anyone have a homemade flintlock

[birdshot]

i have been thinking of making my own flintlock rifle. i was thinking something in .32 caliber. i believe i can get barrel and lock from supplier. any suggestions?

[blackhawk45]

www.trackofthewolf.com

[Hawg]

A kit would be a lot easier. Not easy, just easier.

[mykeal]

Green Mountain Barrels
Pecatonica River stock blanks
Track of the Wolf
Sitting Fox Muzzleloaders
There are many others.

[FL-Flinter]

I wouldn't say it's a "difficult" endeavor but clearly attention is needed to prevent turning a perfectly good stock blank into firewood. The basic principles of assembly are not complicated but the order of build must be followed. I lost all my old pic's, thought I had them properly backed-up but it didn't work.

I like a .36 better than a .32, the little bit bigger ball is easier to handle and gives you a little more range and power without being too big.

Here's a few of my recent builds I have pic's of

[4V50 Gary]

Buy a kit. At least the parts will match rather than a mix-mash that I built for my first gun.

[birdshot]

mykeal and blackhawk, those are some great sites. lots of helpful info.
fl-flinter your rifles look great, thanks for the heads up on the 36 caliber. i had seen several custom rifles and thought 32 was the caliber of choice for squirrel rifles.

[Raider2000]

Originally Posted by 4V50 Gary

Buy a kit. At least the parts will match rather than a mix-mash that I built for my first gun.

I agree 100% for a first time build, this way you learn & yet already have most of the hard work done for you.

[FL-Flinter]

I built myself a .32 flinter years ago and after the first day of hunting with it in temps that never got above 35°F, I went home and built myself a ball dispenser. Yes, the .32 is a great squirrel rifle and I've taken grouse, bunnies and woodchucks with it too but I still prefer a .36 - the slightly heavier ball gives advantage in power if needed and maintains a little better in crosswinds too.

I assembled two kits for myself and a dozen+ for others, while it seems that all the hard work is done for you, I can assure you that most kit guns I have worked with has taken far more time than building one from scratch if you want it to look right and even then, most still have problem areas that neither look right nor please me. Gaps around the pre-carved inlets, inlets cut too deep, screw/pin holes that don't line up... nothing annoys me more than having to repair a gun before it's even built - it's like going to the gunshop and looking at a modern suppository gun sporting a $850+ price tag and immediately seeing that the barrel channel isn't centered, gaps around the trigger inlet, buttpad offset and machine-cut checkering panels that aren't even close to being in the same spot from side to side... how can anyone, big company or not, allow that nasty ugly crap to get out the door let alone be promoting it? Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a rant, I just believe that if you're not going to do something right, just don't do it at all.

I start with a plank myself but if you're planning on a full-stock, a pre-shaped blank wouldn't be a bad thing if you don't want to make the tooling for cutting the RR channel and drilling the RR hole - however, a pre-carved blank also leaves you without flat sides so you need to work from the top flat of the barrel for the horizontal reference, not a big deal but you have to pay attention to what you're doing. If the tang area has been cut just a little too low and you can't lower the barrel inlet enough, you have to live with nasty look of the iron sticking above the wood. Once the barrel is in, the lock comes next, again, not difficult but the inlet has to be placed correctly and accurately - another reason I don't like kits is because you have to live with where ever someone else decided the lock should go and that simple fact alone can make or break the ignition speed as well as the overall look and quality of the build. If the touch hole isn't already drilled in the bbl, usually you can adjust it enough to match the lock position to counter some of the ignition issues but if the lock mortise is too far off, you likely won't be able to get a standard liner in and you'll have to make a special one or do without. If you're going to do an relief carving, you may want to leave the wood around the mortises and tang higher in elevation than the finished height until you get the carving done, can't usually do that with a pre-carve.

As far as getting individual parts and building what you want, there are no issues with that unless you are trying to exactly duplicate a specific rifle built by someone else in the past. If you are building it solely for your own happiness, then you can use whatever parts you like and put them together the way you want. If you're copying say a Lancaster or Jaeger, then there are certain parts you must use for it to be considered historically correct but there are no "rules" that say you have to build historically correct and I will argue the point that there were quite a many "historically correct" guns assembled from whatever parts people could find and set into whatever piece of suitable wood was handy - the only thing you have to watch is dates of origination if you wanted to stay within a specific time period.

Relief carving



Combination incise & relief

[Hawg]

Dang, you're good!

[ELMOUSMC]

I went to Dixie gun works and explained what I had in mind ,in this case it was a Pennsylvania flint lock.They told me to call back in a few days,I did and they had a whole list made up of what I would need to build a basic rifle plus they had a list of custom options.I got a semi inletted stock which IMHO made the build much easier stay away from the fully inletted for all the reasons stated before.Take your time and good luck ELMOUSMC

[FL-Flinter]

Hawg Haggen: Dang, you're good!

