Black Powder Kits

[BubbaDX]

Anyone every build any of the black powder kit guns that are available? My dad built a Hawkins kit back in the 70's, CVA I think but am not sure. I remember him working on it and we shot it for several years after that. I am thinking about trying one of the Traditions 50 cal Kentucky Pistol Kits. It doesn't look like it would be that hard to build.

[desdem12]

I have built several. I did a traditions rifle and 2 pistols and a lymans rifle. The lymans was well woth the extra dollars. The pistol kits are real easy and turnout good. The double trigger one shoot pretty nice.

[Brian the Brit]

I did a traditions Kentucky ( Flint ), It was good fun but did not take me that long to do , I sold It to a friend who shoots it often and likes it .
They are worth doing If you have never done anything like that before , Thats what life is for , HAVING FUN

[desdem12]

That is the big problem ...it didn't take long enough. That's why I had to do so many.

[BubbaDX]

Yea, that kit looks like it would not take that long. It looks like finishing the stock and bluing the barrel are the bulk of the work.

[Brian the Brit]

Yea, that kit looks like it would not take that long. It looks like finishing the stock and bluing the barrel are the bulk of the work.

Thats about it with the Kits Im afraid , But it is what it is

Get a Flint lock , Napping Flit is not so easy

I have been nibbling off this bit for years .


It started of at about 25 lb now must only way 15

[BubbaDX]

Very cool, I have never seen that large a piece of flint. It looks like Pendersoli and Lyman are the kits to get. Both are about double the price of the Traditions. Ill start with a single shot pistol kit I think. Right now I am kind of looking at the Lyman Great Plains pistol kit over the Traditions kit. But with the low price of the Traditions, I may just buy it to see if this is something I really like to do. Dixie Gun Works has a pretty good selection of this stuff.

[jeremyb]

Cool. I would like to try one.

[BubbaDX]

THIS IS VERY COOL!!!

I have been browsing the Dixie Gun Works site. Lots of stuff to look at and read up on. Then I stumbled across this: Classic Arms Twister Pistol Kit

Why does this excite me you ask? I will tell you. When my dad passed away in Dec. 2008 I got all of his guns. He didn't have but about 10 and nothing worth a heck of a lot of money but the sentimental value of them is priceless. One of the items in his small collection was a twist barrel black powder pistol that I had no clue what it was or where he had picked it up. But I think this is the gun. Which is fantastic for a couple reasons. 1) I now know where he got it and what it is called. 2) it needs new nipples as there are none in the one my dad had. Is this not the same gun in the link:

1000417 (Small).JPG

Edit: One thing I will add is this little gun is HEAVY. I mean really heavy for something its size.

[Brian the Brit]

Get some nipples and Shoot It

[ponycarman]

I would love to try a kit as well. Been drooling over the lyman great plains flinklock. But the kit cost almost the same as the completed rifle lol.

[desdem12]

My lyman kit was the most expensive black powder rifle I have....was it worth it.........HELL YES Mine is a plains percussion .54 caliber. I wanted a .54 and this was the only one they had localy. The stock alone is worth getting the lyman over the traditions.

[Darryl]

I've done maybe a dozen "kits'. They are a good way to polish up your skills for building as they are not very expensive.

I'm in the middle of a Pennsylvania Long rifle (flint) right now. I say in the middle of it but that is unfair (I hope). I have been working on it for about 2 years now!

Ir's not a kit, but working on kits has helped me a lot on this one. I move along and get stuck on something. So I set it aside and study it and ask questions on other forums. Then when I figure out how to proceed, I move on. That is why the 2 years. But when it is done, it will be all mine. And maybe it is not as good as a custom built.....but it's all mine.

But kit building is a great way to school yourself. For the most part, they take away all the "pain in the butt" problems!...mostly.

Darryl

[ponycarman]

What all goes into building a kit? Just minor fitting and then finishing it all? I really like the lyman rifles and kits. Can't decide on flint or percussion though lol. Decisions descisions . Also, what are the pros and cons for the 54 vs the 50cal?

