Traditions Mountain Rifle Build

[exMember]

A follower on my facebook page contacted me about building him a mountain rifle. We came to an agreement on price, what all he wanted for finish.

It came in today and I got a ton of work knocked out. I still want to loosen up the lock a bit to allow room for swelling once I stain/finish the wood, but its come a long way in a short time. Doing some work on the nose cap but that will have to wait till tomorrow. Just need to turn it down a bit and then shape the wood to it.

 

[Muley Hunter]

Defarb all that crap on the barrel.

 

[exMember]

nope, it makes no difference in how it shoots. Some spend to much time on things like that and in the end, doesnt matter.

 

[Muley Hunter]

No sense in browning the barrel then. It won't shoot any better. Just put some oil on it.

 

[exMember]

Im not. The owner wants it blued.

 

[RhinoDave]

So what all are you going to do to it other than fit and finish? Any profile changes or cosmetic changes?  Looking forward to your progress.

 

[exMember]

light cosmetic changes. He saw one online and showed it to me. Faux maple stripes, light brown-tan, matte finish. I will be bedding the tang and trigger group as well.

 

[mark1945]

It looks like you lucked out on the wood on the 1 you are building. I am building 2 Mountain rifle kits and they both have tons of excess wood to remove before they start to take shape. the inletting is good on both just have lots of wood in the wrist and a huge fish belly to remove.

 

[exMember]

excess wood is a good thing! I wish they had left a little more around the nose cap. Have to turn the nose cap down a little today so I can get a better metal/wood fit.

But first, I have to break the tang loose from the bedding.

 

[I. R. Lost]

I’ve often wondered why they make the lock panels large enough to mount a musket lock. I always trim them down to better match the lock size, doesn’t make them shoot better but for the few minutes work it improves the look a lot.

 

[exMember]

large lock panels were very common on rifles back then. Especially target rifles.

This is an example.

 

[exMember]

Had a nice long day with the Mountain Rifle Kit! Have to sand the wood to the lock panel next, then just start fine sanding, wet the wood, sand over and over again.

Trying to keep the lines sharp and clean.

The stock is pretty plain but does have some nice figure to it here and there. I will faux maple stripe it lightly.

 

[RhinoDave]

Lookin good Jon. I do have to agree with I R though on the lock panel size but that's just my own opinion. I prefer lock panels that tend to follow the contour of the lock itself and only about a 1/4" or less from the lock. I think the large and long panel contributes to the short stubby appearance of the wrist. The rifles you showed as examples of large lock panels still don't go beyond the triggerguard loop into the wrist. No impact on function but I think it makes for a more pleasing profile with less prominent panels.  :2 cents:

 

[Hylander]

That's looking great.
I like the looks of the larger lock panels.
I can not tell from pics, but is this stock larger or same as the Hawken Woodsman ?

 

[exMember]

Yes this stock is both longer and wider than the woodsman. It has a nice feel to it.

 

[Hylander]

Yes this stock is both longer and wider than the woodsman. It has a nice feel to it.

Would you recommend this kit over the Hawken ?

 

[exMember]

both are great kits. I prefer the st.louis hawken due to the shorter barrel and how quick it handles.

This one fell right together with very little modding needed.

 

[Hylander]

both are great kits. I prefer the st.louis hawken due to the shorter barrel and how quick it handles.

This one fell right together with very little modding needed.

Thanks,
Were to find one of these kits, I only found one on GB but I don't like the guys feedback.

 

[exMember]

oh boy, Muzzle-loaders.com I know has kits, but I am not 100% sure they have the mountain rifles in yet. I saw the st louis hawken on their site a couple days ago. Traditions is supposed to have their orders in by now.

Just doing the faux striping and so far, Its really looking nice. Im using a q tip now as I have better control over the thick/thinness of the stripes. I did some research this morning and was blown away with how crazy maple can look! There was pattern running vertically, horizontally and some zig zag stuff going on, and this was in a single rifle stock lol.

This wood was really plain so I am filling in the blank pretty heavy. I did a test area last night and this morning rubbed a little linseed oil on it to see how it looked and I am really happy.

 

[exMember]

Almost 5 hours of work gents. I have the stock in linseed oil right now.

After everything was dry I went and used 0000 steel wool to blend everything nicely. I am very happy with the turn out.

Tomorrow I will move my attention to the tang and barrel.

Before buffing with steel wool.