Any flintlock hunters around here?

[HighUintas]

Very cool info. It brought up some questions though... mostly, how are they measuring gauge? Is it from the lands, or grooves? IIRC, isn't 28ga basically 54cal? Is that how they would have converted it?

Gauge is basically balls to the pound. So, a 28 gauge is 28 balls to the pound (a 250gr ball) which is somewhere around 0.550 ball and maybe used in a 56cal bore (0.560 land to land).

The measurements can sometimes be misleading if only measuring the muzzle because some muzzles were coned.

 

[2Stamp]

That gun just keeps getting cooler, thanks for sharing the info.

The point you made about parts suppliers being older family-run businesses is a big deal. All my muzzleloading experience was as a kid, then went to college, DC, a ton of work overseas, then back to the real world about 10 years ago to start a business, get married, etc. And finally got back into hunting, and wanted to pursue some muzzleloader muleys. Of course, I turn to Dixie Gun Works to find a kit gun...and find almost nothing but ghosts. When I was a kid it was like the Sears catalog, 20 or 30 kit rifles to choose from. Now there's virtually nothing out there. Good to see someone like Kibler has kept it alive.

Not directed at you (I'm guessing you already know), but for anyone else cruising this thread and may be interested and looking for parts/ kits:
Kibler's Longrifles
Jim Chambers Flintlocks
Track of the Wolf
Pecatonica River Longrifle supply
Muzzleloader Builders Supply

Parts kits can be a blessing or a curse. Some are really well build, others can be more hassle than a scratch build. I have a builder friend in ID that can generally make a from scratch quicker than a kit. Kibler and Chambers are probably a couple of the best ones out there. (Or at least were when I was into making longrifles 10 or so years ago.)

 

[RockAndSage]

Not directed at you (I'm guessing you already know), but for anyone else cruising this thread and may be interested and looking for parts/ kits:
Kibler's Longrifles
Jim Chambers Flintlocks
Track of the Wolf
Pecatonica River Longrifle supply
Muzzleloader Builders Supply

Parts kits can be a blessing or a curse. Some are really well build, others can be more hassle than a scratch build. I have a builder friend in ID that can generally make a from scratch quicker than a kit. Kibler and Chambers are probably a couple of the best ones out there. (Or at least were when I was into making longrifles 10 or so years ago.)

That's great stuff actually, much appreciated. I was only aware of Kibler and Track of the Wolf, so those other sources were great to look at.

 

[RockAndSage]

Not directed at you (I'm guessing you already know), but for anyone else cruising this thread and may be interested and looking for parts/ kits:
Kibler's Longrifles
Jim Chambers Flintlocks
Track of the Wolf
Pecatonica River Longrifle supply
Muzzleloader Builders Supply

Parts kits can be a blessing or a curse. Some are really well build, others can be more hassle than a scratch build. I have a builder friend in ID that can generally make a from scratch quicker than a kit. Kibler and Chambers are probably a couple of the best ones out there. (Or at least were when I was into making longrifles 10 or so years ago.)

On this note - who would some of the better custom builders be these days? Any recommendations?

 

[2Stamp]

On this note - who would some of the better custom builders be these days? Any recommendations?

I haven't stayed on top of it. Kevin Blevins comes to mind. Allen Martin. John Stanley (but I think he's retiring from building). I think Chuck Edwards is still building. The CLA has a list of builders on their site. When I was on there a lot, the Muzzleloading Forum had some really good builders also.