$1,000 budget (set on stone): What should I recommend?

[wiscoaster]

Ditto the advice above to buy used.

 

[Thingamajiggy]

If truly set on stone and in the market now, I would not shy away from production guns. Granted, can be a little hit and miss with the locks on them, I myself have been fortunate and have only had an issue with one over the 40yrs I've hunted with them. I've found most have been what I'd call reliable and are/were very accurate guns. That being said, if you bought a good barreled used one, you could buy a replacement L&R lock for 300 and still be well inside of their budget. MHO

 

[MtHoot]

A range acquaintance wants to transition from percussion sidelocks to flintlocks, and is looking to me to recommend what he should buy because he sees me shooting my Kibler with few, and usually no, misfires. He has a hard budget of a grand, so that pretty much rules out any custom rifles. So far, I've only been able to tell him to stay away from the cheaper mass produced imports, as their locks will end up driving him crazy when trying to get them to spark and fire reliably.

Any ideas on what's the most reliable non-custom flinter?

My honest opinion is to be very patient and keep your eyes and ears open. Do your homework first. Tell him to read up on all the contemporary builders from the 1950’s forward. I had seen a Gretz built hawkin 50 cal ( a totally excellent Pennsylvania Builder) in mint possibly unfired condition for an asking price of $1500. If I was in the market I most definitely would have made an offer/ deal. He should be wee bit flexible with his budget , don’t pass on a good rifle . And lastly my own personal preference, please don’t buy these imported….. well….rifles. If you become hooked as most do and shoot fairly often, these imports will cost you smith money constantly and reliability is at best questionable.

 

[MtHoot]

My honest opinion is to be very patient and keep your eyes and ears open. Do your homework first. Tell him to read up on all the contemporary builders from the 1950’s forward. I had seen a Gretz built hawkin 50 cal ( a totally excellent Pennsylvania Builder) in mint possibly unfired condition for an asking price of $1500. If I was in the market I most definitely would have made an offer/ deal. He should be wee bit flexible with his budget , don’t pass on a good rifle . And lastly my own personal preference, please don’t buy these imported….. well….rifles. If you become hooked as most do and shoot fairly often, these imports will cost you smith money constantly and reliability is at best questionable.

VA Hawkin in this group has a beautiful Getz for sale right now posted yesterday! Maybe you 2 should consider making sn offer? Excellently built gun

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Talk to the elf.

When I built mine, they had different levels of parts. I went with iron, it was the cheapest.
I wanted iron, and Black walnut wood.

 

[Mike in FL]

Lyman/Pedersoli GPR flint. $950. I've had mine 2 years and it is nice. A good lock. However, flash hole liner needed, plus it is 10 pounds.

 

[waksupi]

Buy used. Dixie gun works made a real nice rifle years ago that routinely sell on here for 600.View attachment 258022

Those Ashmore locks aren't all that great.

 

[Hiverano]

The biggest problem today is finding all the parts to assemble a complete gun. When the government pays workers to stay home, suppliers run out of goods. We (GRRW Collectors Association) have been chashing parts for the last year to have material available to assemble our ordered firearms, flintlocks and percussion.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

The biggest problem today is finding all the parts to assemble a complete gun. When the government pays workers to stay home, suppliers run out of goods. We (GRRW Collectors Association) have been chashing parts for the last year to have material available to assemble our ordered firearms, flintlocks and percussion.

I have absolutely no problem finding parts.

 

[R Ellis]

Buy used. Dixie gun works made a real nice rifle years ago that routinely sell on here for 600.View attachment 258022

I have one of these in 50 cal good guns

 

[JBird]

When someone has a budget set in stone like that, in my mind they can't rationalize spending more on whatever item. Not necessarily that they can't save a bit more.

There are guns regularly sub 1000 on sale here and the ALR. Kit built guns, antiques and production

 

[Rawhide67]

DELETED COMMENT

He may be way down the road in life, or very young, or in between. $1000 may simply be his budget. We all have different income levels and lifestyles. My pension is ok because I don't live "high on the hog.". My brother could spend my monthly pension check in one day with his lifestyle and he'd be disappointed that he didn't get to do anything.

My daily driver is a 10 year old Toyota Corolla. My brothers daily driver is literally an Aston Martin DB 11 or 12. My dream car, it's a couple years old and needs to be traded in according to him. But I'm going off on a tangent.

 

[sturmkatze]

Look, do your OWN research. Don’t listen to a bunch of internet commandos. Sure, there’s some good advice, but do not, under any circumstance, get in a hurry. Look around. Quality is always better.

Jim Kibler makes nice stuff. Maybe that’s what you want and maybe not. Maybe you want pretty. Maybe you want a half stock. Whatev. Don’t get in a hurry. The best gun is the one that works for you, not what William-Robert tells you is best. “Best” is a subjective thing.

 

[Flint Striker]

I’ve owned a few flintlocks, and worrying too much about the budget has always been detrimental. I liked the more historical guns - smoothbores and especially guns appropriate to the American colonies. But they were more expensive, so I settled for Lymans and a used TC. And really, those guns were decent for their intended use (hunting guns), but they never satisfied me. Next on my wishlist is a Chamber’s kit. It’ll cost what it costs. But if I had to stick to a budget, I’d zealously watch the ads here, TOTW, etc. and hope something shakes out.

 

[waksupi]

Whatever you get, be sure it has a top quality lock. Run of the mill production guns don't cut it. That is the heartbeat of the rifle. Don't settle for less.

 

[springfield art]

A range acquaintance wants to transition from percussion sidelocks to flintlocks, and is looking to me to recommend what he should buy because he sees me shooting my Kibler with few, and usually no, misfires. He has a hard budget of a grand, so that pretty much rules out any custom rifles. So far, I've only been able to tell him to stay away from the cheaper mass produced imports, as their locks will end up driving him crazy when trying to get them to spark and fire reliably.

Any ideas on what's the most reliable non-custom flinter?

Set the money aside and save up a few months; and increase budget.

 

[springfield art]

Any non-custom that has a high quality after-market lock available would be good!

 

[sturmkatze]

Again, just do some research. Not everyone has to have a custom gun. Plenty of deer have been killed and plenty of matches won with production guns. Maybe find a club by you. Whatever, just do your research. And… most important: your gun should make you inhale at her beauty.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Sock the grand away and save a bit more for a plain wood Kibler Woodsrunner. Save a bit more than that and contract someone to put it together if you can't.
Instant gratification will fade quickly. Saving a little while longer for a quality piece will usually pay big dividends on satisfaction. "The bitterness of poor quality will remain long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten" Ben Franklin

 

[manbat]

Recommendation sought for a "$1,000 budget (set on stone)" flintlock purchase, and 8 out of 10 responses are to save more money and buy an expensive kit, and others are that he must be a loser because he can't or does not want to spend more - classic responses from the folks that regularly post on this forum. Because it's Kibler or nothing, right?

It sounds like there's a whole lot of rationalization going on regarding the purchase of an overpriced kit.