What I did over while the turkey roasted...

[dougiefreshhh]

Here I am 1st time firing my 3rd Model Bess that I picked up second hand.

Up to this point I had never fired a flinter. Could not have done it without the help and expereince within this board. Thank you all!

.75gr FF, .69ball with some paper. FF in the pan. What an experience.


Acutally managed to hit a empty scuba tank 80yrds away on the 3rd shot! Beginners luck for sure.

Question: Should the flint stop sparking efficiently after 5 or so shots? I'm thinking I might have been running too much powder in the pan? Or should I be wiping off the flint and frizzen every few shots?

Thanks again for everyones input to help me get to this point. My wife said I was grinning all day like a kid on Christmas morning.

 

[Nuke8401]

In the morning I sat in a tree stand and pretended I was hunting deer.

After dinner I assembled a Stag AR lower after doing the 15 min trigger job. Now that complete uppers are becoming available I plan too pick one up, hopefully at a good price to finish my first AR build.

 

[arcticap]

Looking good dougiefreshhh!

 

[StrawHat]

dougiefreshhh

Here I am 1st time firing my 3rd Model Bess that I picked up second hand.

Up to this point I had never fired a flinter. Could not have done it without the help and expereince within this board. Thank you all!

.75gr FF, .69ball with some paper. FF in the pan. What an experience.

Glad to hear the FF worked in the pan for you. Many of us use finer powder for priming. I go with FFF. Your main charge sounds about right, you can vary it to suit your situation.

dougiefreshhh

Acutally managed to hit a empty scuba tank 80yrds away on the 3rd shot! Beginners luck for sure.

Probably not luck, smoothbores are a lot more accurate than people think. Too many folks think a rifle is needed to feed a family but the smoothbore is more than accurate enough to put food on the table.

dougiefreshhhQuestion: Should the flint stop sparking efficiently after 5 or so shots? I'm thinking I might have been running too much powder in the pan? Or should I be wiping off the flint and frizzen every few shots?

I wipe the flint and frizzzen each time, before I prime. I reknapp the flint when it stops throwing a shower of sparks. As you use the Bess more, you will find what it takes to keep her firing. The main thing is to enjoy yourself, keep it simple and have fun.

 

[mykeal]

You should also wipe the pan.

 

[dougiefreshhh]

Cheers Arcticap.

I was whisking the pan about every other shot... I guess having a rag-at-the-ready for wiping the flint/friz is standard.

We also shot some skeet later that day, and I really wanted to try the Bess with some #8 shot, but that will have to wait for another day!

Anyone ever shoot clays with their flinter? Tips/suggestions?

 

[arcticap]

Lead the bird... and please wear some eye and ear protection for your own safety.

Loading mixed shot sizes can also work very good, so the shot doesn't all need to be the same size. Sometimes mixing shot sizes actually works better because the range is increased by the larger pellets that are mixed in. Honest!
And also load more shot than you think you need! Despite conventional advice, if you really want to hit something sometimes more just works better then less! Black powder loads open up quickly, so more shot produces more of an effective pattern at practical bird shooting distances.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Acutally managed to hit a empty scuba tank 80yrds away on the 3rd shot! Beginners luck for sure.

Quite doable and considering that you shot from an offhand position, admirable. The smoothbore musket was reasonably accurate. The difference between you and the soldiers who wielded them is that you know how to aim (or at least sight down the barrel) and they didn't. Furthermore, you're doing something many of them didn't do - practice. Kudos.

 

[dispatch55126]

The powder in the pan should not cover the flash hole. Put just enough in there to fill the low point. Depending on what powder you use, you may need to pick the flash hole every few shots.