kit guns

[olgreenhead]

Well thinking of a winter project .Were would i buy a good mid level kit gun?

 

[Zonie]

Several sources come to mind, but you really need to be more specific about what you consider to be a mid-level kit, and more importantly, what you really want to build, and how much you want to spend.

If you read some of the older posts here, you will find that I, for one, don't think there is too much available in the "mid-level" catagory.

IMO It seem that there are Factory Kits which are basically factory production guns which are about 90-95% finished, and the the "custom" pre shaped but rough stocks with a box of parts like unfinished barrels, butt plate/trigger guard sand castings, etc.

The prices vary a lot. The Factory gun kits can be in the low $200s to the $600s.

The customs can be from $338 on up.

The $338 would get a plain maple half stock with a 36 inch Green Mountain barrel, a Precussion lock,Precussion drum, a simple trigger, sights, butt plate and trigger guard from Pecatonica River. In other words a plain, rock bottom priced rifle made with excellent parts.

If you have a Thompson Center "Hawken", you can re-stock it for $120-$250 from Pecatonica River, depending on the grade of wood you buy.

Let us know more about your project for better guidance.

 

[olgreenhead]

Well a price range of about 500$ flintlock or cap just i dont want to build repo model . Were is that place you are talking about is there a web page? thanks Art

 

You are obviously new to this hobby!

Nothing wrong with that, we all started somewhere, and you were intelligent enough to ask for guidance.

The forum has several links to suppliers and they will prove useful to you. The on line catalogs from Track of the Wolf, Dixie Gun Works, Log Cabin Shop, The Rifle Shop, will show kits at various levels. (I agree with Zonnie, not much I consider mid-level, most is assembled in the white or build from scratch type. You get a custom gun or a name brand knock off.)

Jim Chambers, Picantica River, the Rifle Shoppe and several others offer advanced project kits on the high dollar end.

An in the white, pre-assembled gun might take a week of evenings to finish out. A builders kit may require 40-60 hours of work just to reach firing stage, (up to 100 hrs is not unusual on a first attempt). Some of us have put 200+ hours into some of our better attempts. (that is 100 hours for assembly and 100 hours for covering up the mistakes!)

Hunt around for a while before you buy. Don't be afraid to spend some money on a book or two, The Gunsmith of Greenville County is excellent, Reproducing the American Longrifle is also a standard.

Then you have the "complete instructions for assembly of a longrifle" done by Birddog6 here on the forum only a couple of months ago. He talked a new member through the entire assembly process. It turned out rather well if I remember correctly.

You say you do not wish to build a repro. What do you consider a repro? Everything we do is either a repro or a fanticy gun!

Good luck

:thumbsup:

 

[olgreenhead]

Let me rephrase the word repo What i meant is that i didnt want a cheap kit that was worth 100 or so , like the cheap spain guns . Yes i know there all repos but i worded myself wrong, I was thinking of going to dixon fair and buying all the parts and making one from scratch. I also checked out the pacantica river one the looked like nice kits . Might try one of those this winter,

 

[Darkhorse]

Don't overlook Tip Curtis at the Frontier Shop. He is not in the computer age yet and doesn' have a website but his phone number is 615-654-4445. He has both a number of kits and a large inventory of parts.

http://www.dunlapwoodcrafts.com is another source of top quality kits. I believe the Dunlap precarved stock gives you the advantage of having your lock bolt holes prelocated and predilled for you. This can be a big advantage for a new builder.

http://www.airbum.com/Neatshtpix/HainesPart1.html is a website that shows and explains the critical steps in assembling an Issac Haines kit from Dunlap. He has not updated his site in quite awhile and the rifle is unfinished but the important parts are detailed. This site will give you a good idea what you are in for.

 

Darkhorse is right, Tip will put a gun together to any point you wish to take over the process, all the way from parts sets with stock blanks to in the white guns ready for final finish.

At Friendship, in September, he had in the white guns for less than $1000, way less. He will have the parts in stock or tell you otherwise too, unlike some of the catalog centers that cash your check, then dribble parts to you for a year with the stock arriving last.

:results:

 

[more powder]

Olgreenhead I just got stock,g.m barrel, chamberslock for next project i got my stuff from Vernon Davis.I don,t know who did the stock but he did excellent job.Its for 42" barrel.You did not say what style of rifle you were planing on bulding,but the price range is about what you were talking about.If you would like picture email me Ron