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Anyone ever put together a muzzle loader kit

2K views 8 replies 9 participants last post by  sherman51 
#1 · (Edited)
So I'm stuck at home with a lot of free time on my hands these days. If I watch another whitetail show I might start throwing things. My fiancé says I should take some online classes but that doesn't sound like fun at all and neither does painting the kitchen. Has anyone ever put together a ML kit? Would you do it again? Who makes the best (and cheapest) one if I would consider using it to actually hunt with at some point? What should I look for when choosing a kit? I'm by no means a master carpenter but know the difference between a ball peen or claw hammer and a coping or hack saw and always got "A's" in shop class if that gives you an idea of my skill level lol.

Thanks in advance,
ECR
 
#2 ·
my dad and i put one together when i was a teenager. it was a lot of fun to do and he still shoots it to this day and im 40 so it was a few years ago lol.

So I'm stuck at home with a lot of free time on my hands these days. If I watch another whitetail show I might start throwing things. My fiancé says I should take some online classes but that doesn't sound like fun at all and neither does painting the kitchen. Has anyone ever put together a ML kit? Would you do it again? Who make the best (and cheapest) one if I would consider using it to actually hunt with at some point? What should I look for when choosing a kit? I'm by no means a master carpenter but know the difference between tab all peen or claw hammer and a coping or hack saw and always got "A's" in shop class if that gives you an idea of my skill level lol.

Thanks in advance,
ECR
 
#3 · (Edited)
Yep, Lyman "Great Plains" .54 cal percussion. It wasn't that hard, I did the metal parts in brown. I would do it again if I enjoyed shooting it more. The only kit I know of is the Lyman.

You can also get parts and custom make your own.
 
#4 ·
I made a copy of a knight muzzleloader. There's not much to them. I bought a donor gun that had a severely pitted barrel. Threw away the receiver/barrel. Bought a barrel blank made my own receiver. Assembled and transferred the remaining parts. Shot good.

Factory knights had the receiver and barrel machined from the same piece of steel. I used thwo pieces so the gun could he rebarrelled.

Havent shot it in years and cant use it out here since I didnt drill it for iron sights. Next time my buddy from nc is out here I'm going to send it home with him
 
#6 ·
Ive put 2 kits together and have a box of parts awaiting. I enjoy putting them together they are pretty easy (or I couldn't do them) and you get out what you put in. I have a lot of fun shooting them. if I could post pictures I would show them off. There are a lot of kits out there, I would do a search at Cabelas, sportsmans. Some one told me the gun and knife show had a bunch of kits. I say go for it good luck
 
#7 ·
Built an Investarms over a decade ago. Fun project. Investarms builds the trads that Cabela's sells, as well as the Lymans. It's the same as the Lyman deer hunter model. Decide if you want a round ball gun or a slug gun. The Great Plains comes in a 1-66 twist which is a r/b gun, the 1/48 twist is a r/b or slug gun, and anything with a faster twist is pretty much set for slug/sabots. Mine shoots well (after a major sight upgrade), I've killed a couple of antelope with it.
 
#8 ·
Muzzy kits can be anything from completed guns that just need sanding and finishing to a box of parts and a stock blank.

I think most of the ones people are talking about here fall into the first category and they're probably the best choice for a first attempt. If you're a little bit handy you get a nicely finished piece with a bit of a personal touch. They're easy enough to do (if I can do it anybody can) just take your time and don't rush things. No special tools required beyond screw drivers, files and sandpaper.

There are also middle ground kits, most of the inletting is done, but things still need to be final fitted, screw holes drilled and tapped, tennons cut,etc.. They tend to be more historically accurrate and better quality but you're looking at more assembly time and you should have a pretty good idea on how a muzzleloader goes together as well as the tools to do it. FWIW, I tried one of these and while the rifle was functional, it pretty well convinced me never to do it again.

The box of parts and blank piece of wood... forget it.

Here's a link to a gun building tutorial by a master builder. Well beyond anything most of us would attempt but you can see how they're put together.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showforum.php?fid/21/
 
#9 ·
i did a cva 50 cal many years ago. i really put alot of work in that kit, but is was really worth it. i hand sanded all the work by hand, then i stained the wood in walnut, and then sealed it with some kind of sealer, i dont remember what i used now. but then took the barrel and other parts to a shop that did black oxide work. and had it black oxided. i had tons of people make good comments about how good the gun looked. but when i got my cva double barrel 50 cal and 12 ga shotgun i sold the old kit gun. i tryed to buy it back a few yrs later and the guy just told me it wasnt for sale.
sherman
 
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