First Time Flintlock

[DancesWithSquirrels]

Howdy everyone,

I'm looking into eventually buying a flintlock rifle of some sort. I love my percussion muzzleloader, but there's just something magical about an explosion going off inches from my face

I can't build a kit, since I am in an apartment and lack the space/tools to do so, so it will have to be a fully assembled firearm.

I an an avid hunter of big game, so I'm looking for probably a .50 caliber and higher. Not too worried about price.

I've been looking at the Kibler Southern Mountain rifle and I love it, but I've yet to find one that isn't a kit. Anyone have any suggestions for a first time flinter? I already have a Pedersoli, so I'd like something different.

God Bless.

 

[Johnny Too-Tall]

Theres many builders on here that put the Kiblers together and sell at a moderate price point. @wayne estes Oldschool is another. The issue with the SMR is you said you wanted a 50 or bigger and the 45 is largest in the SMR.

 

[mrfritz44]

For what it's worth, I just built a Woodsrunner kit and really didn't need to do it in my basement.

There's a fair amount of sanding but if you can come up with a way to do that in your apartment the kit is more of an assembly than a build.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

There's one guy here that has assembled 381 Kibler kits and has another one on the way. He will arrive soon.

edit to add: All kidding aside, he does really nice work.

Are you looking for a long rifle? Short rifle? Are you wanting to shoot conicals or patched round balls? A few things to consider.

 

[Brokennock]

Howdy everyone,

I'm looking into eventually buying a flintlock rifle of some sort. I love my percussion muzzleloader, but there's just something magical about an explosion going off inches from my face

I can't build a kit, since I am in an apartment and lack the space/tools to do so, so it will have to be a fully assembled firearm.

I an an avid hunter of big game, so I'm looking for probably a .50 caliber and higher. Not too worried about price.

I've been looking at the Kibler Southern Mountain rifle and I love it, but I've yet to find one that isn't a kit. Anyone have any suggestions for a first time flinter? I already have a Pedersoli, so I'd like something different.

God Bless.

I an an avid hunter of big game, so I'm looking for probably a .50 caliber and higher.

Are we talking true "big game" as in larger than deer?

I've been looking at the Kibler Southern Mountain rifle

The issue with the SMR is you said you wanted a 50 or bigger and the 45 is largest in the SMR.

If, "big game," is really deer, that .45 will do just fine.

As has been said, there are plenty of guys who put together Kibler kits then sell them. Watch the classifieds here and on the ALR forum. Even if you don't find what you want for sale it will give you an idea of who is doing such work, maybe one is close to you. Maybe you can buy the kit and have someone assemble it.

 

[DancesWithSquirrels]

For what it's worth, I just built a Woodsrunner kit and really didn't need to do it in my basement.

There's a fair amount of sanding but if you can come up with a way to do that in your apartment the kit is more of an assembly than a build.

Maybe I’m mistaken about doing it in an apartment then. Was it primarily sanding and just “putting it together”?

 

[DancesWithSquirrels]

There's one guy here that has assembled 381 Kibler kits and has another one on the way. He will arrive soon.

edit to add: All kidding aside, he does really nice work.

Are you looking for a long rifle? Short rifle? Are you wanting to shoot conicals or patched round balls? A few things to consider.

Ha! I’m looking for more of a long rifle. I already have a Kentucky Longrifle by pedersoli in percussion. Either one, but I’d prefer patched round balls since that’s just what I’m used to using.

 

[DancesWithSquirrels]

Are we talking true "big game" as in larger than deer?




If, "big game," is really deer, that .45 will do just fine.

As has been said, there are plenty of guys who put together Kibler kits then sell them. Watch the classifieds here and on the ALR forum. Even if you don't find what you want for sale it will give you an idea of who is doing such work, maybe one is close to you. Maybe you can buy the kit and have someone assemble it.

Thank you very much for your information. Primarily deer, but eventually elk.

