New kit gun has been ordered!

[exMember]

Well, I got her ordered today and the guy on the phone said it'll go out on the truck today!

Ended up with a tradition st.louis Hawken .50cal kit in percussion!

Looked all over the place for the best prices and went cross eyed as most places were asking MORE for the kits than the factory built rifles!

$6 shipping was to hard to pass up as well lol.

I'll be doing a build along on this one showing how I do my stocks and barrels, all my lil tune up tricks, etc.

I'll be replacing the front and rear sight with traditional blade front sight and a mountain rifle style rear sight for a more traditional look. Trigger polishing, bedding, you name it,  I am going to have it fully covered!

Yes, that brass WILL get aged. You all know how I feel about brass.

What do you guys think? Take her dark or brownish red fire?

 

[Muley Hunter]

Me too. Brass doesn't belong on guns. It's good for a spittoon though.

 

[Newtire]

I've been thinking about a kit gun myself, but I want a flintlock since I've never had one.  Who did you wind up ordering it from?  I've noticed that the price of a kit isn't much different than a completed gun.  Do any of the kits come with a walnut stock or are they all birch or maple or something?

 

[exMember]

For the traditions guns, beechwood will be normal. They dont use walnut due to cost factors. Lyman kits will come with walnut but you'll notice the jump in price.

I ordered from www.muzzle-loaders.com

Price isn't a whole lot different, aprox $70 cheaper, but with the extra money i can spend it on supplies, both finishing and shooting supplies that is. Plus I can bring out the wood grain a lot better and top it off with a browned barrel finish.

 

[BigAl52]

Only thing I can see this gun needs is a 58 Jon.:cheers:

 

[exMember]

I bet I could have hoyt bore it to 54cal!

 

[Bull1]

I bet I could have hoyt bore it to 54cal!

Just for the weight savings and less nose heavy feel, I would go that route. I would also lean towards some red tint in the finish since the beech wood as  little to no figure .

 

[exMember]

beechwood can have a ton of beautiful pattern in it. Thats why i like the kits because I know how to bring the pattern out.

My brothers hawken i did last year. Not fully finished in this pic, but the grain pops out very well in this pic.

 

[strong eagle]

use a medium brown leather dye with a few drops of red leather dye in it on the wood. soak a lot of the dye into the wood after you smooth finish sand it. let dry good then wash excess off with water and let dry. then finish with the oil finish you want. when that is dry use HUTS plastic polish in a pure cotton cloth to rub down the finish to the rub you want. HUTS, is cheap and available on the internet. you can leather dyes at saddle shops, a good shoe repair shop or tandy leather. the above will give results for grain showing and silky smoothness beyond anything you have ever seen. go to pineridgeblackpowder.com and look at my target muzzle loader useing that method. beech has unbelieveable grain in it if done like above. it is also a very very tough strong wood. not prone to splitting as walnut does once in a while. i built 3 rifles similar to yours from kit. sold two to a friend and gave one to a minister who wanted to hunt muzzleloader. the only thing i did different than you is i sliver soldered the tangs to the breechplug so their could be no movement of the barrel in the backend of it. they are all tackdrivers. they have shot deer and antelope out to 150 yards with a 50 cal roundball. have fun, strongeagle.

 

[Anonymous]

You wanted a bigeeeer' bore originally. So get this 50 over to the 54cal-making doctor.

 

[exMember]

Rifle arrived today! I am eager to tear into it and get started but I will force myself and take pictures as I go along to show what all needs to be done. A little inletting of the lock to get it to drop in smoothly will be needed, as will the trigger guard and nose cap. Butt plate needs to be pulled off and put on a sanding block, but its super close to being perfect right out of the box.

One bad part but something I knew about, Plastic front and rear sights. NO rifle made for hunting should ever have plastic sights! They'll be tossed and traditional sights installed.

Overall, everything looks good, lock is smooth so I don't know if I will mess with that any, triggers need just a little filing to remove a burr at the end.

Looks like it will be a good project to keep me busy for a few weeks if I take my time.

 

[exMember]

Alright, those plastic sights really left a hurt on me! I noticed the rear sight actually is held in by 2 screws. There is no dovetail present for me to tap a traditional sight into! I'll have to cut one out, not a big deal, just did not expect it to some with screw on sights.

 

[lighthorseman]

Jon

Probably not something you'd be interested in but I soldered a brass rear sight on the round part of my Northwest gun.......pretty easy solution and works really well. The only thing I had to do was the round the base to fit but on a octagon barrel really simple. Won't be able to easily change it for windage but if the front sight is dove tailed...............just thinking out loud.