building my first rifle , need advice!

[Brad]

i've been shooting muzzleoaders for about 3 yrs. i've been looking to put togrther a good solid rifle. i found the site[url] trackofthewolf.com[/url] and they have the kind of rifle i'm looking to build, it's the bedfrod pa longrifle kit, you can pic parts and styles you want, they have L&R locks and green mountain barrles that i wanted, they will also do the more difficle gunsmithing work for you.(for a fee of course)

i wanted advice from you guys what you think of this kit and how hard would it be to put together? I've never put one together before but i have a freind that has built flintlocks himself before and has some experience. Also what do you think about the price of this gun? i wanted something simple to put together that was already cut out for the lock and barrel and shaped. thank i will be hitting you guys with all kinds of questions so bear with me.

 

[LRB]

Without researching, I am not sure there were any flint Bedfords. The Bedfords were a late entry in rifle making. You might want to check with other suppliers before you start buying, not that theres anything wrong with TOW, but often it pays to check around. You also need to do as much research as you can if you want a really PC gun. Many do not care that much about PC, but if you do you need to find all you can on the type of gun you want before you start ordering parts. Also you can get guns already put together, but need the final finishing from Tip Curtis and a few others. I suspect that Tip would put it in any stage of completion you wanted.

 

[tg]

Wick is on the money about the research, do not consider reading builders/suppliers writeups (there are exceptions) as research, most use their text about the guns to help sell the guns not to give an accurate gun history lesson, I do not have anything on the later period guns but someone will likely steer you towards a good source, TOW has someresource books on these guns I believe, have fun with your project.

 

[Brad]

no it don't have to be pc, i just look at the models they have and chose the one i liked the best. i don't like the engaving on the stock or even the patch box for that matter. i like them plane. my freind told me about buying a used tc hawken and buying a drop in stock and lock(l&r) and gmt barrel, that i wanted, but by the time i get all that changed i mite as well not eve bought a used tc, just buy parts and build it myself. thanks

 

[Birddog6]

IMHO, I think ya need to go to a place or someones house with a good variation & see what FEELS the best to ya, rather than looks. Looks don't mean nuthin if the gun doesn't feel good or feel comfortable.
That was a mistake I kept making years ago, if the looks hit my fancy I would buy it. About 25+ ML's of buying, shooting & selling them, I realized what I was doing was buying on looks only & not what really fit me right & was comfortable.

Now I just love a genuine halfstock & fullstock Hawken & a Southern rifle & a Tenn Mtn. rifle, but don't like to shoot any of the 4 ! If I own them they will just sit in the gun vault & that doesn't do me any good. So now I build & shoot what I found that fits me well & is comfortable to me, then I research all of those styles & pick out what to build next.

So for now, if I was you I would forget the looks of any of them & go try some & see how that does, THEN go look at the catalogs. It will save you Thousands of $ in the next 20 years if you areally get into ML's.

If you are within a days drive of Nashville, TN, I suggest you take a day & drive to Tip Curtis's shop & try out about 30-40 that Tip has built there. He is a heck of a nice guy & his guns shop is a smorgasborg of ML's. Every shape & size you can imagine. Also you can buy all the parts there to build one. His prices are not the cheapest around, but you can pick & choose Every Single Part while there, lay it all out on the table, know EXACTLY what you are getting & see it there & etc. To me that means allot. No backorders, Hundreds of barrels & stocks to choose from, hundreds of locks, etc.

If I were within a days drive of Log Cabin, I would drive to it. If I was within a days drive of Tracks, I would go there. But go look at some first. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

But whatever ya do, don't buy on looks, especially just starting out. Build something you KNOW will fit, you can handle & balances right for you.

As far as prices, Tracks, Tip Curtis Frontier Shop, Log Cabin all three have quality parts & are all within a few $ of each other. Don't shop for the cheapest place, you will just end up buying allot of stuff that don't fit & lots of returns & that will eat the savings you tried to make.

Also, regardless of who ya get the parts from, check avail. when you place the order or you may be waiting for a barrel or lock for 3 mo.

As for the lock, if it is a Flintlock I suggest a Chambers or a Siler if they will work in the rifle you are building. I have not had any problems with either & I buy 6-8 locks a year.


Custom Muzzleloaders & Custom Skinning Knives

 

[Wayne Combs]

Welcome Brad.I agree with Birddog entirely,try some guns out and see how they fit.You may also want to figure out what all you will want to do with this gun[hunting,target shooting,etc.] this all determines what style of rifle you may want to buy.Good luck with whatever gun you decide to build,and again welcome.Wayne.

 

[tg]

I think Birddogs advise about trying the fit and feel of different types of guns is the best and most undermentioned of all the bits of sage wisdom one will hear about picking a type of gun, if you have any chance to do so give it a try.

 

[Zonie]

For what it's worth, the booklet (41 pages) The BEDFORD COUNTY RIFLE and Its Makers by Calvin Hetrick shows 3 Bedford Flintlocks. Two of these are attributed to Peter White and one by Joseph Mills.
The booklet also lists 6 other gunsmiths who were working in Bedford County in 1825 or earlier. Jacob Saylor was working in the area in 1776 and Henry Sides in 1796.
If you decide to build a Bedford, I would suggest that you order a copy of this booklet. I believe Dixie Gun Works has them for sale.

The Bedford is perhaps the slimmest of all of the Pennsylvania Rifles. Although it appears to have an extreme amount of drop in the stock, this doesn't add any discomfort to shooting one. In fact, it "comes to the eye" almost automatically.

In the Photos Forum there several posts made by different individuals who know the pleasue of owning and shooting Bedfords.
Mine is shown below:

The drop on this .45 cal gun is 4 1/2 inches.

 

[Brad]

thanks for the help, the rifle will be for both target and hunting so i want to go with a 36in. barrel. 1 rifle that i've shot and realy liked was a hawken that had a diffrent stock than the factory tc, because i don't like the straight stock of them, the stock on the gun i shot was made for a fit in for the tc hawken but had a longer drop in stock that felt real good. the others i tried had a long drop in stock and they all felt good to me, most of the ones i tried also had cheak pieces on and i don't think i would buy one without.

 

[Zonie]

I think Birddog6 had the best suggestion but if that is not possible, and the TC Hawken (with its shorter barrel) might work if the drop were more than stock, you might consider restocking the TC with one of Pecatonica Rivers TC stock replacement.
The standard TC has a drop of 2 1/2 inches. The Pecatonica Rivers stock drop is 3 inches.
Check out Bob1961s photos in the Photo Forum and the Builders Forum to get an idea of what it can look like.
Also while your looking, remember, Bob1961 bought the top of the line Curly Maple which runs over $200.