Kit or Finished Fowler for first flinter?

[Kansas Jake]

Tenngun, you are right that most of us can learn to build a gun, but it is like playing the piano. Almost anyone can learn to play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. I can even do that. It is another thing deal to be a concert pianist. I can't do that and if fact remember almost nothing from those lessons from 50+ years ago. I just never had the talent.

Now I've done a couple of kit guns, and have an unfinished rifle in storage from 30 years ago. I'm retiring in a few weeks and maybe I'll finally finish it as I've just gotten back into regular shooting in the last couple of years.

I know I will never be a master of gun building as I just don't have the skills or talent. Given that, I will still build a few more guns before I'm done. After all this I still encourage folks to give building a piece a try. If I want a work of art, I would leave that to a master.

 

[vulture]

I've built three rifles from scratch, well I used a preshaped stock and the barrel channel and ramrod channel and hole were drilled, the rest of the work was up to me. Before I ever started those builds I put several kits together, one Thompson Center, two Lyman GPR, and a Lyman pistol. I am not a highly skilled craftsman when it comes to this and my rifles probably have many flaws in them, but they function great, fit me, and I am pleased with them, all are built along the lines of a Leman trade rifle, with full stocks, on flintlock and two cap locks. After all of this I would recommend to anyone that has never put a true "kit" together to start out with the production kits like the Lyman and others, where all you really have to do is a little shaping of the stock, a bunch of sanding, a bit of fitting of some of the metal, but not much, and then finishing the wood and metal to your liking. There are some good "in the white" kits out there that will give you a very nice product if you take your time and go slow on it, but personally I would not go out and purchase a stock blank, or preshaped one, and all the metal parts and start fitting them together, unless you are very good at it, or have someone to call on that is, but what ever you do, welcome to the sport, and good luck to you.

 

[Grandpa Ron]

I could go on at great lengths about the advantages of building your own gun but the fact remains that if you are not a builder at heart, it can be an inconvenient chore.

Shooting a flintlock has several unique challenges to master so I would suggest you start with a well made gun with a quality lock.

You will know when it is time to try building one yourself.

 

[AZbpBurner]

Whenever I make something, I like to see an example of the finished article. I've built a rifle with my Dad years ago & mostly did the metal finishing while he did the woodwork. I've also built a couple of pistols. Since then I've accumulated several cap and flintlock rifles and a musket, all commercially built.

I have a black walnut stock, barrel, and some castings I want to assemble a musket with, and will take an inordinate amount of time with it in the future. Meanwhile I'm considering a completed Fusil de Chasse from Loyalist to use as a pattern for fitting barrel, lock, and buttplate. I can use it as a reference pattern, while also able to take it to the range to shoot. The price is right for the India-made fusil, if it's anything similar to the build of another India-made I have plus a couple of other Bess pattern muskets I've fired in the past, it will be a sturdy and utilitarian musket.