ORIGINAL: cayugad
Today was a perfect day for shooting. Not hot and no wind. I wanted to try some different powder in the new Tradition's Woodsman Flintlock and see how it worked. I decided to try some Swiss 3f and use it as prime. I only loaded 70 grains of it, but the stuff worked great.
I set the target at 30 yards and my first shot hit an inch and a half high, but nothing I could not live with. I then shot ten more rounds, without swabbing the barrel. To say I was happy with the accuracy would be an easy guess.
I then swabbed the barrel and shot 370 grain Maxiball with the same 70 gr of Swiss 3f. I used my homemade lube for the conicals. I shot at that half of a old bulls eye that was showing, making the challenge to myself to not hit the black if at all possible. I shot five rounds of conical again at 30 yards. Recoil was a little stiff in the light rifle but accuracy was very good. Also with the curved butt of the stock and the brass base plate, there was a little "digging in" of the butt stock plate.
After all of this, I took and set up soda cans at 50 yards and pushed them around in the trap for a while. For a rifle with a 1:48 twist this is a good roundball and conical shooter.
Also I am very impressed with the speed of the lock on this rifle. It never failed. I have been out three times with the same flint, although it is now about ready to change out.
Very nice, that is really putting them in there 30 yards open sights PRB, very nice. The flintlocks are fun, they are a lot harder to shoot I think because of lock time. An inline is pull the trigger and the gun fires, a FL is a pull and a hold for a split second, and holding it tight makes all the difference. Great shooting. 50 yards too looks great with the TC.
Chap Gleason