Blunderbuss Kit Inbound

Schlitz 45 · August 27, 2021, 05:58 PM

I’ve been looking at these for years & the kits aren’t getting any cheaper so I got one coming my way.
https://www.muzzle-loaders.com/tradi...ercussion.html
I have some ideas for some inlays & finishes to make it my own-should be a fun build.
Found some very nice kits that are much nicer but thought this would be a good start.
https://sittingfoxmuzzleloaders.com/k-4/

**4V50 Gary** · August 28, 2021, 03:08 PM

I like the latter's round face flintlock. Percussion just doesn't look right.

bedbugbilly · August 28, 2021, 06:36 PM

I like the flintlock kits of the second link because the are a more authentic copy of the originals - NUT - they are much more expensive just because of the components. Much more involved in the barrel making than what appears to be a 54 caliber barrel with a flared end. That said though, there is no reason why you can't make a nice looking one out of the Traditions kit as you have a attitude when it coms to reshaping the stock if desired, utilizing inlays and other changes "to make it your own" and it will provide you just as much enjoyment in doing those things as a kit that costs much much more. Go for it and have fun!

bamaranger · August 28, 2021, 08:07 PM

I was looking at those very kits on line just the other day. The fact that it's a percussion lock bothers me not a wit. But the odd trumpet muzzle makes the gun appear like a cartoon, Elmer Fudd piece!

Were I to buy one, I'd lop that bell off to more of the appearance of the other kit. The thing should be a hoot, enjoy yours

Hawg · August 29, 2021, 07:29 AM

The top one is fugly and is only .54 caliber. The Sitting Fox is a lot nicer and is a 4 bore. If I was to get one it would have to be the Sitting Fox.

bamaranger · August 30, 2021, 01:34 PM

Yes, I'm familiar with the Fox kit, and they advertise a smaller bore size available as well (.69?) The Fox guns are certainly better looking. I'll go so far as to say the Traditions gun looks stupid. The cost of the Fox is high, so I'd lop that traditions bell off and make due.

darkgael · August 30, 2021, 08:17 PM

I have a 14 gauge BB. 14 inch barrel. Flint gun. Picked it up a few years ago. It is a hoot to shoot..

Hawg · August 31, 2021, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bamaranger

Yes, I'm familiar with the Fox kit, and they advertise a smaller bore size available as well (.69?) The Fox guns are certainly better looking. I'll go so far as to say the Traditions gun looks stupid. The cost of the Fox is high, so I'd lop that traditions bell off and make due.

On the site they say it's a 10 gauge. A 12 gauge shoots a .690 ball, so about .70 caliber. I'm guessing a 10 gauge would be about a .78 caliber.

darkgael · August 31, 2021, 08:12 AM

Depending on the actual bore, a 12 Gauge may shoot a LRB as large as 0.730.
You are right on about the 10 ga. (0.775)

Schlitz 45 · August 31, 2021, 08:33 AM

For the limited use that it will see the Tradition kit will work fine for me & I'll do my best to not have it turn out ugly or stupid looking. Should have it in hand shortly & then I can start thinking about carvings/inlays & possibly taking a little off the barrel bell that I hadn't thought about.
I already have two 54's so plenty of ball ammo if I choose to & I have a 12 gauge BP double barrel pistol that shoots .715 pumpkin balls quite well-so I got that covered. Thanks

Hawg · August 31, 2021, 09:39 AM

My Pedersoli 12 gauge has a cylinder bore and fires a .690 ball with a .010 patch.

Schlitz 45 · September 5, 2021, 12:46 PM

Got the kit in hand. Stock has a nice tight grain and I believe it’s white oak, decided it needed some finger/thumb grooves on the forearm so I got those roughed in-feels pretty good in the hand now. Took about 5/16” off the bell so it doesn’t look quite as cartoonish & got all the stupid warning stamps filed/sanded off the barrel-they were stamped deeper than I thought.
Going to try for a color case hardened look on the barrel using some stuff from steel FX
https://steelfxpatinas.com/product-c...ening-patinas/
Lots of sanding & polishing that gives me plenty of time to think about it.

reinert · September 5, 2021, 02:31 PM

I really don't mean to offend anyone on this question, but I gotta ask...

