You wanted it

[tenngun]

You want it, you dreamt of one, you finely got it and…… you didn’t like it
Has it happened to you?
Me it was a Northwest gun, wanted it for years, had to have one, bought a kit, ton of fun putting it together. Then I shot it. Shot center, every thing worked well, but you know it just wasn’t my TFC.
It wasn’t as comfortable to carry, just didn’t fit me as well,
Wanting is better then having some times
What have you got that just didn’t do the job.

 

[2 shots]

my X

 

[IanH]

When I was a kid running the woods with a .22 pellet rifle I dreamt of a miniature, halfstock Hawkin percussion smoothbore .36 as a small game shotgun. I don't know what possessed me but I was absolutely drooling for one and what I imagined it would be like. 40 years later I get back into muzzleloading and ask my single-digit self just what the heck I was thinking! Those things are UGLY! Straight stock and deep crescent butt plate, how do you even shoot one of those? Put a scope on it maybe? The barrel for a .36 must weigh ten pounds. Smoothbore .36? With shot? Nope, I'm not going to build one just to find out how much I would actually hate it, but my little kid self still wants one and I dare not disappoint him with reality.

 

[oldwood]

When I first went to a rendezvous back in 1973 , there were few longrifles , and folks only talked about them , except Phil Cravner from Latrobe , Pa. long time m/l gun builder had a Jaeger rifle with him. I read all the info about this mythical European gun , and built one from a photo , similar to Phil's master piece. The stories , and literature about these legendary rifles noted they were to be "large caliber" to make clean kills . They had leaf rear sights to be used at known distances , etc.. So , young m/l gun enthusiast , amateur Jaeger rifle designer , and part time dunce , Me , went to Getz's gun barrel shop and bought a 28" , .69 cal. rifled jaeger barrel. Built the deer rifle of my dreams. I took the rifle to the range , and found pretty quickly , why the three leaf rear sight was important to European hunters , that hunt from elevated blinds over bait set out at KNOWN distances. In the Pa. woods , deer are not at known distances , and it's illegal to hunt them over bait. Hunted with the rifle for one season , and found a guy from Ohio at another rendezvous , and he went home with the .69 cal. Jaeger I built.. Since it was well above my pay grade in ability to figure out all the secrets of the mythical jaeger rifle , I Was Glad to See it go. Though I built several more Jaeger style hunting rifles of different styles and calibers , I finally went back to an American long rifle with a 38 " length .62 cal. . Barrel length gave me a longer sight plain for good sighting accuracy at longer distance , but in old age , the 90 gr. FFG was too punishing for this old hunter. Must say , that rifle was a killing machine.. I was glad when it went to a new home. At age 76 , I'm back to using a new long rifle of .50 cal. , 38 " barrel , an easy shooting 80 Gr. FFFG , with a Johnson tang peep sight on it. It's been fun , gettin" old sucks.........oldwood

 

[Gun Tramp]

What have you got that just didn’t do the job.

Kibler Woodsrunner .54 caliber. I lost interest in this one faster than any gun I've ever owned. To the back of the rack it goes, yawn.

 

[oldwood]

Was looking for the ultimate m/l squirrel cal.. Built a .32 long rifle , took it to the range several times , and concluded , the .32 just wasn't for me. Wind drift , and power turned me off , so this rifle found a new home in short order. Built a .36 cal. long rifle , took it squirrel hunting with tolerable success. Went hunting small game in the tall timber of Potter County in northern Pa.. The day was dark and damp , with few squirrels , but found a big **** to cook for supper. He was thirty feet up in a hemlock tree , but perfectly visible . I shot him twice , the young fellow with me , had just finished his tour with the U.S. Army , and was an expert marksman with an M 60 Machine gun , shot the big **** two more times with my .36 long rifle. The **** was dead or dieing , but we couldn't get to it to finish the mission. Both of us were beyond disappointed at loosing our supper **** , that .36 found a new home. Finally , years later , I built a .40 cal. small game longrifle. 38 " , .40 cal. , octagon barrel , 3/4 " across the flats keeps the weight down. The rifle is a dream to carry , and shoot. Can be loaded down for smaller critters , and loaded stronger for coyotes , and such. I'm in love at last. .........oldwood

 

[The Crisco Kid]

My 1964 Pontiac Lemans, 4 on the floor, 8 miles to the gallon. Couldn't afford to drive it, in 1969. Or maybe it was my first girl friend I was glad to get rid of.

 

[Banjoman]

I have been gathering parts to put together a rifle for a couple of years. A few weeks ago I finally collected enough Thompson Center Hawken and Renegade parts to “build” a rifle, but as soon as it was complete I asked myself why I wasted time on it. I don’t even have a desire to shoot it and don’t know if I’ll keep it or sell it. It may end up being just a spare parts gun. Right now it ain’t eating no hay.

