build it yourself muzzleloaders?

songdog11

songdog11

New member
I was just lookin through the new red head catalog at the muzzleloaders and they have some "build it yourself" muzzleloader kits. one is a kentucky rifle kit and the other is a St. Louis Hawken rifle kit. have any of y'all ever built one of these guns? how hard do you think it would be to make one?
 
I built one back when the buckskinning Mountain Man thing was going real strong, some what before the new fangled inline not really a traditional rifle craze started.
I built one of the CVA Mountain Rilfe kits before they went cheep with them. The hardest part for me was fitting the curved butt plate everything else had been prefitted pretty well then it was just a matter of sanding the stock some very minor inleting around the barrel and finishing the wood and metal. I shot that gun for over a decade even shot a couple pretty nice bucks with it fifty caliber round ball will take down a deer pretty fast to.
I am thinking about getting another rifle Kit from somplace like Tracks of the Wolf they are hevily researched Pennsylvania rifles and other muzzel loaders when you buy the "kit" they give you a lot of options not just caliber but wood type, barrel length, furniture, ect.The problem for me is i got BRF and keep building them but when my second is finished I am going to start on the Pennsylvania i think. Price wise they are right up with building yourself an AR but I think they may be a bit more politically correct since you could hang it over the fireplace if you had one and no body would bat an eye.
 
In Field & Stream they showed one(CVA I think?), in the December/January issue I believe. It looked pretty simple. All the parts are fitted right, so you just have to put it all together after finishing the wood and bluing the barrel. The magazine said it should only take about 15 hours to complete one. I showed my dad and he told me his 1st muzzleloader was a kit and that it was extremely accurate and wished he hadn't sold it. They're pretty cheap so I recommend getting one. Good luck in your decision, though.
 
Built one back in 78 or 79. It was from Thompson Center. Went together pretty easily. The hardest part was the preperation of the barrel. Would have been easier to just have it blued, but back then money was scarce. Shot round balls and they were really accurate out to 100 yards. Also changed out the primer nipple for one that used 209 primers. That really helped when it rained. Havn't seen those nipples around for a long time. Havn't look either, so mabey thats why I havn't seen them. It was a Hawken. Also built a long rifle but didn't like it as much.
 
I did a Lyman Great Plains Rifle a few years ago. I did an oil finish on the stock and slow rust finish on the steel. It looks good and shoots GREAT! It's a .54 cal. and is the only muzzleloader I hunt with anymore.
 
I used to build ML's from scratch, meaning buying a barrel blank, lock kit, stock blank, trigger guards and butt plates, making my out ram rod ferrules, nose caps, side plates, patch boxes, sights, etc.

Some kits are very good, some are not. I would suggest you contact some folks in your area who are members of a muzzleloading rifle club and get their opinions on the kits currently offered.

I once had to recut the rifling on a CVA squirrel rifle, due to there being a slag inclusion in the bore. I wouldn't recommend that for the first time builder. LOL
 
Built a couple. If you go to the Track of the Wolf web site they include instructions for the production muzzleloaders that they sell. Very instructive and gives you a better idea what you are in for.

Would highly suggest that you avoid the "barrel, stock and bag of parts" route for your first one. The potential is there for a very nice rifle but are your skills up to it? Develope your skills and knowledge first and then try the "barrel, stock etc" route.

If you can find a copy of it there is a video by Hershel House where he builds a rifle from scratch. Well worth the time but keep in mind he has been accused of makeing what ever part he needs from the first piece of metal that comes to hand. He is that good.
 
I've built several, but have to agree with Weasel-UT about the Lyman kit. It's one of the nicest I've ever done. Mine was also a 54 and had a slow twist round ball barrel. You can get them now with a fast twist barrel for conicals.

As far as finish is concerned look in Brownell's tech section of their web site. They have several good articles on stock finishing. If you want blue instead of brown I recommend Brownell's Oxpho blue. They also have several good browning chemicals if you prefer a more traditional finish.
 


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