Favorite piece parts for building a rifle gun

[Spot Shooter]

We got talkin' about Siler Locks as bein' best of breed.

How 'bout the other parts

Barrels - Green Mountain?
butt plates
sights
triggers

Jest wonder'in.

Spot

 

[Birddog6]

It's all kinda like beer.... everyone has their Druthers....

 

It's all kinda like beer.... everyone has their Druthers....

i kinda agree there cant build agood rifle without it. whats druthers? :winking: is it catching

 

[gordy]

No ouestion about Siler locks being a good product,and Green Moutain barrels are solid quality.As for buttplates and furniture,there are several outfits that supply accurate good quality parts,how much better one is over the others is a matter of druthers. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif ::

 

[swquiro]

Hey Spot, you kinda asked for that one. There is just a huge variety of possibilities out there. Just pull up Track of the Wolf and click on Gun Parts and you will see what I mean. AS for triggers, my druthers are the Davis small double sett. Got two of them and love em - the very soul of my favorite pieces.

 

[Spot Shooter]

Fellers',

Always try'n to extend what I know (since I'm start'n from nothin' i'm doin' it alot lately). I guess I'm jest going to have ta go out and start buildin' this stuff ta find out what my druthers' be. Thank goodness this stuff ain't too expensive :shocking:, I were hopin' ta cut down the field so I could save my marriage. :haha:

I'm jest haven' fun, and know alot of ya fellers are gonna be head'n ta the ron-day-voo's so I figured ta ask a few question's afur ya'll head out. I'm playin' with the thought of build'n a finer grade rifle gun this winter. Find'n parts and doin' all that think'n is alot of distance ta roll that peanut I got roll'n round in my noggin'.

Spot

 

[swquiro]

Spot, just wanted to offer a few suggestions. Sounds like this is going to be your first project, sooo, it might not be a bad idea to start with a nice kit from Chambers, Dunlap, TOTW, etc. Short of that, you might look around for an accomplished builder to do the critical stuff (inletting the lock, triggers, barrel and tang, drilling the ramrod hole and maybe a few other things). Either way, a good kit or the individual parts add up to a good hunk of change, and major screw-ups in critical areas sure hurt the pocket book, not to mention the ego. Been there, done that. Not good. Get yourself a good book or two (Recreating the American Longrifle, The gunsmith of Grenville County, or the Dixon book). Perhaps the best prices for components is Muzzleloader Builders Supply (479 2928866) or look them up on the web.

Just go slow. I can think of only a few things more satisfying than building an accurate and attractive longrifle. Good luck.

 

[Zonie]

Spot: About your comment "Thank goodness this stuff ain't too expensive " here is about what it costs for the basic pieces of USA made parts:
Lock: $45-120 (Lock kit castings/springs-finished Flintlock)
Barrel: $90-220
Barrel plug & Tang: $10-50
Trigger: $10-60
Sights: $8-35
Barrel tennons: $6-10
Ramrod thimbles $6-40
Nose Cap: $0-20
Butt Plate:$0-30
Trigger Guard:$7-30
Side Plate:$0.30 (washer)-$20
Toe Plate:$0-6
Stock wood: $0-500 $0 is where you find a log and tote it home. $500 is where the seller can proove it is actually the wood from the exact Cherry Tree that G.Washington chopped down. Even then I wouldn't trust him.
Patch Box: $0-30
Inlays:$0-150

As you can see, the not too expensive adds up to about $183.

I would suggest that before you start buying or making you get a firm image of just what you want to end up with.
You need to decide on the time period, the lock type, the stock type (full or halfstock), the caliber, etc.
Without a specific goal, you may end up with a box of parts and little else.
By the way, there are many Southern Poor Boy rifles that do not have Butt Plates, Nose Caps etc so you shouldn't rule out a rifle which doesn't have these "extras".

 

[Spot Shooter]

Zonie,

Them piece part kits in TOTW are jest a bit higher than $183, at least most of them are. Heck I paid $239 fer my GPR kit, and it were the cheapest I could find. hmmmmm ? ? ?

Sq,
This will be my second round on buildin' a riflegun.

I think both of you are right but a bit elegant for my rough cut uneducatedness 'bout the old days and who shot what. Truth is RollingB is be'in an unbeleivable patient mentor with me. He lets me flounder about and try to learn somethin' by myself, and when it comes down to "class time," meaning' I've finally choosen a project then he just teaches me what I need to know as I go along.

