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Shooting technique

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Notremor

32 Cal.
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Dec 6, 2003
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After reading Harpman's last post on tunig his GPR I began to wonder about my shooting technique. For the past several years I have been heavily involved in traditional archery and went 25 years without shooting a gun. I did shoot quite a bit when I was young but was self taught. I recently started into BP and y'all have been so much help already I was wondering if you could give any shooting tips to someone before they began to develop any bad habits. Right now I basically point and click. Thanks. TLD.
 
My first piece of advice would be to change that to point and squeeze .

What sort of weapon are you using? I shoot an 1860 Colt revolver, and the three biggest boons to accuracy I've discovered are:

1) Make sure the axis of the revolver barrel is lined up with (and not parallel to) the long bones of your forearm. To achieve this grip, I had to rotate my hand to the inside by about 30 degrees (i.e., if you look down on my hand and the gun from the top, I turned my grip "ahead" by one hour).

2) Test-fire to figure your elevation. "Common sense" told me that a revolver should be spot-on at 25 yards, but mine actually shoots 6 inches high at that range (this is common for repro BP revolvers).

3) Load consistently. With a revolver, you're usually "topping" off your powder load with corn meal (some use Cream of Wheat) to reduce bullet jump, and you should use the same amount of powder, corn meal and ball-packing pressure each time. Some rifle shooters seat their loads with the butt of the rifle on a scale in order to achieve consistent packing -- with a revolver, you can just turn the cylinder and see if you've got a bumpy road or a smooth one.

And your archery experience will teach you the wisdom of following through -- hold the sights on target for a one-count after ignition.

And of course, be sure to get some instruction on safe shooting. With my revolver, for instance, I'm not done loading until I've greased the top of each chamber, so I don't get ignition spreading from chamber to chamber (a chain-fire). And when Weasel sold me my gun, he reminded me that cowboys only loaded five of the six chambers... and kept their burial money in the sixth one (the one the hammer rests on). That helps prevent extra holes in your anatomy if the hammer gets struck accidentally.

That's my handgun advice. Anyone want to chime in on smoke-poles?
 
quote:Originally posted by Morrisey:
That's my handgun advice. Anyone want to chime in on smoke-poles? I'll take a shot at it... Ugh, not a bad pun from me...
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If shooting rifles, dry fire the set triggers a few times (if the muzzleloader has them) while holding the unloaded gun in the firing position, noting if the front sight moves from the line of sight by pulling on the trigger too hard...

Now, if it's a flint lock, (make sure the gun is unloaded) cock and fire the lock while holding the gun in the firing position, again noting if the front sight moves from the line of sight by pulling on the trigger too hard...
Did the sparks from the flint cause you to flinch?

Now comes the fun part... (make sure the gun is unloaded) Prime the pan only, cock and fire the lock while holding the gun in the firing position. (it might be best to do this outside, I set off a few smoke detectors in my day)
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Did the front sight moves from the line of sight this time?

Do this a few times to get use to the "POOF" of the priming powder exploding next to your face...

Some people will have a problem getting use to the sparks and flash so close to their face, I guess that's why they call them flinch locks...
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Once you're done, don't forget to clean the pan and frizzen area...
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When shooting any type of rifled arm there are three major things to contend with and any instructor worth his salt will tell you the same thing and insist on them. They are: Sight picture, breath control and trigger control. Take a good breath....not necessarily a huge, deep breath but not a little shallow one either. Exhale to your normal respitory pause and sight. Obviously you know how to align your sights. When they're aligned concentrate on the front sight. The target and rear sight will be a bit fuzzy....how fuzzy depends on your age!!!! Keep the front sight centered in the rear sight and ordinarily the tops of both sights level. Begin your trigger squeeze. As the front sight drifts off target, and it will if you're shooting offhand, stop squeezing. Don't release what pressure you've put on the trigger, just stop squeezing. As your sight comes back on target, continue your squeeze and repeat the sequence until the shot fires. If you run out of breath, stop, let the rifle down and start over. As you shoot more and learn that particular rifle or handgun you'll come to learn when the trigger is going to break and will be able to call your shot. That's all there is to it.

A good friend of mine who taught me more about long range shooting than I ever could have learned on my own told me that shooting is all between your ears. He was and is right. As in shooting your bows, ( I shoot a longbow too ), it's a matter of concentration.

You'll hear other means and methods and most will no doubt work to one level or another. Once you achieve the basics you'll develop your own "style" that works best for you and that is as it should be. Good luck and keep shootin'!!!

Vic
 
What the rest said plus the thought that until you get use to the concentrating on sight alignment+ Squeeze + follow thru (for a count of one) you might want to do your practice off the bench.
I don't mean sand bags or even a rest block.

Assuming your right handed, rest your left elbow on the table while you support the rifle in your left hand.
Bring the gun to your shoulder with your right upper arm and elbow pointed out about parallel with the bench. Position your head mainly to obtain the sight picture. Your cheek may or may not be touching the stock. If you can't get a good sight picture adjust the position of the butt of the stock on your shoulder until you can. Don't bring your head to an awkward position to accomodate the gun.

