You've really opened my eyes about smoothbores. From a small boy i was always told they were useless after 20 yards

We’ll just pretend that the turnpike is the river flowing 😉

Great video. My flintlock looks almost identical to yours. Generally I shoot a .60 cal.round ball with 75 grains for a 100 yard target and I get consistent 12 inch grouping. At the range, I shoot 60 grains for a 50 yard target. I get a consistent 6" group for 5 shots off hand. For the long gong (an empty oxy-acetylene tank hung in a tree) at rendezvous I load with 110 grains. I always shot 2F. The long gong is about 200+ yards and I can only hit it 25% of the time. It's been over 30 years since I've hunted with my flinter, but I generally wouldn't try unless the deer was within 50 to 60 yards. My hunting load was 80 grains. I was a fair shot, but I was lucky to place in the top ten shooters at rendezvous. In colonial times most militia men grew up with muskets and had to successfully hunt to survive. They knew their guns well and what they were capable of. At 100 to 150 yards, I think there would have been very few misses. I haven't even been to the range this year because of the Covid debacle, but after seeing this video, I'll have to get out my flintlock and give it a cleaning for nostalgia's sake.

A close miss is still effective - it will force the enemy to seek cover or run, or stop to return fire, or charge. Also, when firing at formations of men several ranks deep, missing the front man is not a miss against all.

first off, you sir, are a shooter. standing up, no rest and hitting the target with iron sights at 100 yards. bravo !

Mike, That's a certainly good, fast ignition on that fowler. Nice job!

I'd like to see this done with buck and ball loads, if memory serves that was a popular combat load for both sides of the 7 years war.

Well done, Mike. Your videos are always a joy to watch and I always learn something that helps me with my own black powder shooting. Best wishes from the UK.

Enjoyed the trip back in time. Period firearm, tactics, clothing and eye glasses. Well done Sir.🇺🇸

that's some danged fine shootin' with that old smoke pole Mike!! I appreciate the hard work that you put into these videos my brother... Wade

A well built Pennsylvania Fowler is a very accurate weapon I had a friend build one for me and it was a copy of one in a private museum, not an accurate copy as I had him pot a jagger button and a loop for a sling on it so it would never be confused for the original. Yes I like your Fowler .

Love love love! The Flintlocks!

I had this question for a while. Thanks for answering it.

Great Flintlock video!!! Keep the flintlock videos coming!!!! Would love to see some of your flintlocks out omg the range that we haven’t seen shot for awhile. Thanks again

Excellent video and educational as usual. Well done. Thanks!

Very well done video! We all appreciate you posting this even with the noise. The noise didn't bother me at all, it was probably louder in person than in the video. Thanks for all your informative videos, your channel always has great content. I also want to add, that was some GREAT shooting! I've had some time behind smoothbores and you easily surpassed what I'm capable of.

Mike, thank you for both the great video and history lesson. It is always a pleasure to watch your videos. Stay safe.

I love the history that you put into prospective. Yes tactics and strategy and dates and places are great but as you just showed, if they are in range then so are you, that would be extremely intimdating id say. Thanks Mike

Mike I probably couldn't hit that target at 100 yards if I had a bench to rest the musket on, never mind off-hand. That is some dang fine marksmanship.

Good to see you again! Thanks for sharing

Very informative video Mike! I appreciate you making this experiment available to us!

Maybe noisy, however very informative. Been wanting to do this myself. Thank you Mike. Fine shooting. Very fine.

Great video. I have been using your loads for the starting point to. work up loads for my fowler. So far they have worked very well. Your loading information on using shot has got me two turkeys so far. They hit the ground and just barely quivered. Thanks guru Mike!

Wow! A very informative video! It answers a lot of questions I had about smoothbore muskets. Very well done! I have to hit subscribe and watch your other videos. Thank you!

Love videos like this. Thank you for doing this channel, I have learned so much about black powder shooting from your videos.

I'm late seeing this but what an outstanding video. Informative and the shooting with a smoothbore flintlock was great. I paid no attention to the surrounding noise. The sounds of your smoothbore firing made it all worth it.

Keep up the good work man. You consistently put out some of the most interesting content on YT and are really passionate about a niche subset of this hobby. You deserve way more subs.

Really cool and really interesting video...thanks, Mike!

You did great under the circumstances Mike. Improvise, adapt and overcome..! Keep up the good work.

Completely enjoyed the video, & the commentary! Like the history and theories of the flintlock. Completely effective at 100yrds, believe they’d all have been hits on life size target. Thanks for this video. Best wishes!

Awesome video, Mike!

Excellent video. Very interesting. Thanks!

Excellent video Mike. I’ve been preaching the naked ball concept to my Ranger company for a long time now. I’m going to make them watch the video.

Interesting and enjoyable to watch! Thanks for your video!

Very well done and informative.

Very interesting test. Thank you for doing all this work.

