One of my absolute favorite discussions:

Personally I would use either, whether the scenario be small to large game hunting or a survival situation.

However, whenever I introduce this topic to some gun loving friends of mine, I always get the same debate. IGNITION Noone ever disputes that the functionality and performance of either. However I have noticed there isn't many who straddle the fence, one is either a percussion enthusiast or a flintlock lover.

percussion offers a fast re-prime and minimal smoke to interfere with your shot and on this point alone I often chose percussion when I was a beginning BP hunter. Nowadays that I have built confidence in my shot placement I almost invariably choose a flintlock, 1500 shots from 1lb of fffg is more cost effective than 100 caps @ 4.50 a can. Even on a misty humid fall morning a well maintained flinter can and will function aswelll as a percussion rifle. I have found the lighter (color) the flint the harder the stone and often times I can get as many as 50 fires before replacing the flint. But truth be told it really comes down to which rifle I favor for the task!

Love to hear some of yall's opinion on this topic!

Hi
I will rise to the bait. I have two Flintlock guns. A old CVA pistol and a 10yr old Traditions Hawkens. I also have several percussion rifles. I like both types. The CVA Flint pistol worked surprisingly well right off.As long as I had a sharp flint ,it worked. The same for the Traditions Hawkens. Good fast ignition and is accurate too. I do not get 50 shots out of a flint but 30 is possible ,with keeping the edge sharp. I am currently trying a experiment by greatly reducing the frizzen spring tension in the hopes for longer flint life.
When comparing cost you also must include the flint cost in the total. Not just the powder. Many places sell two flints for over $5 and they aren't the best either. I do use the Fuller flints and they are the best. Ned

I always thought that the main argument would be that finding a flint out in the wild is probably a lot easier than finding a percussion cap out in the wild. I just love that whole flinch thing when firing. But I do like percs too.

No real problem thar ta figure which system...
The FINTLOCK is the best action ever developed ... everything has gone down hill since.
Anybody that sleeps with his flintlock knows that.
lol

_________________
Traditional shooter/leather worker/Hawk maker
Keep The Tradition Alive !
... get somebody else hooked !

As of now I'm still leaning to the cap. Up until a couple months ago I never fired a flinter. The shotgun I built is flint and I really like shooting it and the more I shoot it the more comfortable I get with it

The old scenario of finding a rock in the woods (desert, plains, mountains) to replace a lost flint is a wee bit overdone. Not arguing that you couldn't find something that would strike a spark from steel -- and more-or-less knap it into a shape and size that would more-or-less work -- but anyone with much experience with the rocklocks knows how touchy they are about the rocks you use . I suspect most of the fiction we've read in which an old mountain man declares how he can scrounge a new flint from what nature offers, was written by authors who hadn't ever actually put that theory into practice.

That said, I prefer and in almost any situation will choose a flintlock. Yes, the caplock is marginally faster (or at least easier -- less fuss) to re-prime, but in the all-too-numerous cases I've dealt with where there was a fix needed to solve the misfiring issue, the flinters are by far easier to work with.

My favorite incident, flint versus percussion, happened on a Christmas morning, when, for reasons that now elude me, I went down to the range at Friendship, IN to test-fire a customer's new rocklock. I encountered a pair of lucky new gun owners who'd been gifted with Remington M-700 in-lines, and who proceeded to give me snot about how the flintlock in my hands wasn't a "serious" hunting rifle -- unreliable, inaccurate, criminally underpowered with roundball, I'm sure you've heard it all. Ten rounds later -- in the 9 and 10 rings, offhand, not so much as a nanosecond's worth of hangfire, let alone a single misfire -- I was packing it in. My critics were applying still more percussion caps to their obviously-clogged nipples, and getting nothing but "pops" for their trouble -- and judging by the looks on their faces when I looked their way they did NOT want or welcome any advice from me. I assume they eventually gave up or froze to death and were removed by the Ripley County Lifesquad....

