Price of Kits

[Jim K]

I wanted a Kibler smr for about a year but didn’t pull the trigger because of the 44” barrel. A friend had one of the early ones with the 46” barrel. I shouldered his and then ordered one.
Now let me say I love my smr. I shoot it a lot BUT, I’m not crazy about that long barrel. So I want to build another .36 with a 38” barrel. I also want more of a challenge. I want to try my hand at inletting and thinning down a stock. I’ve watched a lot of YouTube on building. I’m pretty sure I can do it. I’ll find out. In another year I’m going to slow way down in my taxidermy business. That’s when I’m planning to start. In the mean time I’ll be buying tools I need and researching.
I’ll be at Kempton in a couple weeks sitting in seminars and absorbing info. It is a fun journey.

 

[Zutt-man]

As far as caliber, my two cents are, what are you going to use it for? If you want to hunt deer, check your state hunting regulations. Are there muzzleloader caliber regulations?

Absolutely. I took those considerations on both of my colonials. I was merely reminding him he needed to order his Kibler today

 

[Sidney Smith]

Sounds like these Kibler kits offer just about everything, save the challenge! Kinda like putting together one of those black unmentionables. Did you build a gun? Not really. Did you put a puzzle together, yep. Do you acquire valuable skills doing either, nope.

 

[longcruise]

Do you acquire valuable skills doing either, nope.

A new to building buyer is going to pick up a lot. If nothing else, an understanding of architecture and how things fit together. Finishing too. Certainly more than if they just purchased a finished ready to shoot gun.

I predict that kibler is going to launch a whole bunch of builders who take on more difficult projects. But, I'm only right 51% of the time so....

 

[TDM]

I agree @longcruise. With a Kibler kit a new builder can do the bare minimum of metal prep and stock finish and still end up with a fine shooting flintlock. Or you can put more effort into the fit and finish and end up with a beautiful gun. The lessons learned on finishing techniques certainly help on future builds.

 

[DixieTexian]

Too long for hunting in PA??? Funny, the originals were made for that.....

To be fair, the woods in PA probably look completely different with much more underbrush than they did back in the day.

 

[okawbow]

I always have to laugh when I hear a 42” or 44” barrel is too long to hunt with. I hunt a very brushy woods in Southern Illinois with a 48” barreled 10# York Co. rifle and love it!

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

Sounds like these Kibler kits offer just about everything, save the challenge! Kinda like putting together one of those black unmentionables. Did you build a gun? Not really. Did you put a puzzle together, yep. Do you acquire valuable skills doing either, nope.

That's not entirely accurate. These kit's can't just be put together. They require final fit and finish of all parts and it's several hours worth of work both wood and metal. Mine required further deepening of the lock to get rid of a gap, shaping to get parts to fit, and the lock screw hole was crooked. While these are refined far beyond most other kits they are not perfect snap together pieces.
I do appreciate the work of others on here with skill sets above my own. Do you have any pics of your personal builds to share?

 

[Tom A Hawk]

You can’t get better. Track is great kits, but won’t be assembly ready unless you hire Track to do so
Sitting Fox the same
Parts is expensive, and cheaper kits won’t be the quality

I was just perusing Tracks current list of kits. I've built a couple from them and it appears the number of different models has been reduced a bit. Hawkins and fowlers are gone. My last three came from Pecatonica and while some fitting is necessary I've been delighted with the quality.

 

[reddogge]

Comparing the cost of a Kibler kit to a scratch build I did last winter from parts and wood I had lying around since the 80s the Kibler looks pretty good. If I used current prices on my parts they would have added up to $1,024 not counting a couple of parts I made. Then throw in 200 hours to build and you have a sizable investment to achieve what a Kibler kit gives you with a little effort and talent.

 

[Mark E. Prickett]

My first kit was a Kibler smr. I learned alot about how the lock and set trigger work by disassembling them for metal polishing and jax. Now I'm building a Traditions Kentucky rifle and let me tell you it's a ton more work than the Kibler. The barrel is the highlight of the kit. The rest is about half the quality of the Kibler. I'm not knocking the Traditions gun at all. They both are worth what they cost.