How many shots can you get?

[pretty]

Out of your flint lock before you have to put in another pice of FLINT?

 

[Art Caputo]

My best rifles with some knapping(2-4x), I get 30-35 shots out of a flint before changing. I did take me some time to get the whole process of set-up and proper knapoing down. I worked my way up from about 10 shots/flint in my early years.

 

[tenngun]

My bigger locks work better then my silar size.
I’ve had them shattered in four, last sixty. On average I bet thirty to forty, and sharped anothe twenty to thirty, some of my trade gun flints were worn down and I could get rifle flints from them.
One of our members, La Loop found the issue to french soldiers in Canada found about one flint issued for sixteen shots.

 

[simonbeans]

Currently at 60 shots with my .58 cal smoothbore pistol with a Jim Chambers' Queen Ann Lock and a French Amber Flint.

 

[M. De Land]

I got two matches worth of shooting with my last flint plus a bunch of sight in shots in the first match which would make about 70 shots or so. It could have been used for another but I went ahead and changed to make sure it wouldn't stop shooting mid match at some point. The edge was still good but it was getting shorter to where I was going to have to put a piece of wood between the cock screw and the back of the flint to keep it long enough.

 

[ADK Bigfoot]

I change out flints after each match I fire, usually 25-30 shots. Sometimes I may nap once or twice during that time, other times I just change it out after a match. I have a collection of 'gently used' flints that another shooter begs for. I am sure that I can depend on thirty or forty shots per flint with a little care and attention, but I want RIGHT NOW ignition in a match and can afford to change flints as I do.

This is a tremendous improvement over my cap rifles. No matter what I do, I never get more than one shot out of each cap. For a modern improvement, it sure doesn't measure up to the real deal; Flints.

ADK Bigfoot

 

[Terry Lightle]

Think 30 plus,never counted

 

[Griz44Mag]

Somewhere between 1 and 70.
Depends on the lock - geometry, springs balance, leather or lead liner, clamp tightness - etc.....
Shape of the flint - hump, no hump, longer, shorter, etc.....
Type of flint - amber, black, green, real, synthetic --- etc......
Some flints have unseen flaws in them and will break on the first shot.
I also think the way your hold your mouth, your old lady's dress color, the phase of the moon, cloud cover and a dozen other things will impact the number of shots you get.
(Hint - a lot depends on pure luck......)

 

[Cruzatte]

Depends on the flint. Some last 50-70 shots. Others are done in 30. I never can tell which flint is going to last how long.

 

[pretty]

Thanks a GOB I never will shoot during a full moon so mine should last a long time.

 

[Jaeger]

I haven't actually counted, but I do know my Pennsylvania longrifle gets a lot more shots with French amber flints. Maybe 50-70 shots, I'd estimate.

 

[Fly103]

My Pedersoli Pennsylvania gets on average 50-60 strikes per flint if I am careful about shimming for propper geometry from the get go. I ususlly have to knap after 30 or so and continue knapping if I get klatches or hangfires. I shoot til she wont shoot anymore.

Chris

 

[Woody Morgan]

Around 25 is my best so far but my guns are 5/8" and there isn't a whole lot to start with.
Recently got better knapping tools so...

wm

 

[Sidney Smith]

So far Ive got about 12 shots on an amber flint that came with the lock on my .32 caliber. I bet I can get at least 20 more before it gets too dull to use. I cant be bothered with knapping flints. Once dull they get tossed and a fresh one is inserted.

 

[flntlokr]

I get at least 50 shots from 3/4 flints in my smoothie or Jaeger, with some judicious tuning-up, possibly more sometimes. Rarely less, but once in a while, a flint just falls apart, or gets a giant knob on it that breaks the flint when you knock it off the edge.

 

[Griz44Mag]

This is a tremendous improvement over my cap rifles. No matter what I do, I never get more than one shot out of each cap. For a modern improvement, it sure doesn't measure up to the real deal; Flints.

ADK Bigfoot

Well, the logic seems to be valid..........
So - why did the caplock replace the 250 year old flintlock technology (90+ % of them anyway) in just a matter of a few short years? I am SOOOOOO confused now??!???
(LOL - good one there bigfoot!)

 

[ord sgt]

Never counted too many flints. I have had a few that lost the edge beyond repair in two shots. Others have gone until they were worn to a nub. It depends on the flint. Flints are like a box of chocolate.....you never know what you're gonna get. I had a few that broke into two pieces in the jaw of the hammer.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

My goodness! Am I hearing what I'm hearing. Flints wear out & have a limited lifespan!!!! I thought they were far superior to percussion caps from what all the flintlockers are always saying here on the forum. After all, it's just a matter of looking on the ground & picking up a flint, as they are lying everywhere for the taking. Guess you just never know when that flint is going to fail you. So do you flintlockers mean you have to carry a spare you can take the time off from shooting to knap & replace, while cap shooters just pop another cap on. Having a hard time seeing why that would be a great advantage. Two shots or 30 shots, you just never knew. Back in the day, that had to be a confidence builder when you were about to enter into harm's way.

 

[R.J.Bruce]

Back when I first got started, I purchased some cut agate German flints that at the time (1972) were just slightly more expensive than English, or French flints. Somebody in the United States was also selling cut agate flints at that time, and they were supposedly terrible.

I got a lot of criticism for using those flints, but they were, hands down, the best flints I purchased back then. They were double cut, like a trapezoid, and both edges gave an average of 30-50 shots, before needing to be sharpened on a diamond plate. That's 60-100 shots per flint. I initially bought a 4/pack, and later bought 40 more.

Also, being parallel, there were no issues as far as tightening them down in my large Siler flintlock.

 

[GAHUNTER60]

I retired the amber flint that came with my Kibler Colonial rifle today after 80 shots. I had knapped it twice and might could have gotten away with one more, but most of the bevel was gone, so I bit the bullet and put in a new one.

Hopefully, this new one will last as long as the original.