A Kit Gun???

[Rafsob]

I am thinking of getting a kit gun to keep me busy. Been retired for a short while and need something to keep me going.

Some info on what I already have. I have a tradtions Crocket, .32 cal. squirely gun. A Lyman GPR FL .50 cal, and a Lyman Hawkens Carbine in .54 cal. I shoot sabots from the Hawkens because it is a 1 in 24' twist. The GPR is a 1 in 66" twist and I shoot PRB's. I also shoot PRB's in the Crocket. It has a 1 in 48" twist.

The idea of the kit gun is for me to put it together. This would make me bond more with the piece, I think. This would be the first time I am trying something like this. Do I need any special training?

So, who has the best kit gun available out there??? Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated guys. :thumbsup:

 

[Black Hand]

Jim Chambers (see www.flintlocks.com). Expensive, but worth the price. Other suppliers may fit your budget better depending on what you can afford.

 

[Swampman]

The Chamber's kit is not for a novice.

 

[Nifeman]

Sitting Fox may have what you're lookin for...Bud

 

[J.D.]

The idea of the kit gun is for me to put it together. This would be the first time I am trying something like this. Do I need any special training?

So, who has the best kit gun available out there??? Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated guys. :thumbsup:

Well, yes and no. There are a few basics to assembling any "kit" and an order of build that must be adhered to, otherwise, the various parts will be off location.

I suggest buying either Recreating the American Longrifle, or Gunsmith of Grenville County...or both. It might be a good idea to rent or buy the DVD Building the Jim Chambers Kit Rifles so's ya know what you are getting into.
http://smartflix.com/store/video/214/Building-the-Jim-Chambers-Kit-Rifles
http://www.americanpioneervideo.com/bkr.html

That said, building a gun from a parts kit isn't all that hard, once you learn some basic skills. If I can do it, anyone can do it, so go for it.

A question I do have is, what is your idea of a "kit"?

Some "kits" are nothing more than a parts kit of the unassembled, unfinished, of partly or mostly not inleted parts. In-the-white "kits" are assembled but not finished. Final wood removal, sanding, staining, and finishing of all parts are all that is necessary.

That said, of all of the parts kits I am familiar with, the Chambers is probably the easiest for a novice to assemble...if he takes his time and reads the books and applies what he has read.

If you are interested in an in-the-white kit, IMHO, Early Rustic is probably the best value. Ask for a Chambers lock though. The Chambers lock will set you back a little more, but believe me, it is worth it.
http://www.earlyrusticarms.com/pricesanddescriptions.htm

 

[Zonie]

I was going to suggest one of the main line Factory "kits" but you seem to already own guns very similar or the same as them.

These Lyman, Traditions, Thompson Center type kits take somewhere between 20 and 40 hours to finish. They are basically factory guns with some of the parts left unfinished.

The next step up, assuming you don't want a already completed but unfinished gun is the "box of parts" supplied by Chambers, Pecatonica River, Track of the Wolf, etc. and these guns will take a person around 150-200 hours to finish.

Woodworking, metal filing, drilling and tapping is required however these things can be learned by most people who have a lot of time to devote to it.

As your retired, you probably won't have a lot of time but, if you do and you like working with your hands, you should enjoy building one of these guns.

As the others have said, the first thing to do is to get yourself a good book (or two) and read them several times. Then you will have either a "good feeling" or a "bad feeling" about the project.
If you have a "bad feeling" then don't go any further. There is just too damn much work envolved for someone going into this half-hearted.

If you have a "good feeling" about it then by all means start looking at as many different pictures of these guns as you can to figure out which one you want to own. Once that is decided, then start looking for suppliers who offer the style of gun you want.

Just as a hint, Pecatonica River offers a "Leman" style rifle that is fairly easy to build.
Easy to build meaning that elaborate patchboxes, inlays, buttplates and trigger guards are not needed to end up with a very authentic rifle.

 

[Zonie]

Rafsob:
I just had another brain fart.

After you get the books and read thru them you can build something like this for a fairly low cost.

To build something like this you will need to buy a Pedersoli Kentucky Pistol Kit and a block of Curly Maple. This kit is available in Percussion or Flintlock and it will be the source of the hardware.
In the Dixie catalog they are wanting about $232-$260 for it depending on the caliber and lock type.
Dixie also can supply the block of Curly Maple for about $36 (Dixie # WP3110).

The pistol I made didn't use the furniture supplied by Pedersoli because I wanted it to look like silver (so I used German Silver parts bought from one of the places like Track of the Wolf).

The nice thing about this project is it is relatively low cost and if you get totally frustrated with building the stock (which requires cutting the wood down from a block into something that looks like a stock, forming the barrel channel, inletting the tang, inletting the lock, inletting the trigger and the trigger guard) you can always just say to hell with it and use the factory supplied stock to build a nice pistol.

