Mauser,

I know what you mean about the range. I also get nervous when there are many other people already there.

When I'm sighting in the gun, I usually only take 2 or 3 shots at 100 yards to see where I'm hitting the target. Then wait so I usually like going when few people or nobody is there, or I will take a few shots at 25 yards in the woods behind the house before heading over. The range is about 6 miles away from my home.

I started fishing by myself when I was about 8 in the 60's, but on Long Island at that time, there weren't too many crazies. My son is 11 now, doesn't have a desire to hunt which I'm ok with and doesn't fish. I do take him scouting with me sometimes and he does like that. I hope in a few years he too will want to go hunting. When I was his age, I was spending hours fishing and scouting through the woods. Times have changed and I don't force then to do only what they want to do. He still plays baseball and soccer so I'm happy with that, plus plays Game Cube.

Enjoy your gun and I would like to do the same one day and build me a nice Hawkins.

There is a guy his name is Bob that comes here sometimes and all he uses is a flint lock hawkins, plus an old PSE wooden compound, and he gets deer every year.

If you practice enough and can take the shot safely at the right moment, than it does not matter if you use a flint lock rifle or a 30-06.

Tom