What do you shoot with these things? Just fun stuff at 15 to 20 yds. or so, to just try to bust clay birds, empty cans and etc. (I suppose a cottontail for the pot would be feasible in the right circumstance)? I think of the reason they were kinda developed and used were to deter bandits/highwaymen from a coach situation, intimidating them with that flared muzzle. The Sitting Fox gun is rather cool to look at, but personally I just can't get my reasoning thought around needing one; home defense? I suppose it would be a loud, smoking scattering belch of whatever you'd run down the tube if set off in a dwelling, say, at 3am. when/if seriously needed.

Surely wouldn't need a funnel to load it... and yeah, to me, too, it really should be a flinter. Just me, just sayin.' Have at it, and have fun!

bamaranger · September 6, 2021, 01:00 AM

Bobbing that muzzle improved the looks of your 'buss already! Most curious as to how and what you used to do so? Also, the resultant scrap would make the basis for an interesting..........what? Amulet, gorgett, ashtray...?

A 'buss definitely falls into the fun gun category. I'd look around for some type of smallish buckshot mold or a price on BB lead, and shoot anything that needed shot. There's a guy on youtube, that posted a number of video's about his Traditions 'buss. He shot a dang gobbler with his!!!!!!!!!!!!1

BornFighting88 · September 6, 2021, 08:51 AM

I did a Brown Bess Kit from Pedersoli a bunch of years back. It was just awesome sauce. Picked up the Danish Oil stain, and clear coated it to keep it safe from the elements. Being smooth bore I use it as a flintlock shotgun for clays some days, and then patch and ball to mess stuff up on a range day. Those Blunderbuss things always had a cool factor in my eyes. Good on you, dude, for getting that. Do post pictures when you are finished. Can't wait to see it.

Thumbs up.

reinert · September 6, 2021, 12:22 PM

Yeah, I DO get it, new fun for the new gun... and maybe some challenges, too, which reminded me of a story back from the '80's when I did a lot of competitive shooting.

There was a guy here in Wyoming I met at a shoot back then who told me he shot an antelope with his little replica cannon, which I believe had something like a .75" bore (maybe bigger, don't remember). He told me it was a project he always wanted to do, and being the good shot, hunter and meticulous fellow that he was, he did his scouting for his goat and actually spent enough time at a water hole where most every morning, at the same time, this buck antelope would show up to drink. After all his diligent work, he set up his "gun," strategically placed for the goat and the anticipated shot, and waited for it all to come together. He had made a good blind for his "hide" and however he set up his fuse or powder train for the shot, I don't remember what he said about that, though it must've been something pretty quick for the situation. Well, he waited, it all came together, and he got the buck at the waterhole. When he first told me the story, I fully thought it was B.S., but there were enough folks who heard the story, too, and could pretty much confirm it. I'll say this, I did know the guy well enough to certainly believe that he really did do it.

I'll bet a blunderbuss could do the same thing if one did the diligence, and had the time to do it! I'd bet a whitetail might/could be a pretty good challenge for your new project (if legal to use where you are). Probably a one shot deal there, as I see there's no provisional hole for a ramrod. (?)

Have fun with the new gun!

darkgael · September 7, 2021, 07:39 AM

This one I picked up a few years ago just to have one. It is about 14 gauge. Fourteen inch barrel.
It is a poor picture but the only one I have right now. It is similar to a number of 18th century BBs illustrated in D.R. Baxter’s book “Blunderbusses”.

Schlitz 45 · September 7, 2021, 11:49 AM

That's a cool looking piece Darkgael-how much does it weigh?
I got the kit mocked up & taken back apart this weekend & made some good progress on metal polishing and getting the wood to metal fit close & tight. It weighs in at 5 3/4 lbs so pretty light & quick handling-the Sitting Fox kit looks like the gun would weigh 10 lbs or more. Got a no drill sling for it that will make it easy to pack as a "Canoe Gun"

I looked at adding a ram rod but the barrel mount lug & screw run dead center under the barrel so no good place to mount a traditional rod.

darkgael · September 7, 2021, 02:21 PM

The gun in the picture weighs about five pounds maybe less.

Schlitz 45 · September 10, 2021, 04:00 PM

got my color case hardened patina kit & played around on a scrap piece of steel-it has a lot of potential-just have to get the right sequence of colors down & I'm going to try pushing the gel with compressed air to get a pattern closer to the real thing.