The front sight will still move up and down and side to side on the bullseye. Thats natural and even the best marksman doesn't worry about it. They (as was mentioned above) just increase the Squeeze on the trigger as it's passing the center of the bullseye.

When your feeling comfortable with bench shooting work on your offhand (standing) firing. As I'm sure you know, that takes even more concentration.
When you try it don't plant your feet square with the target. Your feet and body should be pointed about 30 to 50 degrees towards the right of the target with your feet spaced about shoulder width apart. With your arms in about the same position as when bench shooting line it up and fire away.

Good Shooting to Ye
 
I'm a traditional archer myself. All the key points have been hit by the good responses so far. Let me emphasize a few. Follow through is especially critical with real muzzleloaders (read that 'external cock or hammer'). A slight hang fire can cause you to miss entirely if you jerk the piece or drop the muzzle. Take a breath, release half, s-q-u-e-e-z-e, POOM!, hold, then start again.

Measure your charge carefully and use consistant pressure when seating the ball.

Then there are the zen practices. Clear your mind before the shot (imagine smooth, calm waters), calm yourself with breath exercises (imagine a spring coiling as you breathe in and relaxing as you breathe out). Then when you wake up you find some jerk has stolen your range box. Concentrate on the front sight - unless it's a smooth bore which would require you to concentrate on the target.

Practice, practice, practice.
 
Thanks for all the great advice. To be honest, I have never tried controlled breathing and I had never heard about stopping squeezing the trigger when you are off target. I was glad to here that everyone jiggles on target. I think the longbow has improve my marksmanship. I am much more patient now and follow through. I find shooting (bow or gun) very relaxing.

P.S. The revolver advice was fascinating. I was considering a revolver, but I will hold off as it sounds more complicated than I want to try right now.
 
Since you are new with this I thought I would throw this in.

Anytime you dryfire a Percussion pistol or rife you should have something over the nipple to protect it or you will cause undue nipple damage.

Anytime you dryfire a Flintlock, ALWAYS fire with the frizzen down & a flint in the cock or with a substitute flint (such as teflon or wood) as dryfiring without the frizzen can break the tumbler shaft & also causes excessive wear on the cock at the stop & excessive wear on the lockplate.

ALWAYS wear safety glasses dryfiring or actual shooting, as a sliver of flint or piece of a cap is like a miniature razor blade & can imbed in your eye quite easily.

Custom Muzzleloaders & Custom Knives
 
One of the most common mistakes I see with people shooting ML rifles is they don't follow through. They shoot & immediately want to lift their head & see where it hit. Soon they are lifting their head before they shoot or as they shoot & are pulling off target & jerking the gun.

Keep your Head Down & concentrate on Staying With It and not moving til 2 seconds after the shot. You got all day to see where it hit so there is no hurry.

I have been shooting these things for years & to this day when I start screwing up, it is always the same thing.....Aim, Squeeze, Followthru..... and the last thing is the easiest one for me to screw up.

The last thing that will help is having a smooth trigger & that is imperative for good shooting. You should not know exactly when the gun will fire or you will learn to flinch when it is going to fire. You need a nice smooth pull & no grit or indication of the trip. Just a squeeze & bang & a lil suprise when it does go off.
 
Follow through is very important. To many shooter are in such a hurry to put the gun down after they shoot. Take your shot and continue to hold the gun up for a second. This will help you with a flintlock as well as percusion guns.

Slowpoke
 
quote: The revolver advice was fascinating. I was considering a revolver, but I will hold off as it sounds more complicated than I want to try right now. If it sounds complicated, then I didn't describe it right. Weasel (on this board) sold me my 1860 Colt .44 at Cabela's, and told me everything I needed to know in about four minutes.

Here's a recap:

Buy your revolver from somebody knowledgable, so they can start you out with the right kit. The manual with my Colt, for instance, said to use a #11 cap, but Weasel knew that a #10 works better, so he set me up with that.

When you get the gun, also get a powder flask with the right size nozzle for the gun -- "measuring" then becomes a matter of putting a finger over the nozzle, inverting the flask, working the plunger and righting the flask: the powder in the nozzle is the correct amount to load with.

When I load, I:
1) pour powder in the chamber,
2) tap the chamber and then add enough corn meal to top the chamber off,
3) turn the cylinder until the chamber is in line with the charged chamber,
4) set a ball (.44 Colt takes a .451 lead ball) atop the charged camber,
5) work the loading lever ro seat the ball below the rim of the chamber,
6) [after all five chambers are loaded -- you leave one empty for safety so the hammer can rest on it] top off the chamber with lube (Crisco is okay in cooler weather, but I generally use Cabela's Muzzleloader Lube) to weather-proof the chamber and help prevent chain-fires, and
7) seat a percussion cap on each nipple.

That's seven steps, as opposed to the eight required to load a muzzleloader (no patch to trim with a revolver, and no need to swab a barrel).

