You got it ALL wrong, son…

[babstooge]

So, after a week of scouting the forum, reading every post I could about which flintlock kit to purchase, and what caliber I wanted, I settled on the Kibler SMR, in .36 caliber, and then, after much more reading, on barrel browning, and stock finishing, I promptly went on line and ordered a Traditions Kentucky flintlock… yeah, yeah, I know. The lock sucks, the wood sucks, the frizzen is soft. It ain’t even the caliber I wanted! They only have it in .45 and .50. But the more I read, the more I realized I didn’t want to learn how to brown a barrel, or finish a stock, on a 1500 dollar rifle. So, I tucked that money back in the envelope, ordered the Traditions for a butt ton less money, which will be nice as I experiment with stock color, and fake aging, etc. and then went to Powder Valley and ordered three pounds of FFF, and one pound of FFFF. Not sure how the ratio works on those two, but now I have some black coming. I had only used Pyrodex in my modern inline rifle.
I’ll keep you posted on how the build and finish goes. I’ll get 10% back from Muzzle-Loaders for posting on here about it… LOL! Like they have to pay me to talk about what I’m doing.

it'll shoot good . I always think that it's better to learn on a "less costly " tool than screw up on a more costly tool. My traditions Springfield Hawken sparks well it's not the fanciest rifle, but it's a good platform to learn on. When you learned to drive you didn't start with a Lamborghini, you did well grasshopper. Bruce

 

[Daveboone]

They can dump on it all they want. I’m a big boy, lol. I’ll never understand that mindset though. I’ve got a very good friend that makes custom pocket knives. Incredible work. Has been on the cover of the big knife magazines. His bottom end pocket knife is $600, and they go WAY up from there. Do I look at the guys who don’t have a JT Clark custom knife in their pocket, and say, “Well, you get what you pay for…” Nope! My daily carry is a $14 Byrd, because I know I’m going to beat it to death, pry stuff with it, get sand all in it… is it as nice as a Clark? Nope, but it does what I need it to.
I’m looking at this kit that way. I need to learn how to finish a gun barrel and stock. I already know I’m going to have to do more inletting and modifications on this Traditions than I would on a Kibler. That’s why I bought it… to learn.
The other attitude I see on here a lot that I don’t understand is putting down on the guys who buy what they can afford to get in the hobby. I can remember the day that 400 dollars for a rifle was just out of the question. Man, things were tight. If all you can afford is an Old Timer pocket knife, get yourself an Old Timer and use the stew out of it.
Anyways, I appreciate the support from all you guys. I’ve spent hours on the forum reading posts and getting information. I have watched every video Jim Kibler has made that I can find this week, (along with every Traditions Kentucky video) to the point that my wife walks through the living room, rolls her eyes, huffs one time, and heads to her office to watch what she wants, LOL!
The guy makes a beautiful rifle, and one day, I will own a SMR in .36 caliber. And when I do, the finish is going to be gorgeous!

And in the mean time, watching Kiblers videos were very beneficial to you, regardless. Good luck and have fun! That is what it is about.

 

[Mark E. Prickett]

I'm doing the opposite of you. I finished a Kibler SMR for my first rifle and now I just ordered a Traditions 45 caliber flintlock. Time to have some fun with a build I won't be afraid to experiment with.

 

[Panama Red]

I'm doing the opposite of you. I finished a Kibler SMR for my first rifle and now I just ordered a Traditions 45 caliber flintlock. Time to have some fun with a build I won't be afraid to experiment with.

NICE! How’d the Kibler come out? Keep me posted on your Tradition's build! Also, 5/8x 5/8 on the flints. The 5/8 x 3/4 is too long for the Tradition’s lock.

 

[Panama Red]

NICE! How’d the Kibler come out? Keep me posted on your Tradition's build! Also, 5/8x 5/8 on the flints. The 5/8 x 3/4 is too long for the Tradition’s lock.