Flinters require a higher degree and variety of maintenance to work right, as opposed to caplocks. Caplocks SHOULD be maintained on the same level but are more forgiving if they aren't. However -- when things go south with the nipple-huggers, you tend to have a more involved and frustrating process ahead of you to make it right. And, believe it or not, but I've seen the data -- given locks of equally GOOD quality and all things being as they should -- flinters are actually faster to ignite than the conventional sidehammer percussion system. Again this is contingent on your flinter having a lock of very good or better quality -- a poorly designed or constructed rocklock will give its owner fits, and, as with its tolerance of iffier maintenance, the caplock system is more forgiving of poorer-quality mechanisms.

Me, I'm willing to put the work into the flinters. No problem with the caplocks -- most of what I build is percussion, simply due to that being what's easiest to sell -- I've just learned an enormous appreciation of the flint system.

Hey Flintlocks are faster than caplocks ... mmmmmmm.
and for me easier to maintain thana cap lock ...
just my viewpoint and I am little an fury...

_________________
Traditional shooter/leather worker/Hawk maker
Keep The Tradition Alive !
... get somebody else hooked !

I own all 3 types of longguns and pistols for many a years.

I now own 3 Flinter's , 6 percussions and 1 209 primer type of ML's.
I must say I'm more fond of the Flintlocks.

I'm not to worried about getting flints anymore since I started Flint Knapping a little over a year ago..

As said already, while walking thru the woods, there are alot of different rocks that spark well..
So it will seem I will never be a lost to finding a flint if needed.

_________________
It's not what tool you use to hunt with.
It's that you use the tool Legally and Ethically

NYS Hunter Safety Instructor

I'll load the pan bout halfway with 7F (seven) and watch how fast my flintlock is .... like a three legged mule gettin chased bya Grizzly bear... don't ya know.
Hey FD last guy that sent me rocks is geettun a tomeehawk in the mail for exchange... somethin to keep in mind.
... anybody need anything from HOME DEPOT ?
LOL
Welcome to KFC ... DO YOU WANT MASHED TATERS WITH THE FRIED KITTY ?

_________________
Traditional shooter/leather worker/Hawk maker
Keep The Tradition Alive !
... get somebody else hooked !

hey Mr woodchuck
you gettin some of fdemsemt's rocks he sent me

_________________
I'm potty trained, know my abc's and wear pants with zippers

I'm alway looking to horse trade.......

How big of rocks do you want??

I have afew Flintrock the size of softballs...

Out of a softball size rock you could get 20- 30 nice size flints for your Flintlock if you know how to Knapp..

I have some shardes for fire making. All you need is steel to make your kits..

Hay JB,, you need more??
How was the ones I send you???


Here is picture of some rocks I have::

_________________
It's not what tool you use to hunt with.
It's that you use the tool Legally and Ethically

NYS Hunter Safety Instructor

NEED ONES FOR STRIKKUN STEEL ... WAIT TILL JERRY POSTS THE PICS OF THE POLLHAWK I BE SENDIN HIM IN DE MORN ... THEN LET ME KNOW WHUT YA THINKS ...
SURE DON'T BEAT A TRIP TO LOWES
LOL
Welcome to KFC ... NO we aunt seen ya cat since lunch.

_________________
Traditional shooter/leather worker/Hawk maker
Keep The Tradition Alive !
... get somebody else hooked !

When I was a young fellow, many moons ago, Petrified Palm and Petrified Wood was fairly easy to find. Much of it like this chuck is very good for making sparks from steel. I use some in my flint and steel fire making kit. This piece even looks like someone got some flakes off of it. I'm sure it would work very well as flint for a flintlock.

_________________
Born in the Pineywoods of East Texas a long long time ago.

I still got plenty I just got to get out and find some tinder
I dont think its proper to use a little BP to start a fire but it works

_________________
I'm potty trained, know my abc's and wear pants with zippers

JB , Make some char..

Thats the best I found to use to start a fire..

If you need to know how to make it ???

Let me know I will give you direction on how to make...

All you need is some cotton and a can and some heat source....

If you need to see how to start to get the char start burning from the steel and flint, let me know.

I have a video to show you how it'd done..

_________________
It's not what tool you use to hunt with.
It's that you use the tool Legally and Ethically

NYS Hunter Safety Instructor