Back from the Log Cabin- lessons learned.

[JimG]

Woke up at 1:00 am CST and was on the road by 2:30 am CST. Made it to the Log Cabin Shop in one piece many hours later. Looked at everything. Lessons learned (for a BP newbie) are as follows.
1. After seeing many older BP rifles I've come to the conclusion that NO production gun even comes close. The stocks on the old guns are slender, and small. The barrels are large in diameter regarless of caliber. Even though they may be crude to a degree, the metal to wood fit/overall craftsmanship is excellent. New production guns are darn near the exact opposite! Clubby stocks, smaller diameter barrels, and the fit/finish is not all that great. Also I saw a distinct lack (90%) of 'brassy do-dads'. Like patchboxes, trigger gaurds, and the like on the originals. If gun did have brass it was limited.
2. The Lyman kits ARE NOT for A BEGINNER PERIOD! I cannot believe the amount of work required to get one to a finished stage. I was under the impression that a little sanding on the stock and yer good to go. Nooooo...... Both kits I looked at required a massive amount of shaping around the lock where it looked like the factory just quit shaping and in the butt stock area. The forearm seemed much fatter than a factory finished gun but that may of been an illusion. The pistol kit would of required a large amount of shaping as well. I did not examine the Traditions kits too well, as at that point I was pretty much bummmed. I'm much more impressed now with the guys who have successfully built a kit now. I did'nt know what to expect but the Lyman kits are certainly not the "blue/brown the metal and rub finish into the wood and assemble" kind in my opinion. I was also dismayed at the really poor fit and finish of the Traditions factory finished guns. Terrible. Waaaayyyyyy too much shiny brass for my tastes. The factory finished Lymans where exceptable but not for $430+. I know, I know, what do I expect from a production gun?
So I don't know where to go from here. The factory finished Traditions and Lymans I saw were kinda bad. The Lyman kits are a no-go for me and I'm not a idiot when it comes to working with my hands. The Traditions kits (assuming they are easier to build) will have the same 'ton' of brass on them as the factory finished ones do.
Can't afford a custom gun by any means!! Sooooo... other than seeing what some originals look liked I came away empty handed and dismayed.

 

[walruskid1]

what did you think of the place? worth the trip?

 

:v Now that you hve seen what you get for your money. You can see why a completed kit gun or a piece built by Homer Dangler or other reputable builder cost so much. Believe me one can hardly make wages building guns. So now it is fish or cut bait time, build it yourself from scratch or save your money.and buy. Building your own is not hard ,just time and labor consumeing.

 

[JimG]

Yes it was worth the trip. The museum was great. The people there were more than helpful. I saw things that I simply can't see here at home. No complaints with the Log Cabin Shop!!! It was great. :grin: I just am a little bummed over the Traditions and Lymans. :cursing: As for building one from scratch. :shocked2: Not likely. I'll leave that to the pro's. I went prepared to buy a .32 or a .54 as I have a need for both but just could not bring myself to spend the dough.

 

[cavscout]

I went out of my way on the 21st on my way to WI on leave just to visit. The Log Cabin Shop was much more then i expected. I really enjoyed it and spent a couple of hours there. If you have a chance well worth the drive to visit. I too was suprised at how little the stocks were compared to the big barrels. I have never really looked at too many originals untill the past year or two.

 

[JimG]

Yup I think me and the ole lady spent 2-2.5 hours looking at EVERYTHING! She was facinated by the rifling bench. She also got to see a couple pepperboxes. Something that she had never seen before either.

 

[Swampman]

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/

LYMAN GREAT PLAINS .54 CAL PERCUSSION RIGHT HAND RIFLE COMPLETE GUN
Order No: Status: Price:
015-6031103 In Stock
$344.93

Buy the completed gun and refinish it.

It's fun and it's easy.

 

[jtmattison]

I agree with Swampman.

You can't beat the price from midsouth. I bought all of my Lyman's from them except one.

Get the complete gun and refinish it if you want. It would be easy to remove the blue and brown it if you want. Add some stuff to jazz it up if you want also.

There's no need to spend a ton of money when your just getting started.

Lyman makes a great shooting gun. I should know. I have four of them.

