If you want to try shooting a musket...

Or, you can find friend who is into black powder and go shooting with him or her. volunteer to help clean when you are done though!

Thanks for the link, if and when I get back east I have a very long list of places I want to visit. Williamsburg was already on my list but now there is another reason.

That's a great thing they're doing for the public. I suggest we all support their effort and pass the word (thank you OLNS) so that they get good enough response to keep things like this going.

Reminds me of when I was a school child and the nearby Army post had Armed Forces Day events. Civilians and even kids could shoot blank ammunition through a machine gun. They had live artillery demonstrations, etc.

I used to shoot a lot of BP. I liked the smoke but the cleaning was a PIA.

I'm a flintlock guy first, center fire second.

Click......BOOM. Its like EVERY round is a hangfire. Want to shoot a musket? Grab an Enfield and some 1940's surplus ammo.

If shooting your flintlock feels like a hang fire you're doing something wrong. It requires more skill than just jacking a round into the chamber. It's very rewarding to master the art of flintlocks and it will improve your shooting.

Jimster,
Nice Jaeger.

Thank you!

Well I ve never mastered my flintlock . Still enjoy shooting it wrong handed.
I shoot left handed(bought $30.00 years few years back dealer hates sidelock only sells in line) Of course that puts the hammer and pan on wrong side.
That's no problem Its the long hammer fall . Mine sparks and boom quick.
I have same problem with a cap lock .I tend drop rifle down as hammer falls . From a rest no problem..

Shoot one of these a few times and you will come to respect . Those that fought wars with one. The artillery same way. Lot of work.

Have shot black powder pistols of various types and can't stand all of the goo you get all over yourself in the process of loading and shooting. Cleaning? Total PITA.

No thanks.

It's an investment.

In time, money, discipline, and patience.

But to those willing to put in the effort, traditional black powder shooting can be incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. It is for me at least.

It's an investment. In time, money, discipline, and patience.

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But to those willing to put in the effort, ___fill in the blank__ can be incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. It is for me at least.

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Generic statements that can be said of any activity from golf to model railroading. Shooting black powder guns is no different or special than 100 other hobby activities.

I've never shot black powder, but wouldn't it be fairly easy to clean? Wash hands/face, change clothes, shower, and soak gun in hot soapy water?

buckhorn_cortez said:

Generic statements that can be said of any activity from golf to model railroading. Shooting black powder guns is no different or special than 100 other hobby activities.

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Listen dude, we get it. It's not your thing. Thanks for gracing us with your opinion.

Moving on...

I don't know why there is always such prejudice against black powder. Laziness if you ask me!

I find it TREMENDOUS fun to shoot. Just budget your time such that you have enough time to thoroughly clean after shooting.

I did Rev War/F&I reenactments for years and then took up CAS shooting BP exclusively. No harder to clean than smokeless and a lot more fun.

Jimster said:

If shooting your flintlock feels like a hang fire you're doing something wrong. It requires more skill than just jacking a round into the chamber. It's very rewarding to master the art of flintlocks and it will improve your shooting.

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A good lock, with a good flint, is danged near as fast as a cap. A joy to shoot. I have won shooting matches out to 100 yards with my wife's smoothbore, shooting against rifles. And cleaning is, well, just cleaning. I don't have to take my flinter apart to clean it like I do my pistols, and it cleans up well with windshield washer fluid and a touch of soap. Ten minutes, maybe, after a LOT of shooting. Well worth the trouble.

And that's a nice Jaeger!

Thanks. Track of the Wolf kit.

While I don't have a flintlock I do shoot and enjoy shooting black powder.

Nice shootin' irons, Kaeto!

It is much easier to truly get a black powder rifle clean than a modern one. Hot water, patches, a rag, oil.
Don't need brushes, powder solvents, copper removers, lead removers and such.
Revolvers, lots more work.

It may be a silly question, but what is the recoil like on a black powder rifle?

The only time i've seen someone turned off by a flintlock was because the guy was trying to prime it with Pyrodex... that's a lesson in futility. On the bright side, i bought that gun cheap.

Recoil depends on a number of factors, like with all types of guns.

PapaG said:

It is much easier to truly get a black powder rifle clean than a modern one. Hot water, patches, a rag, oil.
Don't need brushes, powder solvents, copper removers, lead removers and such.
Revolvers, lots more work.

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^ what he said