**4V50 Gary** · September 13, 2021, 11:47 AM

NVM. Answered above.

Do you just spread the gel and heat with a torch? I'm also curious as to its durability (real color case hardening isn't durable).

NVM that too. Found this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=441iuqp1Vq0&list=PL8A9K7dQYdThEb6fUMDRi_Mqxz11yLB1x

Schlitz 45 · September 13, 2021, 02:00 PM

I got the barrel polished this weekend & got it colored. I shot a coat of oil base clear polyurethane on it to keep the colors bright & I'll be able to handle it tonight & see how it looks in the sunlight & if it's hard enough maybe some light wet sanding. Found a nice skull & cross bone pearl inlay to give it a little pirate flavor & picked up some 2mm chisels for a band of abalone perfling that I had left over from a guitar project that I'm inlaying in the stock. Discovered that the "color case hardened" lock is just a patina too so I brightened the lockset up a bit to match the barrel.

gwpercle · September 16, 2021, 04:48 PM

LIKE !

Has Home Defense written all over it ... Get a Cutlass and you will be ready !
Just noticed ... it's a freaking 4 - Bore ... Holy Mackerel there Andy !!!

I Like it ... Gary

Schlitz 45 · September 16, 2021, 07:50 PM

Got started on some of the inlays-Abalone purfling is ready to glue on the under side. The topside of the stock's going to be a little tricky following the dip at the comb, that's why I did the bottom first to get my carving chops tuned up-it's been a while.

Schlitz 45 · September 19, 2021, 09:46 AM

Made some more inlay progress, got the top band of abalone & a star I had ready for gluing in-waiting on my skull & cross bones to finish up the inlays.
The plan is to stain the stock ebony & I'm using black epoxy to glue the inlays in, this should help hide my inletting mistakes.Then lightly sanding the stock & using a secondary color stain before finishing. I've used this method on guitars with quilted/flame grain & it really brings out any figure in the grain. The black stain should make the abalone & pearl inlays really pop. We'll see

August 27, 2021, 05:58 PM	#1
Schlitz 45 Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2018 Location: Colorado Posts: 385	Blunderbuss Kit Inbound I’ve been looking at these for years & the kits aren’t getting any cheaper so I got one coming my way. https://www.muzzle-loaders.com/tradi...ercussion.html I have some ideas for some inlays & finishes to make it my own-should be a fun build. Found some very nice kits that are much nicer but thought this would be a good start. https://sittingfoxmuzzleloaders.com/k-4/

August 28, 2021, 03:08 PM	#2
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,833	I like the latter's round face flintlock. Percussion just doesn't look right. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

August 28, 2021, 06:36 PM	#3
bedbugbilly Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2009 Posts: 3,287	I like the flintlock kits of the second link because the are a more authentic copy of the originals - NUT - they are much more expensive just because of the components. Much more involved in the barrel making than what appears to be a 54 caliber barrel with a flared end. That said though, there is no reason why you can't make a nice looking one out of the Traditions kit as you have a attitude when it coms to reshaping the stock if desired, utilizing inlays and other changes "to make it your own" and it will provide you just as much enjoyment in doing those things as a kit that costs much much more. Go for it and have fun! __________________ If a pair of '51 Navies were good enough for Billy Hickok, then a single Navy on my right hip is good enough for me . . . besides . . . I'm probably only half as good as he was anyways. Hiram's Rangers Badge #63

August 28, 2021, 08:07 PM	#4
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,308	kit I was looking at those very kits on line just the other day. The fact that it's a percussion lock bothers me not a wit. But the odd trumpet muzzle makes the gun appear like a cartoon, Elmer Fudd piece! Were I to buy one, I'd lop that bell off to more of the appearance of the other kit. The thing should be a hoot, enjoy yours

August 30, 2021, 01:34 PM	#6
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,308	agreed Yes, I'm familiar with the Fox kit, and they advertise a smaller bore size available as well (.69?) The Fox guns are certainly better looking. I'll go so far as to say the Traditions gun looks stupid. The cost of the Fox is high, so I'd lop that traditions bell off and make due.

August 29, 2021, 07:29 AM	#5
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,189	The top one is fugly and is only .54 caliber. The Sitting Fox is a lot nicer and is a 4 bore. If I was to get one it would have to be the Sitting Fox.

