Didn't even stay to retrieve the target, took this picture from 100 yards and went home. 5 holes if you count the nick at the bottom. Two touching on the right and one in the black that you can't see. Not very good considering the amount of lead I'd poured down the range. The gun was shooting incredibly high with a big delay between pan-flash and boom and ignition was haphazard. It was pouring with rain and I was not a happy bunny.

The load was 50 to 70 grains of TPPH black powder behind half a felt wad and a 0.612" lead ball wrapped in 0.015" calico patch lubed with Castrol LM grease. Aiming at the railway sleeper just above the large number 8. A fairly tight load that needed starting down the pipe with a rubber mallet.

Things to fix for next month

The Ignition A terrorist alert at the airports delayed the mail and my new flints didn't arrive in time. This Baker lock is very flint fussy, if they aren't just the right size the pan doesn't open all the way and she doesn't light. I'd tried to fix it for smaller flints by putting in a different steel which was easier to open but it didn't spark half as well as the original. There were big delays between the flint falling and the gun firing, lots of time for me to wander off the aim, they don't call them flinch-locks for nothing.

The Sights The rear sight is 0.32" higher than the foresight which aims the gun an incredible 51" high at one hundred yards. What range is this wretched thing set for??? I am going to fit an adjustable foresight while I sort out the other problems. Having to aim way below the target is a right royal pain in the backside, I will worry about that later on.

Refined Hydrocarbons Castrol grease on the patches and a plethora of rust preventers down the bore are generally considered a bad idea, don't know why. But after shooting I washed the bore with water, resisted the temptation to add anything else, just put it to warm up over the back of the computer screen. Rust hates warmth, the pen knife kept in a trouser pocket stays bright and shiny.

The Weather Flint locks don't like high humidity. When you shoot, the smoke and flame zoom out the end of the barrel leaving a partial vacuum behind, fresh air rushes in and gets decompressed causing it to dump it's moisture content. When you pour in the powder it sticks to the sides and gets damp, when you ram the ball the touch hole and pan get wet, A damp flinter is not a happy shooter.