Well I guess im jumping in to flints

[Rob Davis]

Just ordered a Traditions Kentucky Long Rifle kit in flintlock. It will be my first kit as well as my first flintlock. I know I have a lot to learn and I hope yall will help me along the way. Just planning on target shooting and fun gun, as I gave up hunting years ago. I have been casting for rifle and pistol for years, so now I have to order me a .490 mold. I know this is beginner rifle but I want to learn by building simple first before taking the leap into a nice flintlock kit. I have the books as well to study, so the fun will begin soon.

 

[tenngun]

Don’t order a mold yet. You may find a .495 or .485 works best for you.
Remember one is too much a thousand is never enough. Stone chips and smoke in your face is pretty addictive

 

[hanshi]

Just remember that once you fire a flintlock there's no possible way to recover.

 

[Zutt-man]

Just remember that once you fire a flintlock there's no possible way to recover.

Truer words have never been spoken

 

[jackpine54]

Shoot your other guns as much as possible before you get that kit in your hands. Once you start shooting that flintlock the others may be neglected.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Just ordered a Traditions Kentucky Long Rifle kit in flintlock. It will be my first kit as well as my first flintlock. I know I have a lot to learn and I hope yall will help me along the way. Just planning on target shooting and fun gun, as I gave up hunting years ago. I have been casting for rifle and pistol for years, so now I have to order me a .490 mold. I know this is beginner rifle but I want to learn by building simple first before taking the leap into a nice flintlock kit. I have the books as well to study, so the fun will begin soon.

Welcome to flintlocks! Tenngun has good advice! Order a box of round balls, whatever size you think you need. If you like the results, then get the mold!
Larry

 

[TarponStalker]

Welcome to “the dark side.” We’ve been waiting for you! Lol. Good luck with your new hobby. You will fall in love with your flintlock. As mentioned earlier, my poor cap guns are lonely now.

 

[Rob Davis]

Well it maybe the Darkside but I have been wanting to do this for years and couldn't wait any longer. I ordered some .490 round balls to start with, but with my work schedule coming up its probably gonna be awhile before I need any. The wood work doesn't worry me, but the lock is my concern. I have researched this to death, but just wasn't ready to spend big money yet. It's gonna be a great learning experience for me I'm sure. I'm one of them crazy folks that love doing things the hard way. I cast and reload for every gun I have, and enjoy every minute of it. Hopefully I can meet up with some of the NC folks one day and do a black powder only shoot. I think I'm gonna use the browning solution from Laural mountain forge if I spelled it right. I will keep yall updated once it gets here. Thanks

 

[Zutt-man]

Well it maybe the Darkside but I have been wanting to do this for years and couldn't wait any longer. I ordered some .490 round balls to start with, but with my work schedule coming up its probably gonna be awhile before I need any. The wood work doesn't worry me, but the lock is my concern. I have researched this to death, but just wasn't ready to spend big money yet. It's gonna be a great learning experience for me I'm sure. I'm one of them crazy folks that love doing things the hard way. I cast and reload for every gun I have, and enjoy every minute of it. Hopefully I can meet up with some of the NC folks one day and do a black powder only shoot. I think I'm gonna use the browning solution from Laural mountain forge if I spelled it right. I will keep yall updated once it gets here. Thanks

LMF’s browning solution works great. Used it on my flintlock kit and worked like a charm. Just follow the instructions

 

[granth]

Just ordered a Traditions Kentucky Long Rifle kit in flintlock. It will be my first kit as well as my first flintlock. I know I have a lot to learn and I hope yall will help me along the way. Just planning on target shooting and fun gun, as I gave up hunting years ago. I have been casting for rifle and pistol for years, so now I have to order me a .490 mold. I know this is beginner rifle but I want to learn by building simple first before taking the leap into a nice flintlock kit. I have the books as well to study, so the fun will begin soon.

Just received my Traditions .50 Mountain Rifle Flinter Kit. You have no idea how excited I am to build it! The Traditions Kentucky Rifle is a pretty dang good gun, I wish you luck on your build.

 

[kyron4]

I just finished my Traditions Kentucky rifle kit, also my first flint gun and first kit. Shot it for the first time last week and these guys aren't lying, more additive than heroine. I made a few mods on my kit as I went along, and I'm very pleased how it turned out. I plan to post some pictures with a short review by this weekend. As a fellow newbie , I can tell you that you're in the right place, these guys are a endless source of information.

As for the kit, my advice is take your time and enjoy the process. It provided me with an escape from the daily grind over a couple of month.

 

[david w]

I just finished my Traditions Kentucky rifle kit, also my first flint gun and first kit. Shot it for the first time last week and these guys aren't lying, more additive than heroine. I made a few mods on my kit as I went along, and I'm very pleased how it turned out. I plan to post some pictures with a short review by this weekend. As a fellow newbie , I can tell you that you're in the right place, these guys are a endless source of information.

As for the kit, my advice is take your time and enjoy the process. It provided me with an escape from the daily grind over a couple of month.

