Good kit for first build?

Howdy all. This is my first post here, and in fact I found this forum while looking for information on building muzzloaders. I am looking for a kit for my first gun building adventure and am hoping that I can get some advice on what kit to go with. Also note that this will serve as my introduction to muzzleloading, so please excuse me if my terminology etc. isn't correct. I've only got basic woodworking and metal working skills and little knowledge of how a percussion lock muzzleloader works, so a kit with the trickiest bits already taken care of is more up my alley (but I don't want all the fun taken out of it . This gun will be used for hunting and general shooting fun and reproduction of a certain period of rifle isn't crucial to me. I am interested in the shorter barrel lengths of the hawken type rifle, somewhere from 24" - 28". I am also not wanting to spend a whole lot of money on the kit, since this is my first attempt. At the same time though, I do want to get a kit that will produce a durable, accurate and safe gun. I found a T/C Hawken kit for $319 and a Cabelas kit for $279. The Traditions kits I found had synthetic ramrods rubber buttplates, which I didn't like. Lyman also had two guns I liked, the deerstalker and trade rifle, but they don't appear to be sold as kits. Are there any kits that you would recommend? Thanks a lot.

My first suggestion would be the Lyman Great Plains Rifle Kit with a Precussion lock however you limited the barrel length to 28 inches. The GPR barrel is 32 inches long.
The Great Plains Rifle is a slow twist (1:60) gun with deep grooves and shoots round balls exceptionally well. It usually does not shoot heavy slugs very well.
On it's plus side, although you said the guns historical accuracy was not important, this is the closest low cost gun which comes close to a real Hawken Rifle.
It's only negative is that it is fairly heavy (almost like a real Hawken) at 9 pounds weight.

Of the kits you mention, my second/third choice would be the Trade Rifle and the Deerstalker.

The Lyman guns are made in Italy and are usually among the best shooting Factory muzzleloaders out.

The Thompson Center kit also builds a fine gun and their warranty is unbeatable. Their faster twist barrels are a compromise intended to shoot either round balls or light/mid weight slugs. Most folks find they shoot very accurately.

The Cabela's Traditional Hawken Unfinished Kit ($279.99) is very similar to a Lyman Trade gun with a brass Capbox added to the butt of the stock.

The Traditions kits are at my bottom of the list as the workmanship often leaves a lot to be desired.

All of these Factory kits are basically semi finished production guns which would be within your capabilitys to finish, especially now that you have found our site.
Any and all questions are welcome and the answers you will get are from folks who have built guns ranging from these factory kits thru some of the finest custom traditional muzzleloaders anywhere.

I suggested a Precussion style gun because they are the easiest to learn with. The Flintlocks, are a little less forgiving and take a little longer to learn all of the do's and dont's.

Either a .50 or .54 caliber gun would be my choice. The .50 shooting roundballs is easily capable of taking Deer. The .54 caliber has brought down many Elk.

Thanks for joining us here. I hope to hear more about your project.

I second everything Zonie said. The 32" barrel may seem long to you now but it really isn't when you get used to it. It also gives you a little better sighting radius.

Have you considered starting with a pistol? The kits are generally less expensive and easier to build. Traditions or Lymans have kits.

Im working on a Lyman GPR flint lock right now.This is my second GPR kit and it is really simple.First kit took 8 hours.This one will be the same.What ever choice you make it will be your favorite gun until the next kit :grin:

Thanks for your input guys. The trade rifle and deerstalker look awesome, but they don't seem to be sold as kits. Do you guys know if and/or where they are sold? The T/C kit isn't much more than the cabelas, so that looks like a good one if the lymans aren't sold as kits.

I suggest you go to someplace that has the rifles on hand & shoulder them, THEN make a decision of what you want. They are like apples & oranges, the differences in the T/C Hawken & the Lyman GPR. Both good rifles but shoulder altogether differently.......

Don't know if this holds true now, but[url] www.MidsouthShootersSupply.com[/url] used to be the cheapest place for a Lyman kit.

In my case the hardest part to building the kit is the bluing/browning of the barrel!

I still haven't settled into what I am gonna do :hmm:

I too considered a kit. But I know where my skills lie. You want a structure built with 2x6s, fine I can do that. Do you want a maple book case finely constructed and properly stained, that ain't me.

MidSouth does have the Lyman Great Plains kit. Haven't seen any Trade or Deerstalker anywhere in kit form.

I was equally comfortable with the Lyman GPR and the T/C Hawkens in terms of fit. But that's just me.

Some points to consider:

The Lyman GPR probably does present the closest approximation of the original Hawkens style rifle. I've heard and seen good reviews of those rifles. The negative for me is that the Lyman, like the Cabelas rifles, are manufactured in Italy by Investarms.

GPR



To me the Lyman trade rifle is very similar to a T/C Hawkens in style and does not really look like an original trade gun due to its brass furniture:

Lyman Trade:



T/C Hawken:



T/C of course is made in America and comes with an outstanding warranty and customer support. Another factor (which may be of no importance to you) is that the Green Mountain Barrel drop-in barrels are designed specifically for the T/C Hawken and you can interchange barrels with various lengths, calibers, and twists.