August 30, 2021, 08:17 PM	#7
darkgael Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania. Posts: 5,473	I have a 14 gauge BB. 14 inch barrel. Flint gun. Picked it up a few years ago. It is a hoot to shoot.. __________________ “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ... NRA Life Member

August 31, 2021, 08:12 AM	#9
darkgael Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania. Posts: 5,473	Depending on the actual bore, a 12 Gauge may shoot a LRB as large as 0.730. You are right on about the 10 ga. (0.775) __________________ “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ... NRA Life Member

August 31, 2021, 08:33 AM	#10
Schlitz 45 Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2018 Location: Colorado Posts: 385	For the limited use that it will see the Tradition kit will work fine for me & I'll do my best to not have it turn out ugly or stupid looking. Should have it in hand shortly & then I can start thinking about carvings/inlays & possibly taking a little off the barrel bell that I hadn't thought about. I already have two 54's so plenty of ball ammo if I choose to & I have a 12 gauge BP double barrel pistol that shoots .715 pumpkin balls quite well-so I got that covered. Thanks Last edited by Schlitz 45; August 31, 2021 at 08:38 AM.

August 31, 2021, 09:39 AM	#11
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,189	My Pedersoli 12 gauge has a cylinder bore and fires a .690 ball with a .010 patch.

September 5, 2021, 12:46 PM	#12
Schlitz 45 Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2018 Location: Colorado Posts: 385	Got the kit in hand. Stock has a nice tight grain and I believe it’s white oak, decided it needed some finger/thumb grooves on the forearm so I got those roughed in-feels pretty good in the hand now. Took about 5/16” off the bell so it doesn’t look quite as cartoonish & got all the stupid warning stamps filed/sanded off the barrel-they were stamped deeper than I thought. Going to try for a color case hardened look on the barrel using some stuff from steel FX https://steelfxpatinas.com/product-c...ening-patinas/ Lots of sanding & polishing that gives me plenty of time to think about it.

September 5, 2021, 02:31 PM	#13
reinert Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 646	I really don't mean to offend anyone on this question, but I gotta ask... What do you shoot with these things? Just fun stuff at 15 to 20 yds. or so, to just try to bust clay birds, empty cans and etc. (I suppose a cottontail for the pot would be feasible in the right circumstance)? I think of the reason they were kinda developed and used were to deter bandits/highwaymen from a coach situation, intimidating them with that flared muzzle. The Sitting Fox gun is rather cool to look at, but personally I just can't get my reasoning thought around needing one; home defense? I suppose it would be a loud, smoking scattering belch of whatever you'd run down the tube if set off in a dwelling, say, at 3am. when/if seriously needed. Surely wouldn't need a funnel to load it... and yeah, to me, too, it really should be a flinter. Just me, just sayin.' Have at it, and have fun!

September 6, 2021, 01:00 AM	#14
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,308	yes!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bobbing that muzzle improved the looks of your 'buss already! Most curious as to how and what you used to do so? Also, the resultant scrap would make the basis for an interesting..........what? Amulet, gorgett, ashtray...? A 'buss definitely falls into the fun gun category. I'd look around for some type of smallish buckshot mold or a price on BB lead, and shoot anything that needed shot. There's a guy on youtube, that posted a number of video's about his Traditions 'buss. He shot a dang gobbler with his!!!!!!!!!!!!1

September 6, 2021, 08:51 AM	#15
BornFighting88 Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2021 Posts: 455	I did a Brown Bess Kit from Pedersoli a bunch of years back. It was just awesome sauce. Picked up the Danish Oil stain, and clear coated it to keep it safe from the elements. Being smooth bore I use it as a flintlock shotgun for clays some days, and then patch and ball to mess stuff up on a range day. Those Blunderbuss things always had a cool factor in my eyes. Good on you, dude, for getting that. Do post pictures when you are finished. Can't wait to see it. Thumbs up.

