First build ever and a few more challenges

[Matt48]

Hi All!

New to this forum, my name is Matt and I'm from Bavaria, Germany.

I'm very interested in history, esp. 18th and 19th century and have long been fascinated with flintlock guns. In my case "long" equals about 40 years, ever since I visited the Weapons museum of Suhl in Thuringia where one of my ancestors worked as a gunsmith more than 300 years ago.

My interest is specifically in Jäger rifles, military arms of the Napoleonic Era and not least in the American Longrifle -- which brings me here.

I've taken the plunge and after much deliberation ordered a kit from Kibler Longrifles which seem to have a superb offering esp. for the beginner. They have already been very friendly and helpful in sorting out the issues of getting this overseas order on the way! The rifle I ordered is the Woodsrunner in .50 caliber and I am very much looking forward to receiving it!

In Germany there are a few additional challenges to be met when it comes to guns in general and to black powder in particular. In addition to having to complete to building challenge I have to get a black powder licence and find a place where I can shoot the gun. Also the gun will have to be proofed/tested by the local gun authority.

I hope to post my steps on the way to my goal of building and shooting my own Longrifle here and to be able to ask a lot of beginner questions if I may.

Looking forward to learning a lot!

Matt

[Dennis Glazener]

Matt,
Good to have you join ALR, I believe we have several members that live in Germany, one is my good friend Chris_B. Chris lives in Northern Germany.

You made a good choice with the Kibler Woodscrunner kit, my hunting rifle is a Woodsrunner in 54 caliber. Great handling rifle.

I hope you enjoy your stay,
Dennis

[Matt48]

Dennis,

thank you very much for the friendly welcome! I'm looking forward to learning and to getting to know other enthusiasts.

Maybe I can also get in contact with members from Germany via this forum to benefit from their knowledge of the German regulations - there are many ;-)

Best,
Matt

[alacran]

Willkommen Herr Mat! I applaud your willingness to jump through all the hoops to legally own a weapon in your country. I am sure those will be way more difficult than building your kit.

[Roger B]

Glad to meet you Matt!

[J. Talbert]

Welcome to ALR Matt,
I think you will be well pleased with the Woodsrunner. Having seen a few of them I can say that they are excellent longrifles in both design and construction.

I hope your kit arrives in good condition.
Best of luck ,
Jeff

[Grischi]

Hallo Matt,

willkommen im ALR. Ich bin z.B einer der deutschen User hier.
Du wirst hier viel Anregung und auch hilfreiche Kritik finden. Der versammelte Sachverstand hier ist enorm.
Auch ich habe vor wenigen Jahren einen Kibler Kit (Southern Mountain Rifle) importiert. Lief dank UPS und deren Zollabwicklung in Frankfurt problemlos.
Fertigstellung und Beschuss beim Amt in Suhl waren lösbare Aufgaben.
Also viel Spaß hier und an der Vorderladerei in echt.

welcome to the ALR. For example, I am one of the German users here. You will find a lot of inspiration and helpful criticism here. The expertise gathered here is enormous. I also imported a Kibler Kit (Southern Mountain Rifle) a few years ago. Worked smoothly thanks to UPS and their customs clearance in Frankfurt. Completion and proof at the proof house in Suhl were manageable tasks. So have fun here and with muzzleloading in real life.

Christian

[BOB HILL]

Glad to have you join us. I’m sure you will have a great time. There are many fine folks here
Bob

[TDM]

Welcome Matt, you made a good choice with the Kibler Woodsrunner. Best of luck.

[hawkeye]

Wilkommen im der ALR, ich bin Hugo(HAWKEYE) aus Belgien. You have made a good choice with the woodrunner rifle.und ich bin auch interressiert im jahr 1800 sachen.meistens mit quill arbeit und jagdtaschen
Gruss Hawkeye

[Matt48]

Thank you all very much!

Vielen Dank für die freundliche Begrüßung!

