Kibler Mountain rifle question

[rich pierce]

A larger caliber is always better at clanging silhouettes.

[Scota4570]

The 45 is very long  and light.  Very lively, and they feel great to point off hand.  Sort of like a M12 Winchester vs a M42.  I liked mine very much but somebody offered be a lot of money for it so I reluctantly sold it.  I replaced it with a 36 cal.  It does not feel as good to me.  I do like that the 36 uses less powder and lead.   I miss my 45.

[Frank]

I would have gotten a 45, but they weren’t available when I placed my order. Got the 40, and it is very accurate. Same deal with the Colonial Rifle. Made the 58 available after I ordered the 54. Guess I shouldn’t be so anxious, but that is ok. Love my Kibler Rifles. 👍

[Tim]

I think I’m going to Email Jim and change my order
To the .45 in case I get to Deer Hunt with it.
Sounds like the .45 will also shoot well and hold up
Well at the range too.

[PPatch]

Help! There is a voice in my head that’s telling me to
Change my mind and get the .45 caliber rifle
Instead of the .40 caliber.
I would love to hear from folks who shoot both
And hear some pros and cons of either.
Is the .40 a better choice for range and woods walks?

Since both calibers are "A" weight barrels the .45 will be lighter. The .40 will have a slight edge when it comes to hunting smaller game. Either calibers accuracy probably exceeds your ability to aim the rifle. There just isn't a heck of a lot of difference between the two calibers.

dave

[Tim]

Help! There is a voice in my head that’s telling me to
Change my mind and get the .45 caliber rifle
Instead of the .40 caliber.
I would love to hear from folks who shoot both
And hear some pros and cons of either.
Is the .40 a better choice for range and woods walks?

Since both calibers are "A" weight barrels the .45 will be lighter. The .40 will have a slight edge when it comes to hunting smaller game. Either calibers accuracy probably exceeds your ability to aim the rifle. There just isn't a heck of a lot of difference between the two calibers.

dave

Will the rear sight be located where the balance point is
On either caliber rifle?

[BOB HILL]

The .45 barrel will be a little lighter and the.45 bullet will have a little more stopping power if hunting deer size game. Just some pros. Suit yourself it’s your rifle. I’m sure you will love do either.
Bob

[Tim]

The .45 barrel will be a little lighter and the.45 bullet will have a little more stopping power if hunting deer size game. Just some pros. Suit yourself it’s your rifle. I’m sure you will love do either.
Bob

I ordered the .45 caliber with the extra fancy maple wood.
Now I’ve got to decide on how I want to finish it before it’s
Ready. Lord knows I’ll have plenty of time to decide.

[Marcruger]

I think you made great choices in both respects.  A good friend once told me, "When someone says a rifle is beautiful, they are usually talking about the wood.  You can't go wrong putting your money there."  God Bless,   Marc

[bama]

Timbotide,  just so you will know the Charlie Bean patch box is about 1 1/2 times larger than the Whitson's rifles patch box. I happen to have an original Whitson rifle in the shop right now and if you are serious about making the patch box I will measure the original for you.

I also think the 45 would be the max for this little SMR, anything larger would be to much for this small rifle. If you have never seen one of Jim's kits or a opportunity to see an original Whitson then it's hard to comprehend how slender and dainty these rifles are.

[Tim]

Timbotide,  just so you will know the Charlie Bean patch box is about 1 1/2 times larger than the Whitson's rifles patch box. I happen to have an original Whitson rifle in the shop right now and if you are serious about making the patch box I will measure the original for you.

I also think the 45 would be the max for this little SMR, anything larger would be to much for this small rifle. If you have never seen one of Jim's kits or a opportunity to see an original Whitson then it's hard to comprehend how slender and dainty these rifles are.

I would like to have the measurements for the Whitson’s patch box and any
Help with what materials to get so I can be practicing before the kit arrives.
I have some metal working experience but nothing to brag about.
Thanks for the help.

[rfd]

if hunting deer type animals will be a very fair part of the gun's use, then the .45 will by far be the better and more correct choice.

however, the .40 might be the overall better shooter for targets, woods walks, varmints ... and perhaps, with good shooting mastery and ethical hunting control, deer as well.

