Wife wants a muzzleloader, please help

[Tennessee.45]

After shooting my Early Virginia rifle (flintlock) and my reproduction '53 Enfield, my wife wants me to build her a rifle, she doesn't have a preference of the flint or percussion, but she would like a lighter shorter rifle that doesn't have as much recoil as my .58's.

Any suggestions on where to start?

 

[Wes/Tex]

Much will depend on intended use, I suppose. You didn't mention whether she intended to hunt with her rifle or just shred paper or defend herself from overly vicious Coors cans. All seriousness aside, even as far back as the 60's Numrich made short barreled rifles in the 21" to 24" range in the under-hammer "Buggy Rifle" and their "Minuteman Brush Rifle". Shorter, lighter muzzle-loaders are nothing new as anyone familiar with German Jaeger rifles will tell you. We old grey beards got a lot of mileage out of the H&A under-hammers...though basic, they did a good job on whitetails in brush. Hunting the Brazos River bottoms where you could spit about as far as you could see and the little .45's held their own.

The basic disadvantage with short barrels is slight velocity loss and shortened sight radius...both ballyhooed, good and bad, far more than either truly affected performance. Yes, a .45 ball might be more easily deflected in brush but I don't now any of the woods choppers who ever lost a Bambi due to that. If your wife shoots enough to be proficient with her rifle, something in the .45 to .50 range will certainly do the job. If she intends to shoot targets or small game only, you might consider a caliber from .45 to .36. Dixie and Pedersoli both make shortened versions of a Kentucky style rifle and you might use those pics as inspiration for a style. Confederate cavalry, in the poorer states, actually cut down long rifles for their mounted troops and several illustrated kept slim, elegant lines...though 18" to 20" barrels my be counter-productive for hunting. Short doesn't mean useless, which I guess this has been the long away around saying such! :wink: :haha:

 

[Col. Batguano]

First thing to do is to look at lots and lots of pictures, and handle as many of them as you can before committing to build. Get the books. Be aware that it's a 100-200 hour project, for even a simple build (no carving or engraving), especially for the first one.

Stay away from styles with complex curved lines to their architecture, Lehighs, Bucks, and Berks should be out of the running.

Flint will present greater challenges to shoot well than percussion, but is slightly easier to build.

Lehman's and Ohio's are generally shorter, and somewhat slim in look. Ohio Vincents are most commonly seen in half stock, and in percussion.

Many-pieced PB's with lots of complex shapes and piercings will add considerable time and complexity to the build, as does a more complex release mechanism. Those are common features of Bedfords and Emmitsburg, and they just don't look "right" without them.

A poured pewter nose cap is easier to do than the complex shape of a captured RR, but get the dam, seal, and pour right, or you'll have a dam mess. Those are more commonly seen on half stock rifles than full stock.

Tennesee's and SMR's are often seen as Schimmels or Poor boys, in smaller calibers, and with minimal embellishment. PB's are often grease holes in the butt. Much easier to do than a complex PB.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

A CVA bobcat can be had for about $100.00. Short, light weight and very accurate for the money.

I don't understand the recoil issue. Load a 570 patched round ball over 30 grains. It makes a really good beginner load and is great for offhand shooting.

If you are going to build a rifle/ a straight taper barrel offers the benefit of being a bit longer but still well balanced. Or a light weight straight barrel in a lower caliber. such as a 13/16's 45 caliber, or a 3/4 inch 36 caliber. It is hard for the iexperienced builder to know how much wood to remove to have a graceful light weight woman's rifle. But with some study it can be done.

 

[Tennessee.45]

I built my .58 with a C weight barrel and a .45 with a B weight for a friend, I also reshaped the stock on my Enfield to give a more correct look to the stock, and to me they are fairly light.

The recoil on my .58 Virginia feels about the same as a 20 gauge, she's a small/medium build and it really pushes her back, We went down to 50gr and was manageable but she still wants something a little smaller, she probably won't hunt with it very much if at all.

 

[wulf]

I built a 50 cal Jaeger for my lady who seems to
to be the same size as yours. The Jaeger is short
and very manageable....I just can't get her to
clean it.