Huntin Dawg

 

[JimG]

That's a no go as well. I live in Illinois. Most places will not ship anything to IL due to the draconian gun laws we have. IL regulates BP as much as it regulates modern arms. You need a FOID card to own pretty much anything. Which I have, however most places don't want to bother trying to figure out Illinois laws.

 

Check with TVM. You might be able to get an "in-the-white" gun for not much more than a Lyman... it will already be assembled, and it will truly be a "brown the barrel, sand the wood a bit, stain and finish" proposition, and you'll have a MUCH better quality gun in the end. Tip Curtis is another one to check into for in-the-white kits. Seems another member of this forum (Old Army) recently got a kit from TVM for less than $400? Yes... it was a special they were running back in November. Keep checking with them... I'm sure it won't be the last time they run something on special like that.

 

[AZ-Robert]

Tip Curtis sells guns "in the white" at a price about midway between the price of a kit and a fully finished gun. His guns are always spoken well of. His phone is (615) 654-4445.

Jim Chambers gets high marks for his kits as something for a beginner to work with:[url] http://www.flintlocks.com/[/url]

And, if shipping direct to your door is an issue, visit the folks at the local WalMart. Their under-the-counter catalog in the sporting goods section will let you order via layaway a factory finished Lyman GPR for about $340, including the price of delivery to the store.

 

[mikelange]

Jim, I'd suggest waiting until June and driving over to Friendship (SE Indiana), buying what you want (even ordering it ahead of time, arranging for it to be there, and just going to pick it up), enjoying the whole Shoot experience, then heading home, though I can see at least three things potentially wrong with that plan:

1. You might, like me, be limited in finances and vacation time, meaning that you don't just drive across the better part of two states for s---s and giggles (your trek to Log Cabin might have been a one-shot, never-do-again deal);

2. You probably don't want to wait six months, which is completely understandable;

3. The possibility always exists that something would go wrong and you'd make a long drive with no gun waiting at the end.

However, Curtis, Chambers, Jim Klein (took over Homer Dangler's operation, for the most part, including in-the-white rifles), and a number of other builders and companies are always there.

Hell, if there were a practical way to go about it, I'd get the gun for you and drive it to your doorstep, just to annoy the State Of Illinois. :haha: :haha: :haha:

 

[JimG]

I do everything I possibly can, legally of course, to irrate IL. As for Friendship, I plan on going if I can.

 

[the skrat]

jim plan a trip to the kalamazoo gun show in michigan middle of march. i have been there 3 times it takes 2 days to look at everything. lots of guns to buy and lots of custom builders. i met one guy ther and had him build me a gun with rice barrel, siler lock, davis triggers, 11 sterling silver inlays, very fine piece of curly maple for stock and nice patch box all furniture fully engraved and all places where you would put carving fully carved all for $1800. i recieved this rifle 3 months later and have been very pleasedwith it. he was quoting prices for plain rifles and they were very reasonable.there were many guns in the white and kit guns and used guns for sale also builders that would finisf one for any priceyou wanted to spend so something for everyone.good luck on your search hope you find what you are looking for.

curly maple

 

I agree with Curly Maple, the Kzoo show has a lot of builders, and suppliers there. It's one hell of a candy store, and would be well worth your time. It's right off of I-94 and completely fills the County Fairgrounds Bldg's. There is a web site listed for it somewhere, or try Googling Kalamazoo Living History. Bill

 

[11th corps]

If you look around, you can probably find a t/c or Lyman BP used. Take it out and enjoy shooting it. later, if you want, you can take the gun down and do some sanding, refinishing to make it your own.
the fun in owning a b/p is in the shooting. i think too many of the gussied up rifles never get shot, they just sit on the wall being admired. I doubt that Joe frontiersman had a carved, beautifully proportioned rifle. he cared that it had a good lock, sparked and shot straight. carving and a beautiful stock did not help anyone make "meat", or defend themselves

 

[harryo]

That's a no go as well. I live in Illinois. Most places will not ship anything to IL due to the draconian gun laws we have.

Jim, while many places will not ship complete guns to Illinois, they can, and will, ship parts. If a rifle can be broken down, the stock assembly can be sent seperately from the barrel, without restriction, as they are now not shipping guns, but parts. Complete guns can also be shipped to a FFL holder, and if you can find someone with a FFL, they will usually accept shipment to them for a small fee.