Gary forgot to mention the loading. I forget the weights but it took a lot of Black Powder, and a huge amount of lead shot.
You rest the butt on the ground, and hold the barrel near the muzzle. Pour the black powder in. Push a round thick patch in about 6 inches. Pour the lead shot in, another patch and using the ram rod push it all down tight. Always ram it tight so there is no air gap between the powder and the shot. If there is it could possibly explode like a small bomb. Powders used in hand held guns are not designed to explode. They are designed to burn very fast.
Then you place a small amount of very fine powder in the pan of the flintlock, pull the flint all the way back and you are ready to shoot.
Back when these guns were new about 250 years ago, the owners would not shoot them a lot.
You would only fire the gun into a large flock of birds. It was very loud. After you collected all the dead birds you had to wait for the flock to come back. Sometimes they did not.
Gary,
No one held the gun like a normal shotgun. They would hide somewhere where a flock of birds would settle, rest the barrel on something and fire.
Of course we had to be different. My son and I managed to hold it like a normal shotgun and fire it at a paper target at 50 yards. It does have a powerful kick but manageable.
Linda did not have the strength to hold the barrel straight.
So we put a chair on a table for her to rest the barrel on. She fired it and managed the recoil ok. She could fire a .44 Magnum revolver, all 6 shots fast in a few seconds.
A lot of men at the club could not do that.
