So.. a good follow through hold would be even more important would it not?

Yes follow through is important in ALL things Jack. Not just shooting. But what I am trying to get across to you that you seem to not be able to get is that TIMING your trigger pull from an off hand position is pretty much the absolute MAIN factor in being able to shoot accurately with a muzzleloader. Our brains can't even comprehend the speed of most center fire rifles lock times and expulsion times. If you can, you are either the Flash with super human speed cognition or you have a REALLY bad hammer spring. I haven't seen a smoke pole yet that I couldn't discern the firing process. Even my TC which I have an upgraded hammer spring installed (most TC hammer springs are pretty crappy) I can distinguish that "click boom" in my head. That right there is why I keep trying to get across to you that you HAVE to practice with the rifle and load you intend to hunt with if you are planning to shoot off hand at a STATIONARY animal with a muzzleloader. A moving animal, to me anyway, is probably 40% easier to deliver a kill shot on because of good follow through practices. But when you are shooting at a stationary animal, the only thing moving, and no matter how good you are off hand it is moving, is the barrel. So therefor you have to know that particular rifles timing as second nature to your breathing.

Not me. When i shoot any of four TC Omega rifles, they ignite instantaneously. The Omegas go boom exactly the same as my AR rifles go boom; exactly the same; instantaneously. The AR rifles are fun to shoot, and i like shooting them, but they don't ignite noticeably any quicker, than the Omega rifles.











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Isn't that pretty obvious? Like airplanes need wings? Is pulling the trigger while the sites are on the target NOT a goal with every other firearm on the planet?

Is there something special about one gun or another that making those little trips off the target smaller and slower wouldn't improve the odds/ability to "time" that right?

I didn't forget this thread. Just took a while to get around to playing again. I got out about the most accurate rifle I've got today to go on a little beaver shoot. My Marlin 17HMR. This is no muzzle loader, yes I know that. But it is a rifle, I did shot a group of 3 off hand from it today, from 80 yards. 90 yard would have put me standing in muddy running water.

I painted my steel plate and set it up like before. New black marker cross on it. THEN I set up a playing card stuck on a stick about a foot in front of it and kinda lined it up with the center. Walked back to 80 yards and took my first three shots standing off hand with a hasty sling hold. I had zeroed this rifle about a week ago from a rest and remembered it being a hair high from the 60 yard bench. I gave it a click or two and still held in the top half of the card, if you can call off hand a "hold".

There's the set up before I shot.



Wish I could tell ya with a straight face I only shot two and was aiming for those two clubs... but I shot three. YOu can see the impact on the steel. One was a little high and I was aiming for the top half of the card.



Then I sat down at the bench and shot three just to show what the rifle can do and it's probably better than that if it had a better operator. I was shooting off wooden blocks I cut out with the chain saw for this job.


This is just the card laid on the plate for a pic. Just because this is how I keep my records.


That's a Marlin 17HMR. I slicked up the trigger a little using tips from Rimfire Central. Then installed my own version of a trigger over travel adjustment and polished the barrel when I first got it with Semichrome and a couple patches on a pull through cleaning kit.

Brand new cardboard backer begged for a photo.
















Beginning with a cold clean barrel at 94 yard; six shots only; it was kinda cold at 11 degree, and lightly snowing. Quit before i became chilled. This morning new backer, and a new bullet too. The 270g Borlock was shot from this Omega for the first time. Thus far, practicing has resulted in shooting up all of three different bullets i would never take hunting; today began the shooting of a fourth that will never go hunting. This off hand shooting has been a fine way to get rid of unwanted bullets.











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