My first rifle Kit

[oldarmy]

I am going to order my first rifle kit this week. Finaly....
I have decided to buy one from TOTW.
Their prices seem reasonable and they have a good reputation.

My first choice is the "Joseph Long" in .36 or 40
I like the style and the nice lines. Plus it's also one of the most reasonably priced ones they have.
They are offering barrels in both 1/48 twist and 1/60
What is the correct twist for target shooting"
I have a .50 cal and it's a 1/60.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

PRB 60
conical 48

 

[sniper68]

40 cal & below for prb I would recommend 1in48". :imo: For 45 cal & up 1in56" plus.

 

[MikeChapin]

40 cal & below for prb I would recommend 1in48". :imo: For 45 cal & up 1in56" plus.

What Sniper said. I have a 36 with a Sharon 1 in 48 twist that has been a great PRB shooter for years.

The best 45 I had was a Dixie 1 in 56 twist. Got it as a convertable, in the white kit. The thing shot great but the pull was too short for me to shoot all day competition to be comfortable so I ended up trading it off.

 

[oldarmy]

thanks
I am going to order the .40 in 1/48

 

[CrackStock]

Old Army,

I shoot a .40 in 1/48 and really like it. I have a friend who shoots very stout loads in her .40 with a 1/60 twist and is one of the best shooters that I know. Both are good choices, but you need to decide which route works for you. Are you really going to stoke it up for every shot?

I like the light loads for plinking, competition and small game work. It is a pleasure to shoot and I shoot more shots because it is a pleasure. I think that 1/48 is the best possible choice.

I also think that the .36 is a good round, but prefer the .40. I find it to be more accurate.

CS

 

[oldarmy]

This is going to be a target/plinking/summer afternoon of cheap fun/ rifle. I am going to use light loads.
I have been shooting my first flintlock " a Jack Gardner made southern" in .50 cal for 8 months now
I tried heavy loads with no success. :curse:
just this week while I was playing with it using a light load of
45 grain FFFG goex
.490 ball
.020 patch
lubed with moose snot and a wonderwad
ffffg primer, just a pinch :redface:
I was finaly getting decent groups at 50 and 100 yards
It has been a learning experiance.
On another subject
I have been studying my "recreating the american longrifle" He gives the steps in building one.
He states you should
Inlet the barrel with out the breechplug and tag installed as the first step.
I am sure this kit with have the breech plug and tang installed. I paid extra to have their gunsmith do this along with cutting the dovetails for the sights and underlugs.
I figure there are enought things for me to foul up this first time OUT.
My questions are:
Do I inlet this whole unit first, followed by the lock, and then the trigger?
Because I am not building one from a blank there are a number of steps that don't apply,The stock is "pre-inletted for the barrel channel and lock"
should I just ingnore the steps that don't apply and go down the list to the ones that do?
Any help would be appricated

 

Everything I've read says you have to inlet the barrel without the breechplug first, then you can replace the plug and inlet the plug and tang.

This doesn't mean you wasted any money by having them go ahead and breech the barrel for you. That is a job unto itself. They will make sure the plug fits properly and the tang aligns with the proper barrel flat. You will simply need to remove the breechplug before you inlet the barrel.

To get mine out on my Getz barrel, I had to put the barrel in the vise, put some thin lead around the breechplug, took a large crescent wrench and tightened it up on the plug from the bottom side, making sure the ends of the wrench did not go past the top edges of the tang. I then had to give the end of the wrench a smart rap with a rubber mallet to break the plug free. Make sure you have an alignment mark on the bottom of the barrel and plug before you do this, so that you can put the plug back exactly where it was (my barrel already had one).

Good luck!

 

[LRB]

Do the barrel, then the plug, however, Get your lock fitted to about 90% of it's final depth first. If flint mark your desired touch hole position on the barrel then you can inlet the breech area to suit the lock position. If cap lock, the same applies. When you are working with a stock that has the lock inlet already cut, it determines your final barrel position.

 

[MikeChapin]

I've got two 50's that shoot great with 40 and 45 grains FFFg.

As for having the breechplug installed don't worry about it to much. If its a straight barrel just inlet the barrel backwards and swap it around and do the tang area. Had to do it on a rifle for someone else years ago and it came out fine.

If the underlugs are installed just do it upside down and backwards to inlet the barrel channel. Then do the breechplug/tang area and underlugs.

