Although some have mentioned it, there are basically two kinds of kits available. The Factory Kits like Lyman, Traditions, Thompson Center etc make, and the Custom "kits" from Track of the Wolf, Chambers, Pecatonica River, Muzzleloader Builders Supply, TVM and others.
The Factory kits are semi finished production guns.
The barrel channel , the lock and trigger mortices are cut and all holes are drilled and tapped.
The main work envolves some final fitting of the parts, sanding the stock and applying the finish.
Some builders go a little farther and install some inlays, a different patch box, some wire inlay etc. Most apply a better finish than the Factory does.
IMO, if you can assemble a kids Christmas present on Christmas eve, you can build one of these.
One of these kits takes me about 15-20 hours to complete.
The Custom kits, as was mentioned vary from a box of parts to a semi finished gun depending on who you buy from and what "machineing options" you purchase when you buy the gun.
In the typical case the "kits" come with the barrel channel cut, the ramrod hole drilled, the lock and trigger mortice roughed in. Pecatonica River leaves the butt uncut so you can locate the buttplate to suit your body.
These "kits" parts are sometimes not even semi finished. For instance the butt plate and trigger guard are just rough sand castings which require filing, sanding and polishing. The lock and trigger screws will have to be located, drilled and tapped.
If you buy one of these "kits" I would strongly suggest that you have the breech plug installed, the sight dovetails milled and the barrel underlugs installed by the supplier. These are three areas that you can do yourself, but IMO, letting the supplier do it for your first gun is well worth the money it costs.
As for the amount of time envolved, I can finish a Factory Kit in at most, 20 hours.
The Custom kits take me over 150 hours (but I take my time to prevent errors).
Dont forget to check out Pecatonica River and Muzzleloader Builders' Supply as well as Chambers.
You will find links in our Muzzleloading Links Forum area. Just follow this link:[url]
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/13132/[/url]
Don't be intimidated by the amount of work the Custom kits envolve. You can always ask about any problem you may be having.
This Forum has some of the best muzzleloading builders around who will all be happy to help you out with anything that comes up.
It is a good idea to ask about things you aren't sure of before you actually do them, so don't hesitate to ask us.
Zonie