flint vs percussion

[pulaski]

At many shoots there are seperate flint and percussion shoots . We don't have that at our club and I don't seem to see that one or the other is the better , it usually depends on who's behind the buttplate .
Does the club you shoot at seperate them and if so why?
Steve

[JCKelly]

Long ago Westmoreland Rifles used to have the flint shoot last.
I loved it.
Only had a flint rifle, so by the end of the day all the flinch was worn out of me.
But the capgun boys were fearful of all that fire, and on a good day this here Mediocre Shot could beat the (at the time) national champion.

[D. Bowman]

Most clubs around here flint and perc. shoot the same match. Some have a rule that in a tie flint wins over perc.

[xring2245]

I shoot at two clubs on a regular basis
       First Frontier Militia does have separate flint target events, but do not segregate on the rifle or smoothbore events.
       Brandywine Longrifles will award a tie to someone shooting a flinter over a percussion gun.  Everyone shoots the same targets though.
     So, I guess it depends on the club.  There is no set procedure.

James

[Standing Bear]

Most places I have competed have flint aggs.   

Flintlocks are allowed in the rifle matches that caplocks shoot in.  No special treatment of flintlocks there such as tie breakers.

Most folks shoot flinters as more of a challenge especially thru a 20-25 shot aggregate.  Lots of the competitors shoot cap guns in the rifle matches and then get out the flinter like I used to do.  Now I just shoot the flint guns but sure need to use some of the cappers I have or give them to the kids.

Our monthly club matches do not distinguish between flint and percussion.  Everybody shoots the same targets.  3 of us cleaned the silhouettes last month.  I was the only flint shooter.  Had a shoot off on paper targets.

TC

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

The shoots I've been to don't seem to separate them.

As far as percussion locks, never ever shot one never will.

[Kermit]

Abandoned all distinctions years ago. Except: no peeps, no scopes, NO INLINES.

They used to give me a formulaic advantage shooting flint at clays--until it allowed me to win consistently. That went out too.

So now it's shoot what you brung, as long as you brung the right stuff. See above.

[Roger Fisher]

What has governed the thinking re: Do we hold seperate flint (aggs or matches) is the fact that most local clubs are lucky to get a 25 or 30 turnout for 1 day shoots. So, prizes for seperate flint and cussin gun shooters are priced pretty much out of the picture and this is the main cause for combining the 2.

Some clubs, incl ours, have seperate reentry matches for flint rifles and the rest are combined.  We pick the shoots that usually have good turnouts of shooters, to throw in the seperate flint/flinch matches.   

[northmn]

When I was more active in clubs I remember what one organizer from another club stated.  He found that the flintlocks shooters were beating the percussion shooters anyway so why sperate them?  As a rule he was correct.  When I used to shoot both, I never saw a significant difference in my scores.  Sometimes percussion seemed like a little less hassle for the day.  Usually the better shots gravitate toward the flintlock.  At one time one organization would not permit flintlocks to shoot against percussions as an obvious attempt to eliminate one particular competitor.

DP

[Daryl]

There is a steady "progression" or "regression" towards flintlocks in most areas as the population ages.  Perhaps this is the better shots looking for more challenge. 

When the top shooters are using cap locks, they seem to be the ones who win most al of the rifle shoots. When the top shooters are shooting flintlocks, they still win most of the time, but it gives other caplock shooters (like me) a chance to squeek into the winner's circle, now and then.

[hanshi]

The club shoots I've been to don't differentiate between the two in matches.  There seems to be no correlation with wins to ether percussion or flint.  Competing with flint is more fun.

[SCLoyalist]

For monthly shoots, everybody shoots the same targets regardless of ignition type, and ribbons are given for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place rifle.  However, we do recognize the best flint scores with separate ribbons. 

For annual shoots, with larger attendance, there is a separate aggregate for flint.  Flintlocks can enter any agg and compete against the percussion guns if they so choose.

[Glenn]

I've only been to one ML competitive shooting event and that was 11 years ago.  I can't remember how the shoot was conducted in regards to flint VS percussion, etc., but I do remember there were several of both shooting various events, aggs, and so forth.  I fired percussion only for every event because that is all I had.  Now that I think about it, I don't recall anyone complaining they were outshot by the flinters, or percussions, or whatever else may have been out there.

If I ever get lucky enough to get to another match, I really don't care who shoots what (or what I shoot, for that matter) because at the end of it all you scored what you scored with whatever you decided to shoot with and that will be the end of it.  The bottom line I guess is to enjoy whatever you are shooting.

What matters most to me is what I shoot when hunting.  What determines what I shoot on a particular hunt will be based solely on wind and moisture.  If I hunt close to where I live on the Gulf Coast, it will almost always be lots of moisture in the air even on a fairly bright day.  If I hunt more away from the area I live in, the air will be different and as long as it's dry and the wind is down the flint of course is really no problem.  The bottom line here is when hunting I'm going to use what is least likely to fail depending upon the weather conditions because I definitely want to bring the meat home. 

As far as building goes, I really can't see the justification in building a percussion Brown Bess,  or a wheel lock Hawken ... ()  Some extremes in life just shouldn't be done, Y'all know what I mean ... 

[Tom Cooper]

There is a steady "progression" or "regression" towards flintlocks in most areas as the population ages.  Perhaps this is the better shots looking for more challenge. 

When the top shooters are using cap locks, they seem to be the ones who win most al of the rifle shoots. When the top shooters are shooting flintlocks, they still win most of the time, but it gives other caplock shooters (like me) a chance to squeek into the winner's circle, now and then.

This is very true, typicaly those that are of the younger eyes and steady limbs but graying wiskers end up shooting flint for the increased challange.

 Our monthly shoots make no distinction between flint or cap, but when we hold the larger gatherings they have been seperated.

I can hold my own with the cap shooters, but they have a much harder time when they shoot flint rifles.

[Daryl]

Our 'big' shoot, the Hefley Creek Rondy can see 150 shooters on a trail, on competition.  The separations are smoothbore, men's rifle, ladies rifle, junior and cubs. 
There is not separation of ingnition source.

[Scott Bumpus]

It is real simple at the two big shoots I go to each year.... if yu brung a cap lock you will be ran out of camp!!!!  Flintlock's only.

[Dphariss]

Our 'big' shoot, the Hefley Creek Rondy can see 150 shooters on a trail, on competition.  The separations are smoothbore, men's rifle, ladies rifle, junior and cubs. 
There is not separation of ingnition source.

Shoot what you bring.
I shoot against percussion guns all the time.

Dan