• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

Kibler SMR Arrived Today

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I put a little water on my stock yesterday and was surprised at the nice figuring pattern in the wood. I am happy with the wood. Now it is up to me to make it shine.

By the way, I like you hotrod pickup. I am working on a 30 Ford Coupe along with many other projects around here.

Here is an update on my Kibler SMR. I had not touched it in a few months due to traveling, grandkid functions and life in general. All the metal parts have been fire blued and turned out pretty good. The barrel accidently looks aged. I used a brass blackening solution and it darkened some of the barrel while lightly darkening other parts. It turned out a grayish brown. Looks like it has been carried a lot. I think I will leave it as is.

Attached are photos of what I did today. I used the iron nitrate from Kibler and so far one coat of Tried & True varnish oil. I really like this stuff. It is easy to work with just have to be patient with the drying time before another coat goes on. I did the burnishing thing that Jim Kibler does on his video. Not particularly fond of that method. I put a few light scratches on the stock. You have to look closely. Hope the next coat fills in more. Over all, I am enjoying the building process. I can't complain about the wood. Not a bad piece of wood for being their standard grade wood.
 

Attachments

  • Ist Coat of Tried & Tru 3.jpg
    Ist Coat of Tried & Tru 3.jpg
    420.7 KB · Views: 0
  • Ist Coat of Tried & Tru. 1.jpg
    Ist Coat of Tried & Tru. 1.jpg
    391 KB · Views: 0
  • Ist Coat of Tried & Tru. 2jpg.jpg
    Ist Coat of Tried & Tru. 2jpg.jpg
    385.1 KB · Views: 0
  • Ist Coat of Tried & Tru.jpg
    Ist Coat of Tried & Tru.jpg
    415.9 KB · Views: 0
I just saw it where you said it’s standard grain, very nice..
Its just their standard grade that they pick to put in the kit. If you want fancier, you pay a bit more for hand selected wood. I use my rifles so I just get the standard grade. I did that with my 3 Shiloh Sharps rifles and they also look good.
 
My Kibler SMR in .36 caliber arrived in today's mail. Sheila, my rural mail carrier said that I owe her big time because the crate was so long she had to stick it out the back window of her Toyota Tacoma. This lets dust come in the cab going down the gravel roads. 😄

When I received noticed that my SMR had shipped I advised my local post office that a rather long and slightly heavy wooden box would be arriving and advised not to deliver to my rural gravel road address. Told em I'd stop in and pick up. Figured it would be less hassle and one less person handling the SMR. Did so also when I ordered two different heavy orders from 'lead sellers' on the forum. Gal at post office thought that was 'all right'!!!
 
I finally finished my Kibler SMR today with the installation of the lock that Jim Kibler so kindly fixed. The rifle is finished with 4 coats of Tried & True varnish oil over iron nitrate as per one of Kibler's videos. I fire blued the steel parts. Do not fire blue the frizzen like I did and ruin it. After getting the lock back from Kibler Longrifles, I blued the frizzen with Birchwood Casey Perma Blue. The barrel is done in JAX steel blackener. The barrel actually came out looking antiqued without too much work. Over all, I like the way it came out. I did make some mistakes along the way but they were all fixable. I did ding the stock here and there which is not visible unless you look real close. If you are hesitating because you don't think you have the skills, I would recommend you try one of these kits. I am more of a wrench type guy but thoroughly enjoyed the build. Support from Kibler is excellent.

I am looking forward to shooting it this weekend.
 

Attachments

  • SMR Rt.jpg
    SMR Rt.jpg
    164.2 KB · Views: 1
  • SMR1.jpg
    SMR1.jpg
    155.3 KB · Views: 0
  • SMR Butt left.jpg
    SMR Butt left.jpg
    162.3 KB · Views: 3
  • SMR Butt Rt.jpg
    SMR Butt Rt.jpg
    139 KB · Views: 3
  • SMR Barrel left.jpg
    SMR Barrel left.jpg
    173.5 KB · Views: 3
  • SMR Barrel Rt.jpg
    SMR Barrel Rt.jpg
    157.9 KB · Views: 0
I finally finished my Kibler SMR today with the installation of the lock that Jim Kibler so kindly fixed. The rifle is finished with 4 coats of Tried & True varnish oil over iron nitrate as per one of Kibler's videos. I fire blued the steel parts. Do not fire blue the frizzen like I did and ruin it. After getting the lock back from Kibler Longrifles, I blued the frizzen with Birchwood Casey Perma Blue. The barrel is done in JAX steel blackener. The barrel actually came out looking antiqued without too much work. Over all, I like the way it came out. I did make some mistakes along the way but they were all fixable. I did ding the stock here and there which is not visible unless you look real close. If you are hesitating because you don't think you have the skills, I would recommend you try one of these kits. I am more of a wrench type guy but thoroughly enjoyed the build. Support from Kibler is excellent.

I am looking forward to shooting it this weekend.
Excellent craftsmanship and a beautiful rifle. Well done Sir!
 
And from the looks of your wood and some others I’ve seen I may have over clubbed ordering the extra fancy maple. Too late now.

TDM, go with it and don't look back. Look forward to seeing your build. If you run into a problem, be sure and ask how to fix it on this forum. One of us will have the answer so as not to bother Jim Kibiler. He is nice enough to return a call but you can always tell from the noise in the background that he is a very busy man.
 
Thanks, I’m looking forward to the build and I won’t be rushing it, I enjoy the process.

I got mine about mid April and here it is December. I did not work on the kit full time due to grandkids, travel, ranch work etc... Slow is good which makes for more progress. Fast is not good because you have to go back and fix things. I learned a lot from working on the build. Hopefully Kibler will come out with a Hawken kit soon so I can order a kit. I may do another SMR in 45 caliber. The wife who it 4'10" likes the one I just finished. Good excuse to order another kit. 😄
 
Last edited:
Back
Top