Update on my new Kibler SMR...kind of long

[Ricochet]

Challenge, one may ask? Absolutely! I can take my little production made .32 Traditions and go kill myself a mess of squirrels, when we actually have squirrels, I can take any of my .50 to .58 caliber cap locks and go shoot a deer if need be, or I can even take my Beretta over/under cap lock shotgun and shoot rabbits or flying targets. Actually, I can take this Kibler flintlock and shoot the red out of the middle of the target at 25yds and keep a nice little group at 50 off of a bench. But I can't, for the life of me, hold that sucker still long enough to kill anything with it! I have missed squirrels till my dog no longer wants to get up and go with me if she even gets a hint that I will be carrying that gun, I have missed offhand turnips sittin dead still on a log at 30 yds, and old, halloween jackolanterns that the girls and I rolled down to the bottom of the holler during our annual after halloween pumpkin races. In other words, I can't hit the broad side of a barn with it! I just can't seem to fight the urge to move that smoke and fire from the pan away from my eye to see what I have come to accept......another miss!

I played baseball for a living in my younger years so I understand the concept of confidence. This, to me, is where my challenge with the flintlock occurs. As long as I know that it is not the gun and is me, I have confidence that I can and will get it fixed. The gun shoots straight, I have proven that to myself off of the bench. I now have to work on me!
The old saying in baseball was to take one for the team, as in standing in the batters box and letting a 90 plus mph baseball thrown by a 6'7" - 220lb freak of nature hit you wherever he wants to. Well, I can tell you, I NEVER took one for the team on purpose! That is just a saying that slow hitters came up with that couldn't get out of the way to make themselves feel as if they had done something special! Baseballs are hard, they hurt, especially at 90 plus mph! But now, I am gonna have to go completely against my grain and take one for the team, as in sit there and let that explosion next to my face have its way with me, and I never was the slow guy in the box. I always had the catlike reflexes to get the heck out of the way when need be.

Another thing that I took from playing that crazy game is to always have a sense of humor! Without it, you don't play long, as it is a game made up of numbers and averages......meaning a few small streaks of good mixed in with a lot of long streaks of bad making your numbers and averages mostly small! Most players understand that if you can't laugh it off it will eat you up! So that is where Im at right now with this awesome gun..........Im laughing it off...........I hope y'all find the humor with me!!

Im slowly getting there, heck I haven't even shot a box of 100 balls yet. Plus, I have a bigger, more complex brain than my dog, I can trick her into coming with me if I have to!

 

[pwbsmokey]

If you are new to flintlocks you are probably flinching from the flash in the pan. Try wearing shooting glasses and concentrate on ignoring the flash. If that doesn’t work wear a garter belt and learn to breathe out of your eyes like a lava lizard.

 

[Black Hand]

Pretend your game is a paper target. Also, break the habit of dropping the gun to see if you hit your target - a steady follow-through is essential. Let the smoke clear before you drop your hold...

 

[Ricochet]

You bet Black Hand, I have really been trying to follow thru! I really think my misses are getting smaller, at least thats what Im telling myself!! Gonna try that smoke clearing thing for sure. Keep em comin boys! Im in need of pointers!!

 

[arcticap]

I used to think that every gun had a hidden secret that needed to be unlocked in order to learn about how to hold it and be able to shoot it well.
Hopefully you can figure it out.
Find the best safety glasses that you can that offer the most protection from blowback and inspires enough confidence to follow through with your shots.
Keep experimenting with your stance and different ways to hold the gun steady.
At the worst, it can always make a great bench gun.

I like your baseball analogies.
I remember moving from baseball to slow pitch softball.
It took a while to get the timing, stance and swing down to not continually hit a can of corn into the outfield.
There were a lot of adjustments that needed to be made to be successful.
Then trying to play fast pitch softball was another whole can of worms at the plate.
I spent many a day hitting dozens of softballs off a batting tee, and you can be sure that it helped.
Learn to hold that gun one way or another.
Try pulling out at the forestock and pulling in at the wrist simultaneously.
Apply a little twist of pressure here or there.
Experiment with the angle of your elbow.
Experiment with your stance.
Experiment with the placement of your forward hand.
Try canting your stock inward ever so slightly.
Pay attention to the angle of your spine, lean back in order to better balance yourself if you need to.
You can always use a target style hold and use you rib cage to support your interior bicep while moving your hand inward on the stock.
I coached my kid through learning 3 position small bore shooting and eventually he improved even though he may not
have employed all of the "proper established methods & techniques".
Results are all that matters, and some people need to find what works best for them.
Concentrate on the front sight and the target.
Hold your breath just before you squeeze the trigger as if you were going under water.
There's a lot of basic tips that take time and practice to help unlock the secrets to shooting your new gun.
Don't give up.
Softball is the same game as hardball, just a different type of bat and ball.
Once you learn a few new tricks through trial & error you'll eventually become a pro at it.
Or it will be back to the bench for that gun.

 

[Ricochet]

Thanks arcticat! I have taught hitting lessons to area boys and girls free of charge, for the most part, for going on 25 years. Your suggestions really make sense to me, especially about small pressure points. Makes you use muscles you didn't know you had, just like proper form in baseball and softball swings. I will eventually get it, I am sure of it, just thought the journey was becoming a little comical. I am having a blast shooting this thing but it definitely isn't as easy as some make it look. It takes me back in time

 

[arcticap]

No really, thank you!
It's an interesting topic that rarely gets discussed.
The follow through is about holding the gun in firing position until the bullet hits the target.
And the stance involves moving your front foot left or right while using the rear as a pivot.
Close your eyes and shoulder the gun, then when you open your eyes see where the gun is pointed.
Then make the adjustment with your front foot to bring the gun into better alignment with the target.
Then you're not fighting against your stance to stay on target.
And then you can work on all of the little muscle pressures, balance and things, and where you need to hold your forestock.
How far out that you want to extend the front hand.
The angle of your elbow can be tucked in, extended out level with the ground, or in between.
You need to find the center of balance that will best harmonize for you, your technique and the gun.
You can have more than one technique that works.
When one trick stops working for you, then move on to the next trick that worked in the past.
But keep at it, and keep warming up those muscles, especially in the arms and fingers.
And get a consistent weld between the cheek and stock.
Plenty of methods to play with, make a science out of it and write some notes if you need to.
Stand up nice and straight, or arch your back.
Whatever secrets that are built into the gun that you need to discover.
Good luck!

 

[tenngun]

Get you a little piece of wood, the size of a flint and put it in your lock. Youcan do this in your house. Point your gun at a speck on a wall, pull the trigger while keeping it on that speck.continue to hold on that speck 3 or 4 seconds after pulling the trigger, cock and do it again. You will build up a muscle memory.
When your out shooting do the same, hold on the target even though you knew it went off.
The flash won’t get you. It’s impress looking but I’ve been shooting flinter over forty years and ain never been bit.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Confidence is everything in life.

Whether it’s public speaking, sex, shooting, or any numbers of things, it all takes practice to make perfect and to gain confidence that you aren’t a fool at it. Buddy just stick to it and I know you’ll get it, forget about that pan and flash, focus on the front sight, and you’ll get there!

 

[Black Hand]

Get you a little piece of wood, the size of a flint and put it in your lock. You can do this in your house. Point your gun at a speck on a wall, pull the trigger while keeping it on that speck.continue to hold on that speck 3 or 4 seconds after pulling the trigger, cock and do it again. You will build up a muscle memory.
When your out shooting do the same, hold on the target even though you knew it went off.
The flash won’t get you. It’s impress looking but I’ve been shooting flinter over forty years and ain never been bit.

I use an actual flint....