Well guys, I had my first range session with the new .54 Great Plains flintlock. WHAT A HOOT! First time with a new gun, shooting range to myself, andperfect weather - temperature in the high 60's, cloudless sky, a very light breeze you could barelyfeel on your cheek.

GETTING READY:

I've been doing a lot of forum surfing on flintlocks, Great Plains rifles, round ball shooting, etc., to get ready for the first session. The GP comes with a saw cut agate flint, but there seems to be a consensus that black English flints were the best, so I got some of them from Track of the Wolf. Bought two boxes of Hornady .530 balls. Already had a good supply of .018 patch material for the Zouave, and it seemed to be just right for the GP. Bought a 4 oz. container of Eastern Main Shooting Supplies' "Premium Lube" (I think someone on HuntingNet recommended it - whoever you are, thank you). Ran across a deal on Remington pre-lubed .54 caliber Wonder Wads a Gander Mountain, packs of 50marked down from $3.97 to 97 cents - bought ten packs. And finally, a fresh can of GOEX FFFg donated by a friend (can't buy the stuff anywhere in Louisiana).

The GP comes with an extra tall front sight, so I pretty well figured it would shoot low right out of thebox. So I stacked two targets so I could aim at the upper one with the hope of hitting the bottom one. It worked. Here's what the target board looked like.