I recently finished up a Kibler SMR in .40 with a curly ash blank supplied by Honey Suckle Woodworks. The tree had died from the emerald ash borer and was later ring dated to the 1830’s, which adds to the “cool factor” of the rifle. The wood was was finished with iron nitrate and polymerized tung oil, with some light aging. The metal is browned using Mark Lee heat brown.
The assembly went smoothly and since it’s not really a build, I had some fun with the following modifications, all by my hand:
-Lollipop toe plate
-Brass side plate patterned after an original “mixed metal” rifle I saw.
-Triggerguard guard made from two; Kibler’s and the other from TOTW to better suite my grip liking.
-Nose cap held in place with copper screws (made to look like rivets).
-Decorative filing on buttplate and thimbles.
-Copper and silver front sight filed flush to the barrel as were many originals.
-American Bison horn ramrod tip.
I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed the project which resulted in a beautiful rifle that is extremely accurate. Thank you to Kibler Longrifles for their great customer service and for producing a great kit.
View attachment 108506View attachment 108507View attachment 108508View attachment 108509View attachment 108510View attachment 108511View attachment 108512View attachment 108513View attachment 108514View attachment 108515
