Maybe a Cheaper way out?

[Mike in FL]

@Frontstuffer already has the Traditions Kentucky Rifle. That’s a sunk cost and should not be part of the cost calculations. The cost is limited to the cost of the RPL lock and the labor. The gain is having an improved lock on an already familiar rifle. The other gain is an improved stain and some custom features to get a quality finish on his personal rifle. This will become an even greater benefit as he comfortably takes on the eventual assembly of a Kibler rifle some time in the future. Sure, the Traditions rifle will always be a Traditions rifle, but it will be Frontstuffer's special Traditions rifle. He should go for it.

I agree sir. Kiblers are great but others can be made to work. Everyone doesn't have the money to invest.

 

[Bucks Co]

When you leave out the 'washer' in the fore-end of the CVA(Traditions) Kentucky - the front part of the fore-end comes back a bit - this leaves a gap at the Muzzle cap - I fixed this by replacing the Cap (used part of that washer for the front then soldered on a new more conventional rear part) you'll need to add another tenon near the muzzle and possibly re-drill for the barrel pins - that's why I stained mine dark to help cover the plugs in the wood. The join in the fore-end I made using the 2 pins already there plus a piece of Brass tube in the ramrod hole (actually a piece of 308 case) all held with a good quality epoxy.
One other thing I did was to do away with the front lock screw and put a more authentic looking inlay under the remaining lock screw. Was it all worth it ?Probably not; but as I said it's a really fun little Rifle to shoot. And the only real expense apart from the L&R RPL was my time.

 

[davidmc62]

May I present the proverbial "Silk purse from a sows ear". I agree with all the economic sense people are presenting for the "Is it worth it" But if you already own the gun and you want to make changes or pretty it up. It is yours to do with... Many have seen this before, I did this old CVA Kentucky many years ago. It was a pretty bad attemp kit gun that was never finished. After I thought outside the box, she came out shining and is a good shooter to boot. Only parts I bought were the trigger guard, the nose cap and the finishing materials. The rest was all what came on the gun to begin with.

 

[VAN]

Those older CVA Kentucky barrels are great shooters. My 45cal shoots just as accurate as the two Green Mountain barrels I have on other guns. I found an incomplete kit on a sidewalk sale, missing the lock and trigger, for $35 a few years ago. A great deal just to get the barrel. I did not want a 2-piece full stock so I decided on a half stock. Got this one in a precarved Leman stock from Log Cabin Shop, read up on inletting the lock and trigger, and started work. I already had a Dixie Tennessee Mountain Gun lock in flint and a percussion one so sometimes you just get lucky to have very little extra cost to build it. I have shot it as a flintlock with a vent made from a metric bolt that worked fine but decided to leave it percussion for now.

 

[Frontstuffer070]

VERY nice rifles Gentlemen! I too have zero problems with the accuracy from my Spaniards, They hit where you point em. Thank ya'll for taking the time to post the pics. davidmc62, is your stock beech? If so can you tell me what you did for stain and finish, it looks fantastic.

 

[davidmc62]

Sorry guys I came to this thread late and through my email feed and did not realize it was in the flintlock section till after I posted, my apologies for posting pics of a cap lock. My intentions were to agree and add to the current thoughts in previous posts. A lot of folks will say it aint worth it, it is what it is, not worth the price, save up and get something better. I agree with all of these, but if you already own the gun and dont have plans to part with it or try to sell it for something it is not, I say go for it and share your experiences. Then there are people like me who want it to "look" better than an old slab sided flea bag that shoots good enough for minute of deer. Life is too short to shoot ugly guns, he says with a snicker....

 

[waksupi]

When you have accumulated lesser guns, sell them, and upgrade to one good one.

 

[davidmc62]

Frontstuffer070 yes that is the beech stock that came on the gun. finish was a faux stripe "AKA" H. Leman style painted on. First used "Laurel Mountain Forge nut brown" stain on the stock, then with a medium to small size artist brush I painted the stripes on with Medium brown leather dye making sure to not make them look too regular until I was satisfied. Then applied if I recall, 3 coats of Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil stock finish. Buffing between each coat after dry. If I had it all to do over again, I think I would use a darker shade of brown dye for the stripes as they kind of dissappeared after the tru oil started giving it that "red" color. I had planned to put more than three coats on but once I saw my stripes starting to fade into and dissapear, stopped with the three coats.

 

[TDM]

@Frontstuffer070, there's no right or wrong to which ever path you choose. Personally, with hindsight, I can say that there are a couple of rifles/kits/locks I bought that I would have skipped and jumped into a Kibler sooner. But I did what I thought was best at the time and learned through each process. As said, it's your money, so proceed with what your comfortable with. This is supposed to be fun.

 

[davidmc62]

When you have accumulated lesser guns, sell them, and upgrade to one good one.

Whats the fun in that I ask. I always heard that he who slides into the finish line of life with the most toys wins!!!

 

[waksupi]

Whats the fun in that I ask. I always heard that he who slides into the finish line of life with the most toys wins!!!

The most QUALITY toys!

 

[davidmc62]

Well said Waksupi, well said.