Yes, take your time and don't be tempted to rush it. It may only take one mistake to ruin an otherwise fine shooting machine. If you are in doubt, please stop and ask questions. In this case, no question is a dumb question.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Well it maybe the Darkside but I have been wanting to do this for years and couldn't wait any longer. I ordered some .490 round balls to start with, but with my work schedule coming up its probably gonna be awhile before I need any. The wood work doesn't worry me, but the lock is my concern. I have researched this to death, but just wasn't ready to spend big money yet. It's gonna be a great learning experience for me I'm sure. I'm one of them crazy folks that love doing things the hard way. I cast and reload for every gun I have, and enjoy every minute of it. Hopefully I can meet up with some of the NC folks one day and do a black powder only shoot. I think I'm gonna use the browning solution from Laural mountain forge if I spelled it right. I will keep yall updated once it gets here. Thanks

The enjoyment of shooting of a flintlock rifle is hardly coming to the dark side. Shooting a flint lock rifle is experiencing the art of traditional muzzle loading. And experiencing art should be enjoyable. Percussion cap locks show the technological improvement made to improve reliability in shooting traditional muzzle loading rifles.

You are correct that it is the lock that is the heart and soul of flint lock rifle. The Traditions lock can be tuned to be reliable. There are some things that you can do to get the lock functioning out of the box. As a kit, the lock won't be as finely finished as a Kibler lock out of the box, but don't let that dismay you. Get the tools you need to disassemble your lock. You need a mainspring vise to remove the main spring and the frizzen spring. You need a set of gunsmith screwdrivers that fit the screws on your lock and lock bolts. You need some fine emory paper or a fine stone to polish the mating surfaces of your lock and remove any sharp edges where the tumbler rotates against the lock plate or burrs left from the manufacturing process.. Your lock should be properly hardened as you receive it. Do the smoothing on a flat surface so you can control the amount of polishing. No metal (at least not enough to measure) should be removed. You just want that very smooth surface. Polish the bearing surface of the bolt that holds the frizzen to the lock plate to ease rotation. Leave the nose of the sear alone. Apply a light grease and reassemble.

 

[mmb617]

I built that same one as my first and only kit so far. It was fun to build and even more fun to shoot.

I don't have to worry about my cap guns feeling neglected as I don't have any. I started into black powder with flints and liked them enough that I keep buying them. What may be feeling neglected is my modern guns. They've certainly taken a back seat since the flinters arrived.

 

[oldwood]

Suggestion...........Find an additional source of funding. This hobby can quickly go beyond saving your lunch money allowance..

 

[deerstalkert]

Not Really the DARK Side but like the smoke filled pool rooms of my youth the smoke and noise has a very addicting alure that once inhaled, you are sunk!

 

[Rob Davis]

The enjoyment of shooting of a flintlock rifle is hardly coming to the dark side. Shooting a flint lock rifle is experiencing the art of traditional muzzle loading. And experiencing art should be enjoyable. Percussion cap locks show the technological improvement made to improve reliability in shooting traditional muzzle loading rifles.

You are correct that it is the lock that is the heart and soul of flint lock rifle. The Traditions lock can be tuned to be reliable. There are some things that you can do to get the lock functioning out of the box. As a kit, the lock won't be as finely finished as a Kibler lock out of the box, but don't let that dismay you. Get the tools you need to disassemble your lock. You need a mainspring vise to remove the main spring and the frizzen spring. You need a set of gunsmith screwdrivers that fit the screws on your lock and lock bolts. You need some fine emory paper or a fine stone to polish the mating surfaces of your lock and remove any sharp edges where the tumbler rotates against the lock plate or burrs left from the manufacturing process.. Your lock should be properly hardened as you receive it. Do the smoothing on a flat surface so you can control the amount of polishing. No metal (at least not enough to measure) should be removed. You just want that very smooth surface. Polish the bearing surface of the bolt that holds the frizzen to the lock plate to ease rotation. Leave the nose of the sear alone. Apply a light grease and reassemble.

Well I really appreciate that information, some over my head right now but I will learn once it arrives. I have to pick up a mainspring vise as well as a couple other items before working on the lock. Don't have any friends doing black powder so going on my own. Thanks for help

 

[deerstalkert]

Well I really appreciate that information, some over my head right now but I will learn once it arrives. I have to pick up a mainspring vise as well as a couple other items before working on the lock. Don't have any friends doing black powder so going on my own. Thanks for help

you have a whole forum of friends you can tap for guidance right here! we sometimes are flippant in our welcome posts but when things get serious you will not find a more collective assemblage of knowledge. just have a couple sieves to strain it with!
Oh yeah! howdy cousin! also a Davis.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

Break it down to one task at a time. You're not "building a gun", and you're not trying to get done as soon as possible. Instead you are doing a particular task or step on a given day. Focus on doing that one task to the best of your ability. Do the same with the next step the following day. Eventually you reach the finish line.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Just ordered a Traditions Kentucky Long Rifle kit in flintlock. It will be my first kit as well as my first flintlock. I know I have a lot to learn and I hope yall will help me along the way. Just planning on target shooting and fun gun, as I gave up hunting years ago. I have been casting for rifle and pistol for years, so now I have to order me a .490 mold. I know this is beginner rifle but I want to learn by building simple first before taking the leap into a nice flintlock kit. I have the books as well to study, so the fun will begin soon.

My first flintlock was a kit as well. I built a Pedersoli Brown Bess Carbine.

I figured the larger lock on the Bess would be more forgiving while I learned how to effectively shoot and use this type of ignition system. Shortly after that endeavor, my collection of flintlocks started to grow.

I haven’t seriously used my percussion guns in almost 30 years.