 

[akroguy]

You don't need serious shop equipment to assemble a Kibler kit. Hand tools, some chisels, sand paper, files and a padded bench vise...(clamp to your kitchen table) and some finishing stain or linseed oil. These are almost "in the white" rifles and require little serious work to be made ready to make smoke. You can do it!

 

[mrfritz44]

You don't need serious shop equipment to assemble a Kibler kit. Hand tools, some chisels, sand paper, files and a padded bench vise...(clamp to your kitchen table) and some finishing stain or linseed oil. These are almost "in the white" rifles and require little serious work to be made ready to make smoke. You can do it!

And I didn't even need a chisel, although I suspect that experience may vary.

The Woodsrunner in particular was CNC manufactured and pre-fit to eliminate alot of the work, but still yield a nice flintlock.

I could see finishing the Woodsrunner in an apartment.

 

[AZshot]

Jim Kibler will finish one of his kits for you.

 

[mrfritz44]

I forgot to mention, Kibler has a series of YouTube videos that walk you through the process from start to finish.

You'll be able to gauge for yourself if you could finish it in your apartment from these videos.

 

[Topsail]

Gotta love flintlocks

 

[GriscomRun]

Everybody here is right. You CAN do this pretty easily. DO visit Kiblers video's on Youtube. And you can see how pretty simple it is.

Take your stock outside somewhere and sand the thing well - with the buttplate on. Be careful not to put too much pressure against the front end cause the wood there is thin. Sand , then wet the stock, sand again. You can stain in your place just fine. I used a drop cloth in my kitchen to catch anything that could have found the floor by mistake. You can use a bent coat hanger to hang your stock when applying the finishing oil of your choice.
I like the idea of using a piece of 1/2 - 3/4 ply clamped to the kitchen table to work on things. Mine is wide enough that I can put a vise on it too.

Back in the late 80's I worked on an unnamed kit on the tailgate of my Chevy. Came out ok too.

 

[akroguy]

FWIW, back in my single days, I lived in an apartment and was, at that time, an avid RC airplane nut. I built a lot of balsa models in there and made a lot of sanding dust! I just stayed on top of cleanup and put down drop cloths if doing any painting or other drippy work. Never had a problem when I moved out and got my deposit back.

 

[springfield art]

Howdy everyone,

I'm looking into eventually buying a flintlock rifle of some sort. I love my percussion muzzleloader, but there's just something magical about an explosion going off inches from my face

I can't build a kit, since I am in an apartment and lack the space/tools to do so, so it will have to be a fully assembled firearm.

I an an avid hunter of big game, so I'm looking for probably a .50 caliber and higher. Not too worried about price.

I've been looking at the Kibler Southern Mountain rifle and I love it, but I've yet to find one that isn't a kit. Anyone have any suggestions for a first time flinter? I already have a Pedersoli, so I'd like something different.

God Bless.

I've seen here people selling already-assembled Kiblers. Keep an eye out!

 

[springfield art]

View attachment 366818
Gotta love flintlocks

Good Photo!

 

[hanshi]

Yes, there are quite a few builders and shooters who finish these kits and sell them reasonably priced. If elk is in your future get a Woodsrunner in .54.

 

[Mgbruch]

If you're set on a .50 in a Southern Mountain Rifle, I believe you'll need to find a custom builder. On the negative side, it's going to cost you more than a kit, or an assembled kit. On the positive side, you'll have a handmade arm, that's not a robot copy of every body else's gun.

Rice Barrel Co. sells a Southern Classic barrel, in either 42 or 44 inch lengths. It's a swamped barrel that's 15/16" at the breech... and in .50 caliber it makes a very light, slim rifle.

Having said that. If I didn't build my own, I'd be shooting a .45 caliber Kibler Southern Mountain Rifle. One of the early ones with the 46" Rice barrel. I don't hunt anything larger than deer these days, and I wouldn't hesitate using a .45. I like a .50 as well, and that's what I shoot. If I start hunting elk again, I use a .58.

 

[olskool]

what are you hunting? a 45 will kill most of what needs killin,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,