Finished first rifle from parts

[dallas10c]

Well, I finally finished my first rifle from parts, not a kit. It was a long learning process and I would really like to thank my friend Bill D for his help and guidance during this project.

I started with...

• Wood from Dave Keck
• Chambers Late Ketland lock
• .25 cal barrel from Ed Rayle
• Some hardware from Dave Keck some handmade by me

I kept it simple for my first from a blank. One of the hardest parts was making a 42" x .23" ramrod. I think if I break it I'll shoot myself!

Finish was LMF nut brown and maple over a coat of orange. Browned the barrel with LMF.

 

[Vtsmoker]

Great job man. I envy your talant. Happy Birthday also :thumbsup:

 

[dallas10c]

thanks....getting older really s*cks! My son in college reminded me today that I am getting older... :bull:

 

[Keb]

Getting older sure beats the alternative.
Nice looking gun.

 

Hell, at 47, yer still a sapling :blah: Happy Birthday. Very nice job on the first one. It's a keeper. Dave gives you lots of choice with his stock profiles. Not quite a precarve, not quite a plank. What's up next?

Bill

 

[hellerodsyahoo.com]

What Keb said.... thanks for sharing

 

[juancho]

Very nice!!! How much does she weight, I've heard of but never seen first hand a .25. What are the dim of the barrel, other than length.
If I were you I save the RR for display and get a delrin (type of plastic) brown rod 1/4" for every day use.Or you can get a take apart rod for .25 center fire and rig one up for the gun.
Let us know how she shoots.Are you going to use FFFFG for main charge?
:thumbsup:

 

[sutherland]

It's a fine looking rifle. And it should be economical to shoot as well. Congratulations!

 

[wattlebuster]

Ya did big. Shes a looker :hatsoff: :hatsoff:

 

[Jason Lewis]

good lookin' gun!

 

[MSW]

nice work!

:thumbsup:

 

[hoochiepapa]

Very nice!! I'd be interested in your shooting report, especially the cleaning part. LOts of stuff flying around about how hard they are to clean, fouling, etc. Hope you don't have any problems.

 

[dallas10c]

Thanks for all the compliments. I plan on trying to get out with it this weekend so I'll give a shooting report as soon as I can.

Someone asked about the barrel. It is 42" straight sided 3/4" Ed Rayle barrel. I am going to weigh the rifle as soon as I get new batteries for the bathroom scale. :wink:

 

[dallas10c]

Bill,
Dave is great. I got the plank from him and he inlet the barrel and did the ramrod channel. He does a rough shaping from the lock back but leaves LOTS of wood so you can do whatever you want. His castings are also top notch.

It's also great that he is only about 30 min from me....

 

[ihuntsnook]

Really nice. I believe there are more guys making fine longrifles here than there were 200 years ago. So many talented guys and so many fine looking long guns. Congrats. Bet she will shoot as good as she looks.

 

[Cascade Pete]

Nice looking rifle. Great job.

 

[rafterob]

That's a mighty fine pea shooter ya got there! Good Job! As for getting older, my Doc said it best "Welcome to the club,it ain't for wussies".

 

[smo]

She looks great Congrats on a fine rifle. :thumbsup:

 

[RHill]

Nice looking "first" build. Nothing to be ashamed of there. I'm looking forward to your range report also. I built a 38 cal rifle that seems to be very tempermental which has kept me from going any smaller. I've seen lots of these small caliber barrels being used lately, so theyu must not be too bad.

 

[dallas10c]

Well, took her to the range today and had a lot of fun. Had a few minor problems at first but nothing too bad. Had to scrape a little off the inside of the lock inlet where the sear goes in. After finishing the rifle the combination of sealant must have made the slightest difference in height. Once I got that sorted out she shot fine. First shot was perfectly centered and about 4" low. Shot twice more before I got out the file. Got it up to about 2" low and kept it there for now. Mostly decided I had enough when I couldn't feel my fingertips any more and the wind got bad enough where getting an accurate shot was gonna be hard.

As far as recoil....what recoil. Pull the trigger and all you hear is crack! No recoil at all. Found the best load so far at 25 grains of 3F with pillow ticking patch and Shenandoah Valley lube. Cut at the muzzle today but I am going to try pre-cutting some to see if it improves the accuracy.