Letting other shoot their rifles

[nemovir]

Had 3 guys come over and requested to shoot my .40. Advice I had no problem and let all shoot one.  They all shot pretty well at 25 yards.  Gave them the target as a keepsake.  They said they never seen one in the wild and had some questions.  They seem please with it.  Hopefully they will join us.

[rich pierce]

At my local range I ask other shooters if they want to try a flintlock. They all enjoy it and some ask me to take a picture with their phone.

[J.M.Browning]

I had a friend over to the house he shot the 100 yard range really smiled the the ball hit the paper & made a ding tone in the bullet trap. I think he felt very comfortable not being a shooter & not feeling concerned about some moron  at a gun club - public range , I really try to promote shooting - especially to non shooters . In my subjective opinion I find new shooter's  seem less intimidated with muzzle loaders & the aspect of loading the firearm adds a thrilling aspect for a new shooter .

Disclaimer : Although I'm new & have been well informed I absolutely know nothing of such or one thing of another - I can't tell you in my old age the joy of the smile I see when someone new loads the rifle and pulls the trigger !

[Habu]

For around a decade I've been doing an "Intro to Flintlocks" class periodically, for folks who've never shot one before (and often, have never fired a gun before).  Depending on the number of shooters, it can last a couple of hours or half a day; I demonstrate each step in loading and firing, answer questions, repeat til they have the general idea, then they shoot (at least) five shots on paper.  When we have time, we'll shoot at a gong too.  It is usually a load of fun, particularly if the shooters are mostly kids. 

The first 1,100 or so shot with my personal rifle.  In hindsight this was a bad plan for a couple reasons.  My rifle was stocked for my oversized carcass and monkey-like arms: too long for kids, and the argument often came up that they couldn't do as well with a production rifle.  It also put a lot of wear and abuse on my rifle, which is now in the queue to be re-stocked.   

Last year I picked up a kit and put it together, just to have a production rifle to use.  The rifle is also of more-standard dimensions (roughly 13 1/2" pull) which helps a lot.  After more than 100 shooters fired the new rifle last year, it seems to have been a reasonably good decision. 

[Eric Krewson]

I have a friend that works at the local Dick's Sporting Goods who sends me people that come by the store that are interested in traditional archery or flintlocks and don't where to start.

I make bow strings for some of them, some I teach to shoot. I have to size people up, I only offer advice to crack head looking ones and don't invite them into my shop. If I have friends in common with someone, I will show them my flintlock rifles and bows and let them shoot them.

[rich pierce]

I have a friend that works at the local Dick's Sporting Goods who sends me people that come by the store that are interested in traditional archery or flintlocks and don't where to start.

I make bow strings for some of them, some I teach to shoot. I have to size people up, I only offer advice to crack head looking ones and don't invite them into my shop. If I have friends in common with someone, I will show them my flintlock rifles and bows and let them shoot them.

A friend of mine I trusted said he knew about primitive archery. I’d just made a Great Lakes styled bow with the scalloped edges. Nice little 45 pound black locust bow. I strung it and showed it to him. He immediately drew it past his ear and exploded it. No warmup, no partial draw. Just “let’s show how strong I am”.  Since then I’ve discounted anyone’s undocumented but claimed experience. This especially applies to guns where muzzle control isn’t instinctive for everyone.

[J.M.Browning]

I have a friend that works at the local Dick's Sporting Goods who sends me people that come by the store that are interested in traditional archery or flintlocks and don't where to start.

I make bow strings for some of them, some I teach to shoot. I have to size people up, I only offer advice to crack head looking ones and don't invite them into my shop. If I have friends in common with someone, I will show them my flintlock rifles and bows and let them shoot them.

A friend of mine I trusted said he knew about primitive archery. I’d just made a Great Lakes styled bow with the scalloped edges. Nice little 45 pound black locust bow. I strung it and showed it to him. He immediately drew it past his ear and exploded it. No warmup, no partial draw. Just “let’s show how strong I am”.  Since then I’ve discounted anyone’s undocumented but claimed experience. This especially applies to guns where muzzle control isn’t instinctive for everyone.

  I have absolutely no idea what you are inferring . I was under the impression this thread was more about promoting new people to muzzle loading .

[rich pierce]

I have a friend that works at the local Dick's Sporting Goods who sends me people that come by the store that are interested in traditional archery or flintlocks and don't where to start.

