Missouri Chert Flint verses English Flint. Which is more reliable ?

It is good to be back after taking last weekend off.
Mrs Maniac and I spent last weekend at the Kalamazoo ( MI ) Living History Show.
We even spent a few hours with one of my favorite cousins I haven't seen in 10+ years.
This week's video features a test between a Missouri Chert Flint an a English Flint for reliability.
Which one do you think is more reliable?
Answer is below:

Great video, I bet the barrel was filthy after firing 50 "blanks".

So where does one get Missouri Chert ? Is it available pre knapped in standard sizes or does one have to get raw rock and flake his own ?

Good test my friend.
I envy your lock.
My Pedersoli trade gun is nowhere near as efficient.

Great video i would be willing to give Missouri chert a try

That chert flint seemed to be in great shape after 25 shots!

Might want to consider next time to not do the test with your powder horn strapped to your body right next to the flash.

Fleener

Great informative video, @B P Maniac Shooter.

Interesting. the Missouri Chert was a humped top flint although not much of a hump, but certainly not flat. The English flint did have the flat top. It is interesting that you were using the trade gun with the Lott lock. Back some years ago that lock was much disparaged. It's good to see that Pedersoli is supplying reasonably well set up locks. Of course, every flint may perform differently. I normally get about 14 to 15 shots out of my King's Musket before having to knap the flint or clean out the pan or wipe off the frizzen. I do use some of the most fouling powder known to traditional muzzleloading as well as very coarse grades and I don't pick the touch hole between shots.

I sure do miss having @rich pierce back here in Missouri to supply the chert flints.

I’ve not used English or French flints for decades. I miss Mike and the Gemmer boys and the strong and friendly competition! Next time I make it out to Missouri I’ll be collecting more chert for sure.

kyron4 said:

Great video, I bet the barrel was filthy after firing 50 "blanks".

So where does one get Missouri Chert ? Is it available pre knapped in standard sizes or does one have to get raw rock and flake his own ?

Click to expand...

It took a while to "clean" out that barrel afterwards...
Rich Pierce use to make mO cherts.
He doesn't make them anymore to my knowledge...
Maybe someone else will take up the craft & start making them.
Thanks for watching...

Britsmoothy said:

Good test my friend.
I envy your lock.
My Pedersoli trade gun is nowhere near as efficient.

Click to expand...

Thanks.....I am blessed with this one.
It works most all the time.

fleener said:

Might want to consider next time to not do the test with your powder horn strapped to your body right next to the flash.

Fleener

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip & watching....

Enjoyed the video, as always. Keeping it fun!

B P Maniac Shooter said:

Thanks for the tip & watching....

Click to expand...

I was going to comment on the horn position as I watched. Also noticed your pan charger hanging close by. I also have a couple of those chargers, and like a lot of things that age, they tend to dribble a little…

If you would run the test again, the results could easily be reversed. "Missouri" chert, or just generally "midwest" chert is grey to white. It really doesn't look any different than say "Texas" chert. Not uncommon in the riverbeds here... either way, fun video!

Enjoyed the video Mark!

I, fortunately, still have a small supply of both English flints and chert flints. I've used both interchangeably over the years and can't say if one is better than the other. I never compared them as Maniac did in his excellent video, however.

I think there are actually too many variables in locks and individual flints to get meaningful data in a short test. Plus I think a long enough test would wear out Maniac long before the flints.

After seeing so many times over the years thar Chert wasn't suitable flint I think you blew that out of the water. Now I want to know where I can get some Missouri Chert Flints.

We get hung up on the names but all Flint types are Chert. There's just different grades and colors, but Chert none the less.

Another great video Mark thanks for posting.

B P Maniac Shooter said:

It took a while to "clean" out that barrel afterwards...
Rich Pierce use to make mO cherts.
He doesn't make them anymore to my knowledge...
Maybe someone else will take up the craft & start making them.
Thanks for watching...

Click to expand...

I always like Rich's flints. I my self am knapping impaired but his work well.