SMR. 40 cal. Kibler

[hawkeye hugo]

Anybody has experience with shooting these rifle in. 40 caliber and wanna make a review on it?
Balance, weight rifle, best loads....

 

[sportster73hp]

Sorry, i purchased the colonial in 58 cal. I know it’s not the same but i like it. Balanced and doesn’t feel any heavier than my Tc in 54 cal

 

[tenngun]

I have a prejudice about SMR. In .40 with a none too thick barrel ought to be a sweetie.

 

[hanshi]

They are long but still pretty light. My stable desperately needs a Kibler SMR in .45. If I could get that then all would be right with the world.

 

[Pete G]

They are long but still pretty light. My stable desperately needs a Kibler SMR in .45. If I could get that then all would be right with the world.

Then you would need a 50.

 

[RiverRat]

They are long but still pretty light. My stable desperately needs a Kibler SMR in .45. If I could get that then all would be right with the world.

Yes, I know the need. My 45 SMR kit with new Kibler lock is seven weeks in the waiting. I should have it soooon..............

 

[BadDaditood]

Yes, I know the need. My 45 SMR kit with new Kibler lock is seven weeks in the waiting. I should have it soooon..............

You’re gonna Love your SMR in .45 !!
Years ago I built one in cherry with Chamber’s Late Ketland lock.
Having become accustomed to front-heavy straight barrels (afraid of wrecking a blank swamping it), I was shocked at how effective swamping distributes weight. It’s extremely light and balances an inch behind the entry hole. Guys at the Club call it “the Toothpick”.
Ignition was an issue at first but after I drilled the touch-hole out to one sixteenth inch it had me fully trained and I won the next 2 matches with it.

 

[olskool]

I am sitting on a hair fixin to order one from kibler. I just haven't made up my mind what caliber, 32,36,or 45, I have a 40 built by Kevin Blevins, it is a beautiful tack driving machine! it has a slim straight 42in. 3/4 cross the flats barrel. it balances at entry thimble. I imagine one with a swamped barrel will be balance nice. I wish they had a barrel shorter than 46in,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Grenadier1758]

Just lean the rifle to load and clean it. You know you want that 40 caliber Kibler SMR.

 

[Roughneck]

I had a Kibler SMR in 45. I liked it Ok. I doubt I would buy another mainly cause it just didn’t fit me but if I did it would be a 36 or 40. The one I had in 45 seemed to flex when shooting and I didn’t care for that plus the barrel is way to long in my opinion. They are beautiful guns and I am sure would serve you well. I would like to eventually get a Colonial but I have so many flintlocks now i doubt it will be anytime soon.

 

[Scoper05]

I just ordered a Kibler SMR in 40 cal. Can't wait for it to come. I was going to get it in 36 Cal. Because I like the slim look of it but then I found out that 40 is the same outer diameter of barrel so I went for the 40. It's funny because I've been drooling over the colonial kit for over a year now and I saw a video on YouTube where the guy was showing off his SMR and I fell in love with it so I ordered it the next day. Someday I hope to get back on track and order a colonial kit.

 

[hawkeye hugo]

Thanks for your input guys, Roughneck what do you mean by does not fit me, length of pull or shape of stock? I thought extra length of barrel would be helpful for sightings?
Hawkeye

 

[olskool]

yes Roughneck what do you mean by not fitting? and how can it flex when shooting?

 

[Roughneck]

Guys, i mean that the gun was too slim for me as far as fit. If I just picked it up and threw it to my shoulder it feels fine but I mostly target shoot and after a long session of shooting I get more accustomed to whatever I am shooting then I can tell whether the gun is a natural fit or if I am trying to adjust myself to shoot the gun well, hopefully I am making sense. I had the Kibler 45 for several months and shot it a lot, I felt like for me it just put me in an awkward shooting position to get real good accuracy, trust me I am not blaming the gun in any way just didn't work for me. I have shot a few muzzleloaders that seem to flex, feels like the stock is flexing as fired. I don't usually shoot heavy charges either just medium loads like in my Kibler 45 I shot 45 grains of Swiss 3F.

 

[Mike Rayburn]

I've had a .40 SMR for several years now, have put approx. 2000 rnds through it, great rifle...I use Hornady .395 r.b, 25-30 gr. of Swiss 3f @ 25 & 50 yds., 40-45 gr. @ 100yds.patching material is called utility cloth , I purchase that from Jo-Ann fabric stores, it is approx. 0.16-0.18 thick. My lube is Ivory dishwashing soap, that info was given to me by an old timer back in the early 80's who did a great deal of match shooting back then...Accuracy is quite good if u do ur part...weight of the rifle is just a tad over 7lbs. U can't go wrong if u want a good quality rifle with top notch components...BTW, I won the Top Gun Territorial match in the One Gun Match in 2019 using this rifle...Check out Muzzle Blasts February 2020 page 75 for match results...

 

[hawkeye hugo]

Thanks for the info Mike, would be very useful.
I like you buy a .40 cal. Flintlock, but struggling between a Kibler SMR or a Chambers York rifle
Wich barrel is a little more heavy I guess?
Hawkeye

 

[Mike Rayburn]

The kibler rifle is a much easier kit to put 2gether, I've had both...For whatever reason, that skinny Rice A wt. barrel is extremely accurate, can't go wrong , in my opinion...in choosing the kibler kit over the chambers kit.

 

[JCB]

I’ve owned a Chamber’s York, and have handled a Kibler in .40. On first impression when shouldering both,the York felt great but the Kibler didn’t fit me as well, though I’m sure I could get use to it. I’ve even thought about ordering one in.36. I don’t believe you could go wrong with either. The plus side to the Kibler for me would be the ease of assembly.

Thanks for the info Mike, would be very useful.
I like you buy a .40 cal. Flintlock, but struggling between a Kibler SMR or a Chambers York rifle
Wich barrel is a little more heavy I guess?
Hawkeye

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

The .40 is a smooth operator.

 

[hawkeye hugo]

I had before a. 32 Ken Netting rifle with late Ketland, was super fast and reliable lock