Need advice on LH kit makers

[boydusmx]

I'm going to build myself a left hand flintlock. I'm a beginning builder who has done a lot of wood and metal finishing and some minor inletting, only finished one Lyman GP pistol from a kit. I have completely transformed a few Lyman Great Plains rifles into something more aesthetically pleasing by treating them like "in-the-white" kits. My building experience is that limited. I have a fancy for the 1770's style rifle and have found 3 companies that provide complete kits: 1) Jim Chambers Issac Hanes rifle 2) TOW Isaac Hanes rifle 3) TVM Late Lancaster rifle. I'm looking for a kit with a pre-inletted stock with quality parts, placed where they need to be. Jim Chambers seems to have a great reputation with quality of parts and is my current 1st choice but also comes with the highest price tag. I would greatly appreciate any advice from those with direct experience with these companies or hearing about other options. I love what Jim Kibler is doing, but I can't shoot wrong handed

 

[Darkhorse]

This kit is right up there with the Chambers, it just doesn't get much publicity. Something I really like about it is that you get to pick your grade of wood from a number of grades. Only the C weight is offered in LH, if they would offer it in B weight I'd think they would sell a ton.
http://dunlapwoodcrafts.com/component-sets/transition-isaac-haines-rifle

I don't know much about this provider. I've read good and bad. His site is also a little confusing about what you actually get with his kit.

http://sittingfoxmuzzleloaders.com/k-12/

I agree concerning Jim Kibler. He has had a lot of requests for a LH kit but I think he's happy with what he's got. His replies to me were about how hard and expensive it would be to set up for LH kits and that would really cut his profit margin.

 

[boydusmx]

I don’t fault Jim for making sound business decisions. I think he has all the business he can handle as it stands. It isn’t cheap to tool up a new product and his return might be 10% of his revenue over RH rifles. Too bad for me, but I think he’s got a great product and serves his customers well.

 

[berkscoflinter]

I'm a lefty and have built TVM kits. I have never been disappointed with their kits, and the few occasions I needed to speak to them by phone resulted in the assistance I was looking for. I requested kits with only the barrel and ram rod channel inletted, preferring to inlet the remaining parts myself. For me, a build is a long, tedious process, but being retired means time isn't an issue. The main problem with old age is it just doesn't last long enough, and your eyes go to squat!

 

[boydusmx]

Well berkscoflinter, we have more in common than I care to admit

 

[Tim L]

Try http://cabincreek.net/ call them. I got one of their kits in LH years ago had it re stock once..

 

[boydusmx]

Wow! Never heard of Dunlopwoodcrafts or cabin creek before. I’ll check them out before I pull the trigger.