First build, What to do?

[Woodsrunner79]

Good evening gentlemen. I registered for the forum in early February and subsequently set about trolling through the archives in search of knowledge and direction, of which there is much. However, there Are a few questions that I still need answered before I put cash down on a kit with which  to build my first muzzleloader. Here it goes:

Between Jim chambers kits. The Lancaster and the York, which one has better feel in .45 cal?
Also, Primarily it'll be a deer rifle but if opportunity knocks, as it does during Vermonts hunting seasons,Would this caliber be light enough to take squirrels/rabbits and heavy enough for black bear?

I appreciate your help with this and want to thank everyone who posts on the forum for providing us beginners with a wealth of information.

Cheers, Jordan.

[Tom Cooper]

How something "feels" is going to be vastly different from individual to individual, your best bet here is to locate owners of the type your looking for and shoulder those rifles in an objective manner.

As far as your second question, the hunting regs for Vermont would be where to source that information.

[Mark Elliott]

The Lancaster will be very muzzle heavy in 45.  That is a special order barrel for that gun.  As to using the same gun for squirrel and bear, I don't think that sounds like a good idea.  You need to pick one or the other.  If it is primarily a deer rifle,  I would go for the Lancaster in 54 and you might also be able to use it for bear.  I think you will like the balance of the 54 in that early gun. 

You should really call Barbie at Chamber's and discuss the relative merits of the kits with her.

[Woodsrunner79]

Thank you, Mr. Elliott. I thought it would be something like that. I'll give the folks at Chambers a call.

[David R. Pennington]

Woodsrunner, I have taken deer with my .40 and lots of squirrels with a .50 (when that was the only ML I had). Of course the key is shot placement in both cases. I dropped a nice little (delicious) buck in his tracks a couple seasons ago at 65 yards with my .40. My Grandmother would not be happy with the way I took squirrels with the .50. She considered squirrel brains a delicacy. With head shots only, I usually end up with only a flap of hide and two ears, but the body intact.

[WadePatton]

I like Mark's advice.

And I'd rather overkill the squirrels than to wish for more gun on big game.

Two guns is the best option. Start with the big one. 

[Woodsrunner79]

Seems like I got the ball Rolling on this one. Might as well throw another one in there.
I'm fairly tall. (6.4) should the length of a rifle grow in regards to the height of the man carrying it?,Within reason. I.e. The chambers Lancaster is a 44" barrel as advertised but could I or should I go longer?

[thimble rig]

don't over look the fowler kits Jim has.With a fowler all the critters youre after would be covered.With one gun.

[EC121]

The stock's length of pull will be different from person to person.  The barrel length will be whatever you prefer to drag through the woods.  Long barrels will find every vine to hang up on. 

[frogwalking]

I just weighed my son-in-law's .45 early York at 8 lbs. 3 oz.  I built it from a Chambers kit a few years ago.  My primary rifle is a .32 cal. so I borrowed his to go deer hunting, and have not had an opportunity to return it yet.  Accuracy is fine at 50 yards, as one can see.  This is 5 shots from a bench. 

[Long John]

Jordan,

Welcome to ALR.

You will get a wide range of opinions, each held dear to the person offering it and often viewed with some doubt by others.

I love my 54 caliber rifle and even tough it sports a 47 inch barrel it has never caught hold of a vine or twig.  A long rifle will hold steady even if light in weight - a good attribute if you are as old as I am.  And a 54 will hold a 3" group at 100 yards and can be loaded to shoot sight-on from 25 to 100 yards, easy.  So 100 yard shots at deer, 75 yard shots at black bear and elk are all well within the rifle's capability.  That being said, I don't use my 54 for squirrel, rabbit, coyote or turkey.  For those I use either my 36 caliber rifle or a smooth-bored gun.  And those who extoll the use of a smooth-bored gun for "everything" are probably expecting the shots to be within 50 yards.  From 0 to 50 yards a smooth-bored gun can shoot accurately enough to do what needs done.  Beyond 50 yards the accuracy of the smooth-bored guns generally will not compete with the rifle-gun.  So for your first gun decide what you want the gun to do most and let that be your compass in deciding what that gun should be.

Good luck!

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[TMerkley]

if you can,  get ahold of a rifle that "feels" right to you and measure the length of pull, Drop of the butt stock and also, cheek piece.  Also look for cast off.  1/8" or so can make a difference in feel.  When I made my first rifle for my friend, I had him hold the blank stock with barrel inletted and marked on the stock where his cheek rested on the wood and also taking a measurement from his shotgun for the length of pull.  Essentially, it was fit to him.  After he shot it for the first time, he said, "That is the smoothest rifle I have ever shot"  Also, look at how your hand grips the wrist.  a little bit of extra concave shaping where the plam of your hand rests, can give you a more comfortable "feel" as well.

[Woodsrunner79]

Some very sound advice. Thank you all.
I'm thinking that conversation with mister chambers and a Lancaster are in my future. Once that's done then I'm sure I'll be inching to build a small game rifle.

[Wolfshead]

Also, please understand that when you order your kit it will take a couple of months before you receive it.

[Woodsrunner79]

Noted, Wolfshead.

Soooo.... The inexperienced are easily influenced.

I got a chance to heft a Lehigh valley muzzleloader that was built off a sittingfox kit. Gotta say that I loved it. The look, the feel, the way it tracks when you swing it.
Does anybody else have experience with them? Are there other makers who offer Kits in the Lehigh reading/ burkes co school of rifle?

Sorry for the stream of questions. I'm just getting really excited to do this.

[Acer Saccharum]

If you can hold onto your thoughts until July, you can go to Dixon's Muzzleloading Fair and handle many of these guns in question.

Last weekend in July. Worth a trip from anywhere.

Meet many of the ALR guys in person. Fun stuff.

Tom

[Woodsrunner79]

Just took a look at dixions website. The gunmakers fair looks like a blast! Defiantly a trip I'll have to make. Thanks for the suggestion. 

[tddeangelo]

Another vote for Dixon's.

I'm lucky to live very near to the shop. I go there fairly often.

My wife disagrees that being close to it is beneficial. Lol