Flinter on a grad student budget?

[Wildpony]

Been shooting BP for a while now with a couple percussion rifles I got in College. But for the last couple years I have REALLY wanted to get into a flinter.

Problem is, now I am completely impoverished by Law School and have very little money to do anything but buy groceries. But this summer I should be working for a law firm and should be making a little money. I'm hoping to save most of it for next year's bills, but would really like to use a little of it to build up a Flinter.

So the question is, what is the least expensive way to get into a flinter. Kits? Buying individual parts seperately? Are there any Traditional Swap meets scheduled in central Texas this summer where I could find some used parts for a good price? I'm a big fan of the Tenn. and Penn. styles. Any advice you might have that is geared particularly to these styles would be great.

Anybody got any pics of such "franken-flinters" for inspiration?.

 

[longfowler]

this is my "spare parts gun":
a lyman trade rifle stock, thompsom center lock (gun show) 50 cal barrel unknown mfg, (ebay), breechplug from track of the wolf. I spray bombed the barrel black, I'll blue it when the weather gets better. the ramrod is a dowel topped with a .35 rem shell. I think I've got $250. into this, but spread out over a couple of years.

I think I did an OK job!

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

What amount do you have to spend?

 

[Wildpony]

Well I don't have anything I'm willing to spend until mid May. But Im thinking in the ball park of $500. I'd really like to have as much quality for this amount as possible.

 

[longfowler]

what are your percusion rifles? do you have one you could convert to flint? for $500, you could buy a lock from a catalog, and a drop-in barrel from GM, and have money left over for plenty of flints!

 

[Birddog6]

Why not buy a used T/C Flinter & shoot that til ya have the funds to buy the parts to build a rifle. Then sell the rifle & use it towards the parts.

:wink:

 

[Wildpony]

My percussion guns are both Zouaves. I think it might be a little hard to convert those, bc they have a HUGE snail drum that would have to be relieved.

 

[jimmytheshank]

Wildpony, my brother Texan, a word of advice. I wanted a flinter since I was a wee lad in junior high. Saw Fess Parker with Old Betsy and wanted one bad. Grew up and bought a Traditions Pennsylvania flint but as pretty as it was, it wasnt quite what I wanted. About 3 years ago, I tried to get a custom rifle and bought all the parts I needed and after messing up on them with my amateurish gunsmithing, I sent them to a local gunsmith. Three years later , no rifle. Just a 1/2 done rifle, all because I tried to save some money. Now, much to my greatest relief and joy, Ray Franks at Sitting Fox Muzzleloaders has taken the reins and is custom making me TWO rifles at a price that is MORE than reasonable. It's up to you, but there aint nothing like owning a rifle that was made for YOU. Unless you make it yourself.My advice is to look at Mr. Frank's website and see his finished guns and call him up. I'm sure he'll work with you. And, to be fair, because I dont want to be plugging one gunmaker over all the others here. There are a lot of skilled craftsmen here in this site I'm sure that could help you out as well. You might have to save a little more coin,believe me, on a fireman's salary I aint rich either, but trust me, it'll save you a LOT of heartbreak, and you'll walk away a lot happier. IMHO

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Why not sell one of those Zouaves? With your $500, that would give you maybe $800 towards a rifle. Now you are are at a point where waiting a bit longer would give you the price of a decent used flintlock rifle. Keep an eye on Track of the Wolf's web-site--that will give you an idea of what is available. A really nice flint rifle is well worth the wait, and a cheap and ill functioning flintlock is a nasty thing to have to cope with.

 

[SimonKenton]

If he sells one Zouave he can order a poor boy TN rifle from Matt Avance. The down side is the 18 month wait though.

-Ray

 

[Catkison]

You might consider a Pedersoli in either kit or complete. That's the way I went while I was in college. Mine's been reliable over the 10 year of hunting since.

 

[Shine]

Look at the classifieds on this site. there are some great deals there. Especially the Dave Motto rifle. He is a great builder. Met him when i lived in Pa. That is a deal for one of his rifles.

