Reasonable $$$ .36 rifle?

[Regulis7]

I am looking for a reasonably priced .36 rifle, cant afford one of the more expensive ones due to major back surgery and being out of work most of this year.

Having to step down to something with little to no recoil due to the back/neck surgery and from what I remember the .36 offers very low recoil even with heavy loads.

Any rifle recomendations greatly appreciated.

Regulis7

 

[Rebel]

Do you want it just for plinking and target shooting? If so, does it have to be a .36 cal? If not i would suggest the Crockett .32 cal. No recoil, cheap to shoot, and very accurate.

 

[twotoescharlie]

I second that on the crockett rifle. I love mine.
least exspensive placeI have to purchase is

Midsouth shooters supply, unless you can find a used one.

TTC

 

[Regulis7]

Already have a .32 in the form of a TC Cherokee and it is a fun cheap to shoot small game and plinking rifle.

I want a .36 mainly for range shooting, coon and ground hog hunting and because they are not really common in this area. So far the only .36's I have seen that fall even close to what I can afford are the Traditions Shenendoah .36cal. Anything else out there that's comfortably close in price?

Regulis7

 

[Rebel]

The only other .36 cal.'s at a somewhat reasonable price that i know of would be the Cabela's Blue Ridge.

 

I am looking for a reasonably priced .36 rifle, cant afford one of the more expensive ones due to major back surgery and being out of work most of this year.

Having to step down to something with little to no recoil due to the back/neck surgery and from what I remember the .36 offers very low recoil even with heavy loads.

Any rifle recomendations greatly appreciated.

Regulis7

Might I suggest a radical departure in thought.

If you are already into muzzle loading, and already have at least one rifle why not put your limited funds into a good barrel in whatever caliber you want, to fit your existing rifle?

I would rather have a good Green Mountain barrel in .36/.32/.40 on my old stock than some cheap piece of Italian/Spanish manure that you'll have to work a month figuring out why it won't spark/ignite/hold POI/hit the target backstop!

With the incredible shrinking dollar you are getting less and less for what you pay when you shell out your money for the eurocrap.

 

[peashooterJoe]

Couple of suggestions, have you tried the Deer Creek Products? They have the .36 in under hammer. You can Look for a .36 Seneca barrel to fit the cherokee, but it will have to modified to fit. I found a replacemnt for my seneca by calling around. A new barrel was going to cost about +/- $500, I too had to go the low cost way.Good luck on your quest..

 

[gmww]

Couple of suggestions, have you tried the Deer Creek Products? They have the .36 in under hammer.

:shocked2:

Got some bad news for you. They don't carry Underhammers no more.

 

[sduve]

I just sold my son's .36 cal Bobcat this spring on gunm auction site. I have seen some since. New one's run around $150-200. Maybe check out[url] gunbroker.com[/url] and set the search to notify you of CVA .36 rifles. It shot great with roundball and conicals. He wanted some money for a new longbow so he sold the .36. He'll wish he hadn't.

 

[shmrck1]

Regulis7,
I'm with ghost on this one...Try a GM
barrel. They will most likely have an IBS barrel
in .36 for your TC Cherokee I would guess for
around $180 to 200 plus shipping. You can contact
them at (603)447-1095 and they also have a webb
site[url] www.gmriflebarrel.com[/url].
Hope this helps...
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

I know you are looking for a .36. But, I just received a catalog from Deer Creek, they have some .32 squirrel rifle kits for under $150. Something to do whilst you heal up and wait for hunting season?

CP

 

[Greycat]

I know you are looking for a .36. But, I just received a catalog from Deer Creek, they have some .32 squirrel rifle kits for under $150. Something to do whilst you heal up and wait for hunting season?

CP

Does Deer Creek have a website? I've never built a ML from a kit, but for $150, I might have to look into it.

G

 

[faw3]

Thay have been busy on the phone for the last hour, those kits should take you about 3 to 4 hours if you never put one together, some sanding and putting screws in and a finnsh of some kind, they have a Trad 45 cal that i think is the same as the old Kentuck fullstock that I got in 1971 and never makeing one before took me 5 hours without a drill, for 186 and 32 cal for 129., got them and Im right on the time to build ect for both 32 and 45, they sell so much they dont have time for a web site, that's part of what killed off the H+A and Mowrey, really great guns.(765 525 6181 Fred :hatsoff: "Italian/Spanish manure " my first 45 cal 1971 CVA kit still shoots dead on at 50, and never done a thing to it since 71 but refinnsh it, but the barrel change idea is a good one, thats what I like about the H+As Carry it wiyh a 32" 62cal barrel for hogs and 2 extra barrels 24" 50 or 54 for close deer shots and a 36 or 45 cal for anything else, both loaded and can change in 15 to 20 seconds and with the sights on the barrels you dont have to worry about sighten in, just shoot. :rotf:

 

[awilkinson]

If you don't mind syn stocks, Traditions still have their 32cal on their web site, in the bargain bin for $139.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

A friend of mine with very limited vision just bought a Cabela's Blue Ridge flintlock rifle in .36 caliber. At the range, I loaded for him. With no prior experience loading a flintlock and only FFFg powder for the pan we had no problems getting shots off.