Thanks for the insights in to 18th century battle. An ancestor of mine from North Carolina enlisted in the revolutionary army the same day the Declaration of Independence was signed. He fought under Francis Marion and Nathaniel Green, fought at Camden where he was captured but escaped, Kings Mountain and Cowpens. He served for the duration of the war and received a land grant for his service north of Charlotte, NC. As a militiaman he no doubt used this type of firearm.

That was interesting. Mike thank you for sharing. That informative video. Joe.

Watched this video after watching your Brown Bess accuracy video. Looks like a tie at 100yds for effective shooting between these firelocks. Thank you for another wonderful video.

Great work Mike really enjoyable

thanks again for another great video !

I would think the adrenaline of actual combat might have skewed the results a little bit. This would be more true for new troops than for seasoned veterans. You seemed way too relaxed while shooting. I think you need to repeat the test with a horde of perturbed lawyers bearing down on you, getting closer and closer with each miss.... Great content as always. I love the historical context and information. I always learn something on your channel.

I really like the speed of your lock! It's obviously as fast a percussion rifle. How about a video of how you achieved this? A very nice video!

Excellent! Thanks for sharing.

Great information. Enjoyed this video.

Despite the road noise (A minor distraction at most)....I really enjoyed this insightful glimpse into warfare from times past. Your observations and results really put into perspective the limitations our ancestors faced, when dealing with mortal threats. Whether from hostile natives, or invading troops. Well done, Mike.

Great video, loved the history. Just subscribed.

Great video Mr. Mike.

Well done!

Another good video. Keep them coming.

Stumbled on your channel a few weeks ago. Evidently we are the same age I enjoy just the facts and abilities of the old firearms. No bravado which is so common on many firearms channels. Keep it up. Regards Terry54

Good stuff Mike! Thanks.

Thanks Mike, Very well done.

I can hear the traffic but at the same time I can hear you just fine. Well done!!

Thanks Mike, Very Entertaining Video! 👍🏻

Wow! That was eye opening! Never imagined the humble smoothbore so effective at long range. Great shooting sir! Standing in rank and file the continental soldier could not feel safe at 100 plus yards. Great video, many thanks!

Good job very instructive. I enjoyed it.

This is truly classic research. Well done.

Great video Mike thanks.

I thoroughly enjoyed this experiment!

I enjoyed reviewing this video. 👍

First, excellent video and explanation of the realities of using a slow loading flintlock musket in a firefight or battle!! Read enough of the original sources written by those who participated in late 17th and 18th century battles and you begin to comprehend that getting those first volleys to count made all the difference in the tide of any fight/battle. Once one side suffered enough physical damage from a couple of good volleys, morale broke down and men started thinking of fleeing for cover regardless of their officers' commands. Secondly, that is some damn fine shooting. You shot offhand from 100 yards with a smoothbore musket. That's no small feat as the inherent inaccuracies of that firearm as compared to a modern rifle are considerable.

Very informative. Great video 👍

Great video, lots of good info thanks for posting 👍😁💪🏻🇺🇸

And also you did very well for off-hand shooting at 100 yards for anyone!

Very good work (and shooting) Mr. Mike! Pity that nasty and loud motorway.

Awesome! Thanks for this!!

Good job Mike !

I enjoy the brief history lesson at the beginning of your videos. Makes them even more interesting. The 110 grains of 2F is much more powerful than I see my friends loading in their smooth bores. Very cool indeed! I was impressed when I shot my friends, and hit just two inches right of bullseye at 50m. His smooth bore didn't have a rear sight either. But with a proper hold, it didn't cause any difficulty at such a short distance. Next opportunity I'm firing down at the 100m target. Very cool video. Also appreciate the time period clothes. Adds to the atmosphere. Well done!

Great video Mike, one could ponder if the measuring of powder was done in the heat of battle, these guys lived every day with these rifles and probably knew from repetition how much to pour in the barrel, with countless practice.

Even with the road and airport noises your audio was easily understood. Well done.

Very interesting. Good video.

Thank you for your video! Awesome!

I was in a junior rifle club in the early 1950's. My grandad, a Kentucky recruit in the Spanish American War. signed me up for the rifle club. Thanks.

Even with the noise, still an enjoyable video, as always.

Love your channel Mike, but damn that highway is loud.

Thanks Mike. Very informative and encouraging. I own a pedersoli 10ga with one modified choke barrel and the other is cylinder bore, so a 75 caliber musket. I have to see how it does at 100 yards now.

Another great video Mike. Can't wait to get to the range and test my 69yo. Effectiveness with my TVM English Fowler.

Very cool and informative vidja friend.