September 6, 2021, 12:22 PM	#16
reinert Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 646	Yeah, I DO get it, new fun for the new gun... and maybe some challenges, too, which reminded me of a story back from the '80's when I did a lot of competitive shooting. There was a guy here in Wyoming I met at a shoot back then who told me he shot an antelope with his little replica cannon, which I believe had something like a .75" bore (maybe bigger, don't remember). He told me it was a project he always wanted to do, and being the good shot, hunter and meticulous fellow that he was, he did his scouting for his goat and actually spent enough time at a water hole where most every morning, at the same time, this buck antelope would show up to drink. After all his diligent work, he set up his "gun," strategically placed for the goat and the anticipated shot, and waited for it all to come together. He had made a good blind for his "hide" and however he set up his fuse or powder train for the shot, I don't remember what he said about that, though it must've been something pretty quick for the situation. Well, he waited, it all came together, and he got the buck at the waterhole. When he first told me the story, I fully thought it was B.S., but there were enough folks who heard the story, too, and could pretty much confirm it. I'll say this, I did know the guy well enough to certainly believe that he really did do it. I'll bet a blunderbuss could do the same thing if one did the diligence, and had the time to do it! I'd bet a whitetail might/could be a pretty good challenge for your new project (if legal to use where you are). Probably a one shot deal there, as I see there's no provisional hole for a ramrod. (?) Have fun with the new gun!

September 7, 2021, 11:49 AM	#18
Schlitz 45 Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2018 Location: Colorado Posts: 385	That's a cool looking piece Darkgael-how much does it weigh? I got the kit mocked up & taken back apart this weekend & made some good progress on metal polishing and getting the wood to metal fit close & tight. It weighs in at 5 3/4 lbs so pretty light & quick handling-the Sitting Fox kit looks like the gun would weigh 10 lbs or more. Got a no drill sling for it that will make it easy to pack as a "Canoe Gun" I looked at adding a ram rod but the barrel mount lug & screw run dead center under the barrel so no good place to mount a traditional rod. Last edited by Schlitz 45; September 7, 2021 at 11:57 AM. Reason: adding a photo

September 7, 2021, 02:21 PM	#19
darkgael Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania. Posts: 5,473	The gun in the picture weighs about five pounds maybe less. __________________ “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ... NRA Life Member

September 10, 2021, 04:00 PM	#20
Schlitz 45 Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2018 Location: Colorado Posts: 385	got my color case hardened patina kit & played around on a scrap piece of steel-it has a lot of potential-just have to get the right sequence of colors down & I'm going to try pushing the gel with compressed air to get a pattern closer to the real thing.

September 13, 2021, 11:47 AM	#21
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,833	NVM. Answered above. Do you just spread the gel and heat with a torch? I'm also curious as to its durability (real color case hardening isn't durable). NVM that too. Found this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=441iuqp1Vq0&list=PL8A9K7dQYdThEb6fUMDRi_Mqxz11yLB1x __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

September 13, 2021, 02:00 PM	#22
Schlitz 45 Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2018 Location: Colorado Posts: 385	I got the barrel polished this weekend & got it colored. I shot a coat of oil base clear polyurethane on it to keep the colors bright & I'll be able to handle it tonight & see how it looks in the sunlight & if it's hard enough maybe some light wet sanding. Found a nice skull & cross bone pearl inlay to give it a little pirate flavor & picked up some 2mm chisels for a band of abalone perfling that I had left over from a guitar project that I'm inlaying in the stock. Discovered that the "color case hardened" lock is just a patina too so I brightened the lockset up a bit to match the barrel.

September 16, 2021, 04:48 PM	#23
gwpercle Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2012 Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Posts: 1,752	LIKE ! Has Home Defense written all over it ... Get a Cutlass and you will be ready ! Just noticed ... it's a freaking 4 - Bore ... Holy Mackerel there Andy !!! I Like it ... Gary

September 16, 2021, 07:50 PM	#24
Schlitz 45 Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2018 Location: Colorado Posts: 385	Got started on some of the inlays-Abalone purfling is ready to glue on the under side. The topside of the stock's going to be a little tricky following the dip at the comb, that's why I did the bottom first to get my carving chops tuned up-it's been a while. Last edited by Schlitz 45; September 16, 2021 at 08:12 PM.

September 19, 2021, 09:46 AM	#25
Schlitz 45 Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2018 Location: Colorado Posts: 385	Made some more inlay progress, got the top band of abalone & a star I had ready for gluing in-waiting on my skull & cross bones to finish up the inlays. The plan is to stain the stock ebony & I'm using black epoxy to glue the inlays in, this should help hide my inletting mistakes.Then lightly sanding the stock & using a secondary color stain before finishing. I've used this method on guitars with quilted/flame grain & it really brings out any figure in the grain. The black stain should make the abalone & pearl inlays really pop. We'll see