[BubbaDX]

Pony, pretty much I think that is it. I was looking at the 50 cal, but I must say a 54 cal pistol is intriguing.

[ponycarman]

Hmmm a kit might be in my future. Would be pretty fun. Finish the wood up nice and brown all the metal. yep that would be nice

[Darryl]

What all goes into building a kit? Just minor fitting and then finishing it all? I really like the lyman rifles and kits. Can't decide on flint or percussion though lol. Decisions descisions . Also, what are the pros and cons for the 54 vs the 50cal?

What are you thinking of building. Sounds like a plains rifle or Hawkens.

The larger bores were naturally for larger game. in the 40's (cal) is what the old guys used and even down into the 30's for light hunting like deer on down. The larger bores were usually for larger game and you see them in the Hawens style rifles. About 50 cal on up.

The real large bore you see in the military muskets ......Over 60.

That's why I ask what are you building?

Flint or percussion also depends on if you want to keep it "authentic" or if you don't care.

Percussion is faster to load and you would find them more on the Hawkins style rifles, but flint was used early on also.

flint or percussion on the long rifles. They were a round for a long time.

50 vs 54....not much difference. You can load them the way you like and one can be more powerful than the other depending on the load and the bullet. If you were going to go hunting Grizzlies (and I wouldn't with this type of rifle) Larger the better and large load and mini balls would be in order. Smaller game would get "tore up" with a larger cal. I'd want a percussion for sure. Flint is a lot of fun and adds and entire new area of interest to the rifle. But it can be finicky and if you are hunting, that might not be a good thing. If you are just shooting, a flint is an entirely different ball game. And it is a lot of fun.

Decide what kind of rifle you want to build...and what you want it for. Then figure out cal and ignition later.

The kits do a good job of trying to keep the different feature of a rifle somewhat correct.

Darryl

[ponycarman]

This is the type I've been looking at.

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/muzz ... -rifle.php

Guess its a hawkin style. A bit more authentic looking than my tc. Not sure about uses. Definately for fun shooting but possibly hunting too. No grizzly's her in sc. Just deer, hog, and black bear. Stuff like that. I guess 50 would be more that enough. I didn't know if there was a hidden advantage other than the obvious 54 being larger and presumably hitting harder.

If I try one of these kits I should probably stay percussion until my experience with black powder increases. Currently I only have one rifle and one pistol. Haven't fired them yet lol so building one is something for the future . Not really something I'm going to order tomorrow. Maybe the end of this year or next year.

[BubbaDX]

Hmmm a kit might be in my future. Would be pretty fun. Finish the wood up nice and brown all the metal. yep that would be nice

Browning the metal is something I don't know how to do. I think kits like this will help me learn how some of these things are done. I have done wood work before, but nothing very extensive.

[Darryl]

Hmmm a kit might be in my future. Would be pretty fun. Finish the wood up nice and brown all the metal. yep that would be nice

Browning the metal is something I don't know how to do. I think kits like this will help me learn how some of these things are done. I have done wood work before, but nothing very extensive.

Browning can be done exactly like bluing. There are chemical for browning just like they have for blue. Birchwood Casey does a lot of that stuff, but if you want "authentic", then find something from one of the custom guys like track of the wolf or something. But they all make it brown in the end.

That plains rifle is a nice kit. A very good one too. It is all about patience and taking your time. Especially the finish. you'll have a blast (oops!)



Don't be afraid of flintlocks. Especially if just target shooting. If you already have percussion, then maybe its time to jump into flints....maybe! What ever floats your boat.

My first "kit" pistol. A CVA Colonial Pistol. I know my eyes are closed. This was my first test of the pistol. As if closing my eyes would protect them! I wear shooting glasses now....always!

Don't do this at home!
Darryl




They won't let you use steel core ammo out here on the range because they are afraid of sparks and a fire.
But you can fire one of these at the range all day....go figure!





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