Companies?

[gunner2292]

Is jedediah-starr a good company to buy kit rifles from? I was looking at buying a fullstock hawken kit. How do these rate for difficulty. I am 16 and am really looking into a nice kit to build.
Here is the link http://www.jedediah-starr.com/closeup.asp?cid=19&pid=116&offset=0

Thank you very much everyone!!!!!

 

[Old40Rod]

I don't know about Jed Starr, but Hawken half-stock parts kits are generally considered somewhat difficult for a first time build. They are not kits as much as a collection of parts.

I can recommend Pecatonica River, great folks to work with.... http://www.longrifles-pr.com/

Interesting note, Starr's offerings appear to be just like PR's... prices are the same also. I wonder if Starr just gets the setups from PR. Perhaps somebody in the know can chime in.

 

[Melton Kidd]

I am not familiar with this company, nor have I seen it reccomended on this or other forums.

Track of The Wolf has a very nice full stock Hawken parts kit. I built one several years ago and was able to build without any power tools.
(carving knives, hand drill, wood rasp, etc.)

 

[gunner2292]

How hard to build are track of the wolf kits? We have all the tools necessary. From what I have read the kits require lots of filing and finishing of metal parts and sanding on the stock. I heard the stocks were pre-inletted but needed a lot of sanding and reshaping. I suppose I would have the company mill the dovetails, and install the breech plug. What else would you all recommend they do?

 

[guylabou]

I've been working on a Sitting Fox kit myself (my first) this summer and have just a week or so more work to go to finish it. I started in August. The hardest part of building one is patience(?). The sanding and filing is just arm work and not to bad. Take it slow, think everything through before you do it and trust these guys on the forum for help when you need it. These fellows know what they're talking about! I got mine with the barrel, lock and trigger rough inletted. Touching up the lock inletting was a bit hard but the rest of the inletting gets easier as you do it. I had the sites, breech plug and tenons installed for me. That worked well for me. Lining up and drilling the pin holes through the stock and into the tenons and pipes was the hardest part for me.
Good Luck
Larry

 

[Old40Rod]

How hard to build are track of the wolf kits? We have all the tools necessary. From what I have read the kits require lots of filing and finishing of metal parts and sanding on the stock. I heard the stocks were pre-inletted but needed a lot of sanding and reshaping. I suppose I would have the company mill the dovetails, and install the breech plug. What else would you all recommend they do?

Remember, these "kits" are really just a collection of parts. There is much more to do than just sanding and filing. Look at Zonie's explanation from a recent post....

All of these "kits" consist of rough or semi-finished parts that will require a lot of work on your part. The lock and set triggers are the only parts that are nearly finished and even these will require things like drilling and tapping the threaded holes for the screws that hold them into the stock. They will also (if you choose) require browning or bluing. None of these "kits" are the "almost done" kits supplied by the big gun makers.

I probably put in 70+ hours on my first parts build, which was a pistol. I am working on a tennessee rifle pre-carve build right now. I have at least 50+ hours into it, with another 50+ to go at a minimum. My stock was pre-shaped with the barrel channel cut and ramrod hole drilled. I am inletting everything else. It would estimate that it took 15-20 hours for me to get the barrel and breech inlet and bedded just as I wanted it.

There are upsides and downsides to having TOTW do more of the work. The more they do, the more it will costs. You will also be somewhat limited dimensionally speaking, by their work. While you may have a bit a wiggle room, if they inlet the lock, for example, that's where it will end up.

I don't want to discourage you, because its a rewarding process, not doubt. But it is a fair amount of money to lay out if you aren't committed to taking your time and finishing things up.

I started out with a Lyman GPR kit. It was more like about 40 hours of work and I got somewhat of a taste of things to come.

A factory kit is just not the same as a parts build... its rather like comparing a single date to being married. Although you are only 16, I think you get the idea....

:haha: