Thoughts on Kibler Woodsrunner vs Southern Mountain rifle.

[Kmcmichael]

If I were getting a .45 I would go with the SMR.
I have both.

 

[RocketMan58]

Everything else aside, if I like "the dark side" I will likely be owning both before the years over. My addictions tend to be strong

 

[Mike in FL]

I bought the Colonial. It is my notion of the time period that is the most interesting for me. But after carrying and shooting it a lot, I regret I didn't choose either of the other two. The Colonial is too heavy for me now that I've become old. It is .54 cal but still too heavy. Should have gone with the WR in the same caliber. I found the lock time to be the same as the large Silver that Chambers sells. I browned the barrel, left the lock white, and used a honey maple stain from Minwax 'cause I'm not partial to dark finishes. I'm still working on perfecting a load. Great fun assembling and using. I think the weight contributed to off hand accuracy, but I seldom shoot that way when hunting. Most always there is a tree for support. I will keep that rifle forever because it is so gorgeous. It now rests on the pegs screwed into the mantle above the fireplace.

 

[RocketMan58]

Opened the box this AM. (Merry Christmas to me!). I was taken back on how slim the SMR stock is! The pictures don't do it justice. Really looking forward to getting started. My bet is that I'll be washing Prussian Blue off my fingers by dinner ;-)

 

[Flintlock Fellow]

Opened the box this AM. (Merry Christmas to me!). I was taken back on how slim the SMR stock is! The pictures don't do it justice. Really looking forward to getting started. My bet is that I'll be washing Prussian Blue off my fingers by dinner ;-)

Congratulations on your purchase! I think you made the right choice.

I, too, have a Kibler SMR in .40 extra fancy maple, and I absolutely adore it. There are times when I wonder if I shouldn’t have gone with the .45 so that I might be able to hunt deer with it (Idaho has a .45 cal minimum), but my .40 has earned me first place on more than one occasion at the local club shoot.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

HI all, I've got a few ( 32 and .45cal, Kentucky style) percussion rifles in the rack and am now looking to venture into for my first Flintlock. I'm thinking I want to build one as a winter project and the Kibler brand keeps coming up as high quality and reasonably easy to build.. Given the rifle will only get used occasionally for off hand target shooting out to 100 yds ( Mostly gongs on woods walks with occasional paper punching out to 100. I gave up hunting years ago so the rifle will never be used in that roll.) I'm thinking I would stay with a .45 or .40 caliber. Right now I'm waffling between the Kibler Woods runner in 45 or their Southern Mountain Rifle in 40 or 45. So does anyone here have experience with both?
If so,
IS the SMR any harder to build than the WR?
Is the longer barrel and /or the lighter weight of the SMR a detriment /advantage in any way?
Should I be looking at other brands ( or even finished rifles) in the sub $1500 price range?


Any and all experienced shared is appreciated!
Dave

You have a wonderful dilemma to solve, my friend. Both firearms are going to be pleasing and provide years of enjoyment. The Kibler FlintLocks are top quality, your introduction to Flintlocks will be most exceptional. Nothing like shooting a smooth functioning flinter. Having a rough day?…go shoot a quality FlintLock and feel your troubles melt away, for a bit.

I completely understand the smaller calibres, they use less resources and are simply cost effective.

Kibler kits are top shelf…unbeatable in both quality and ease of assembly. Once assembly is finished, they are a sight to behold. To me, I enjoy how the kit gun progresses from blond bare wood and raw steel, to an architecturally beautiful piece of engineering and historic excellence. Go buy a finished gun, and you can shoot it right away, no waiting…but you miss out on the personal involvement of assembly, and finishing. The guns I assemble, I tend to keep; as they have more meaning to me.

