Has anyone in the Texas Hill country ever used native flint? I haven't got a flintlock yet, but my folks' place near Fredericksburg is loaded with flint and it appears to be pretty hard stuff. I was just wondering if it can be knapped into gunflints and would it work as such.
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
Yes it can. Best if you can find an old burnt rock midden and get the debatage flakes from around it.
Ive made a few. But brokenn projectile points and blades also make good flints. Without a lot of work. Just needs a good sharp edge. Doesn’t have to be real pretty!
Last edited by kaywoodie; 09/23/21.
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
Remembered a bit of historical verification. My good friend Cody Mobley who is the site director at Ft. McKavett State Historical Site mentioned to me the other day of coming across a reference of one of the local settlers in the area of the fort who carried a flintlock into the 1860’s. When asked why he didn’t carry a percussion lock gun he said that he could not get to a settlement very often and percussion caps were hard for him to get as well as afford! But he could fashion a flint from the local stuff that would work in his rifle.
One of those “well duh!" Moments. 😁
Last edited by kaywoodie; 09/23/21.
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
Thanks so much for the information! I was thinking it might work. I guess now I need a flintlock...
What is a "burnt rock midden"?
Old Campsite of Native Americans. Think Fire Pit.
Where they sit around making projectiles.
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
i buy that Texas chert! some fine stuff. i usually get 40 firings from a sharp flint i knap from it. resharpen several times. good shower of sparks. if you want to sell some 60# fits in a large flat rate usps box. my postal carrier hates me!
some roughed 3/4 x 7/8
Last edited by deerstalker; 09/24/21.
the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded. Robert E Lee ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