 

[MSW]

if you haven't read The Gunsmith of Grenville County by Pete Alexander, i would urge you to get a copy- it's worth the money (or, at least, it was for me)

ToTW has them

more than saved me its purchase price in material i didn't botch up and mistakes i didn't make.

one way or another, you pay for the learning curve, why waste time and material in the process?

best of luck.

 

[oldarmy]

Thanks for the advise.
I am going to do this and take pictures as I go along
like rootnuke did when he made his
1.Need to inlet the barrel first, either I remove the breachplug or inlet the barrel backwards -great IDEA-
I assume the unlugs are dovetailed and can be removed?
1a. while I am doing that make sure the lock is going to line up to the touch hole.
I already have the mainspring vise and inletting black, vise, drill press,work benches and chisels, misc tools.
I don't have a shipping confirmation from TOTW yet,but I am sure it will take a few days to do the gunsmithing work.
Hope all the parts are in stock.
Hot D%%M
This is going to be fun. I should be shooting my own rifle in the fall

 

I've got two 50's that shoot great with 40 and 45 grains FFFg.

As for having the breechplug installed don't worry about it to much. If its a straight barrel just inlet the barrel backwards and swap it around and do the tang area. Had to do it on a rifle for someone else years ago and it came out fine.

If the underlugs are installed just do it upside down and backwards to inlet the barrel channel. Then do the breechplug/tang area and underlugs.

Good points! I automatically assumed a swamped barrel, since that's what I'm currently building. Of course with a straight barrel it's not a problem to inlet it backwards, but that won't work with a swamped barrel.

 

[Hoyt]

I inletted my octagon to round barrel for .62 smoothbore with front an rear sights on, lugs on and breech plug in..just inlet what touches first as you go.

 

[MikeChapin]

I could not use the technique with my tapered barrel either. Whoever put the breechplug in seemed like they welded it in. Never could get it out. So I had to inlet it with the breechplug in. Not a fun job but it can be done if you have patience and a colorful vocabulary.

I don't think I would even try it with a swamped barrel. Just too many shapes going on all at once.

 

[oldarmy]

It is straight barrel. I would assume you file the barrel smooth before inletting.
next one will be swamped.
You see what happens, Don't even have the first one started and I am already thinking about what to next.

 

[mikee51848]

To get mine out on my Getz barrel, I had to put the barrel in the vise,

I put the plug/tang in the vise. I got more torque that way. Make sure the barrel is protected from the teeth on the wrench. Breech plugs should be lubed from the factory, though some don't, :huh: , why I don't know. You will almost always need to remove the plug to install a touch hole liner. :imo:

 

[oldarmy]

OK,
I think I will try to remove the plug
I will check to see if the barrel/plug has a match mark on the bottom flat. If it doesn't then I will put on one before I remove it.
Drilling The flash hole liner is somthing I don't need to worry about yet, although I will be certain to bother you all at a later date.
I entered the order on 7/5, called yesterday to ask when it was shipping
They were very nice and told me it- the barrel- was at the gunsmith and should ship next week :RO:
I haven't ordered anything that have so many parts, does TOTW normaly ship complete, or can I expect to wait for backordered parts?

 

[oldarmy]

The wait is killing me. I have been putting off buying one for too long.
Now I have finaly bit the bullet and I want it NOW.
I cleared off my reloading bench and put the vice in a confortable place.
Right in front of a couple big windows
I have moved the drill press and cut a couple of wooded pieces to keep the stock from getting marked up. I bought tools, scrapers, a new tap handle and cutting oil.
I need to see that UPS truck......

 

[Packdog]

OldArmy,


I second the advice to get a book on building! A very small price to pay compared to screwing something up. If it keeps you from making one little mistake and the book is paid for.

As much as you may hate to try and remove the breechplug it will be to your advantage to do so. When you install the ventliner, regardless to where the breechplug face ends up being, you will need to make sure the ventliner does not protrude into the barrel. If it does, and you don't catch it, then you run the risk a cleaning jag getting hung up and stuck. Or worse when you are drilling the liner hole the bit does hit the breech face a the drill bit runs off to one side making you a hole egg shaped. So it's better in the long run to go ahead and remove.

Clamp the barrel in a vice using .040 brass sheets on both sides to keep the vice from marring the barrel. Get a BIG crescent wrench (13") and make sure the jaws do not go past the edge of the tang or it will bugger up the edge of the tang. Get you some good anti-seize for the threads when you re-install.

Good luck with the project.

PD