[Mike Brooks]

>45 is a good choice. You can still hunt squirrels, you just have to hit them in the head. of course even with a .29 I still find I have to hit them in the head so it doesn't really make any difference. the .45 is a better deer killer and a better steel clangor as well. Buy JK's tanic acid and follow up with his ferric nitrate. I just did a gun this way with terrific results. Don't worry about carving, these guns didn't have any anyway. I wouldn't get overly excited about a patch box either, on my own personal guns they are rarely used for anything.

[little joe]

Timbotide,  just so you will know the Charlie Bean patch box is about 1 1/2 times larger than the Whitson's rifles patch box. I happen to have an original Whitson rifle in the shop right now and if you are serious about making the patch box I will measure the original for you.

I also think the 45 would be the max for this little SMR, anything larger would be to much for this small rifle. If you have never seen one of Jim's kits or a opportunity to see an original Whitson then it's hard to comprehend how slender and dainty these rifles are.

What are the bbl. demension at the breech on it?

[bama]

Here are a few pictures of the Whitson and my Charley Bean side by side. You can see the difference in the size of the butt stocks and the patch boxes. The Whitsons box measured 5” overall with the door measuring 3 1/2” long and 1” wide. I also took some pictures of the inside of the box. If you have the skills a proper box would really look good on that fancy piece of wood.

[moleeyes36]

This patch box is almost a dead ringer in size and appearance to the Whitson patch boxhttp://www.muzzleloaderbuilderssupply.com/mbs3cart/agora.cgi?cart_id=7950526.10533&p_id=11180&xm=on

Mole Eyes

[Tim]

Bama,
Thanks for posting the pictures of those two rifles.
I see what You mean about the difference in size between the two patch boxes.
and I do like the looks of a patch box on these rifles. Maybe I could order a patch box and
practice installing it in a scrap piece of wood.

[Tim]

I am happy to say that I am working on my Kibler SMR and making some progress.
Since this is my first rifle to work on I am following the order of assembly that Jim has listed in his notes on assembly. The underlugs were installed tonight and I plan on starting back to work on it this weekend.

[Marcruger]

Since you are in Alabama, if you hit a snag I would seriously think about calling Jim Parker (Bama) and seeing if he'd offer you some hands-on time.  It would be worth your money!  Jim is a great man and a super talent.  God Bless,   Marc

[bama]

Hi Tim

If you are possibly going to hunt deer with the rifle then I would go with the 45 caliber. As far as target shooting goes the 45 will buck the wind a little better. If you shoot silhouettes as we do the 40 caliber does not have the knock down power to knock the bear off at 100 meters all of the time. The 40 is a very pleasant shooting caliber and very economical to shoot but so is the 45. As far as felt recoil there will be little difference.

With that said I am building 2 40 caliber rifles for my grandsons. I choose the 40 because I do not want them to develop a flinch due to recoil.

Both are great calibers

The patch box that I am building in the You Tube video is too large for the Kibler SMR. The same process would apply as far as making a patch box for the Kibler rifle but the dimensions are a good bit smaller. There is a post somewhere on this board were we discussed the size of the box that we made for a Kibler rifle in one of my rifle building classes. You may want to do a search for that post.

I have never been able to get the search to work very well, maybe one of the moderators will help with that.

Jim 

[bama]

Sorry boys, I did not realize that I had already responded to this post earlier.

[Tim]

Sorry boys, I did not realize that I had already responded to this post earlier.

Hey Jim

I am the guy that emailed You a while back about black Powder
And other shooting and cleaning stuff. You told me to come by there
Sometime and show you my rifle. When I finish it I may have to
Take you up on Your offer. I still need some powder and various other
Small things like jags and more flints and stuff.

Tim

[bama]

Come by anytime, just call to make sure I am at the shop. 205-680-9219

[Daryl]

These groups are not only from rounded bottom grooves, but .028" deep ones at that.
Note first target on the left, shot off the bag, letting the forend bounce. The POI is higher than
when I held the forend in my hand. The group is also larger.

The deep rifling is hard to seal, but even with the too-thin .022" canvas/denim patch, no wiping was necessary
at any time.
The bottom targets were shot with a .034" denim 14oz patch - range pick-ups/salvaged - re-wet with Mr. Flintlock's lube.

[kentuckyrifleman]

You picked a good woman Tim.

-Ron

Yes I did and she tells me that often.
She knows I like guns and she is very supporting
When it comes to me wanting my toys.

Sounds like my wife.

There's no blessing in the world like a good woman.