Author: Bob Vogt

Muzzleloader shooter since 2016. Secretary of the Gemmer Muzzleloader Gun Club.

Hunting, Archery Range, and Modern Guns

GMLGC Members,

The board would like to share with the club the results of the survey and what was discussed at our meeting this week:

Hunting at the club’s property –

After reading all the comments from the members and giving it a great deal of thought, the board has decided that we will NOT add hunting of any kind to the range property. There isn’t enough land to ensure the safety of all members. Hunting on the conservation area is still acceptable under the rules of the state of Missouri. Shotguns and archery hunting are permitted there. No solid projectiles from a shotgun are allowed. Club members are welcome to camp on the range property and hunt on the conservation area.

Archery Range/Woods Walk Area and Safety –

Concern was raised about ensuring the safety of club members that might go back in the woods to archery practice while others would be using the range. Decided that to avoid any safety issues, the only time that the archery range in the woods can be used is when the range is closed. For example, the range opens at 10am each day. Members can practice archery before 10am, and they must be out of the woods before 10am. We will discuss with the club the option of adding archery events to the club schedule for 2021. The firing range would be closed during an Archery event.

Modern Guns at the Range –

From the survey conducted, the majority of members want to allow modern firearms in addition to muzzleloaders. We want to clarify the rules for the use of modern firearms.

  • No FMJ rifle shooting at the steel targets.
  • FMJ pistol, .22 and black powder round ball ammo are acceptable at the steel targets.
  • Any ammo that damages the steel targets is not acceptable. Please report any damages that you may accidentally cause to a board member.

We want to thank everyone that provided feedback on the survey. It was very helpful as we discussed these matters.
Our next club meeting is this Sunday at 10am at the range. We will be happy to answer any questions that you have at that meeting.

Sincerely,
—
Bob Vogt, Secretary Gemmer Muzzleloading Gun Club

Have You Considered Building Your Own Muzzleloader Kit, but too Afraid to Start?

Maybe it’s for the same reason that I was resistant, fear that the kit would be to hard to build. My career involved computer programming, not woodworking, carving, or machinist skills. If you fit into this group of inexperienced muzzleloader lovers, than I may have the answer you have been looking for.

Jim Kibler’s rifle kits. These kits are made using CNC machines that carve the stock very precisely so that assembly is as easy as possible. The lock and some of the other hardware is also made on CNC machines. Plus Jim has recorded YouTube video’s to show you exactly what to do, step by step.

Colonial Rifle Kit

So far Jim has 2 kits to choose from, the Colonial Rifle Kit and the Southern Mountain Rifle Kit. Both are flintlock, no percussion, and only right handed models are currently available. Also, only rifle barrels are available, no smoothbore yet. Jim plans on expanded his offering to left handed models as well as additional styles. If you are looking for a right handed flintlock rifle that is an excellent shooter, than look no further. Jim uses Rice swamp barrels, which are arguably one of the best barrels on the market.

There is no doubt that you can find a cheaper kit, but I doubt you will find a better value kit. My kit was $850, plus $200 for the lock, plus shipping and the chemicals for the stock. It’s not cheap by any means, but if you take your time, and build this high quality kit, you will not be disappointed.

My first kit was a Dimick Rifle Kit that required a high skill level to complete. This kit has a Rice barrel and a L&R percussion lock. The cost of this kit was basically the same as the Kibler kit, but a lot of the hard work was done for me on the Kimber Kit. Fortunately for me I have friends that are highly skilled gun builders. They helped me with cutting the dovetails on the barrel, drilling and tapping all the holes needed, and installing the breach plug to the barrel. I’m very close to finishing that kit, but I still need to make to nose cap by melting tin and pouring it. Again this is something I need help to do, so I’ve benched the gun until I can get the help needed.

Learning how to build these kits has been a wonderful process. I hope that I will be able to continue this for many years. What I really like about the Kibler kit is that an inexperienced builder can assemble the kit without any help. I can focus my skills on engraving, carving, and inletting a piece or two for decoration.

I choose the basic curly maple stock in .54 caliber. I will be using Jim’s chemicals to treat the wood and metal to give the gun the traditional look. Here are pictures as I assembled the kit.

  • Butt Plate Installed
  • Barrel and Tang installed
  • Tang inlet and bolted down
  • Side view with Lock out.
  • Cleaned up Patch Box
  • Fit the slide cover for box
  • Filed the butt plate dove tails to fit the box cover
  • Box Cover installed and locked
  • Box Cover installed
  • Under lugs installed on barrel
  • Holding Barrel in stock
  • Drilled holes and made slot in under lugs
  • Pinned the barrel under lugs into the stock
  • Trigger pinned
  • Barrel Pinned
  • Brass plate for slide box cover
  • Filed off the Slide Box Cover the thickness of the brass plate
  • Installed the side plate for the lock.
  • Installed the side plate for the lock.
  • Lock installed into stock
  • Trigger and Lock installed and tested
  • Trigger Guard Installed
  • Trigger Guard Installed
  • Entry Pipe installed
  • Pipes Installed
  • Pipes Installed
  • Epoxied the Nose Cap
  • Epoxied the Nose Cap
  • Brass End Cap on the Slide Box Installed
  • Slide Cover with Brass attached
  • Filed Dove Tails in the Brass End Cap
  • Slide Box installed in Stock
  • Brass on slide cover lines up with Butt Plate brass
  • Touch Hole Liner Installed
  • Hack sawed off Touch Hole Liner
  • Filed the liner off flush with the barrel
  • Nose Cap installed
  • Nose Cap
  • Nose Cap Installed
  • Nose Cap Filed
  • Cleaned up the Pipes and Box Hardware
  • Butt Plate filed and polished
  • Cleaned up the Butt Plate
  • Draw Filed the Rice Swamp Barrel
  • Draw Filed the Rice Swamp Barrel
  • Brass Rivots on the nose cap
  • Nose Cap
  • Filed and polished trigger gaurd
  • Cleaned up Trigger Gaurd
  • Sanded stock flush with tang
  • Carved on cheek rest
  • Thumb Nail notch carved on box cover

Thank you Jim Kibler for creating a kit for the unskilled builder!

