Did I mess up(Traditions™ Mountain Rifle Kit)? New User/Introduction

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You don't learn unless you try. Get some books on building rifles. My first rifle back in the 70's was a CVA Mountain Rifle kit. After building a couple rifles from parts I went back an refinished it and corrected my mistakes. Now tell your lady to put some horns on that deer, That is sacrilegious to put a Doe on a rifle, LOL. You got a team going you build them and she can carve them keep at it.
 
Hey Everyone! I really appreciate all your suggestions and advice, its really been helpful putting it in perspective. I went ahead and dropped by home depot with my gf for one final attempt at the stock and some more things to put it all together. I'm currently staining the wood and will be seeing tomorrow morning how well it stains as I put on a little Danish Oil for the stock after the first coat and it removed quite a lot of the stain so I went ahead and put another coat and im going to let it sit all night to really set into the wood. Ill keep it all posted. I really like the stain thats currently being used and I think itll really save the piece.
 
As long as your learning you're doing great. This is your first build, and sharing the fun with your girl. What a joy. My wife and I have many times working together, and they are our best memories. Good Luck.
 
You did well at your first and should be proud of your lady's work as well as your lady! Make changes to the gun as you wish but most of all, SHOOT IT! No one is born with manual skills; we all must learn as we go. Here is my favirite wall plaque.
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Toxanism said:
Hey everyone! I go by Toxan or Adam, nice to meet you. I want to be upfront about the flaws in my Traditions™ Mountain Rifle Kit. From limited tools and workspace to my lack of experience, it's been a learning curve. While I've always admired firearms, my background is more in tailoring, tax work, and programming. I chose to build rather than buy because I enjoy understanding the process.

Despite ordering tools and facing setbacks like stains not matching, tools breaking, and a glossy wood finish, the structural integrity is solid. My biggest challenge was my lack of expertise. I attempted to salvage it with water-based wood stain, but it turned into a sticky mess. The bluing of the barrel was uneven. However, my girlfriend's engraving of a deer is the highlight. It's her first attempt, and I'm incredibly proud of her artistic skill.

In the end, my girlfriend loves the rifle's look, and while there are things to fix, I think it's okay. It has a weathered appearance, reminiscent of a rescued piece. What are your thoughts? Is it a disaster, or did we do some things right? This project was a collaboration, and while I may have made mistakes, my girlfriend's contributions were flawless.

Here it is. I attached it in a zip file because the thread keeps saying my message is too long.

Thank you and I'm happy to be here!
Click to expand...
UPDATE #1:

So I thought I'd show some updates on the progress. Me and my gf went ahead and sanded everything down and made sure the stock was bare. We got some new darker stain that will nicely work with the furniture of the gun. I also went ahead and blued everything else including the metal bar that holds to the bottom of the barrel for the ramrod along with the two holders. I also blued the block that attached to the gun's barrel. Here is just a crude progress picture of it all. The stocks stain has fully dried and came out pretty nicely in my opinion compared to what it was. I went ahead and put on Danish Oil and will be seeing tomorrow how its looking.

Once again thank you all for your fantastic advice and the very uplifting and kindhearted words. Especially to my girlfriends amazing engraving on the stock. That was her first time ever engraving and she put a lot of heart into it and I absolutely love it and will be throwing much more projects at her. So instead of it being a project for me, its us working on it together and we can make some really nice pieces. I have a new Kentucky kit coming up and will definitely be putting my new knowledge to making that one amazing.

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One tip on staining. If you use an aniline dye like Fiebings or TransTint you can apply coat after coat to get the color you want. Then wet it slightly in a small spot to see what it would look like with finish on it BEFORE adding finish. With the grain on that wood, I'd elect to go with a darker finish to mask it. It's never too late to do over but it will be fine as is. Leave the deer, it's charming and will please the GF.
 
Personally I like it as is. Oh little things here and there but that is personal choice. I really like the lock side of the butt stock with the different light and dark spots. Leave the deer side alone. She worked hard, it is good looking and it was for you. What better gift?

Get a nice white powder horn kit and let her scrimshaw it for you after you make it into a horn. Tell her it is her canvas and it will be always with the rifle whenever you go out.

If you want to do something different to your rifle. Wait a while. Shoot it. Let it get some age to it and handling patina. In a year relook at it with a different eye. Make your ky rifle before you redo this one. Keep learning, trying, improving. My little ole 45 cal cva ky rifle I waited almost 40 years before I did anything. Went from brunette to light redhead and thinned her down just a bit to lose some weight. Still clover leafs at 75 yards with 60 grain.

When someone says to you did ya make it? You will love the look on their face when you say yep sure did......nice job. Enjoy your work.

Oops, missed the part you were progressing with update #1. Regardless keep on enjoying your new passion.
 
Hi everyone I'm sorry I didn't give an update things got really busy but .... here it is. I think it came out really good this time and today we're planning on shooting it so I'll try to get a video.
 

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Toxanism said:
Hi everyone I'm sorry I didn't give an update things got really busy but .... here it is. I think it came out really good this time and today we're planning on shooting it so I'll try to get a video.
Click to expand...

I’m not a builder so I won’t comment on the work. However, a word of caution in case you don’t know, don’t dry fire without a flint in the cock.
 

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