Kibler SMR .32 kit in extra fancy Maple

[Hunterdude]

Hello, I am new here, and just ordered the kit in thread title a few days ago. I can't wait to get started!
   The reasons I selected this kit are:
#1. Beautiful long slender authentic architecture and CNC machined wood stock.
#2 Iron mounted southern gun style.
#3 CNC machined lock and top quality components throughout.

I was torn on what wood to order, I really wanted a fancy curly maple in .32 dedicated squirrel and small game gun but did not like the color or wood tone on "Every" curly maple stock I have seen....but when Jim Kibler video demonstration showed the aqua fortis plus tannic acid method, the results where (exactly) what I was looking for and this gave me the courage to purchase the higher grade wood. If it is half as much fun as I think it will be, I may order a second kit in .40 or .45 cal and plain wood to build while I wait for the Fowler to come out. It is a dream of mine to take Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock with a Flintlock Fowler.
    I will add to this thread when my kit arrives and my build starts.
    I hope to add a functional patch grease hole in the stock, and a touchhole pick holder under the cheek rest....kind of on the fence about adding a Toe plate if I find a shape I like.
    Was reading about the use of bird feather for vent pick/vent plug to keep a hunting charge dry from high humidity? I don't know if a bird feather quill is strong enough to be used as a vent pick? But it occurred to me that a bird feather quill might be kinder to the vent over a long time and frequent use it would not Nick up or wallow out the touch hole?
   I would welcome any comments or suggestions on building the Kibler SMR or use of bird feathers as vent picks?(I would select a feather from lawfully taken Grouse or woodcock to avoid any run-in's with the DNR)
   Years ago I built a TC Renegade rifle kit, it happened to have an above average pc of walnut and I took my time with it and slim the stock down a bit...several people told me my gun looked better than the factory built guns and wondered if I got it from the custom shop....I eventually traded it for a VW powered dune buggy, that was my first kit build experience, plus I built a simple smooth bore pistol from scratch in shop class machining barrel and all from bar stock, the only purchased part was the lock. That is the extent of my kit experience but Nothing on Jim Kibler kits scare me

[Daryl]

Welcome to the forum, Hunterdude.  Those kits sure make strikingly beautiful rifles.
Good choice.

[sz]

Welcome Hunterddude.
I bet you'll find a lot of good interaction here and there are many people here that will be helpful to you as you progress in your hobby and passion.
Happy hunting.


Oh.........where are you?

[Hunterdude]

Many thanks for the warm welcome, I live on the west side of Michigan....perhaps 45 min North of Grand Rapids. I live in the country and my driveway is 1/4 mile long. One of the reasons I choose the .32 cal build is there are many Oak and Hickory trees on the property and I can literally safely shoot squirrel's while I am standing on my front porch.(no close neighbors) when I venture off the front porch there are 50 private acres to hunt. I enjoy squirrel hunting very much!
   We have good acorn harvest this year but the Hickory nuts are the most I have seen in nearly 50 years, I could hear them falling on my tin roof for several weeks this fall.

[Hunterdude]

Maybe I should have introduced myself before posting a build thread.
  I have been interested in "primative" weapons since my early years before I was old enough to drive a car. My dad had several issues of Foxfire books and I literally wore the cover off of the issue where Hershel House builds a Flintlock rifle.
  As a kid I successfully hunted frogs with spears and blowgun and took 1 head of game with a boomerang. Then 2 Bucks with archery. Also a few years hunting rabbits and squirrels with a trained Red Tailed hawk (Falconry)
   I currently have an English setter and hunt Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock with her....while searching for a Flintlock Fowler kit, I found out Jim Kibler is planning to release a Fowler kit soon and I stopped looking elsewhere. I have always wanted a traditional squirrel rifle and this build will keep me busy and gain me some Wood and metal finishing practice, for when the Kibler Fowler kit comes out. I find squirrel hunting with a modern .22lr a bit to easy and looking forward to the added challenge of a flintlock. I did harvest a squirrel my first time out with my Pedersoli Flintlock Frontier, but it is a .50 cal, I downloaded it to a very light load maybe less than 600 fps and it just made a clean hole in a big fox squirrel. I am happy to be getting just the right tool for the job now, from Jim Kibler!