 

[fishmusic]

Sorry guys I came to this thread late and through my email feed and did not realize it was in the flintlock section till after I posted, my apologies for posting pics of a cap lock. My intentions were to agree and add to the current thoughts in previous posts. A lot of folks will say it aint worth it, it is what it is, not worth the price, save up and get something better. I agree with all of these, but if you already own the gun and dont have plans to part with it or try to sell it for something it is not, I say go for it and share your experiences. Then there are people like me who want it to "look" better than an old slab sided flea bag that shoots good enough for minute of deer. Life is too short to shoot ugly guns, he says with a snicker....

Davidmc62, I actually like the way it turned out. It is understated and not pretentious. KUDOS!

 

[Reds]

Moonshine Joe, I used 18ga soft aluminum jewelry wire from Amazon and a simple propane soldering torch. That wire wraps on nicely and does not dent the wood. Then carefully use the torch starting at one end to “darken” not burn the wood. It takes just a little getting use to and I found to angle the fame worked best for me. The finish was laurel mountain forge stain, sealer and finish. There is a YouTube video of a guy doing this same thing to his guitar and it looks great!

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have tackled several gun projects where I ended up with more in the gun than it was worth, I enjoyed the time I spent in my shop doing these projects immensely, especially when I ended up with a mighty fine rifle.

Sometimes it is not about the money.

Here is an example;

I bought a beat-up Renegade stock with the steel parts for $60, a NOS unused flint kit barrel in the white for $90 off ebay, an L&R RPL lock, the under rib, thimbles and screws and miscellaneous parts off ebay for way more than they were worth, I traded for the sights. Someone had batted rocks with the stock, seriously, I steamed on the stock for days.

I worked on this project for months and had about $100 more in it than it was worth but I really liked the end result.

I sold it to a great friend for less than I had in it. He collects guns but had never owned a flintlock, to this day the gun is unfired. My friend is dying of cancer now but still treasures this rifle in his collection. I kinda' wish I had the rifle back but I will never mention this to my friend.

It came out OK;

 

[ronaldrothb49]

I needed to take a break from the Henry Trade rifle I had been working on so got to digging in the parts cabinet and found parts of an old Spanish pistol that I probably picked up as a blanket prize somewhere many years ago. Just had the barrel, stock, a lock, trigger and trigger guard, no screws or ramrod. Well the hole for the front lock bolt had been double drilled making the lock useless. Happened to see another lock that looked the same. Probably another blanket prize it was marked Japan. Well that fit the lock inlet just about perfect. In taking it apart it looks like a nice lock It has a bridle with the pin to locate it and the tumbler also has the projection going through the bridle. The plate is angled on the edges but don't know what it was coated with but felt like a 400 grit sandpaper Got a whole lot of time getting that off and polishing the lock still have to deepen the lock inlet for the bridle but working out nice. Didn't have any metric lock bolts so opened the holes up for an 8 x 32. The ramrod hole was 1/4" so probably had a metal ramrod originally, I opened that to 5/16" about half way and made a tapered ramrod couldn't go all the way the front lock bolt was in the way. As usual on these kits the lock was too far back so the breech plug would force the touch hole would have to be drilled at an angle so moved the barrel back as far as I could without interfering with the lock bolt. The touch hole will still be at a slight angle but should work. The hinge point on the trigger is way too far forward so that is going to be moved as far back as I can to get a better trigger pull. Got a lot of wood to take off to make it look right. Think I will do a faux tiger stripe on it when I do the finish. So add up how much I have spent on it zero $ every thing has come out of what was in the cabinet. Add up the hours spent and more to come don't even want to go there. but I am having fun working on it

 

[akroguy]

The barrel on my Traditions St. Louis Hawken is superb. It's a tack driver and loads smooth and easy from round one. The rest is craptastic but it goes bang just fine. There is nothing really wrong with these guns. I actually prefer shooting it vs. my GPR (I know, heresy...) but the buttplate just fits me better. Crescent buttplates are horrid. Mighty close to selling the GPR.

 

[muskethunter1109]

I was thinking this morning over a cup of Joe. I have 3 Traditions Percussion guns, a Kentucky Pistol, Kentucky Rifle, and Hawken Woodsman. All three shoot amazingly well for the price paid, so the barrels in my opinion are GTG! SO, if one got a Traditions Kentucky Flintlock Kit, and then ordered an L&R Lock for it, or maybe just Hardened the frizzen on the lock that comes with it, . One could also do some things to spiff it up a tad, like inlet a side plate, carvings, etc. I know beech isn't the prettiest wood for a stock, but its tough. I think you could come in ( labor not included) well under the price of any of the higher tier kits and end up with a really nice and reliable rifle. Yeah I guess you would have to deal with a two piece stock which isn't that desirable. But , I blackened the brass union on my Kentucky and it isn't as noticeable. Anyway, just random thoughts over a cup of Joe, Ya'll have a good day.

It’s a great thought and something I can attest to! With time and hard work, and some upgrades parts over the years here and there, traditions and other mass produced kits can turn out real nice!