Shot Tulle for 1st time today, Need some help

[pharmvet]

Wow, what a rush. Shot my new smoothie for the first time today. This was my first time to fire a flintlock. I have to admit I was kinda surprised the first time that it actually fired. Fired about 10 or 12 rounds (ball ans shot). I had been warned by a couple of folks that I would probably shoot low at first. Boy were they right. I cant hit a paper plate at 30 yds yet. I realized how much I flinch and the delay really makes it obvious. Finally used a rest and got a much better shot. Anyway, here are a few questions I need answered.

1) There is enough of a delay that I can here the cock slam foreward before the gun fires (is this too much delay??)

2) I was using 60 grains powder with patched round ball and 60 grains powder behing 1 oz shot. Is this ok

3) How can I get my shots higher consistently.

4) I cleaned the gun as best I could but there is a ring of powder residue at the breech about 1/2 inch tall. The rear breech is clean but I cant get the first 1/2 inch of the barrel clean, Is this common. Do they make a brush that will get this. Traditional brushes seem to bottom out and dont really clean the first 1/2 inch of the barrel walls.

 

[Donny]

My .62 smmothies won't shoot well with 60 gr., :: I have to go to at least 80 gr. or more. If you shoot only flinters, the flinch will go away in time.

 

[Slowpoke]

1) There is enough of a delay that I can here the cock slam foreward before the gun fires (is this too much delay??)

If it has the big round face or Virginia lock, that is common. You can't shoot a smoothbore like a rifle, you have to really hold it tight to your shoulder. Squeeze when the site is on the target, stop when it's not. Again, hold it tight to your shoulder.
[/quote]2) I was using 60 grains powder with patched round ball and 60 grains powder behing 1 oz shot. Is this ok[/quote]
It shoot 65 gr of 2F at targets up to 50 yards, 80gr at 75, and 100gr at 100 yards.
[/quote]3) How can I get my shots higher consistently. [/quote]
Uping your powder charge will help at litte. Also file a little bit off your front site but not to much. This is a smoothbore and you have to make certain compensation. Does it have a rear site? If so, give it a little more blade.
[/quote]4) I cleaned the gun as best I could but there is a ring of powder residue at the breech about 1/2 inch tall. [/quote]
I have the same problem sometimes. This an easy way to clean a smoothbore. Get yourself a fowling scraper. Plug the touchhole with a toothpick. fill the barrel half way with water. Go up and down with the scrapper about 5-6 time, it will cause a suction. Empty the water and repeat about 3 time. Take the toothpick out and fill the barrel with water and with a patch and your cleaning jag force the water out, do this a couple times. It should be clean. Dry the barrel with a patch or I use paper towels cut twice as big as your patch.

Chuck

 

[Musketeer]

Flintlocks sure are different to shoot aren't they! Hope you had fun! As far as your questions: On a somewhat large lock like on a fowler or musket, it is normal to hear the flint strike the hammer (frizzen), at least this has been my experience. To shoot higher, I'd agree w/ the other guys, try a bit more powder or filing a little off the front sight (just a tiny bit at a time!). For cleaning that fowling ring you talked about, I'd plug the vent with something (toothpick is a good idea), and pour a few ounces
of blackpowder solvent into the barrel, let it sit for awhile, and then use a cleaning patch on a jag to scrub out the fowling. A jag should allow you to reach all the way back, without bottoming out. TOTW carries 20ga. jags for about $2 apiece.

:thumbsup:

 

I guess I'm at odds here. I am not an old wing shooter and never have been, even though I enjoy working with both modern shotguns and smoothbores, rather smoothrifles.

I treat my smoothies like rifles and expect them to respond like rifles. If my ignition is not instantanious I work on it until it is. If the sights are off I adjust them to hit where I am aiming.

I have too many guns in the rack to be compensating from one to the other or trying to remember where this one or that one shoots. They shoot where they look and they do it right now!

If your lock is slow you my be using too much prime. That is a normal mistake for a beginning flinter. Never cover the touch hole with priming powder. It has too burn down to the vent and slows ignition.

Your vent may be too small. Undersize vents are now the rage for some reason. Ream that sucker out until you get good instant ignition.

Some will scream that you lose velocity.

manure!!

Put some more powder in there if you are losing velocity!!

You bought a muzzle loader so you would have control over these things!

Some will object due to the flash and spray of powder on the next fellow at the firing line.

manure!!!

Go down to the end of the line where you will not offend!

C-clamp a piece of plywood to the post that holds up the roof, as a shield. Even cardboard will work. That is what most ranges do.

Buy a "flash guard" from one of the suppliers.

When You get that speed up in ignition you will notice a drastic improvement in your groups. You can begin working on a load that actually preforms well in your gun.

When you do find the best load for your gun, that is when you set the sights to where that load strike at "normal" range for your use.

The only compensation you should have to remember is where the shot strikes in relation to the ball load.

You should never even have to remember "holdover" for extended range. If you have to "hold over" with your smoothie you are already out of range!

You should never accept slow ignition and bad sights as your punishment for going with a flint smoothie.

always remember that in the old days someone depended on these guns for sustanance and defending life and limb. They expected them to work right, you should too.

Of course some one will disagree with me. That's OK too. they did not build my guns and they do not have to shoot them!

This is your gun. Set it up to suit yourself. The only rules you have to follow are those of safety and common sense. There is a common solution to each problem you have mentioned. We deal with them here every day.
:results: :m2c:

 

[musketman]

I agree with Ghost, get a flash guard for range shooting...

The flash guard will direct the hot jet stream of gas upwards instead of to the right...