Additionally, the factory supplied stock will serve as a good pattern refer to when your are forming the block into a nice shape.

If you try this and you end up with a nice custom built pistol it will be a great aid to you when you expand your projects to include building a "box of parts" rifle.

Something to think about.

 

[BrownBear]

I'd sure recommend one of the mainline kits to or something labeled as in the white (assembled but not finished). A kits that's just a parts set will give you lots more latitude as to styles, but is going to require lots more skill, experience and work. You'll earn your keep with a mainline kit, but you aren't likely to mess up, and you'll be shooting it in fairly short order rather than working on it for weeks and months.

I'm retired too, and for my first kit I picked a Lyman GPR in 54 cal. I could have finished it a lot quicker, but since I'm retired I went at it slow and easy and put a lot of my own touches in it. I'd guess I had about 40 hours in it, while a bud building another one at the same time had his up and running in less than 20 hours.

You can do a GPR as a first build, then move onto something more complicated later, kind of like learning to walk before you run. I've built other guns (centerfires) from scratch over the years and was prepared to put a lot more work into the GPR than was actually required. Though I'm confident I could build a nice rifle from a parts set, it was pretty nice to ease into the muzzleloader side of building with the GPR.

There are lots of threads on building GPR's in the archives here in gun building section. There are also some really knowledgeable and helpful folks hanging around. It's not like you'll be flying solo if questions come up. Help is quick and detailed.

 

[huntman58]

My only experience building was back in the late 70”s a CVA Kentucky rifle kit. . It was pretty simple if I had read the instructions and not blundered ahead. Now 30 years later I rebuilt it. I used some of the original gun parts and a few peaces I bought for the rebuild including a stock that was inletted for the barrel and ram rod only. The stock was just about fully shaped so that helped big time not being a block of wood. I did not have any books to fallow and that is some thing I will not do again. Other then that I would do it again with out a thought. If you’re listed guns included at lest one you put together from a kit you’re a bit ahead already. If they did not then I would start with some thing along there line so that you could use it as a guild of sort. The only other words I learned to pass on to you is go slow and when you think you’re slow or to slow, slow down some more. Enjoy the build no matter what and make it your own. Learn from it and the day your finished with it start planning your next one and what you want to change from your first build. There are a lot of good kits out there but it all will depend on your budget. Most are good but if you’re wondering about a kit ask here as some one I bet has used a kit from them or built the same kit. When building this form and this area of the form will become your best friend and the help you will get from here is priceless and worth more then you will ever be able to buy.

 

[crockett]

Zonie, that is a really, REALLY nice looking pistol. My first kit gun was a pistol and I always thought it was a good way to start because you can always use the pistol in events, for fun, a small game gun while hunting. The finsihing of the barrel, stock, inlays, etc are all the same as can be used later on a rifle kit.

 

[dlpowell]

Warning! Building these guns is addictive. And a lot of fun!

 

[huntman58]

Warning! Building these guns is addictive. And a lot of fun!

that aint no lie!!!

 

[Black Hand]

The Chamber's kit is not for a novice.

I beg to differ. There is a lot less fiddling, adjusting, fitting, and dinking around getting the part from a Chambers kit to come together smoothly than there would be from a lower cost kit/component set. It was by far the easiest build I have done because everthing is well prepared. If I have any complaints, it is that the inlets were so close to the final dimensions that it was a pain to take off a sliver here, a curl there.....

Not alot of guessing as to how things come together, and the customer support is excellent.

 

The Chamber's kit is not for a novice.

I beg to differ. There is a lot less fiddling, adjusting, fitting, and dinking around getting the part from a Chambers kit to come together smoothly than there would be from a lower cost kit/component set. It was by far the easiest build I have done because everthing is well prepared. If I have any complaints, it is that the inlets were so close to the final dimensions that it was a pain to take off a sliver here, a curl there.....

Not alot of guessing as to how things come together, and the customer support is excellent.

I agree. My first kit was a Jim Chambers and I have no previous wood or metal working skills. As a matter of fact I've been referred to as being mechanically "declined" :haha: I will admit it probably took me longer to build (about 120 hours) than someone else who's used a chisel before, but the rifle turned out great. I would not hesitate to buy another one. I relied on Alexander's book and the Ron Ehlert APV chambers rifle DVD.

 

[Harrod]

I spoke with Mr. Williams of Early Rustic Arms earlier this month at Bledsoes Colonial Fair about an "in the white" kit. He said he was no longer doin' the "in the white' thing because other peoples finish work did noy generally reflect the quality of Early Rustic Arms.He also said that his kits were designed for gunmakers and not the backyard hobbyist with no experience. There are no instructions included with his kits. He's a great guy but I wouldn't reccomend him for a kit unless you've done your homework first.