Ta date I did build my GPR which I am REALLY, REALLY enjoy'n. In fact I'm takin' the boy ta shoot her today. Anywho, I've decided ta get some of the books on buildin' a rifle gun and this time go with a flint, and use higer quality parts and fancier decor to make a perty'er gun then my GPR. My plan this in not to mess up, so I've decided to order books on stock and BP riflegun read, practice on wood doing Inlays, and maybe even carvin'.

I'm a bit afraid of doing some of that fancy carvin' (I'll cut off things that ain't saposeta be cut off). But I think I can master Inlay's with a bit of patients, advice, and luck. Either way, I'll order the books before July so when it gets hot I'll move into the Gee-ragh and start expereiment'n. RB has steer'd me to the Docket rifle as a good choice, and I have to agree with him on that, I like the cheek piece they got on it, and it lends itself to inlay'd wire and such more then it does the carve'n.

I do greatly appreciate the help and information on how ta think you fellers have been given me. Yer help'n me keep or at least get my feet on the ground big time. I don't think it'd be fair to ask any one man ta teach me the ropes on what's BP all about, most of us have enough trouble raisin' up our own greenhorns as it is. I'm doin' more or less what most of ya'll have indicated, which is figure out what my druthers are gonna be. So far I've really enjoy'd the directions and good taste that RB has let me be proxy too in his choice of rifleguns. Post'n questions like this helps me figuire out things that usually go unsaid, like the fact that I'm a bit shy on a good education of the different weapon's of history (Massive understatement!). I guess I should be asking if theres a magic pill I can take ta learn that since all of you fellers live in a different state.

Funny thing, older I get the smarter my Gramp's seems to have been. It was only 20 years ago when I thought the man was crazy tell'n me thet a BP long-gun would flatten jest about anything. I remember tell'n him that a modern round was much, much more proficient. Now that I know true terminal (from experience) ballistic's and have come full circle I know he was right. Wish he was around to tell, guess you fellers will have to do.

Thanks again,
Spot

 

"Dickert"!! (Jacob Dickert) :: /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Zonie]

Spot: I think your on the right trail. Getting a few books on building and on the kinds of rifles used in the old days can do a lot of good.

The $183 I mentioned is for a gun where you build the lock out of castings, you find some free wood, it has no Butt Plate, Nose cap, or anything else. Just a lock, stock and barrel (with sights), a simple trigger and a trigger guard.

It is when you add all of the other things like nice wood, etc that the cost goes up a few notches.

Happy Reading

 

[Darkhorse]

Spot,
I think preplanning is very important. But I would do things a little different. Wait on the carving and wire inlay until later. It is a good way to ruin a fine piece of wood.
Building a rifle from scratch or from one of the top of the line kits is much different than building your GPR. During the 200 or so hours it will take you, you will run across many ways to mess the whole thing up.
Spend the money and get a better grade of wood. A plain, noncarved, non inlayed rifle made with fine curly maple will be a beautiful rifle in itself.
To pass on some advice given to me; "You have to learn how to make the plain ones look good before you try to make a fancy one."

Plan on spending a minimum of about $500. on good parts alone, not counting your tools. Good wood will add to this. Now take this $300. piece of wood and think about it. Do you really want to start carving on it? Practice is good, but Curly Maple cuts different than pine or even straight maple, because the grain changes direction.

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

Spot,

I think your enthusiasm is great - reminds me of... me. But when not enough pre-planning meets too much eager to start, well, I have personally turned hundreds of dollars worth of AAAA fiddle back maple and walnut stock blanks into knife handles and pistol grips. I'll spare you the details but the more time you spend building kits before starting that one of a kind masterpiece, the better. And you will have NO problem selling your completed kits to finance your education I garrrrunteeee...

 

[quinnconner]

For buildin your first gun and so your wife dont get upset you may want to think about shoppin for some "bargain" parts.Now, you said about a green mountain barrel- that is a very good choice.They shoot great and they dont cost a fortune.If you watch ebay -you can find some curly maple or walnut stocks on there as well as great prices on siler locks and other parts.Another thing that you can do is callsome of the stock sellers and ask about a "seconds" stock.It may have a knot hole or a mineral streak or something like that.You should get your barrel first -something like a 7/8" .45 or .50 cal for starters ,then start calling around about a stock.Gunstocksplus is a really nice guy ,and he will get you fixed up with a good piece of wood.It is best to learn how to inlet the lock your self.Pre-inletted locks dont teach you how it is done.You should actually plan to put a patchbox ,inlays and carving on your first rifle if that is what you eventually hope to do on future gun building projects.It is better to learn on your first rifle as you go and look at as many photos of old original rifles as possible.Ask questions and go to any gun shops or gun shows where there are rifles made by todays top makers or nice old original guns.