I make bow strings for some of them, some I teach to shoot. I have to size people up, I only offer advice to crack head looking ones and don't invite them into my shop. If I have friends in common with someone, I will show them my flintlock rifles and bows and let them shoot them.

A friend of mine I trusted said he knew about primitive archery. I’d just made a Great Lakes styled bow with the scalloped edges. Nice little 45 pound black locust bow. I strung it and showed it to him. He immediately drew it past his ear and exploded it. No warmup, no partial draw. Just “let’s show how strong I am”.  Since then I’ve discounted anyone’s undocumented but claimed experience. This especially applies to guns where muzzle control isn’t instinctive for everyone.

  I have absolutely no idea what you are inferring . I was under the impression this thread was more about promoting new people to muzzle loading .

[nemovir]

I was at my local public range when walk over to speak to me.

[Dphariss]

I have a friend that works at the local Dick's Sporting Goods who sends me people that come by the store that are interested in traditional archery or flintlocks and don't where to start.

I make bow strings for some of them, some I teach to shoot. I have to size people up, I only offer advice to crack head looking ones and don't invite them into my shop. If I have friends in common with someone, I will show them my flintlock rifles and bows and let them shoot them.

A friend of mine I trusted said he knew about primitive archery. I’d just made a Great Lakes styled bow with the scalloped edges. Nice little 45 pound black locust bow. I strung it and showed it to him. He immediately drew it past his ear and exploded it. No warmup, no partial draw. Just “let’s show how strong I am”.  Since then I’ve discounted anyone’s undocumented but claimed experience. This especially applies to guns where muzzle control isn’t instinctive for everyone.

  I have absolutely no idea what you are inferring . I was under the impression this thread was more about promoting new people to muzzle loading .

He’s talking about being selective and being careful around idiots/ the inexperienced. I run into quite a few at the range in the county I live in.

[B.Habermehl]

Every year I run a black powder range at a youth field day. One of eight stations. We have the privilege to introduce 90 plus youth and parents into the black powder shooting sports. We operate a combination of two events, throwing tomahawk and shooting flintlock and percussion rifles. The youth have a blast. We occasionally have a youth hesitant to shoot, but there’s allways hawk chuckin. The rifles and hawks mostly belong to me, depending on how many non family range officer I have. This has gone for more than 20 years. It’s a fun day usually I can barely lift my arms till the end of the day. Thankfully I normally have at least three range officer helping me. Even though it’s ment to be a youth event we normally have time to allow interested parents to shoot. Last year I had a fellow from France have a shot or two. BJH

[J.M.Browning]

Dphariss the OP - started the thread informing about introducing a first time ML experience in a controlled setting . No place is he talking about archery -  (idiots/ the inexperienced) not very logical to continue exposing yourself at a range , I shoot  once every 5 years at a range for a permit . Thank you for the clarification Dphariss hopefully we now can return to new shooter introduction & less about the Morons forum members choose to expose themselves to regularly .Once again I really enjoy the sale on a person new to shooting on my private range .

[Eric Krewson]

Wow! I don't just teach in the B/P realm, I didn't think saying the word "archery" would be considered inflammatory.

I don't discriminate on who, (unless they just don't seem right) or what I teach, I just like to help people.

Here are a couple of kids of a game warden friend that wanted to shoot their grandpa's flintlock. The barrel was totally roached out, I spent a good bit of time with maroon scotch bright pad scrubbing the barrel before I could even load it for the young men. The youngster in the picture was a lefty so I covered his arm to keep him from getting burned by the flash.





My last two guys were combat vets from Afghanistan, one couldn't get his new to him TC flintlock to go off, one klatch and I realized the guy who sold him the gun gave him pydrodex to prime with, 4F cured his problem.

The last is a great friend and badly wounded Afgan vet who had a 5K bunker buster bomb dropped on his position by mistake. Out of about 50 people in the group, he and a lieutenant were the only ones to survive, he was horribly mangled. His recovery has been ongoing for 20 years, he is partially blind (tunnel vision), had a traumatic brain injury and missing part of one hand.

He and his wife live in Clarksville Tn, they were passing through my area and dropped by to "buy" some osage wood. I picked out my best wood and forced them begrudgingly to take it for free. 

My .54 deer rifle was in my shop loaded when I gave them a tour, Gil was a career military man and spent countless years in combat.

As they were leaving, I asked Gil if he had ever fired a flintlock, he said no. Out to the range we went, Gil was sniper at times, as was the last guy I helped with a flintlock. These guys have it together with offhand shooting, no flinching involved.