[wapiti22]

Welcome!! you will really enjoy the Kibler kit. I built his 54 cal Colonial a few months back

I grew up 45 miles west of Grand Rapids in Grand Haven.  Now live in Seattle. Don't like them Michigan winters.

[Hunterdude]

I am 6'6" and "full sized" so I take the cool weather well.
   Also I find I can not leave my Michigan Grouse, although we sure burn up a lot of boot leather looking for them.
   And last but not least....that "slightly chilly" Michigan weather sure makes the squirrel hides come in "Prime"

[Dwshotwell]

Hunterdude, I'm up in the Tip of the Mitt. I'm working on a Kibler SMR in .40 (on hold until my son is home from Western Michigan for Christmas Break next week as it's a joint project we started over the summer). I've got a finished Kibler Colonial in .54 as well. As for burning boot leather looking for Michigan grouse, it's been almost 12 hours now since I last followed my dog through the woods, and I'll probably sneak out for an hour at lunch if possible!

[hanshi]

Welcome to ALR, Hunterdude.  The Kibler SMR is a wish-list item for me.  There've been some enormously fat, belly-dragging squirrels here in Maine.  Good year for them.  I did something similar to your ".50 fox squirrel" score.  Only I used a .58 prb and had the same pinhole going in and out, no damage.

[Hunterdude]

Great to hear from some more Kibler Southern Mountain Rifle fans! I almost ordered a .40 cal because the wait time was less currently and because I have heard some people say the competition target guys sometimes favor a .40 cal as an inherently accurate caliber. But I called and talked with Lori (very nice on the phone) and confessed what I really wanted was a .32 in extra fancy Maple...she told me they just got a shipment of .32 barrels in and no guarantee but with a little luck I may not have to wait any/ much longer than for a .40 so I ordered what I Really Wanted (always a good thing) but I kind of really like the idea of a second SMR kit in .40 or .45, I would build the second gun in plain wood probably done up in the "barn gun" style. I like accurate guns that are not real fancy.
   RE: downloading for squirrel, that has always interested me, I am told you can load a .32 down to the power of .22 shorts and up to .22 Mags, That's quite a range! I was very pleased with the accuracy of my .50 cal at very low velocity and that bigger ball bucked the wind nice, it just comes down to shooting your ML a lot and find loads it likes in both low and high power situations. Also some rifle's only shoot one particular load really well...and others shoot a wide range of loads well, it's a treat if you get a rifle like that.
    So now I wait for my Kibler SMR, I feel just like a young kid waiting for Christmas! 

[Kmcmichael]

Take your time and you will have an gun your grandkids will be proud of.

[duca]

Hi there and welcome... Your gonna love it! Take your time and get into it.

Anthony

[Hunterdude]

I will certainly be taking my time, I have a set of high grade scary sharp wood chisels, and will be using spotting blue or candle soot for parts fitment. I will spend a lot of time sanding the stock well and raise the grain a few times. Jim's aqua fortis and tannic acid finish video has the wood finish covered....the only thing that will be experimental for me is the metal finish. I want a kind of dark gray patina like on my dad's Very old 30-30 lever gun, I have ordered Jim's iron blackening solution, the brass version is to brown for me.
    The iron black may be "to black"....I have seen folks use all sorts of things to get a gray patina, I think someone used Super blue and rubbed back with oil soaked scotchbrite and got a decent gray.... also I am not sure yet how Much(remove all pits or leave a few)? and how fine of sandpaper to take my barrel and cast metal parts. I saw a kibler build where the builder wished he had not made the barrel so shiny and did over with course paper. I think getting the right shade of gray on the metal parts will be my biggest challenge. That says a lot about Kibler kits where it's just comes down to nailing the "details" of the rifle wood and metal finish.

