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**4V50 Gary** · May 16, 2001, 08:32 AM

Last Saturday, I took the flintlock to the Mother Lode Gun Club Rendezvous near Jamestown, CA. Since load development was the done, and no adjustment have been made to the sights, I shot rather poorly on that day. Simply put, Rendezvous is not the place to experiment. Despite this, it was a lot of fun. Trying to figure out "Kentucky Windage" with all the targets being at various distances is rather difficult. Funny, but all that white smoke tends to obscure your sight so you can't see the impact of the ball.

One useful hint I learned was to pick the vent prior to shooting. That is, you push your vent pick into the vent hole to ensure that it is clear for the flash. The other thing to do is to turn the gun towards the side (if your flintlock is right handed, turn counterclockwise and if left handed, turn clockwise). Tap the rifle to settle the powder towards the vent, then with a quick flip of the wrist, spread the powder out along the length of the pan. I guess this can be called the Vent-Tap-Flip drill.

After shooting, went to Traders' Row and purchased some more cowhorns. I'll be busy at night making powder horns for myself and my brother. Also bought a small horn to make into a priming horn.

BTW George, I didn't wear buckskins but I plan on making a rifleman's frock. It'll look good with the tomahawk & scalping knife.

May 16, 2001, 08:32 AM	#10
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 22,304	Update Last Saturday, I took the flintlock to the Mother Lode Gun Club Rendezvous near Jamestown, CA. Since load development was the done, and no adjustment have been made to the sights, I shot rather poorly on that day. Simply put, Rendezvous is not the place to experiment. Despite this, it was a lot of fun. Trying to figure out "Kentucky Windage" with all the targets being at various distances is rather difficult. Funny, but all that white smoke tends to obscure your sight so you can't see the impact of the ball. One useful hint I learned was to pick the vent prior to shooting. That is, you push your vent pick into the vent hole to ensure that it is clear for the flash. The other thing to do is to turn the gun towards the side (if your flintlock is right handed, turn counterclockwise and if left handed, turn clockwise). Tap the rifle to settle the powder towards the vent, then with a quick flip of the wrist, spread the powder out along the length of the pan. I guess this can be called the Vent-Tap-Flip drill. After shooting, went to Traders' Row and purchased some more cowhorns. I'll be busy at night making powder horns for myself and my brother. Also bought a small horn to make into a priming horn. BTW George, I didn't wear buckskins but I plan on making a rifleman's frock. It'll look good with the tomahawk & scalping knife.