Tim Williams makes exceptional custom flintlock rifles.
Davy Crockett was a frontiersman extraordinaire. The man is an American legend, no doubt about it, and his flintlock is an integral part of his legacy.
Tim Williams is a custom flintlock gunmaker. He's also a well-versed historian who's very familiar with both Crockett and the flintlock rifle he carried. Williams had the good fortune of physically examining and measuring the actual rifle housed in the East Tennessee Museum in Knoxville. He then built a duplicate long rifle that's as close to the original as possible.
Here Williams shows us this very rifle. He talks about flintlocks in general, and about Davy Crockett's York County-style rifle in particular.
Williams gives a fascinating and succinct explanation of the generalities of building a flintlock, as well as some of the interesting details of the build. He notes his preference of a horn-tipped ramrod, for example (they're much more resilient than non-horn-tipped ramrods).
These rifles were arguably the most beautiful and well-designed firearms ever made. They were—and are—the embodiment of both function and art.
While perhaps hesitant to call such fine craftsmanship "art," Williams takes a great measure of pride in creating graceful, eye-appealing firearms.
"Seeing a vision and putting it together," he says. "That's pretty impressive."
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NEXT: MUST SEE: INCREDIBLE 53-SECOND SLOW MOTION VIDEO OF FLINTLOCK FIRING ON AN ARMORED BREASTPLATE
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