Why Kibler

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Why Kibler?

They are best.........

I received a Woods runner kit yesterday. Today it is fully assembled. I am not troubleshooting bad parts and unusable stocks, it is all together .

All of the inletting is super tight. The lock is made like a swiss watch. The butplates and nosecaps are now machined and they fit perfectly. The butplate came installed.

Now I have lots of time to plan and do the carving and engraving. For me that beats fighting poorly done precarve stocks and crappy cast locks.
 
Agree with just about everything has been said about the attributes of the Kibler…….
The end results are about as good as any of the “high end” rifles I own in terms of accuracy, reliability of components, and ergonomics(for me).
My 50/58 cal Colonial:

IMG_1311.jpegIMG_1329.jpeg
 
One thing for those unfamiliar with these rifles, the SMR and Colonial are easy to complete compared to kits like Chambers or Pecatonica but still require some parts fitting that may be too complicated for an absolute rookie with no experience or tools.

I helped just such a friend with back-and-forth messages, he had a really tough time finishing a SMR, lots of goof-ups.

The Woodsrunner is all CNC, little or no fitting of parts required. I suspect that almost anyone could watch Jim's videos and complete this rifle but not everyone. I know of people who can't operate a screwdriver correctly.
 
I built three of the Kibler kits and ordered a Woodsrunner. When I got it, it was the wrong caliber and a lower stock grade. I had a whale of a time getting it corrected. Finally gave up and got my money back and had to struggle with them to get that to happen. Be careful with these folks, they don't always do what you expect.
 
So are all the parts high quality. Let's say the locks on a flintlock. Will his be top end or do I need to look farther?
Bob, Really! Have you missed everything posted about the rifles .
It's every day a new thread on the manufacturer,models,who,what ,where and why.
Hang.in the day is young I'm sure a lube question will be coming next.
SMH
To whomever this may concern. The forum has a search function works really well too!
 
I built three of the Kibler kits and ordered a Woodsrunner. When I got it, it was the wrong caliber and a lower stock grade. I had a whale of a time getting it corrected. Finally gave up and got my money back and had to struggle with them to get that to happen. Be careful with these folks, they don't always do what you expect.
We're sorry for your bad experience. I can assure you and others, this is not the norm. If you're ever interested again, I'm sure things would be good for you.

All the best,
Jim
 
I want to shoot, not file metal and rasp wood. If that’s your thing, more power to you.
This is the rifle kit I’ve been waiting years for. The few guys in the percision rifle community I shoot with, who also shoot historic flints, have raved about it, and that was good enough for me.
I’ve never been to a muzzle match or a rendezvous, but I’m all in just cuz of the rifle that goes together without being a historic gunsmith and will shoot. I can think of nothing else that will grow your community faster, cuz here I is!
How many mountain men built their own rifle? Proabably none. They bought one professionally built. From what I understand, these shoot even better than the originals. At 1/4 the price of a modern percision match rifle ((not to mention tier 1 glass) there’s nothing to think about.
I just have to figure out how big a tipi I want to deal with…20’?
 
I remember Honda Civic having a long history of well made parts precision Japanese engineering all for a decent price I think Kibler is a lot like a Honda in that respect and yet some people want something that looks more old-timey needs work in fitting in it's quirks or just want to save 75% of that cost to put into a used black powder or maybe even a replica from Italy or India that looks more like it was created with old world tooling there are a lot of reasons for people using other manufacturers
 
The question for me is “why not!” Jim’s kits have done more to promote primitive muzzleloading than anything else in decades. There is more interest in flintlocks than I’ve ever seen in my black powder days (50+ years).

I’ve built 5 kits and quite frankly I would not have gotten into flintlocks if it weren’t for Jim Kibler!!!!! Thanks Jim!!!!!!
 
I'm am far from an expert on bp as I just tinker with it for awhile then go do something else then come back and piddle for awhile then go find something else then come back and over and over.

In the past when asked by a poster to recommend something there was a small list of recommendations. Now all of a sudden everything is Kibler. Why Kibler? Is he an old timer doing this for years or is he recently new to this but knows how to make nice stuff with cnc machines? Is it he makes high end stuff with cnc machines and charges at half the price. Why is he the new king and new answer to all that is bp.
I don't have a crystal ball, but if Jim Kibler continues along the same path he he is on now, I can see no reason why his company should not have continued great success. As an innovative engineer, and traditional builder of high order he has revolutionized the muzzle loader world. His kits are of the highest quality in all respects. The prices seem fair. His customer relations are beyond reproach. His videos are a terrific resource for the builder. There are a lot of uncertainties in this world, but if Jim maintains HIS status quo, his future appears certain. And, that is very good for us all.
 
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