New fowler kit!

[TDM]

Beautiful Fowler Jim. I’ll get one eventually.

[Jim Kibler]

Very nice indeed.  Is the carving done by hand, or machine?

Most of the carving is done by cnc machine, but I do clean up each bit of carving myself to get it to the standard I want.  The chip cuts are added by hand as well.

[Jim Kibler]

@Jim, which diameter for Gau 16 roundball do you recommend? .65 or .64 ?

To be perfectly honest, I don’t have much experience shooting round balls in a smoothbore.  Maybe some others here might provide some guidance.

For roundball shooting a 20 guage would be preferable. 

[DillyJamba]

Wondering if the example posted on the website is a 16 or 20 gauge, wanting to go 20 for the roundball shooting as suggested but concerned about how thick the barrel might appear.

[Mike Brooks]

Same outside profile in both gauges. The 20 will be heavier than the 16.

[Daryl]

If were mine for both shot and round ball  I would most certainly go with the 16bore.
Better patterns (more shot) and with the larger bore, better accuracy.(potentially)

[canadianml1]

The barrel outside profile seems unusual. Is it PC? Thinking I will order one as soon as I finish my Woods Runner.

[Jim Kibler]

Yes, the barrel is proper for where and when the gun would have been produced.  Not really an unusual profile at all.  I just finished up a video talking about this and other details.

Keep in mind if you've only studied modern-made fowlers there will be details that you probably haven't seen much of before. 

The video will take a bit of time to edit, but we'll probably post some examples of similar barrel profiles first.  I have two originals of the same period in hand right now with this form as well as several other good published examples I'll show.

Thanks,
Jim

[Martin S.]

It would be helpful if you produced a video talking about loads, wads, over cards, etc.

A representative load for each size would be helpful as well.

Many of us have no experience with muzzleloading shotguns.

[FlintFan]

What is the minimum wall thickness on the 16 ga. barrel?

[Jim Kibler]

Between .070” and .075”

[J Shingler]

Also I have not seen it mentioned or published any place unless I missed it. When I ordered mine I asked about barrel length. Kiblers said it was 44" long.

[FlintFan]

Between .070” and .075”

Thank you

[Eric Krewson]

I have a 12ga and a 20, I was surprised how well the 20 shot a round ball with no load work up. I got the 12 shooing accurately but finding what it liked took a bunch of different sized balls, patching thickness, powder adjustments and a rear sight.

[Marcruger]

From my reading that is probably what most coastal dwellers used in the Southern Colonies.  The smoothbores could be imported to coastal towns (Savannah, Charleston, Georgetown, Wilmington, etc.) cheaper than having one built here.  The nature of dense foliage and pocosin made shots short-ranged affairs.  At short range a smoothbore worked as well as a rifle.  Also, the versatility of waterfowl, raccoon, possum, and bird hunting loads combined with a roundball for deer made a fowler a smart choice.  Nice design Jim.   God Bless,   Marc

[Marcruger]

I am thinking a fairly straight-grained piece of walnut with really dark stain would look great on this fowler.   

[prairieofthedog]

Are jugged barrels going to be available for us Turkey Hunters?

[backsplash75]

excited to see these!!!! 

[Hunterdude]

I would love to see a production kit all carved with relief carving added to what the machine all ready has done, not sure i have the skills to add it to my kit, but would be nice to see how it should look properly done.

[Kevin Houlihan]

 Fowlers weren't typically carved beyond what Jim has already done with this kit.
Kevin

[Mike Brooks]

I would love to see a production kit all carved with relief carving added to what the machine all ready has done, not sure i have the skills to add it to my kit, but would be nice to see how it should look properly done.

Engraving is the only thing it's missing.  The English didn't do much relief carving  on fowling guns of this grade.

[smylee grouch]

Forget the Hawken, start on a Manton! 😁

[stan57]

Forget the Hawken, start on a Manton! 😁

I was going to say Vincent   

[Jim Kibler]

I would love to see a production kit all carved with relief carving added to what the machine all ready has done, not sure i have the skills to add it to my kit, but would be nice to see how it should look properly done.

Engraving is the only thing it's missing.  The English didn't do much relief carving  on fowling guns of this grade.

We may be offering some sort of engraving options, but I'm not sure at this point.  Regardless it will be a while.  I agree, that the English style of engraving adds a great deal to the feel of these guns.

[JPK]

Forget the Hawken, start on a Manton! 😁

The first word at the top of the page is “American “ let the English get their own rifle builder! A Hawken was planned and should be next.