Is a Black Powder Rifle kit fun and safe to build?

Thanks guysIs a Black Powder Rifle kit fun and safe to build?
Basically, all you'll be doing with the kit is fitting the barrel and lock into the stock and putting the finish on the wood and bluing the gun barrel. It's fun to do and completely safe as long as you have experience shooting a black powder gun. You'll also have the satisfaction of having a gun that you put together yourself. If you haven't shot any muzzle loaders ask a friend to help you get started. Always wear ear and eye protection when shooting, too.Is a Black Powder Rifle kit fun and safe to build?
If you get a good quality kit and have a little better than basic skills with tools, you'll have no problem. If you get a cheap kit, directions may be difficult to follow and brass castings may have air bubbles in them or cracks. Fitting is a time consuming process and if you try to do it fast, you lower the value of the arm quickly.





Bluing or browning a barrel takes some skill and generally, home bluing or cold bluing does not work very well. Browning works a little better. Metal finishing is also time consuming and the final product depends on how well you sanded or polished the metal.You can overdo it and start rounding sharp surfaces if not careful.





Take your time and read up a little in some gun books about stocking a gun and finishing steel. I have seen kits made by beginners that looked like custom guns and have seen some that looked like a 8 year old slapped it together. It's easy to remove too much and impossible to put any material back, so take it slow and easy.





When you're done, you'll have something to pass on and will enjoy shooting if you don't mind the mess and clean up with black power. Black powder was taking game and humans for many years before modern smokeless cartridge guns. Good Luck.
I have built several and they are fun and safe as long as you put them together right.Basically kits come in different ratings according to your skill level . Good companies to go to for kits are Lyman, Thompson center, Track of the wolf,(I highly recommend this company) Dixie Gunworks, to name some big ones,...Do a little research and go to some summer rendezvous at local gun ranges and talk to the folks there and they'll be happy to see you through it ! Always lookin' for a new buckskinner!....I must admit though, Thompson center rifles seem to be the most accurate.
I love to shoot blackpowder. I have a few flintlocks. I have zero experience with putting them together from a kit form, but I will offer this story...which is purely hearsay...from a friend of mine.





My friend is a gunsmith and owns his own gunshop. He does just about every sort of gun modification you could want; he has a full machine shop in the back. He told me how he got the bright idea to buy the muzzle loaders in kit form, put them together as semi-custom guns and then sell them at a higher profit than he could from just the finished rifles. He then went on to say that it required the use of some of his rather sophisticated and expensive machine shop tools to actually get the guns together. He explained that both the metal and wood parts required extensive work to make them fit properly.





I dunno. Perhaps my friend was merely scaring me into buying the finished guns on his shelf, but it was enough to steer me clear of such a project.





On the other hand, if you have the talent, I am sure it would be rewarding to make your own muzzle loading rifle to your own specifications (chose the color of the wood stain and perhaps a few embellishments).
fun ?


yes


safe ?


if done right


i have seen kits slapped together in an hour with duct tape ( really )


i have done kits with many many hours of painstaken filing and fitting to make for excellent fitment of wood to metal


the final product was a beautiful firearm


it will be a task worth doing right or will be a piece of junk





that depends on your ability and patience


it can be rewarding and something that you will be proud of or something that you hide in the closet


up to you
Yes, IF you like doing this kind of thing, take your time, and READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE STARTING.





I have been using T/C Hawkens, from kits, in .50 caplock, AND .50 flintlock for over 20 years! (among others)
Fun? Yes.


Safe? Only if done right.


Get some 'makee learnee' from an experienced black powder


shooter before you shoot it though.


Black powder can bite you if not handled right.
yes take your time,,, may need a little sanding or fitting but it is cool ok thanks eddie