Personal opinions: The Southern Mountain Rifle is surprisingly light and nimble. I’ve shot many SMRs that club members have brought to the range. My opinion is that the .45 calibre is just TOO light, unless I’m hunting big game in really rugged country. I much prefer the .40 calibre, that was the calibre I ultimately settled on. I load .375 RBs with heavy denim patching, over 30 grs fffg and go squirrel and rabbit hunting. Groups are small and shots are inside of 50 yrds. With a .390 RB and 42 grs fffg, the gun really shines, I actually haven’t had any problems developing loads. My nanny state requires a conical bullet if you wish to use a .40 calibre on deer sized game. I use a cast lead bullet intended for .40 S&W…50 grs of fffg and it works admirably out to 75 yrds, younger eyes could definitely stretch that farther. Groups are acceptable at 3” average.

The WoodsRunner is quite simply the perfect flintlock hunting rifle that I have ever held and shot. I’ve held that firearm in each calibre, and I personally prefer the balance & nimbleness of the .54 calibre. It’s also a wonderful calibre for game such as elk, or heck…bison.

You stated that you don’t hunt, and your personal choice is .45 calibre. The WoodsRunner in .45 calibre is noticeably heavier, than the .54, but it is well balanced, more stable in off-hand and very easy to hold on target. Great choice for an UBER accurate range gun. But no double set trigger system.

For Christmas this year, my wife asked me to pick which Kibler Kit I wanted…it literally took me 2 months to decide between the WoodsRunner or the English Fowler. Late December I finally settled in on the English Fowler…I’ll be getting the WoodsRunner later this year. So the choice ultimately became, “Which Kibler Kit do you want 1st?”

For what it’s worth, there’s my two pence.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Oops…looks like you’ve made your choice, my bad.

Congratulations on your choice, I’m very happy with my SMR. It’s brought me years of enjoyment

 

[KH]

Oops…looks like you’ve made your choice, my bad.

Congratulations on your choice, I’m very happy with my SMR. It’s brought me years of enjoyment
View attachment 371319

Man that is beautiful.

 

[BR Sorenson]

Nice choice. My first Kibler was the .45 SMR. I still get compliments on how nice it looks. It's a plane maple stock not fancy. I wanted a work gun. Not something I would be afraid to take out and use. I did add a couple of embellishments a lock plate and toe plate. The rest is just plain a bit of figure in the wood. And Jax Brown on the barrel and lock.
I now have several other Kiblers, the SMR gets shot more than the others. The light weight and faster lock, dubble set triggers. Just add up to a good time at the range. Now 14 months later I have just completed #6 a .36 SMR. With the same embellishments and minor moldings on the butt stocks. If you like working with you hands and have free time. The ship quick site is a dangerous place, or is it hmm. 2 SMR's, 1 Colonial, 3 WR's different calibers or different wood. I wanted to try a cherry stock WR and brass patch box. That one took the longest to assemble. I like shooting them all.
But as I said before the .45 SMR gets shot the most.

 

[RocketMan58]

Nice choice. My first Kibler was the .45 SMR. I still get compliments on how nice it looks. It's a plane maple stock not fancy. I wanted a work gun. Not something I would be afraid to take out and use. I did add a couple of embellishments a lock plate and toe plate. The rest is just plain a bit of figure in the wood. And Jax Brown on the barrel and lock.
I now have several other Kiblers, the SMR gets shot more than the others. The light weight and faster lock, dubble set triggers. Just add up to a good time at the range. Now 14 months later I have just completed #6 a .36 SMR. With the same embellishments and minor moldings on the butt stocks. If you like working with you hands and have free time. The ship quick site is a dangerous place, or is it hmm. 2 SMR's, 1 Colonial, 3 WR's different calibers or different wood. I wanted to try a cherry stock WR and brass patch box. That one took the longest to assemble. I like shooting them all.
But as I said before the .45 SMR gets shot the most.

Beautiful rifle. I especially like what you did with the toe and lock plates! I was considering adding a toe plate to my SMR build but I'm just not confident enough in my inletting abilities to get it recessed properly. It's been 2 weeks today and I've got maybe 75% of the metal work done and 95% of the wood. Funny, last kit I built was a $300 traditions Crockett back in 2017. I don't remember needing/taking that much time with finish work. I guess my expectations are just higher with this one. So far so good.
I expect I'll be cruising the "ready to ship" page before February is done. Mabey a WR (or new Hawken if they are out yet) this time around.