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Oil for smoke poles?
Digital Caveman:
I see, so before I totally hijack this thread, :D what would it take to get set up with a flintlock kit, assuming I mix my own powder and trade for flint here?
Eric Krewson:
I added more info to my initial post.
You can't mix your own powder, well, you can but your results will be very inconsistent compared to what you buy. Accuracy and consistency go hand in hand. You can make your own flints but buying them is a better option for most folk. If you are a good knapper they are a piece of cake to make. I have found field find broken arrow heads work just fine.
I have made BP before as a kid, we made bombs and blew up everything out in the country. One of our devices blew up and killed my best friend, we were 13 at the time. Leave the manufacture to the professionals.
Kits, that this a complex issue, Kibler are the best and easiest to put together and still have a historically correct rifle, they aren't slap together kits and take some time and a little wood working and metal working skills to complete.
Traditions are slap together kits, screw stuff together and put a finish one the wood and metal and you are good to go. Traditions kits don't represent any style of riffle accurately but are good shooters and are great if you just want something to shoot.
There are tons of kit options from the Traditions type to precarve stocks and a pile of rough parts kits. The traditions may take 4 or 5 hours to complete, the rough parts kit may take 150 to 200 hours to complete depending on your skill level. Kiblers take 15 hours at the most.
Be forewarned this is an expensive hobby, a Kibler kit will set you back $1000 to start with, other wood options will run that up a bit. Traditions kits will be between $350 and $450.
Here is my Kibler southern mountain squirrel rifle in .32 cal, easy for me to put together but too hard for the guy I bought the kit from, second hand still in the box.
Eric Krewson:
There are a lot of videos on youtube about putting together Traditions kits, Kibler kits and parts kits.
Digital Caveman:
I see, thanks.
As a potter, I have some experience mixing chemicals precisely, but those aren't explosive.
How do you store that much powder safely, or is that what the back shed is for?
Eric Krewson:
You ever type up long answer and have it disappear before you post it? I just did, I don't type well so I will come back later to answer your question. Special storage areas are not required for individuals, only dealers.
I keep my BP in my shop, it won't explode if it catches fire, only burn up quickly, it comes in a plastic container like motor oil now. It has to be enclosed in a gun barrel or pipe bomb to go explode.
The stuff we buy comes in very precise granule sizes, the granules are also graphite coated to make them not stick together and clump up and also makes them slower to absorb moisture.
The designation may be 3FG which denotes the size (3F) and the graphite coating (G). Cannon powder is not graphite coated.
Most guns under.50 like 3F, but it can be shot in all guns, normally guns over .50 tend to like 2F, my 12 ga likes 1F. Every gun is different so you "work up a load" that shoots accurately with more or less powder, a looser or tighter ball and patch.
I have two rifles that have straight, not swamped (tapered and flared) barrels with square bottom rifling that will shoot anything I put down the barrel accurately.
If you do your part you can expect this kind of accuracy from a flintlock rifle. This is at 50 yards with my .54 flintlock deer rifle and iron sights, I do have a peep sight on the rifle so my 73 year old eyes can see the sights. The bull is 2 1/2", I snatched the trigger and hit left with the first shot then got dialed in.
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