I'm in the process of reading a book called "Thundersticks" which deals with the Native American firearms and the entire trade in North America from the contact with Europeans on, and the Natives from the 1600's onward well until the mid and even the mid 1800's preferred smoothbore trade guns, usually anywhere from .60-.62 caliber. The tactics they applied later on against the Europeans in the French & Indian War and even the Revolutionary War were honed against other rival tribes. The most powerful for many years were the Mohawk because they were simply the best armed and their tactics were so aggressive, but all of them practiced the ambush where they would lay in wait for members of the opposing tribe to come through and then they would open up hidden from whatever position at the closest possible range. Accounts from Europeans at the time who would either find out about these attacks from survivors of them said that there wasn't a fighting force that could have equaled some of these tribes at the height of their power because of the techniques. At one time the Mohawk were able to put 1,000 armed warriors or better to attack tribes and French settlements and frequently sent out numbers at least 300-400 strong. When one tribe would attack another village, they would simply get as close as possible and fire into the wooden longhouses or huts as possible. There was no thought given as to who was given as these were raids of conquest by one tribe trying to dominate or wipe out another. It was those close range, ambush tactics that Robert Rogers and the French-Canadians ended up picking up and using, Rogers men went to shorter barreled guns like the trade guns the Native Americans preferred and to get close and ambush your enemy or leave someone to cover their rear guard after a fight to ambush them when they were retreating.

Well explained. Knowing how ones shot group tends to drift at longer distances, up and to the right in this case, could let one stretch the effective range out a bit further.

Very informative, thank you

Nice job, thanks of for the factual data.

Mike you did great

I noticed the Confidence! of Ignition of every sighting and trigger Pull. and the Speed of that 2F in the pan.

Thanks Mike, nice demonstration. Similar results to others I've seen and not as bad as you described. Had you been standing opposite a British Square, all of you're shots, save perhaps that high one, would have hit someone, so all effective. However the one thing that I hadn't thought of before is how close 100yds is when someone is running towards you and it may take you 20 or 30 seconds to reload. So no certainty that you'll be ready to fire again by the time they're upon you and without a bayonet to defend your self, the tendency would be to turn tail and run to survive to fight another day. Some food for thought about what we've always pecieved as the militia's poor performance in those 18th century battles.

Better than I thought it would be....👍

Not sure how this ended up on my recommendations but I'm glad it did

Very informative and interesting! Thank you. If your attackers we're in a line abreast, your 125 yard shots might have hit the guy to your target's left.

Vauban, (1633-1707), the great French military engineer who served under King Louis LIV, is generally considered the greatest engineer of his age. He built the unsurpassed scientifically designed fortresses in the star form. Into his calculation was the maximum killing range of the military musket. He insisted on defensive works in his construction that kept enemy infantry armed with muskets a minimum of 325 yards since that was the range that massed musketry would have enough hitting energy to kill defenders. We're not talking about sharpshooter accuracy at 325 yards, just a massed repeated rain of deadly lead balls. So, Sebastien LePrestre de Vauban referred to musket range as 325 yards. And he should know a lot better than any of us modern living history types. When asked what is musket range, I now state it at 325 yards since the projectile, shot at maximum elevation, will kill you if it connects with your weak flesh.

Great demonstration! It shows a militiaman with his trusty and versatile smootbore could be pretty deadly. Personally though, if I was going into combat with a flintlock I'd still want that bayonet option!

Very interesting! I once read of a mid-19th century British hunter in India, Frank B. Simson, who shot a deer with a muzzle-loading double-barreled 14-bore shotgun at 120 yards. He was shooting from a rest and the balls were patched. As you have shown in this video it was surprisingly doable. Mr Simson did acknowledge that he was a bit lucky though, and wished he'd brought a rifle, but made do with what he had. The famous British hunter, Frederick Courteney Selous, also once shot a sable antelope with a 4-gauge smooth-bore elephant gun from 120 yards away, kneeling. As surprising as connecting at such a long range with the smooth bore was the fact that the antelope did not fall down dead right away; despite having a 1750 grain projectile travel through its whole body, it still managed to run a hundred yards!

Man, that range could really use a sound barrier of some sort. It would help mitigate The risk of stray fire going over the road too. The highway is literally right there. Very interesting content regardless.

A realistic test. Thank you. The smoothbore musket will shoot even better with patched ball and a tree rest, never mind adding proper sights. Formidable.

I really like your spectacles.......

I really enjoy your videos. I have a 32 inch trade gun and I’m a living historian. I portray a Muskogee Creek Red Stick. If I’m allowed to make a suggestion, I’d like to see what you could do with something similar using wasp nest as a patch. History suggests that was the most common item used by the Southeastern natives.

Interesting. Thanks

Great vid! Would love to see you shooting while under stress though to see how much the results might be skewed.

Very cool video....i love the target

The tactic of 2 fires and then fade away proved brutally effect in the battle of Cowpens . The militia fired twice then ran making the British thought they had broke, dragging the British right into the waiting regulars. Most of the militia in that battle were armed with rifles though not smoothbore muskets.