And they are fun to shoot -- I love to show up at an outdoor range (shooting a stink-gun indoors is just rude), where everybody is crack-crack-cracking away and watch the heads turn when mine goes "B-0000-M!" and lets loose with a small cumulus cloud of smoke. And when they see the size of the gun (dwarfs most modern cordite-spitters), their eyes just get bigger.

Cleaning is super-simple. I knock the barrel wedge out with a plastic mallet, take off the barrel and cylinder, unscrew the nipples, and put all of the above in a sinkful of hot water when my wife's not looking, along with a generous squirt of whatever household soap is handy (I usually use Shaklee Basic H, as we buy it by the gallon). Scrub with a soft brush, rinse with hot water, and then dry barrel, cylinder and nipples in the oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes (make real sure wife is gone shopping). The only finesse required is in cleaning the action -- I use a rag dampened with water & dish soap, and clean and dry all the nooks and crannies. When I reassemble, everything but the grips gets fogged with WD-40 and then lightly wiped. Some lube their cylinder axles with lithium grease, but I find that it tends to harden -- I just use WD-40 here as well, but shake, rather than wipe.

That's about it. When you begin with revolvers, start shooting balls first, as they load more easily than conicals (conicals have to be seated square, or they'll go cock-eyed when you work the lever on them). If you shoot Pyrodex or the other modern powders, you can shoot all day and not have to do much except wipe the nipples when you reload.

When you buy, avoid brass-framed revolvers unless you are re-enacting as a Confederate and need one for authenticity, as these tend to get loose due to the softness of the frame (brass trigger guard and undergrip is common and okay). If you want a really simple-to-maintain but non-authentic revolver, get one of the 1858 Remingtons in stainless steel, and buy it with an extra cylinder, which you can preload (just don't put the caps on the nipples until the cylinder is on and the barrel is locked).

If the above was hard, I wouldn't be doing it. Find a six-shooting buddy and try his; you'll see how easy it is (although, as with all these things, hitting nothing but that black spot becomes a grail-like quest).

Tom
 
Morrisey is most correct about the Colt and Remington copy revolvers....well, and the 2nd generation Colt cap & ball revolvers too. They are a ton of fun to shoot. As with a ML rifle it takes longer to explain it than it does to do it and some are quite accurate. Also most shoot high to some degree, 6 inches to 2 feet. I've had a new front sight blade made of brass and installed on a few of my revolvers then filed it down for point of aim at 25 yards. Sure works a lot better than that itty bitty shotgun bead lookin' thingy that is original. Actually, once you rub a little powder fouling on the sight it tarnishes quite nicely and if you didn't know it wasn't authentic no one could ever tell. Who's to say some frontiersman, cowboy or shootist didn't do the same thing in the 1860's. It's such an obvious alteration I can't believe it wasn't done.

I either own or have owned and used at one time all of the available Colt and Remington copies. I even carried my 1849 Pocket Model on my trap line for a couple years back when I had time to trap! Worked fine for up close and personal shots on coon, foxes and such.

Sight picture, breath control and trigger control are the same with a handgun as with a rifle. Many have mentioned followthru and it is as important as everyone has said. Just like your bow hand. Good luck and keep shootin'!!

Vic
 
Morrisey: Ye have confused me when ye said:
1) pour powder in the chamber,
2) tap the chamber and then add enough corn meal to top the chamber off,

The confusion is with #2. Ah don't know how a person can top off the chamber (which means "fill" to me) and still have any room fer the ball to be pressed down below the front surface of the chamber.
Whan ah load my revolvers, ah add enough corn meal to fill the chamber to about 3/8 inch from the top for a .44 and about 5/16 from the top for a .36. This gives the corn meal and the powder 'bout 1/16 compression with the ball seated in the chamber.
Works fer me.
 
I found a great book at Walmart on this, "The ultimate in Rifle accuracy" by Glenn Newick.
 
quote: Ah don't know how a person can top off the chamber (which means "fill" to me) and still have any room fer the ball to be pressed down below the front surface of the chamber. I fill mine with loose corn meal to the top. Corn meal is a pretty airy substance. With the corn meal I use (Quaker Yellow Corn Meal), there is still ample compressability to add a .451 ball and press it about 1mm beneath the brim of the chamber.

That's with a round ball. With conicals, I only add corn meal to 1/8" or more beneath the brim, as the squared base occupies more volume than a hemisphere.

Neither one requires heroic pressure on the loading lever.

I experimented with adding more and more meal to see how much I could get in before it took too much effort to seat the ball. My thought was that I wanted a firm enough pack that the powder and meal layers would stay distinct. My worry was that, if things were too loose, they could mix, resulting in some of my powder staying unburned until it was out of the barrel.

This way, I know that everything that goes "BOOM" is doing its job, and shoving lead toward the target.

Tom
 
I have a standing rule in the field to not take a shot beyond 80 yards without using a rest or from a sitting position and I am very conservative about what is and isn't a viable shot opportunity. Since you are only using a one shooter you owe it to your game to practice often, and make the lowest failure rate shot attempt you can.
 
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