt around.
Your patient hand work, Craftmanship as a personal choice will ensure that Flintlock youre using will ignite as fast as a modern day Centre Fire Rifle.

 

[SOLANCO]

A Dremel is very difficult to use well in delicate work.

 

[Marshhawk]

Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire

Put a wooden flint in and practice squeezing the trigger and the sights not moving (or as much as you are capable of holding steady) until well after the hammer has fallen. I usually do this every day in the house with one or the other flintlocks depending on which one is going to the range next.

I have helped many beginners with this simple advice.

One of the best pieces of advice I've picked up here. I started some weeks back with random dryfires (with oak chip) several times a day. Now I can hold steady through the lock fall, focusing strictly on the front sight. Even pretty well off-hand. Thanks, guys!

 

[Relic shooter]

I just got into flintlocks last October. I have shot quite a bit since my rifle was built. I am right handed....and cant see the sights with my right eye due to severe astigmatisms. I shoot left handed...and am getting pretty decent with the gun. I don't see an issue....just practice a lot to get over the flinching; which would also be an issue if the lock was on the other side. I shoot scoped rifles right handed. I shotguns with either hand: shots at moving game right handed....and slow aimed shots left handed.

FIX FOR CLEARING UP SIGHT & TARGET PICTURE FOR RIFLE & HANDGUN SHOOTING
I also have a similar eye problem & was able to obtain a clear view of the sights & the target with this easy to make setup, the eyepiece swivels up & out of view when between shots. I tried the Merit suction cup setup but found it blocked my vision in the field while hunting & fell off a couple times.

Can purchase a jewelers loupe like this on Amazon for about $6.00. I removed the glass lens & use it as a pattern for a black plastic insert, the bottom end of a 35mm film canister works great. A 0.40 dia hole drilled in the center works perfect for me but you might require a larger or smaller sized reticule.
relic shooter

 

[Artificer]

In 1975 and shortly after I had joined THE Marine Corps Rifle Team as the Junior Armorer, we had a team meeting and they asked for suggestions to improve offhand shooting. My best friend in life waited for a bit and when no new suggestions were forthcoming, he suggested we buy some Flintlock rifles and have the Team practice with them. I'm shaking my head hard in agreement.

Now these were some of the absolute best shooters in the Marine Corps and most of them thought we were joking or crazy. Fortunately, the OIC of Marksmanship Training Unit had served with my buddy before, so he asked him to explain to everyone. Here's the things he pointed out.

1. By learning to totally ignore the flintlock working, you get into a sort of mental zone where you block out all distractions.

2. Though these shooters knew the importance of follow through, they had never shot rifles that REALLY required it for the best shooting. (More on this later.)

3. When you get to the point you KNOW where the bullet is going to hit on target with a flintlock (otherwise known as "calling your shot"), because you were still concentrating on perfect sight alignment when the shot broke, it is downright easy to do it with modern rifles.

Yeah, they didn't buy flintlock rifles, BUT we invited every member to come to the monthly Black Powder shoots we held. One MSgt, who was a pretty darn fine rifle shot, took us up on the offer. He didn't want to try a flintlock at first, but instead chose to shoot one of my buddies original percussion rifles. Once he was had his five shots on target, he came up to us and admitted he now understood the points my buddy had made. THEN he was amazed my buddy had outshot him with his flintlock rifle! After that some others on the Big Team Shooters joined us and they all said it taught them even more about the things they had thought they had all but mastered completely.

Gus

 

[Relic shooter]

In 1975 and shortly after I had joined THE Marine Corps Rifle Team as the Junior Armorer, we had a team meeting and they asked for suggestions to improve offhand shooting. My best friend in life waited for a bit and when no new suggestions were forthcoming, he suggested we buy some Flintlock rifles and have the Team practice with them. I'm shaking my head hard in agreement.

Now these were some of the absolute best shooters in the Marine Corps and most of them thought we were joking or crazy. Fortunately, the OIC of Marksmanship Training Unit had served with my buddy before, so he asked him to explain to everyone. Here's the things he pointed out.

1. By learning to totally ignore the flintlock working, you get into a sort of mental zone where you block out all distractions.

2. Though these shooters knew the importance of follow through, they had never shot rifles that REALLY required it for the best shooting. (More on this later.)

3. When you get to the point you KNOW where the bullet is going to hit on target with a flintlock (otherwise known as "calling your shot"), because you were still concentrating on perfect sight alignment when the shot broke, it is downright easy to do it with modern rifles.

Yeah, they didn't buy flintlock rifles, BUT we invited every member to come to the monthly Black Powder shoots we held. One MSgt, who was a pretty darn fine rifle shot, took us up on the offer. He didn't want to try a flintlock at first, but instead chose to shoot one of my buddies original percussion rifles. Once he was had his five shots on target, he came up to us and admitted he now understood the points my buddy had made. THEN he was amazed my buddy had outshot him with his flintlock rifle! After that some others on the Big Team Shooters joined us and they all said it taught them even more about the things they had thought they had all but mastered completely.

Gus

Great advice !!
Learning to shoot a flintlock 'well' teaches follow-through.

 

[Artificer]

If it works for you, what we were taught and proven was a full breath, exhale; then half breath before the Trigger squeeze and follow through.
There was never any mention of Heart beats, its the first I ever heard about, there again maybe I'm just an old cold hearted SOB......but not when it comes to 'Orses, Dawgs; Cattle and Pussycats.

