Suggestions, going to purchase a flinter Kit!

[mupperm]

I have found a couple kits that i would like to try but not know which one to get or maybe something else out there i have not run across yet.  I am considering the Chambers Early York, or the TOW Isaac Haines 1770 Lancaster kit with 38" barrel! 

I like the plain look of both these rifles

[Mike Gahagan]

You will not find any better than the Chambers kits.Quality parts,great design and they will stand behind them.

[Kermit]

Second that.

[Karl Kunkel]

If you like the TOW Isaac Haines, both Chambers and Dunlap Woodcrafts both market very similar kits with a 38" swamped barrel.

[Hungry Horse]

 Chambers all the way. You should live so long to get through Tracks never ending backorders. JMO.

                        Hungry Horse

[Nate McKenzie]

Check this out. Good stuff and good to deal with.  http://knobmountainmuzzleloading.com/

[J. Talbert]

There may be others, but Chambers is a sure thing!

Jeff

[Acer Saccharum]

Rifle kits are not the same as a model airplane kit. The airplane a kid can glue together, and be a bit sloppy about it.

But a rifle kit takes some knowledge of how these things go together. May I suggest that you get some books on the subject? A pretty well thought out and reasonable one comes to mind: CHuck DIxon's (call Dixon's Muzzleloading shop), and R H McCrory's book "recreating the Muzzleloading rifle" or some such. (Its amazing how a few years wipe the titles from my mind)

[4ster]

Acer Saccharum's advice is spot on.  If you have not built a kit before you need to start a little personal library.  A few "how to build a longrifle" books are necessary.  In addition find some books that have original examples of the type rifle you want to build.

I'm not an expert in building, but I am an expert at getting started.   I've completed 2 kits.  The first one I was expecting "model airplane" instructions.  When it arrived with NO INSTRUCTIONS I didn't know where to start.  It was five years before I got advice from a member here to 1) sign up here and 2) buy a few recommended books.  That got me started.  The second kit was a Chambers, the parts required less work and it came with limited instructions, they expect that you know what you are doing.  It took a few months but I still needed to refer to my "library".

The best thing is this site with so many experienced builders who are willing to help new builders.  When you get stuck you have backup.

Enjoy your journey!

[JohnTyg]

I think a "kit" is a great way to go for a first gun, the only concern from my standpoint is you sort of know what it will look like when you're done.  The advantage of having some of these decisions made for the beginner, by someone more knowledgable, is that you can't mess up the design or school........On the other hand you'll miss out on some of the creativity involved (for good or for bad) and this is really the fun part.

I like the recommendation above regarding taking a look at some of Knob mountains stuff, the amount of work you would put into that type of "pre-carve" is not too much greater and you have to do some studying   to make the right hardware choices.  In the end you will have a gun that is more "yours".

John

[mupperm]

thanks for all the advice guys.  I have built a few T/C and CVA kits if you can call them kits.  anyhow I recently received the Gunsmiths of Grenville County and have been thru this book one time and rereading it again.  I am also in the process of finding a DVD to possibly watch.  i do have a couple people i can call upon if i need some assistance or advice as well.   as is see you have to start somewhere and make some mistakes before you can become good at something ! 
Once again I appreciate all the responses.

[pushboater]

I echo a lot of the sentiments here regarding the Chambers kits. You won't find a finer kit anywhere. You don't have to worry about getting it right in regards to the architecture of the rifle, which is one of the most difficult things to accomplish for a new builder. I built one of Jim's Early Lancaster kits 20 years ago and it still functions flawlessly. In regards to the Library, another book I can highly recommend is Recreating The American Longrifle, by William Buchele.  He assumes you know nothing about building a rifle and takes you through the whole process from selecting a piece of wood to making your own stains. Mr Buchele was building rifles back in the 50's and 60's when you didn't have the parts availability that you have today. Good luck on your journey.

Capt. David

[pushboater]

I forgot to mention that Recreating The American Longrifle comes with two full size drawings. One for a rifle and one for a pistol. Great reference material.

[mupperm]

I forgot to mention that Recreating The American Longrifle comes with two full size drawings. One for a rifle and one for a pistol. Great reference material.

that book is my next purchase,  how about some useful DVD's?

[b bogart]

Mike, I can help you out with a CD on constructing one of Jim's kits. I like to watch it periodically and it can be a good source of info on what to expect! I'll take them to the shoot tomorrow (hint, hint).