And , I REALLY like the Kibler SMR. I know I ran my mouth quite a bit here, but I’ll probably do one of those next. Still like the idea of doing all the inletting myself, but it’s a bit daunting. I don’t know. Geeez, it’s hard to decide. Either way, I’m really going to have to do some talking to get it through the War Department.
-Red, mouthy without necessity…

 

[Mark E. Prickett]

And , I REALLY like the Kibler SMR. I know I ran my mouth quite a bit here, but I’ll probably do one of those next. Still like the idea of doing all the inletting myself, but it’s a bit daunting. I don’t know. Geeez, it’s hard to decide. Either way, I’m really going to have to do some talking to get it through the War Department.
-Red, mouthy without necessity…

It's all good. Kibler came out good after fixing all my mistakes. I'll start a new build post on the Traditions when I get it. I'm planning on some controversial ideas
Grab stick,stir pot.

 

[Frontstuffer3491]

They can dump on it all they want. I’m a big boy, lol. I’ll never understand that mindset though. I’ve got a very good friend that makes custom pocket knives. Incredible work. Has been on the cover of the big knife magazines. His bottom end pocket knife is $600, and they go WAY up from there. Do I look at the guys who don’t have a JT Clark custom knife in their pocket, and say, “Well, you get what you pay for…” Nope! My daily carry is a $14 Byrd, because I know I’m going to beat it to death, pry stuff with it, get sand all in it… is it as nice as a Clark? Nope, but it does what I need it to.
I’m looking at this kit that way. I need to learn how to finish a gun barrel and stock. I already know I’m going to have to do more inletting and modifications on this Traditions than I would on a Kibler. That’s why I bought it… to learn.
The other attitude I see on here a lot that I don’t understand is putting down on the guys who buy what they can afford to get in the hobby. I can remember the day that 400 dollars for a rifle was just out of the question. Man, things were tight. If all you can afford is an Old Timer pocket knife, get yourself an Old Timer and use the stew out of it.
Anyways, I appreciate the support from all you guys. I’ve spent hours on the forum reading posts and getting information. I have watched every video Jim Kibler has made that I can find this week, (along with every Traditions Kentucky video) to the point that my wife walks through the living room, rolls her eyes, huffs one time, and heads to her office to watch what she wants, LOL!
The guy makes a beautiful rifle, and one day, I will own a SMR in .36 caliber. And when I do, the finish is going to be gorgeous!

All the best to you!

 

[Widows Son]

Traditions guns don’t suck. They aren’t as good as others, but they are serviceable. The barrels are actually quite accurate.
The kits have heaps of potential for someone with the tools and aptitude to improve them.

 

[Gum Slough Muzzleloader]

I'd been wanting to get a Flintlock Rifle for awhile. Wife and I went to a flea market, outback folks just setup a table outside.
An old boy had several rifles and shot guns on table one was a Traditions Deerhunter Flintlock. I what the hell?
That's a short rifle. Looked new.
Got it cheap.
Never shot a Flintlock before. Read some ifo, and watched some videos.
After playing around a little bit started shooting. Still have a lot to learn. But that gun shot very well. 2" groups at 50 yards the day of shooting. Traditions are good guns. I own a few percussion guns. CVA and Pedersolis I will by another Traditions if I come across one.
I feel ya did right in your choice.

Take Care Brother.
Fred

 

[oldwood]

Get it.....build it.........shoot it. Good for you

 

[smokepolehall]

Morning to ya P R. Like i said in my 1st pg. post, you have started into the world of ML's.. Thats great n don't take a back seat to no one on building the Traditions kit. Its yours to learn on, i have tried to learn on my kits. We have to start with what we can afford with our funds allowed. I had finally saved up enough to get a Pedersoli Scout kit, i have it finished. Its not bad, my work is decent with it. It has a sorry flint-lock on it, been trying to get it shoot right for a year now. My Traditions Woodsman Hawken Flintlock is a better lock n it ignites better n so i rate it higher because it works all the time. Not evrey 7 shots to fire til it finally will go off.