[Hatchet-Jack]

Hunterdude I assembled one last year. I used tannic acid, iron nitrate and bone black. I used a brass black to antique the metal. I posted my build steps and finished gun here:

Steps:
www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/kibler-southern-mountain-rifle-kit-and-supplies-arrived-its-going-to-be-a-fun-build.130128/

Pics of finished gun:
www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/my-jim-kibler-southern-mountain-rifle-is-done.131533/

[Hunterdude]

 Thanks Hatchet-Jack!...I read thru your build and it was helpful, your stock is approx how dark I want mine to be.
     Someone in your build thread said to only take the metal parts up to 220 grit for a patina finish...going to 400 grit or higher may give to glossy of a finish. I may do just the butt plate or trigger guard as a test at 220 grit to see if I get the look I want after patina finish, then match that on the other parts. It kind of makes sense to leave some fine scratches in the metal to give a little "tooth" for the patina solution to hold on to. (Some experimental testing will be required)
    I am kind of thinking of making my own toe plate, was thinking of matching the lollipop shape of the tang but maybe slightly larger as a shape on the toe plate...I am not a stickler for historical correct, but would this shape have been possible to have occurred on southern guns on the toe plate? Jim's architecture is SO nice, I don't want to do something terrible to the toe plate style

[Spalding]

I added a simple toe plate on mine. Awesome rifle by-the-way. You’ll love it.






Bob

[nemovir]

Sorry for hijacking the thread, but how low can you load a 44” .32 cal. barrel before the ball get stuck?

[Hunterdude]

Sorry for hijacking the thread, but how low can you load a 44” .32 cal. barrel before the ball get stuck?

  No worries about hijacking my thread, I am just waiting for my Kibler kit to ship So the next best thing is to talk about shooting a .32 cal squirrel gun!
     I don't know the answer to your question but I have seen guys load down to 20-25 grains for a light load, the lightest load I personally have heard of was 7 grains! BUT that was out of a TC Cherokee percussion gun and I am told you should NOT go that low in a Flintlock. You do not have the added pressure of the percussion cap and you loose a little efficiency with slight pressure loss back thru the vent.
    Others with more experience may chime in, I personally would not be concerned about a 20 grain load in Flintlock in .32 cal....I might drop to 19, 18, 17 and so on as long as the gun sounds good and groups well....I hope someone posts there lightest useful load out of a 44" barrel.

I will add that you should NEVER just load down until a ball sticks in your bore. This is a Very dangerous condition. You want an Acurate load that does not drop much at 25 yards and is guaranteed to exit the muzzle 100% of the time. Anything less is useless and unsafe.

[Daryl]

nemovir - you have a private message.

[oldtravler61]

 Hunterdude welcome to the A.L.R.. The Kibler is an excellent rifle and easy to put together.
See your from Michigan. I'm up near Traverse City.  Enjoy your rifle...!

[Fly Navy]

Anyone know how much a SMR in .32 weights?

[Hunterdude]

From the Kibler website: southern mountain rifle is 7lb 6oz in .32 cal
   It goes down to 6lb 10oz in .45 cal.
I wanted a true smallbore, so I ordered .32....the other cal I seriously considered was .40 cal, I know some target shooters prefure .40 and I saw a twist rate chart that said the 1:48 twist rate that is common right now was the "ideal" rate for .40 cal

[Daryl]

From an accuracy standpoint, a 48" ROT works well for all calibres right up to at least 16 bore (.662")

[Cracker Lee]

   Good evening everyone. I just joined this forum and didn't see a place to introduce myself so I thought I'd start here. Years ago I had a Dixie squirrel rifle in .32 that I shot for several years. One of the things I found out that the .32 was much more picky when it comes to shooting from a dirty bore. I still have a Douglas barreled half stock that does quite well. I am thinking of a Kibler SMR as well but mine will be in .40 cal. Here in Florida where I live a .40 cal is legal for deer. IMHO a .32 muzzleloader with 30 grains of FFFG is quite a bit more powerful than a .22 mag. I gained that from shooting steel plates. 25 grains should do well for anything up to and including yotes.

[old george]

Hello Hunter Dude,
Swartz creek, MI here. I haven't built but do hunt with my T. Caster lehigh schimmel and a Chamber PA fowler,

george