Fowler

[Pukka Bundook]

Redheart,

Sorry if I confused you.
What I meant is "springing" the barrel by feel, rather than clamping down, where you cannot feel what is going on.
No way is best, just whatever you feel good about or confident in.
Springing a barrel just means putting it between two fairly solid surfaces, (like the apple tree fork)  and pulling on it quickly and letting it go back. As soon as it moves a bit you will know it, as you will feel less return pressure.
In practice, you pull on the barrel, and feel it return, and keep pulling  a little harder until you feel a slight give, then look along it and see how much it has moved.
(or use a straight edge, having used it as well prior to springing it.)

Hope this helps!

Richard.

[alacran]

How you sight along the barrel when shooting, too, will determine where the ball strikes the target. 

Bending the barrel is not the first thing I would do. Taylor is right, how you sight down the barrel will affect POI. The higher your cheek is on the butt, the higher you will shoot.
If the forward end of the barrel is swamped, moving the front sight further aft will lower the front sight in relation to the bore.

[Daryl]

The easiest sighting for a fowler shooting round balls is a flat sighting, from breech or wedding band (whichever is proud) with just the top of the blade in the middle of the target or bullseye.  For longer distance, you raise your cheek a bit to "see" a bit more or 'some' barrel between the flat of the breech or band and the front sight, or base of the front sight. Your eyeball is the rear sight.
 As most smoothbore shooting is at closer ranges, flat sighting, with cheek tight to the stock, sighting straight down the barrel, omnly seeing the back end and the sight, makes for more accurate shooting - as the rear sight - your eyeball is easily 'held' constantly the same.
Bending the barrel if necessary, or filing the front blade to accomplish this makes shooting smoothbore and ball easier - more accurate.

[Paul campbell jr]

Went and did some shooting yesterday.Moved my cheek up and was dead on most of my shots at 25 yards.50 yards was a little low but grouping.This was off hand suported by my knee.

[redheart]

Redheart,

Sorry if I confused you.
What I meant is "springing" the barrel by feel, rather than clamping down, where you cannot feel what is going on.
No way is best, just whatever you feel good about or confident in.
Springing a barrel just means putting it between two fairly solid surfaces, (like the apple tree fork)  and pulling on it quickly and letting it go back. As soon as it moves a bit you will know it, as you will feel less return pressure.
In practice, you pull on the barrel, and feel it return, and keep pulling  a little harder until you feel a slight give, then look along it and see how much it has moved.
(or use a straight edge, having used it as well prior to springing it.)

Hope this helps!

Richard.

Pukka,

Thanks for clearing this up for me.
Sorry I'm so easily confused.

[Pukka Bundook]

Redheart,

I tend to write things that make sense to me, but not the rest of the world!   

[redheart]

Redheart,

I tend to write things that make sense to me, but not the rest of the world!   

Thanks Pukka,

Welcome to the club.
But even with that said, I'm probably still the only one who didn't get it.

[Craig Wilcox]

No you are not the only one, Redheart - I was picturing a huge coil spring, and wondering how it could be used to bend a barrel.  Still wondering, but Richard (Pukka) finally relented and explained.

I think Pukka wants to use the giant spring as material for his next arquebus.  Just be sure to anneal it well.