 

[joe sebia]

Wow. Lots of options there. Need a little refinement as to what you want. Need to look at purpose, price etc. My wife does not hunt but loves to shoot my 32 Crockett. Light no recoil easy to clean and no flash from flashpan ie cap lock. Won't win any prizes for authenticity but fits her desires. As for off the shelf rifles, the 500 dollar range is about the entry point.

If you are looking for a big game rifle, I would recommend a hawken style as the seem to be a little easier to handle for the ladyfolk. YMMV. Flint if flash doesn't bother her caplock if it does. Check your state regs for specifics. PA limits one to Flint's in the flintlock only season. Caps are OK in early muzzleloader or general season.

Caliber is your choice but for deer size game I wouldn't go lower than 45. 50's are a good all around choice and a 60 g charge is easy on the shoulder and efficient on deer to about 75 yds.

Price point on these start around 500 for Production rifles and can go as high as a few thousand for custom rifles with a lot of bling.


Good luck with your search. There's a lot of knowledge here to help you along.

 

[Tennessee.45]

She doesn't mind the flash and thinks the flint is more fun to shoot, so I'll probably stick with a flint, (unless she wants a cap lock) she wants a nice figured maple stock without any inlets, no patchbox, and wants brass furniture, not sure how well a straight octagon barrel will balence or if it will be too front heavy for her, I'm thinking I may go with a 38" B Weight .50

 

[hanshi]

Then build her a .45 flintlock. I have one with a 36" barrel that weighs next to nothing and is my favorite. Nothing wrong with a 28" barrel, either.

 

[bob308]

Dixie gun works has a cub model for women and boys. .32 .36 and .45. take our pick and make her happy.

 

[Col. Batguano]

B weight refers to a swamped barrel. Straight barrels are referred to by distance across the flats. A B-weight swamped barrel from a manufacturer like Rice is going to run you almost $300 all delivered and is going to pretty much bust your budget by itself.

You can get a moderately figured red maple blank for about $100 or so, but it's not going to knock anyone's socks off with the curl.

With a flinter, the most important piece in terms of reliability is the lock. Pretty much all cap slappers will work to bust a cap. A Chambers lock seems to cost about $170 these days, but there are probably some others that are less expensive out there that will do the job for you if you're willing to take some time to tune them properly. Chambers locks seem to be pretty much ready to go as they come out of the box.

 

[Tennessee.45]

My budget isn't that tight :thumbsup: I was thinking about using a straight barrel but I don't want it to be too front heavy for her, the two I've built so far have both had swamped barrels from rice, Davis lock on mine and a chamber lock on my friends.

The more I think about it, I'm gonna try to make it look somewhat authentic, no fancy carving or engraving, no patch box, just let the wood and furniture catch the eye (plus it's less for me to booger up)

 

[azmntman]

I built a 50 cal Jaeger for my lady who seems to
to be the same size as yours. The Jaeger is short
and very manageable....I just can't get her to
clean it.

:rotf: :haha:

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

I'm thinking I may go with a 38" B Weight .50

This is what I did for the wife, built a nice little Lancasterish that tips the scales at 6 1/4 lbs, shoots and holds like a dream.

 

[Steve-ALA]

Take a look at Chambers Little Feller's kit.

 

[Mean Gene]

What I do in a case like this is pick out something you like and tell her it's perfect for her so when she looses interest after a short while you gained another gun you want. :hmm: :wink: :haha:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I'd contact Jim Kibler about a Kibler Rifle Kit in .45 caliber. I'd call or email, and ask about a 38" swamped barrel instead of a 46" barrel and explain why the shorter barrel was needed. IF he can't accommodate that, I'd see if my wife could learn to like shooting a 46" barrel rifle.

LD

 

[rafterob]

I concur with Hanshi. A .45 with a 7/8 barrel will yield a slim and light rifle.

 

[azmntman]

What I do in a case like this is pick out something you like and tell her it's perfect for her so when she looses interest after a short while you gained another gun you want. :hmm: :wink: :haha:

+1 :thumbsup:

 

[Tennessee.45]

What I do in a case like this is pick out something you like and tell her it's perfect for her so when she looses interest after a short while you gained another gun you want. :hmm: :wink: :haha:

I like the sound of that!

What do y'all think about a early Lancaster or a southern mountain with a 36" 13/16 in .45