 

[French Colonial]

I have had two, First one was a Dixie Tennessee Mountain flint lock rifle , 50 caliber, got it when they first came out and it would not spark half the time and was way to muzzle heavy, Today if I still had it I would fix the frizzen and cut off the barrel. Down the road it went (my brother bought it to hang on the wall)

Second was a Miroku Brown Bess, I had to have a "Bess" I have never had a gun fit me so poorly, down the road it went as well. No Idea where it ended up.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

For all the muzzle loaders I loved before...that came in and out my door......lol

 

[tenngun]

Kibler Woodsrunner .54 caliber. I lost interest in this one faster than any gun I've ever owned. To the back of the rack it goes, yawn.

I think you are the first I’ve ever heard not to love his Kibler.
But I still look at some fine NWG and love them, just don’t like hem in my hands.

 

[ronaldrothb49]

That would be my very first rifle back in the 70's, a CVA Mountain Rifle kit. Very accurate rifle off the bench but offhand it just didn't fit me. Used it for several years while I saved up and bought parts to make my first custom rifle to fit me. Then I started winning matches. The CVA hung on the wall for a few more years before I decided it needed a new home. took it apart and fixed the mistakes refinished it with an artificial tiger stripe. Hung it on the wall of the club house at a shoot and it found a new home in about 30 minutes and yes I told the guy it was a fake stripe.

 

[longcruise]

What have you got that just didn’t do the job.

A Renegade 50 cal. Not a hunters gun. Too much barrel and not enough hole! Fired about ten shots out of all new barrel and sent it off to Hoyt to make into a 58. Now all it needs is a stock with a little more drop!

Kibler Woodsrunner .54 caliber. I lost interest in this one faster than any gun I've ever owned. To the back of the rack it goes, yawn.

I yearn for one but I'm a little afraid I might end up feeling the same way!

 

[chorizo]

A Renegade 50 cal. Not a hunters gun. Too much barrel and not enough hole! Fired about ten shots out of all new barrel and sent it off to Hoyt to make into a 58. Now all it needs is a stock with a little more drop!

I yearn for one but I'm a little afraid I might end up feeling the same way!

Yeah, you take that 50, bore it out to 54 or 58 and cut the barrel off to 22" to 24" and you have one fine hunting gun.

 

[longcruise]

@chorizo I still have another 50 barrel for it but don't need any more 50s or 54s for that matter. I'll offer it to the grandkids. If they don't want it it's going on the block..... or might get turned into a smoothie

 

[Rifleman1776]

That would be my very first rifle back in the 70's, a CVA Mountain Rifle kit

Interesting. My first ml rifle was a CVA 'kentucky', not kit. It had a two piece stock, as they all did then. But, unique to this one was the TWO PIECE BARREL. Worse still, the rifling in the two parts went different directions and the ball always hung up at the joint when loading. The flintlock only occasionally gave a spark that would fire. Only match award I ever 'won' with that rifle was given to the shooter (me) who had fired all 15 targets and had the lowest score. It was a Sid Bell powder horn pin. That was 50 years ago. I still have the pin.

 

[longcruise]

@Rifleman1776

 

[waarp8nt]

My brother said the quest to get something many times outweighs the value of the item.
Once the quest is over did the item you longed for really matter all that much, do you even use it?

Quite often I let the notion to buy something pass me before I waste much time or money pursuing it. In my youth I purchased the latest and allegedly greatest music equipment or hunting gear and was often disappointed. It just the basics for me from now on.

A Renegade 50 cal. Not a hunters gun. Too much barrel and not enough hole! Fired about ten shots out of all new barrel and sent it off to Hoyt to make into a 58. Now all it needs is a stock with a little more drop!

Get a Pecatonica T/C replacement stock for a 1" barrel channel, have them leave off the butt plate mortise. Finish it out the way you want and be happy. I've never regretted anything I've bought for Pecatonica.

 

[longcruise]

Get a Pecatonica T/C replacement stock for a 1" barrel channel, have them leave off the butt plate mortise. Finish it out the way you want and be happy. I've never regretted anything I've bought for Pecatonica.

Heh heh! It's sitting in the lineup right now. The inletting on their "kit" stocks is a little iffy but on this tc rpl stock it's impeccable .

 

[chorizo]

Mine was a 58 cal 22" carbine barrel for a Renegade. SEXY and light...except that I couldn't get it to shoot fast enough nor accurate enough beyond 100 yards. Loaded down to make it a 75 yard gun and it was fantastic. Just not what I needed and was expecting out or it.