Really helps a lot to know how much knowledge and willingness to help is present here.

Thruth to be told I am a little bit apprehensive and hope I can do the kit justice by putting it together properly.
Mainly the sanding and finishing of the wood will be new for me.

I have had a very friendly telephone call with the local proof house in Munich and it seems that this part won't be a problem. But the barrel will have laser engraving on it afterwards...  not exactly period correct but it is the legal requirement here.

Viele Grüße,

Matt

[hawkeye]

Hi Matt, same over here in Belgium, aber noch slimmer.wir müssen eine sportscheutzen licence haben und die waffe im Luttich proben lassen.im Deutschland sind vorderlader frei, hier nicht
Hawkeye

[Grischi]

Thank you all very much!
(…)
I have had a very friendly telephone call with the local proof house in Munich and it seems that this part won't be a problem. But the barrel will have laser engraving on it afterwards...  not exactly period correct but it is the legal requirement here.

Viele Grüße,

Matt

Das Beschussamt in Suhl macht auch Hartstempelung.
Da kannst Du den Lauf auch per Post hinschicken. Dort anrufen wäre vielleicht eine Option.

The Suhl proof house does hard stamping. You can even ship your barrel to them.
Maybe you want to give them a call.

Christian

[bama]

Welcome to the ALR family. We will all be excited to travel along with you as you work on your project. The Woodsrunner is a very good kit and you will find it a pleasure to work on.

[Matt48]

Small but important progress today!

My book order from the US arrived. I have to say service and speed of Track of the Wolf Inc were really top notch.

[EC121]

Welcome Matt.  I just finished a Woodsrunner.  It was a fun project.  It is mostly a metal polishing job. The wood just needs some sanding.  It is a good rifle to get started in the hobby.  As a reference, here are some of the steps I went through.


1. Remove the machining cutter marks from the buttplate and nosecap and polish them.
2. Drawfile the cutter marks off the barrel. Might not be needed if you are browning it.
3. Polish the lock and remove the casting flash. I don't like to see the casting mold joint on parts.
4. Clean up and polish the triggerguard and ram rod pipes.
5. Remove the sharp edges on the sideplate.
6. Install the latch on the patchbox lid and file the catch step to make a solid catch on the buttplate. I also bent it some more. As received, it didn't latch up very well.
7. Remove the trigger to round and polish the top of the bar. Not really needed, but I didn't like the sharp corners on the top.
8. Fit the nosecap and put screws in it. 
9. Install sights. I replaced the back sight for a higher one.
10. Assemble and taper the ramrod. After assembly, I just stained it and waxed it.
11. Sand and finish the stock.
12. I used brass black on just about everything to color the brass a little.
13. Final assembly. Drill out the too tight pin holes and install the pins.
 

[Matt48]

Thank you for that to-do list!

What do you use for metal polishing?

[EC121]

Depending on the part, I started with a file or 180grit wet-or-dry sandpaper and worked through the grits to get the desired finish.  You will get instructions with the kit.

[moleeyes36]

Matt,

Jim Kibler has a video on his website that covers building the Woodsrunner from start to finish.  If you haven't seen it, you might want to take a look.

Don Richards

[Matt48]

Don,

I‘ll do that for sure. Thanks!

Matt

[Matt48]

Further progress: Kibler let me know today that my order is ready for shipping!

Now keeping my fingers crossed that the transport and customs go smoothly....

[Matt48]

Next milestone reached: the gun kit arrived safe and sound without any problems from customs!

Very happy and looking forward to finishing and assembling the rifle.

[Daryl]

Welcome to the forum, <Matt.

[Grischi]

Next milestone reached: the gun kit arrived safe and sound without any problems from customs!

Very happy and looking forward to finishing and assembling the rifle.

Great to hear that it still works well, shipping Kibler kits to Germany.
Have fun building your kit.

Christian

[Matt48]

Thanks! I hope my diy skills will be up to the task and I do this beautiful kit justice..—