What's up with Flints?...

[mmb617]

You guys count?? I just shoot away until it doesn’t work and I can’t get it to work anymore.

I'm probably a bit OCD but I keep a log of all my shots. I have a notebook that I take to the range and log which rifle, how many shots, what granulation and how many grains, which flint, and when each flint was changed. I also track misfires and pan flashes. When I get home I transfer all that info into a spreadsheet which makes it real easy to look up how many shots I got with each flint, among other things.

I'm retired and my wife is dead so I have lots of time and I've always enjoyed working with numbers.

I think a lot of guys exaggerate their claims on number of shots from a flint. That said, I've had a couple where I got a couple dozen shots out of them before they wore out. Normally about 20 max and it becomes part of the landscape again. I don't even attempt to knap them. To me it's like trying to reuse a napkin..

I guess I'm just cheap but I squeeze every shot out of a flint before it's discarded. I shoot till I have two misfires in a row, then knap if there is still enough flint left to do so. It's only when the flint becomes too short that it is thrown out.

Because I keep detailed records I know for a fact how many shots I got on every flint I've used. You may think I'm a liar but my personal record for shots from one flint is 169 on a french amber using my trapper pistol, which for whatever reason is really easy on flints. My best for a rifle is 150 shots with a french amber using a deerhunter. Without counting up to get an exact number I'd say the five flintlocks I own average about 50-60 shots before the flint is done.

 

[Rob M.]

I had a flint in my Fowler that came with it as purchased. It was so white, I wondered if it could be agate. I messaged the seller for an indefinite answer. That flint lasted a year. When it finally needed some attention, I was completely caught off guard. It was so reliable, the idea wasn’t even conceivable. I didn’t count the shots but it lasted a long time. Extrapolating some, five shots a session, almost once a week from November to June. I figure six months, call it 20 weeks times five shots.
I don’t know what the actual count was but I definitely wanted to buy more.

Interesting. I love when I find white flints in the creek . They are amazing . They spark.like crazy and the sparks darn near hit the ground ! They can be offly brittle , some will last a long time but the ones with a lot of. " curl " in them they can just crumble to pieces on the second or third shot ....others will last 40 shots . Neat flint!

 

[WALT53]

I get 40+ shots out of some and 10 or less shots out of others before they look like a boxing glove. Amber or black ones, doesn't seem to matter. Doesn't help that I suck at putting an edge on them. Maybe I don't set them consistent either.

Oh well, shoot & be happy.

Try loyalist arms they have pretty decent French flints at a good price and they give some off for 2 dozen or more I think with out asking.I have had good luck with them and got over a 100 shots out of one.IM gonna frame itand put it on the wall.lol