Our club had our annual flintlock "championship" shoot.
We each shoot two targets, 5 shots each. One at 25 yards, one at fifty, all offhand.
Its fun to see the "part time" flint shooters try to keep up with the guys that shoot flinters all year round.
Here's the group we had:

Who was the “champ”?!?
Let me guess!

Hah! Not me. Pretty sure I came in 2nd.

No excuses, but a gusty crosswind doesn't help when you're trying to hold a 42 inch barrel still.

The guy 3rd from the right (standing) won, its typically between me and him every year.

Here's a couple more pictures from the day.

My sister shooting:


And a view of the firing line:

No youngsters interested in the old guns? What ashame

Looks like a good time.

No, not many at all.

We 've got two or three guys pushing 30, they're about the youngest. The average age is at or over 60 for sure.

Its a great way to spend a few hours, and not burn up too much $ in ammunition.

Everyone ones a winner flintlockin'

I watched some of the final shots at Bloody lake Saturday

both the 1st and second woman were cap-locks

the mens shoot went on a good deal longer the top 4 guys 2 were Rock lock and 2 cap lock I stepped away so I didn't see the end of it.

that wind was coming and going , if you could wait a minute you might catch a lull

The old guys should try to get the grand kids off the electronics and out shooting with you.

Hard to do PF. Looks like a great time

K snow, are events like that generally open for the public to come observe? I think my kids would really enjoy something like that.

All our club events are open to the public. Come on out and have some fun.

I think most clubs are open on monthly type shoots, to encourage new members.

If you ever make to my neck of the woods, hit me up and we'll get your kids making some smoke.

Caplocks are an advantage for sure. Flinters are fast when they're tuned and everything is good. But 1 little thing off can cause tiny delays.

The wind was gusty by us. I try to wait, but sometimes when I've just about got the "squeeze" done, the wind kicks.

Some year I'll make it to Bloody Lake

I have never shot a flint lock. Had plans on buying one at the blackpowder thing thats once a year not to far from me a little over an hour. Then quickly realized I didnt know enough about all the different types and models. So got overwhelmed and left with nothing. I think a flint lock has a major advantage when you cant find caps on the shelf.

Now days I question anything for myself thet requires open sight. These eyes are not what they once were.

Absolutely looks like fun. Do you get all decked out in your home made buckskin and period attire?

Have you ever tried making black powder? I saw some videos on it it looked interesting.

PF,

I wear my "skins" at every shoot. Most guys only dress up at rendezvous.

Flintlocks can have a steep learning curve for sure. I started with caplocks, and even those can be daunting when you're new. I strongly encourage people interested in traditional muzzleoaders to try to get with a local club, to get guidance and opnions from people who've handled and shot them.

Lots of old guns show evidence of rear sights being moved down a barrel, presumably as the owner's eyes aged.

Traditional ML shooting is a dying sport unfortunately. When I lived in Paducah Ky we went to a lot of events in Illinois and Missouri. Sometimes I went to 12 or 15 a year. Most were club rendezvous open to the public to raise funds for the club. As the average age of participants increased (with fewer young people coming into the sport) clubs began to fail. The members still interested in participating would join a club close by, but over time there were fewer and fewer clubs. I believe Mo killed a lot of the clubs by increasing the liability insurance required to host an event from $1 million to $2 million. Clubs could no longer make enough money hosting an event with the increased insurance cost. When we moved to Va we found the same situation. The only new folks joining our club were transplants like me or folks from other clubs that had failed.

I think another factor is that a qualify custom or semi-custom rifle has become quite expensive, especially for a young man with a family to support. At the same time Savage and Ruger and others are producing center fire hunting rifles for a fifth of what a quality ML costs. Jim Kibler's kits may change this cost equation for the better.

We need the old guys with young attractive granddaughters to get them interested and going to events, and the young men will follow. Hal's nieces would be a good place to start!

Sounds great to me! If you folks are having a shoot this summer we very well may drive on down.