Great advice on breathing. I would add there are times when you CAN'T get the shot off before you have to breathe again, BUT one shouldn't rush the shot to get it off before then. The best way to do it is relax, take it out of your shoulder for a few moments if you can, then reestablish your natural point of aim and do the breathing technique again before smoothly pressing the trigger.

In the Marine Corps and even though Marksmanship is almost a religion, we didn't get into shooting between heartbeats until the higher levels of competition. Even then, concentrating too much on trying to shoot between heartbeats would screw up the best of shooters.

Gus

 

[Robby]

I am left handed in everything. There is only one discipline in life that I wish someone had started me out doing in a right handed manner, and that is shooting. Rifles, pistols, handguns, all of them. All my kids are right handed, one grandson appears to be left handed and I will work with him shooting right handed as though that was his natural inclination, with his fathers permission of course.
Robby

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire
Put a wooden flint in.

Jim Chambers scolded me for using anything but a flint and leather, he said it will void his warranty.

 

[French Colonial]

Not sure how a wood flint would hurt anything, I have used one in a Virginia rifle from him many times.

 

[david w]

Not sure how a wood flint would hurt anything, I have used one in a Virginia rifle from him many times.

The only thing I gather from Jim Chambers is he doesn't allow lead for holding the flint. This is the first time I've heard "no wood dummy flint".

 

[hanshi]

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who never had a problem with the pan flash from the very first shot. I don't actually see the pan flash, just the smoke after the rifle has fired. In the Army we were issued the M14. Our sergeant had us balance a penny on top of the front sight and fire the [empty] rifle without disturbing the coin and having it fall off. It took practice and laser attention to the front sight and remembering what the Sgt. taught us. Believe me when I say everything had to be done perfectly. That training carried over into flintlock shooting.

The trigger. Various shooters say "squeeze" the trigger, "mash" it, "pull" it, "tickle" it and on and on. Elmer Keith wrote two things about how this is done. Elmer said to "pull" the trigger and that he always wanted to know when the gun fired; he didn't want to be surprised. All these descriptions are open to what the shooter thinks he means by squeeze, etc. I like knowing when the gun fires and, like Keith, don't like being surprised. This is why having a rifle that fits the shooter is so important.

Fit can be critical to ignoring the pan flash and seeing the front sight. A flintlock that can be shouldered, eyes closed, and have the sights aligned when the eyes open is a rifle that fits.

 

[david w]

Well mate you must have a Heart the size of a Football, because I just tried your test and in my case thumb and then forefinger doesnt move.
Maybe you have a Blood pressure problem, my last BP test was 138/85 last month; I turn 70 in June.

This may explain my thought on how the heart beat can affect shooting accuracy. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I can shoot well, but don't enter matches.
Ready, Aim, Shoot! How Marksmen Use Heartrate To Shoot

 

[smoothshooter]

Can you shoot a right handed flintlock gun left handed?
I’m right handed in most life task but left eye dominant so I shoot left handed. I’ve always shot right handed percussion guns on my left shoulder but wondered how different a flintlock would be with the flash.

Many are the times over the years I have thanked God and my parents that I was born a right-hander and right-eye dominant.
The world is built for right-handers.
They tend to have longer lifespans too. ( fewer deaths due to accidents ).

 

[Coinneach]

A Dremel is very difficult to use well in delicate work.

Some of us have learned that the hard way !

 

[SamTex1949]

As stated back a ways, the discharge of any firearm, properly tuned and maintained, regardless of the mechanics, should be a "surprise" and that last visual you had of the intended target being where the shot is going. As far as rocklock, as Hanshi stated, I was never aware of the flash in pan when maintaining a good sight picture. A good test for anyone would be let a friend/partner load your Flintlock (primed or not) and you fire "NOT" knowing if primed !

 

[BadDaditood]

A Dremel is very difficult to use well in delicate work.

I banished my Dremel to the leatherwork bench years ago…
I found I didn’t need to speed up my mistake-making

 

[Ray-Vigo]

I am left-handed, left-eye dominant. I own both lefty and righty flintlocks. I've shot lefty guns up to .77 cal and righties up to 1 inch bore. You can shoot a lefty or a righty safely and effectively if you develop good follow through and sight habits.

The lefty gun benefits you where you want to maximize accuracy and to some degree reduce flash in front of your face. The righty is generally fine where you want to just get out, have fun, and punch some holes. The concern with the righty gun is not so much safety, but that the stock has cast to it and won't fit you. But if you're careful not to put your thumb in front of the vent or where the frizzen foot lands, you can shoot the righty safely.

If I had a choice, all else being equal, I'd take the lefty gun. But if someone offered a nice righty to me that fit well at a very good price, I wouldn't turn it down.

 

[david w]

I am left-handed, left-eye dominant. I own both lefty and righty flintlocks. I've shot lefty guns up to .77 cal and righties up to 1 inch bore. You can shoot a lefty or a righty safely and effectively if you develop good follow through and sight habits.

The lefty gun benefits you where you want to maximize accuracy and to some degree reduce flash in front of your face. The righty is generally fine where you want to just get out, have fun, and punch some holes. The concern with the righty gun is not so much safety, but that the stock has cast to it and won't fit you. But if you're careful not to put your thumb in front of the vent or where the frizzen foot lands, you can shoot the righty safely.

If I had a choice, all else being equal, I'd take the lefty gun. But if someone offered a nice righty to me that fit well at a very good price, I wouldn't turn it down.

I'm a lefty but own righty rifles. I occasionally shoot left handed with no problems, but if, like you say, the stock has cast-off, it will not fit.