what style would you all recommend

[eseabee1]

I got my work bench built today and got some more tools coming now I am wondering what style rifle you all would suggest for a first time build not from a kit I want to do everything from the ground up.

[Acer Saccharum]

You should go with something that you are attracted to, as that attraction will help you get though some of the tough spots in the build.
When I make a list of the guns, images pop into my mind. If you are not sure what style appeals to you, you should look at some books, go to some museums, talk with folks who are shooting the muzzle loaders.

Lancaster

English sporter

Bedford

Hawken

Schuetzen

Lehigh

Christians Spring

Bucks County

Reading



Acer Saccharum, aka Tom Curran

[Dave B]

You really need to know what your hoping to do with this when its done. Are you planning to hunt with it or target shoot. What do you plan to hunt with it. What type of target shooting, silhouettes, off hand, Chunk etc..... once you know that then you can pick out the barrel for that task. I live out west and critters are big out this way and you need a bigger ball so my light rifle is a .50 cal.  I can shoot any thing with it, Bear, Deer, Elk or Moose. If you live back east then you have the option to shoot tree rats and the .32, .36, .40, .45, are good options.

I think for me if I was to start from the begining I would want to build a nice "Getzish" Barn gun. It would have a nice hard sugar maple stock, Getz or Rice Swamped B weight 50 cal. 42" barrel. A Cambers late Ketland flint lock. Single trigger pinned high. Mounted in brass with a side plate, triggergard, rod pipes and no butt plate.
very basic and practical. If it was a enjoyable time then you can jump in with a patch box and butt plate on the next one.  Then if your still married ........ No well then you can go hog wild like Tom and get that college gal up the street to pose for you while you do some sketching for a cheek piece inlay.

I almost gave up on the job my first time out building a "Hawken" rifle from scratch when I tried to inlet that goofy butt plate. I would never recommend a scratch built project for a first time builder unless you had ready help close by. I only had the small booklet on building a Kentucky rifle by R.  McRoy or something the like. You are better served by the Shumway book Recreating the Kentucky Long rifle or Dixons book. I even like that Canadian guys book  Gun smith of Grenville County. Loads of good information and would have save me a lot of extra work with my first scratch buildt rifle.

[eseabee1]

well I have a trade rifle and the rifle I won from Dixon`s and I have a 54 cal fullstock hawkins being built right now and I also have a trade pistol kit on the way to match my rifle I was just going  to build something to hunt with and target I don`t own a gun unless I shoot it I have been looking at the Virginia smooth rifles just because my ancestor was a longhunter in VA but all I find is kits I really want to build it from scratch  but having a hard time finding plans

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

i've been over the road you're on.  I bought all kinds of plans - profiles really, and they were somewhat useful way back then.  But you are much better served to draw your own plan.  Find a rifle style that really turns you on.  Buy a barrel, lock, etc until you have all the parts accumulated.  Now measure the rifle barrel's dimensions and draw it on a piece of heavy paper.  Draw the breech plug too.  Now you will see where the lock much lie.  That will give you the bottom line of the stock, taking into consideration the web thickness you want, ramrod hole size and something around 1/8" of wood across the bottom.  now you can see where your triggers will go, and this in turn gives you the butt plate location, fore and aft at least.  It goes on and on just like that.  It is my opinion that if you cannot draw it, you defintely cannot cut it out of maple.  And there is no reason why you cannot draw it.  you don't need the plan now - you've made your own, and it will suit you better than someone else's ideas.
Fly at it - what have you got to lose?

[Don Getz]

According to your profile, I see that you live in Mt. Holly Springs.    Go and talk to Bill Slusser, he would be a good source
of information.   As for the availability of plans, boy, there just aren't many out there, and that's not really the way to go.
The first thing you should do is look at a lot of books of kentuckies, find something that you really like, then start to accumulate the parts needed to build that gun.   After you get a barrel and a blank of wood, I would highly recommend
that you take those two parts and go to see Fred Miller or Mark Weader......they can inlet your barrel and probably shape
the buttstock to the shape of the gun you want to do.  This will give you the proper layout of the architecture of the gun.
When you decide on a style you would like to build, run it by this group, we'll give you our opinion of your selection.   We'll tell you, yes, that a good one to go with, or, No, don't do that one, etc., and we'll tell you why.  If you still feel you
must do the whole thing yourself, bless you, but please save some money and don't go out and buy the best piece of wood you can find....it would be such a waste to spend all that money on somethhing you are going to learn on....Don

[eseabee1]

Bill is the one who is building my hawkins for me he is a good builder he made a rifle a couple years ago and my dad liked it so much he claimed it ...it was lik ea fowler but with a rifled barel shot great I think I will go see him see what he thinks Thanks

[jmforge]

How difficult is the TOTW jaeger kit to build?

[eseabee1]

I don`t now but most off their kits have the barrel and locks inlet already I think

[Dave K]

Careful on these kits. They are NOT ready to assemble and finish much like a T/C or Lyman gun is. These kits from the places like Jim Chambers, Tow, etc. are a collection of parts that when assembled correctly, will be a gun that is a representation of the gun you ordered. Yes, the lock is inlet, but you will still need some inletting black or whatever you prefer to get it right. There is some wood that needs trimmed in that mortice. The barrel channel is done, but you will still need to finish the breech area, so fit the breech plug/tang and DON"T forget to get the pan and vent located correctly. The greatest thing about the kits, is that a reputable dealer would have put the correct parts together for what you want to build. Building these kits is not really hard work, it can be tedious work though.  There sure is room to screw up, onless you plan well in advance what your next step will be. Better yet if possible, have someone knowledgeable looking over your shoulder. Not only will you learn allot from your friend, he will help you avoid the mistakes that are just waiting to happen. Good luck. I am in the middle of my project right now. So far so good and it will be very rewarding to have a gun that I built giving me the right to place my name on it.

[rich pierce]

I would not do a scratch build for my first build.  Unless of course you are going to have the barrel inlet and the ramrod groove done and the ramrod hole drilled.  If you are going to tackle learning all that plus all the layout, inletting, fitting and finishing, it's too much for the first time.

It's much easier now than 30 years ago.  Most guys now get their barrels breeched, inlet into the stock, with ramrod hole drilled etc.  They buy their thimbles, triggers, sideplates, nosecaps, etc.  Not the same challenge as creating all the easily made parts.

If you don't have a passion for a particular style and haven't latched onto it and studied every book and museum piece available, you probably won't really capture the essence of a style the first time around (speaking from experience here).  But you'll be able to make a good handling, shooting gun.

[jwh1947]

A repeat of a previous comment with some elaboration.  If you decide on a style and don't feel comfortable cutting the contour yourself, go see Fred Miller up near Swengel, PA.  He has dozens of patterns taken from original guns and a cool patterning machine set up for gunstocks.  If you ask him, say, for a Lancaster style, he'll pull out maybe a Fordney pattern or an earlier Dickert and a few others to pick from.  He'll use your blank or perhaps have one to offer you.  Also, he'll inlet the barrel channel with precision.  He is busy and many of the well-known gunsmiths utilize his services regularly.  JWH