 

[Gum Slough Muzzleloader]

Morning to ya P R. Like i said in my 1st pg. post, you have started into the world of ML's.. Thats great n don't take a back seat to no one on building the Traditions kit. Its yours to learn on, i have tried to learn on my kits. We have to start with what we can afford with our funds allowed. I had finally saved up enough to get a Pedersoli Scout kit, i have it finished. Its not bad, my work is decent with it. It has a sorry flint-lock on it, been trying to get it shoot right for a year now. My Traditions Woodsman Hawken Flintlock is a better lock n it ignites better n so i rate it higher because it works all the time. Not evrey 7 shots to fire til it finally will go off.

That's exactly what I experienced with my Traditions Flintlock, again being new at flintlocks once I got the Flint squared up and in proper position it fired every time, a quick positive ignition and no delays and I was very surprised and impressed

 

[ZUG]

Never been accused of being cancel culture before. Man, I’m so inclusive it ain’t funny. If you want to wear a skirt and call yourself Madame Margaret while shooting your longrifle, that’s fine by me. Everyone is entitled to their black powder fantasies I guess…
First time I ever heard the term “youse guys” was way back in basic training. Had a guy from Pennsylvania somewhere. It doesn’t get tossed around down this way too often, lol.
When I was in the 11th grade, we moved from rural north Florida to Washington DC. I didn’t make many friends for a while, until I turned out a good piece of work in art class, then I got to be friends with a couple of the guys. So I ask them, why the heck didn’t anyone talk to me for the past three months. They said, “Well, from the way you talk, we thought you were mentally handicapped.” I guess slower, and “drawlier” equates to mental issues.
Anyways, I married a girl from just south of Detroit. We went to Michigan for her grandmothers funeral, and out to the bar for a few beers, as part of the wake, I guess, or maybe just because we like beer a whole lot, and the woman tending bar kept calling me “Hillbilly”… I guess that makes me from the mountains of Florida. And everyone knows, here in the mountains of Florida, we are very inclusive.

Went with a FL relator looking for a house some years back and she passed a dump with the garbage piled really high with green grass on it then she said to me "here are the Florida mountains" - I laughed and she laughed - did not find a house that I could live in.

 

[Fez]

By the way, if you read the title to this thread in Foghorn Leghorns voice, you get bonus points…

Great...now you got me speaking Foghorn Leghorn all day...my family must be thinking I have gone completely bonkers!

 

[nit wit]

If you learn on a lesser quality rifle, think what you can do with a Kibler!
Nit Wit

 

[babstooge]

I said ,I said ,how in the world do you sound like Foghorn leghorn.

 

[oldwood]

Love the Foghorn Leghorn Impersonations , but you fellows should try your talent on a Ba...Ba..Be..Bern...Ber ...Bernie Ah , Ah , Ah ,,San,,,San..Sand,,,Sandiz , impersonation. He is such a total waste commie , but he is a blast to listen to his speech patterns.

 

[Steve Wagner]

You get what you pay for.

You do in a finished rifle. But with a kit, you might get less than you paid for if your skills aren't up to the task. If the OP does a good job on the Trad he can recover most of his investment [minus the labor] and move on to the Kibler. If he doesn't, he can shoot a fugly to his heart's content. SW

 

[Rob M.]

So, after a week of scouting the forum, reading every post I could about which flintlock kit to purchase, and what caliber I wanted, I settled on the Kibler SMR, in .36 caliber, and then, after much more reading, on barrel browning, and stock finishing, I promptly went on line and ordered a Traditions Kentucky flintlock… yeah, yeah, I know. The lock sucks, the wood sucks, the frizzen is soft. It ain’t even the caliber I wanted! They only have it in .45 and .50. But the more I read, the more I realized I didn’t want to learn how to brown a barrel, or finish a stock, on a 1500 dollar rifle. So, I tucked that money back in the envelope, ordered the Traditions for a butt ton less money, which will be nice as I experiment with stock color, and fake aging, etc. and then went to Powder Valley and ordered three pounds of FFF, and one pound of FFFF. Not sure how the ratio works on those two, but now I have some black coming. I had only used Pyrodex in my modern inline rifle.
I’ll keep you posted on how the build and finish goes. I’ll get 10% back from Muzzle-Loaders for posting on here about it… LOL! Like they have to pay me to talk about what I’m doing.

Smart ....best of luck