Thank You.

[6kilo]

I've built three rifles from parts. Started with a pre-inlet stock, barrel channel inlet and the ramrod hole drilled. The rest of the stock was what they called "pre-shaped", which means it has the general dimensions already cut for you. It still took a lot of work. I had to finish the inlet for the barrel and inlet for the breech plug, then inlet for the lock, trigger, trigger guard, and butt plate. There was a lot of work to do taking wood off the stock to get the right lines and form I wanted as well as the right look around the look and the check rest area. I didn't try doing in carving on it, just not that good at all. All three turned out well, I learned from each one and got better as I went along. The first was a flint rifle in .50 cal. build as a Leman trade rifle, second was same stock design but .54 cal. cap lock, third was using a stock that was given to me and not sure what rifle type it was supposed to be when I started, built it somewhat customized the way I wanted it to look and fit. I used L&R lock on the flintlock, and Green Mountain barrel, rest of the parts were just parts listed for the Leman style rifle on Track of The Wolf. Second rifle used a Green River Rifle Works barrel, Siler lock, and again same parts from Track used on the first rifle. The fittings on the first two were iron, third was brass. It is a lot of work, but can be very rewarding, just take your time. You could check with some of the stock makers and see if they have any "seconds". Two of mine were seconds from Pecatonaca River and saved me quite a bit of money. Good luck, and have fun.

[birdshot]

6kilo, thanks for the tips. i was going to experiment with a laminated blank. this is an older piece of wood with thicker, laminates. i have a stock on a 1903a3 made from the same piece of wood and it turned out pretty nice. i did not do the work, so this will be my first attempt.

[W. C. Quantrill]

Putting the kit together isnt difficult in most instances. Putting it together and getting it correct is where the problems come in.

If you are seriously considering doing this, it would be good to hang out in one of the 3 major muzzleloading forums and look and ask before you go drop $750 on parts that will frustrate you to where you quit.

www.muzzleloadingforum.com
www.thetraditionalmuzzleloadingassociation.com
www.americanlongrifles.com

This is where the real muzzleloader builders hang out, and they are more than willing to give you good advice based on experience. Please dont tell those guys that you are considering using a laminated blank for a traditional flintlock rifle..........I wouldnt be able to stand the bloodbath.

[Archie Clement]

.I wouldnt be able to stand the bloodbath.

That's a good one Cap.

[W. C. Quantrill]

[jackthoreau]

I am trying to get back to basics.

I have a Harper's Ferry 1803 flintlock that I love. I got it fairly cheap at a local gunshop. I also am looking for a replica of Tryon or Henry Lancaster trade rifles. All I can find are custom (and simply beautiful) guns in the $2000 range! I don't really have time to build my own rifles because I am concentrating on building ancient and medieval Scandinavian longbows. These are harder than I thought they would be. I have broken most of them so far as they weren't tillered properly and a lot have the rings cut through accidently on the back. Let me know how your rifle project goes if you go ahead with it! I am interested in trying one myself as I can't afford the $2000 beauties I see on websites. Don't get me wrong. After seeing the work of these craftsmen, their guns are truer to the originals than any of the factory repros. Fit, finish, and character of these guns make them jewels of shooting! I think the epitome of the shooting age was the time of these rifles. All we have now is better technology, but the character is lost.
FL Flinter those are great arms in those photos!

[FL-Flinter]

Thank you for the kind words Jack.

[Mike Irwin]

I built a TC Renegate .50 flintlock from a kit back in the 1980s.

Lots of fun.

[HiBC]

I have built some nice rifles and never used a kit.However,you will need to asses your skills and resources.
I higly recommend you find a copy of the volume of the Foxfire Book that shows Herchel House building a flint poorboy rifle,in oldschool ways.
I also highly recommend "Recreating the American Longrifle" by Buchele.

I was fortunate enough (Blessed!) to have the late proprieter of Cache La Poudre Rifleworks,"BrokenButt" as a resource,and another fine gentleman out of Cheyenne,"The Flintlocker",to guide me a bit.
I do not know if they are still available,but Siler Locks are quite good,could be had as kits or complete.I would guess Ron Long locks are not availkable.L+R made some decent locks and triggers.

I had very good luck with a Douglas .36 barrel,accurate! There was Getz who made elegant swamped bbls,Sharon,Green Mtn.
If you use a hickory ramrod,a 36 is a little better.A 5/16 ramrod works pretty well.
I must suggest curly maple for stock wood.If you do,write me back,I will tell you how to bring out the fiddleback and make it glow!!

Ned Roberts,"The Muzzleloading Caplock Rifle" Hawken Rifles" by John Baird,and Te Lyman Blackpowder Handbook" will help you,too.
The Book of Buckskinning,too.
Keep yer powder dry!

[Hawg]

Siler, Jim Chambers, L&R and R.E. Davis all make quality locks.