I liked the overall look of it except for the wood finish. It seemed well made and sent about 20 balls downrange without a hitch. Even my blind buddy was able to hit the target with it.

I think the cost was around $400 + but a percussion model will be less.

 

[Greycat]

If you don't mind syn stocks, Traditions still have their 32cal on their web site, in the bargain bin for $139.

From someone who has never built a rifle before, how difficult would it be to take that synthetic stocked rifle, and convert it to a more traditional wood stock later on down the line? Was just thinking that I don't particularly care for synthetic stocks, but if it's at a good price, and can later be converted to wood, it might be something to look into....



G

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

Forgive my lengthy response, but I like to be thorough...

If I remember correctly when I got my .40cal Green Mt. barrel to make a two caliber swap barrel gun... the .36cal was not being produced. It didn't matter at the time, as I wanted the .40cal anyway, BUT you may want to confirm that information.

Despite the lower opinions of some towards the Italian/Spanish manufacturers products, I have never had a problem due to quality, or lack thereof. While they aren't fancy, they do tend to function... and some of them do shoot quite well.

Since the nature of your request involves your health and wanting to remove the potential for causing further damage to your body... Perhaps you could get by with a .40cal, but then the gun may have to be a little too heavy to soak up the extra recoil.

I don't remember seeing anyone mention the Traditions Shenandoah, which if still in production was available as a .36cal percussion and was also made as a flintlock. The nice thing is 5lbs of "Triple-Ought" Buckshot and you've got lots of ammo for very little cost. As you note, both calibers can be shot with very low powder charges or pushed hard and with virtually zero recoil.

I prefer the .36 over the .32, even though the .32 shoots well, I like the .36's extra lead at practically the same high velocities. Both guns are fairly inexpensive to operate, it's a shame that they are not more popular than what they are... but both calibers aren't usually legal for anything but small game. (FYI, in West Virginia a minimum of .38 caliber is required for deer--so my choice of .40cal makes sense now, right.)

Deer Creek used to have .36cal Bobcats for sale for $159 and .32 Squirrel rifle kits for about the same money. I really don't know what they have on-hand right now, as most people know that sidelock muzzleloaders are becoming increasingly hard to locate. I owe them a call anyway about some parts--while they still have some for older CVA guns. Their phone number is 765-525-6181

Sorry I wasn't more help, but give Deer Creek a call and see what they can do to help you. They do not have a website or an Internet presence (no e-mail). They are good folks to deal with, and I have never had any issues that were less than excellent--with their merchandise, or themselves.

Good luck, and may you mend quickly & properly.
WV_Hillbilly

PS As far as finding used guns goes, you can try the auction sites, and maybe in your region it's easier to find the small bores in the local gun/pawn shops. Where I live, sidelocks are very uncommon now and most guns don't stay very long for sale. Gotta make the best decision you can during your first impressions, 'cause I find that waiting a day or two to make sure, and then calling back to have them "hold it", or going back in person is futile... it WILL be sold.

 

[peashooterJoe]

Here is a thought buy the .32 squirrel kit with extra barrel then have it rerifled to .36 cost about $125, you have both .32 and .36. That is what i did cheapest way to go with extra barrel. Now the stock is a little short, you may have to extend it a little. I put one of the slip on pads on it, just right. Oh yeah, get the double trigger model with set trigger, works great.
The crockett had about 3 tripps to Traditions and they finally replaced it, sight off center, hammer off center, shot and stock cracked. I got a replacement with the same problems, they did send a new barrel and hammer(stock didn't crack when I shot the second barrel. The barrel had to modified to fit stock and hammer aligned to nipple.They have quality issues a lot on this gun,took about 9 months to resolve. My wife bought this for me after I had a heart attack, thought it would be good therapy for me since I could shoot anything with recoil. It is her favorite little rifle. :rotf:
The squirrel kit had one problem I broke the triggerguard on installation.Deer creek still sent a replacement at no charge, had it in 3 days. Talk about service, anything I have ordered from them I got in 3-4 days never any longer.

 

[Pork Chop]

When I talked to them a while back, they said they had no more set trigger squirrel rifle kits and did not expect any more in...

 

[faw3]

As of Friday they still had 5 1 trigger 32 cals. Fred :hatsoff: