Percussion Rifle KIT!

[Bobby James]

Ok, lets get down to business.

I have decided to just build a pre-made kit. I seen a Traditions .50cal kit at Cabela's today and it looked pretty cheesy. I am almost sure it requires no more than a good set of gunsmith screwdrivers, a bunch of sandpaper, stain, polish the barrel and blue it after tapping in the sights. I feel almost $400 is too much for this kit. Here is the picture of it. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Sho...=SBC;MMcat104792580;cat104701680;cat104641380

I seen some Lyman kits on Track of the Wolf but am not impressed with them either ( notice how I am full of confidence after studying this subject for 3 days now).

I want a very nice rifle for my 18 year old sons only rifle. I want Maple wood in .54 cal. I would also like it to have double wedges.

What do you guys know of that fits this description?

What is a good kit to build?

I am thinking of shooting the works and blowing my cash on this one. I know its a advanced kit but I really want it. Do you know of a better option? http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Cate...JIM-BRIDGER-HAWKEN-RIFLE-PARTS-LIST/KIT-JB-18

Any Ideas will help.

P.S. I will be watching the bargain rooms and pawn shops but I still have never seen one as nice as the Jim Bridger Hawken Rifle Kit I have posted here.

Is this rifle period and history correct for pre 1840? It better be or some folks are going to get mad when I show up with it.

Thanks for the advise and please do not hold back.

P.S.S. Which would be better for hunting, the Jim Bridger kit or the Kit Carson?

 

[gard72977]

that rifle is going to weigh 11+ pounds !

 

[jdkerstetter]

You would hard pressed to find a more difficult build to do well or correctly.

For $100 more than that group of parts you can own this maple stocked Pedersoli: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Ped...tt=pedersoli&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

....reviews have been favorable here on the board and he can have it in days instead of.....Enjoy, J.D.

 

[gard72977]

You would hard pressed to find a more difficult build to do well or correctly.

For $100 more than that group of parts you can own this maple stocked Pedersoli: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Ped...tt=pedersoli&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

....reviews have been favorable here on the board and he can have it in days instead of.....Enjoy, J.D.

The Pedersoli would be the way to go. I have been eyeing that one. The 54 is out of stock but will be back in on November 27th. The shipping is 17.00 until Oct 15 for a total of $1016.00

I just bought a unfired Uberti Sante Fe model in 53cal . I may end up selling it and getting the Pedersoli??????

 

[Zonie]

I think it's been mentioned before but the true Hawken Rifle is one of the more difficult "kits" to put together correctly. The reasons are many.

While your looking at the Hawken rifle kits, don't overlook Pecatonica River.

Note, the price in this link doesn't include the wood so if you go there, check out their wood prices.
http://www.longrifles-pr.com/hawkenhalf.shtml

No one would get mad if you showed up at a Mountain Man type meeting with that rifle.
Envious, yes, mad no.

I know a 18 year old can be big and strong but gard is correct.
Hawken rifles are very heavy, seldom weighing less than 10 pounds and often more.

The Mountain Men didn't mind the extra weight. They usually rode and let the horse do the carrying.

 

[gard72977]

I think it's been mentioned before but the true Hawken Rifle is one of the more difficult "kits" to put together correctly. The reasons are many.

While your looking at the Hawken rifle kits, don't overlook Pecatonica River.

Note, the price in this link doesn't include the wood so if you go there, check out their wood prices.
http://www.longrifles-pr.com/hawkenhalf.shtml

No one would get mad if you showed up at a Mountain Man type meeting with that rifle.
Envious, yes, mad no.

I know a 18 year old can be big and strong but gard is correct.
Hawken rifles are very heavy, seldom weighing less than 10 pounds and often more.

The Mountain Men didn't mind the extra weight. They usually rode and let the horse do the carrying.

I am guessing that the snail is one of the reasons that the Hawken is such a hard build. If you go with a flint is the gun any harder than a standard long rifle?

 

[Bobby James]

That's a good site Zonie. Thanks for the information.

Do they also sell the stocks?

 

[jdkerstetter]

There's a lot more to it than just the patent breech or "snail"....long beaver tail tang on the standing breech, the extra long trigger plate with the trigger guard incorperated, the underrib, the double tenons and keys, etc. etc.

There's a lot of steel to work on a Hawken, and investment cast steel sucks to work with.

Flintlock? Yes, a fullstock flintlock kit like the one from Don Stith, with a standard flint breech and a pinned barrel, would be the most correct and much more straight forward to build than the percussion half-stock version. But, still not without difficulty.
http://www.donstith.com/j_s_full_stock.html

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[izzyjoe]

The Great Plains rifle would make you a good one if you want PC, those Traditions rifles are just like a CVA hawken, they can be made into very nice rifles if you take you time with them. I built a CVA hawken about a year ago, and I love it, it shoots better than I can hold it.

 

[gard72977]

There's a lot more to it than just the patent breech or "snail"....long beaver tail tang on the standing breech, the extra long trigger plate with the trigger guard incorperated, the underrib, the double tenons and keys, etc. etc.

There's a lot of steel to work on a Hawken, and investment cast steel sucks to work with.

Flintlock? Yes, a fullstock flintlock kit like the one from Don Stith, with a standard flint breech and a pinned barrel, would be the most correct and much more straight forward to build than the percussion half-stock version. But, still not without difficulty.
http://www.donstith.com/j_s_full_stock.html

Enjoy, J.D.

I am a amateur machinist. I am not afraid of the metal work. I want to try one. May have to try but I want the hooked breech even if its not correct. Would make cleaning much easier.

 

[bubba.50]

for the best combination of do-it-yerself, price, & period correct it'd be hard to beat a great plains rifle in kit form. and it wouldn't weigh a ton. my opinion & yer welcome to it.

 

[Zonie]

That's a good site Zonie. Thanks for the information.

Do they also sell the stocks?

Do they sell stocks?
They are one of, if not the largest manufacturer of pre-carved muzzleloading kit stocks in America.

Many of the stocks sold by Track of the Wolf are made by Pecatonica River.

They've been making stocks for at least 20 years and Dick Greensides, the owner will bend over backwards to help his customers with any problem they may have.

I've built over 12 of his "kits" and I will say the grade of his wood is great.
So great, I usually order the #3 grade of curly maple because although there are small areas that are not striped most of the wood is.

Gard72977: Yes, the lock/snail area is difficult to get right. A flintlock is always easier to build than any percussion lock rifle.

With a flintlock, small errors in the lock/barrel locations won't effect the guns function.
Even a small misalignment of a percussion lock/nipple can cause problems.

There are other things that make a Hawken a challenge to build too.

 

[anj4de]

Hello all

I have been investigating around double wedge plains rifles (Hawkens) lately as well...Have looked closely at the Pedersoli Hawken and others and IMHO the Pedersoli one is simply too expensive for what it offers! By looking at detailed pictures and handling one in a local gun shop I have to say the details are off in a lot of places and the general workmanship again IMHO does not justify that high price tag. I had, and just re-bought another one, a Uberti Hawken from the 80ties and I think that one is a lot closer to a real Hawken (not perfect) and can be bought for half of what the Pedersolis go for. If someone has the skills to build one himself and time not being an issue a custom one is of course the right way forward.

cheers
Uwe

BTW...there is a Santa Fe (Uberti) Hawken for sale very very cheap but I have not succeded in getting in touch with te seller...maybe someone from across the pond could try...
http://www.shootersxchange.com/detail.cfm?recordID=82326

 

[fleener]

The TOW Jim Bridger rifle was my first build. I bought the best stock that they had for one. The rifle turned out well. Not perfect, I certainly made several errors. Take it slow, and buy a second set of screws for it. You will ruin the first set taken them in and out.

You got to start somewhere.

The rifle is a heavy one but I love it and it shoots great. For the uneducated it also looks great.

Fleener

 

[gard72977]

The TOW Jim Bridger rifle was my first build. I bought the best stock that they had for one. The rifle turned out well. Not perfect, I certainly made several errors. Take it slow, and buy a second set of screws for it. You will ruin the first set taken them in and out.

You got to start somewhere.

The rifle is a heavy one but I love it and it shoots great. For the uneducated it also looks great.

Fleener

Please post some pics of you gun. It would be great to see what a first time builder was able to do with a Hawken. Really want to see the mistakes. I have a lot of respect form someone that was willing to take on this challenge as a first time builder.

 

[Rifleman1776]

One of the reasons a good Hawken is hard to build is because the rifles, and the men who made them, have been much studies. There is much documentation on how the rifles should look to be considered a real Hawken copy. And serious Hawken afcinadoes will pick nits aplenty if a tiny detail 'ain't authentic'. Get a good Hawken book and have at it. If you are handy with your hands the result can be mightly rewarding.

 

[sarcasmn]

I am just finishing my first build, a Lyman GPR kit. My experience was that you could do as little or as much as you wanted with this kit. True you could just sand it smooth, stain it and put it together. I used chisel and carving tools and actually shaped the stock as I wanted it and to my length of pull. I shaped it so that the inletted parts fit just right. I learned a lot, made some mistakes, learned how to fix mistakes and it has been great so far.

What it has done is hooked me on the passion for building. I am already looking at what my next project will be.