Here are a couple of comments from others much more experienced building a wide variety of kits:

Good Places to Buy Muzzleloader Rifle and Pistol Kits

I’m relatively new to building muzzleloaders, but I have learned quickly that there is a wide range of skills required to successfully build a traditional muzzleloader that is period correct. If you have machinist skills and tools then you have a big advantage when learning how to build a kit.

There are a lot of people that would love to build a muzzleloader, but are afraid to take on a project that they are not skilled enough to finish. I would like to help these folks take the leap into this world by showing them that there are kits available for every skill set.

Here is how I would rate the skill level required to build a muzzleloader kit on a scale of 1-5.

1 – The gun is fully assembled but is in the white. This means that the wood and metal needs to be sanded or filed and then stained or blued or browned. Need to be able to disassemble and reassemble and you get to select the color and look that the finished product has. Cost for this option is higher because your paying for a craftsman to build the rifle. Probably 5-10 hours to finish the kit.

2 – All the parts for the kit are preselected for you and are very close to fitting together with minimal wood removal. The inletting is 99% completed, likely with a CNC machine so that the parts fit very close. I would rate the Jim Kibler kits into this group. Probably about 25-30 hours to assemble and finish the wood and metal to have a completed project.

3– Stock not made on CNC machine so more work to fit parts. Stock is about 95% completed. Barrel can have some of the machinist work done, like dove tail cuts. Holes can be drilled and tapped, Tang and breach plug is connected to the barrel. Estimate 50-100 hours to complete.

4 – The kit is selected with parts that reproduce a period correct gun. The stock is shaped and inlet to 90% complete. The barrel will need dovetails cut in for the sights and lugs. There is about 1/8” of extra wood that will need to be shaped on the stock to fit the barrel and all hardware to fit. Breach plug needs to be installed to barrel. Holes will need to be drilled and tapped. Estimate 200-300 hours to build.

5 – You begin with a blank chunk of wood, and select the barrel, lock, trigger, and all hardware yourself to match a period correct rifle that you are trying to duplicate. This is the ultimate in succeeding as a custom muzzleloader builder. Carving and engraving are often seen at this level. Estimate likely more than 300 hours to build.

The estimated time to complete is based on your skill set and the tools you have to work with. Some may build a level 5 rifle in much less time because they are very experienced.

Track of the Wolf offers kits that cover a wide range of skill sets. They offer services where they will do some of the harder assembly work for you to make the kit easier.

Please provide where you prefer to buy your kits and rate the skill level required to assemble them (1-5). I’ll share this information with everyone.

Rifle and Pistol Kit Suppliers

Abe’s General Store
Skill Level: 3
Products: Traditions kits

Deer Creek Products
Skill Level: 3
Products: CVA Parts, Traditions Kits, Pedersoli Rifles and Kits

Dixon’s Muzzleloading Shop Inc.
Skill Level: 3-4
Products: Muzzleloader Parts

Dixie Gun Works
Skill Level: 3-4
Products: Gunsmithing-Building, Traditions, Dixie, Lyman, Pedersoli Kits

Hinterland Outfitters
Skill Level: 3
Products: Traditions Rifle Kits

Jedediah Starr Trading Company
Skill Level: 3-4
Products: Gun Kits, Gunsmith Services

Jim Chambers Flintlocks
Skill Level: 3-4
Products: Rifles, Locks, Pistols and Parts

Jim Kibler Flintlocks
Skill Level: 1-2
Products: Flintlock CNC Rifle Kits – Colonial and Southern Mountain, CNC Flintlock

Kashtuk Bowcraft Gunworks
Skill Level:
Products: Guns and Pistols, Northwest Trade Gun, Tennessee Long Rifle, Virginia-Lancaster Longrifle, Leman Trade Gun

Log Cabin Shop
Skill Level:
Products: Guns and Gun Parts, Lyman and Traditions Muzzleloaders

Main Street Muzzleloaders
Skill Level:
Products: Traditional Muzzleloader Rifles and Pistols

Muzzleloading and More
Skill Level:
Products: Rifles, Pistols

October Country
Skill Level:
Products: Rifle and Pistol Kits

Taylor’s & Company
Skill Level:
Products: Black Powder Rifles

Traveler’s Antiques and Trading Co.
Skill Level:
Products: Uberti Revolvers, Pedersoli Rifles

Tennessee Valley Muzzleloading
Skill Level:
Products: Rifle and Smoothbore Kits

The Gun Works Muzzleloading Emporium
Skill Level:
Products: Custom and Production Guns

The Possible Shop
Skill Level:
Products: Cap & Ball Pistols, Muzzleloaders and Kits

The Hawken Shop
Skill Level:
Products: Hawken Rifle Kits, Locks, Breeches, Tangs.

The Rifle Shoppe
Skill Level:
Products: Rifles and Pistols

Track of the Wolf
Skill Level: 3-4
Products: Guns, Gun and Pistol Kits, Gun Parts, Gunsmithing

Traditions Firearms
Skill Level:
Products: Muzzleloaders, Pistols, and Kits