I started reading books about guns when I was about 7 or 8 years old. That is the only way my third grade teacher could get me to read. I used to sit in third grade class and draw pictures of flintlock pistols. Back then there weren't very many books about guns and none about building them. I built my first complete gun when I was about 15 or 16. I will be 78 in August.
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Explaination Please and what age did you start building?
- Thread starter Swamp Rat
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vacca rabite
36 Cal.
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Built my first pistol in college. So... 19ish.
Between the ages of 19 and 22 I built a kit pistol, kit musket, and a totally custom pistol that I never got around to finishing after I test fired it the first time. :-/
Then about 16 years went by before I decided to get back into it last year.
Zach
Between the ages of 19 and 22 I built a kit pistol, kit musket, and a totally custom pistol that I never got around to finishing after I test fired it the first time. :-/
Then about 16 years went by before I decided to get back into it last year.
Zach
SwampRat:
Man I can relate with those darn entry thimbles. They always kick my as
I was in my mid 40's for my first build.
Seems like very new build always has their ups and downs. But the bottom line is they always turn out and shoot just fine.
Rio
Man I can relate with those darn entry thimbles. They always kick my as
I was in my mid 40's for my first build.
Seems like very new build always has their ups and downs. But the bottom line is they always turn out and shoot just fine.
Rio
When I was in my teens I use to get the Dixie Gunworks catalogs and study it lake the old Sears Catalogs. I was driving through Union City, TN on my way back from Kansas and stop by Dixie Gunworks and Turner Kirkland sold me a Thompson Center .50 kit that I put together when I was in my mid-twenties. That was the first muzzleloader that I put together. Great project and I still hunt with that gun.
well this weekend I got the RR in thru the entry thimble and forearm. Pressure putting it in is like loading a Round ball and pulling it out is like removing a stuck patch. So a little more to go. Hope tonight it will be lined up good.
Just remember.
It's easier to spend a little extra time doing it right now, than it is to have to try to take it apart and fix it later.
It's easier to spend a little extra time doing it right now, than it is to have to try to take it apart and fix it later.
Corollary: "There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over"...scary to say, it was a NASA truism!Zonie said:Just remember.
It's easier to spend a little extra time doing it right now, than it is to have to try to take it apart and fix it later.
13 or 14, I built a 22 cal matchlock from scratch. I used oak for the stock, an old 22 barrel and made the rest. I cast the cock in jewlery class to look like a serpent with the match chord in his mouth. It was ugly but shot well. I used 22 cal air rifle pellets that I sized the skirt down in a die I made. I killed bunches of squirrels with it. I also did a t/c hawkin flintlock kit that year. I Killed a buck with it when I was 15.
I was shooting at age 6. Had my hunting licence at 10. I wish the current crop of kids could be doing these things rather than video games. My own son, 10 YO, likes to go hunting and fishing. He has little patience though. I can't get him interested in the work shop. I think the electronic game devices mess up their ability to have patience.
I was shooting at age 6. Had my hunting licence at 10. I wish the current crop of kids could be doing these things rather than video games. My own son, 10 YO, likes to go hunting and fishing. He has little patience though. I can't get him interested in the work shop. I think the electronic game devices mess up their ability to have patience.
fusil de chase
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Your right about that. Off topic of course but the solution is simple. No electronic devices.
Yes, I am typing this on an electronic device LOL. I also drink coffee, nurse a nicotene addiction and often don't wear a life jacket no shame in being a hypocritical parent. :grin:
Built my first kit at 22 or so then two more before I was 30. Took a 20+ year break into centerfire Mausers and 03A3's and in the last 3 years have rebuilt two .54 caliber renegades. Now thinking about the next project but still don't know what to build.
Col. Batguano
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17. Then took a 40 year hiatus until having to certify as a ML Instructor for Scouts rekindled my interest.
Regarding what to build; it depends largely on WHY you are building.
To have a finished gun
To have a more beautiful or different style of gun than you could buy
as above, but cheaper
to have a gun that YOU built
to learn about the style and history of that model
to learn different skills related to gun making than you already have
to escape from your normal past time rut
the reasons are as varied as the builders
Regarding what to build; it depends largely on WHY you are building.
To have a finished gun
To have a more beautiful or different style of gun than you could buy
as above, but cheaper
to have a gun that YOU built
to learn about the style and history of that model
to learn different skills related to gun making than you already have
to escape from your normal past time rut
the reasons are as varied as the builders
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