I explained the working of a flintlock, Gil steadied for the shot and was surprised how fast my gun went off. Before we looked at the target Gill said he pulled off just a fraction as he pulled the trigger, sure enough, his shot went a couple inches left of the bull.

It was freezing cold and Gils wife was suffering with cold feet and hands so they opted to continue on their journey.

There are a lot of myths out there about the effectiveness and accuracy of our B/P guns, I like a little time with beginners to help dispel these myths.

[JLayne]

I was at Colonial Williamsburg back in 2018, and at that time they had a range where visitors could “Fire a Flintlock Musket”.  You got three shots for $75.00.  I remember jokingly thinking to myself I should start such a business at the range where I go with my flintlocks. I don’t usually get people asking to try one (most seem afraid of the pan flash), but they usually draw a small gathering of the curious.

Jay

[Bob Roller]

The USofA was made into a country by black powder guns ranging from the flintlock to powerful single shots that nearly brought the extinction of the buffalo herds and after that,powerful black powder repeating rifles.We have come full circle with the current interest in
the muzzle loader and the single shot breech loader all available again.The 1933 start of the NMLRA rekindled the interest that has grown
and furnished an income for many of us who post here.
Bob Roller

[Hungry Horse]

 When I first got into muzzleloading most of the people involved were secretive about how to shoot safely and accurately. I vowed that if I ever figured it all out, I would share it with anybody that was interested. I began with the history courses in junior high. I stressed history, but gave live demonstration on how to load and fire a muzzleloader. I then got involved with the High school that had a program that required senior students to do a “senior project”. I taught a couple of young men how to build a muzzleloader. As the year progressed, I periodically got phone calls from friends, and neighbor, that for one reason or another had either inherited a replica muzzleloader, or the parts to build one. I assembled these guns and put together a shooting kit for each of them. Over the years I have taken numerous pilgrim's out to the range and let them make a lot of the little mistake new shooters make, under the supervision of someone who has made them all, and lived to tell the tale.

Hungry Horse

[Daryl]

We have a "Heritage Day" at the R & G Club I belong to, where all of the shooting disciplines are covered.  Guests (mostly families) from town pay something like $5.00 or $10.00 for 5-shot tickets &
go from station to station, pick and choose what guns they want to shoot, whether shotguns, rifles, handguns, BP Rifles or rimfire silhouette rifles.
We always get a good turnout at the BP stations.
Lunch is also served, in hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, pop,coffee,tee,water by a Scout Troupe or Rocky Mountain Rangers or both as fund raisers.

[hanshi]

From time to time when I go to the rifle club range there'll be a few adults and often a kid or two.  They virtually always closely watch me fire the flintlock.  While some will come over to talk and examine the flintlock I'm shooting, others "hold back" for some reason.  I then issue the invitation to all of them to shoot my rifle.  I load it for them, of course, and explain how to cock it and set the trigger gently - without destroying the lock.  They enjoy it but I just don't know how many are really interested.  Kids always get fired up, however.

[J.M.Browning]

I would say most of the people I introduce new shooters , seem to favor the BP percussion , flintlock , metalic - I think its the smoke & tone of the firearms its a joy to watch .

[Eric Krewson]

I taught hunter safety for 10 years, archery, muzzle loaders and tree stand safety, I usually had 30 kids or so in my classes.

Few if any of these kids knew that there was ever a side lock muzzle loader in existence, they all thought muzzle loaders were black and had scopes. They also thought that all bows had wheels on the ends.

[recurve]

yes but I do the loading fewer dry balls  I hope that way

[k varga]

  What happens if someone gets a piece of flint in their eye or something else odd happens, what happens next you may have a real problem because you were a nice guy.

  kurt

[recurve]

they don't get to shoot unless they have eye and ear protection ( I keep shooting glasses and ear plugs in my truck) and no one gets to stand on the vent hole side

[Daryl]

  What happens if someone gets a piece of flint in their eye or something else odd happens, what happens next you may have a real problem because you were a nice guy.
  kurt

Standard safety precautions apply at all times, as noted by recurve. Eye and ear protection when shooting ANY rifle, handgun or shotgun.

[wolf]

i have a shooting range at home. i have had a couple of neighbors down the road here me shooting before and come by to take a look. i always offer them a shot. they love the lesson,,,,,,,,,,,,,,