 

[jimmytheshank]

Not meaning to be pessimistic here bro, but it's gonna be way hard to find ANY Penn/Tenn rifle gun out there under $500. Even the production guns are more than that depending on where you go. The Traditions Penn Ive seen for about $500, which aint a bad start. The pedersoli is about the same price too. I remember the Hatfield/ Pedersoli rifle in curly maple was $1000! If your gonna have to pay THAT much, your better off making a deal with a gunmaker that will give you a quality piece for not much more than a production gun depending on what you want. And you'll have the confidence knowing it'll NOT blow up in your face when ya sqeeze the trigger. ALL the parts in the rifle are American made and not an overseas part made from metal made by the lowest bidder or metal from who knows where. A "poor boy" gun handcrafted here in the U.S. is better than any of those guns and prettier IMHO. Of course, there's always the chance you might come across a flinter in a pawn shop. Thats how I got my Traditions Pennsylvania gun. It's up to you.

 

[cowpoke1955]

Why not look at the Lyman Great Plains Rifle flint kit. They are not not hard to put together and afterwards, you'll have a rugged, straight shooting rifle. DNR Sports has the GPR flint kit for $317.37, in .50 and .54. Here's their link: http://www.dnrsports.com/ .

 

[Old40Rod]

But this summer I should be working for a law firm and should be making a little money.

Truer words have never been spoken. LOL.

Try a Pecatonica River Leman in flinter, or a Lyman GPR flinter kit.
http://www.longrifles-pr.com/lemanfull.shtml
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=000156031106

:wink:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I would definitely avoid the Spanish stuff and the lower end foreign guns in general. You might try for a gun in the white, where all you need to do is some metal and wood finishing. The rifle is ready to fire but you can still personalize it a bit. You'll wind up with a one of a kind family heirloom as opposed to a run of the mill mass produced gun. A number of American builders offer guns in this state of finish and the savings are substantial.

 

[Wildpony]

Oooh :shocked2: I really like the leman style as well, especially since it is a little more robust through the wrist of the stock.

So someone educate me, what is the difference between the Tenn/Southern Mtn. rifle style and a Po-Boy style?

I think you guys have a good idea. One Zouave is enough. So if I can stretch my budget a little and sell a Zouave, I might be able to get into a hand made American flinter in one of these styles.

Are any of the gun maker's, which you fellas mentioned, members of this forum?
Any of them have a web site?
Anybody got pics of any of thir guns?

I'll have to keep an eye out on the classifieds also. Perhaps something that tickles my fancy will come along.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Both the Tennessee Mountain and Po' Boy are late era guns. The Tennessee will be more refined in parts such as the trigger guard, butt plate and thimbles. It might have set triggers.

The poor boy may not have a butt plate or perhaps a piece of horn inlet at the butt to take the abuse while loading. There will be a single simple trigger, and the trigger guard would be a bent sheet rather than a forged guard.

Take a look at the used guns or look for the in-the-white offerings. The one factor that will make your rifle work is the quality of the lock and how well it is tuned before you receive it. By all means spend your money on a well tuned lock. It will pay off in satisfaction. I also recommend that you save your money to get a swamped barreled gun. The handling is just so much better. If you want a gun to use to decide if you want to become part of this smoke making group, then the Lyman GPR is a good choice for a production gun.

You can save some money by buying a smoothbore. You get the benefit of having both a shotgun and a ball choice and you are not bothered by the added expense of a rear sight or set triggers. You do need an excellent lock though.

 

[oldman]

Suggest you get acquainted with some muzzleloader shooters in your area. Perhaps join a club. In my experience there is always someone that has overestimated his/her ambition and bought the components to build up their "dream gun" but somehow, after several years, just never got around to it. They are left with a box full of components collecting dust in storage someplace. Often one can get these components for a fraction of the original cost, and often they are of very good quality. Don't be ashamed to play the sympathy card.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I would second the suggestion to check out "Track of The Wolf" website, not necessarily to buy there but they have excellent photos of a great many guns and of guns built from their kits. It will give you a good idea of the style you like and what it will cost you and there won't be anyone talking your ear off while you look.