Kibler "Colonial" build thread

[troy fairweather]

My h&a mz had that 15ga smoothbore barrel and was shooting a baseball size group at just under 50 yards, that's with just the bead sight and a fence post to kinda Steady the gun. I'm sure if it was a smooth rifle with sights and rest along with more testing loads it would have shot better.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

My h&a mz had that 15ga smoothbore barrel and was shooting a baseball size group at just under 50 yards, that's with just the bead sight and a fence post to kinda Steady the gun. I'm sure if it was a smooth rifle with sights and rest along with more testing loads it would have shot better.

Yes, would have gone from minute of baseball to minute of tennis ball at 50 with sights I'm sure. At 100 yards, hit a basket ball sometimes.

 

[troy fairweather]

Yes, would have gone from minute of baseball to minute of tennis ball at 50 with sights I'm sure. At 100 yards, hit a basket ball sometimes.

I thought it shot pretty good considering I was pretty much dry ball loading, I only had .662 balls and the bore was about . 677 and a pillow ticking patch was to tight even on a clean bore. Never tried some .010" patch that may have worked. I was loading a leather wad then about 4 over shot cards I made, ball then 2 over shot cards. Tried with a lubed fiber wad to and that shot nice to. I would have been comfortable at 75-80 yards on a deer.

 

[hawg]

Dang it Hawg. I'm still with ya. At quite a distance, but I'm there. Stay strong.

I'm trying man but it's so damn hard.

 

[.38 Special]

I'm trying man but it's so damn hard.

Lots of us on "Team Hawg", even if we don't know how to say it.

 

[hawg]

Lots of us on "Team Hawg", even if we don't know how to say it.

Thank you.

 

[.38 Special]

Slight update: despite ordering a "quick ship" kit, it's coming up on a month. Rather than pester the folks, I did what I normally do in such situations: order something related to keep me busy. In this case it is a pipe tomahawk kit. I figure that if nothing else, applying the same finishes, to the steel head and maple handle, that I intend to use on the rifle will give me a bit of experience prior to "the real deal". And of course, right after the order, Kibler notified me that the kit was shipping. Hopefully the project(s) will get started next week.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Slight update: despite ordering a "quick ship" kit, it's coming up on a month. Rather than pester the folks, I did what I normally do in such situations: order something related to keep me busy. In this case it is a pipe tomahawk kit. I figure that if nothing else, applying the same finishes, to the steel head and maple handle, that I intend to use on the rifle will give me a bit of experience prior to "the real deal". And of course, right after the order, Kibler notified me that the kit was shipping. Hopefully the project(s) will get started next week.

Right on, good plan. Hey, as we have kind of muddied up this thread, I'd suggest starting a new thread on your build, when you actually start. Really looking forward to it for sure. I just did a pipe hawk, wasn't a kit but rather a "low budget" one, that was not "great" when it came out of the box. The hawk was loose on the handle, the turtle motif was crude, etc. (but worth the price) However, I did a "rebuild" and it came out really good. Did some file work on it, will post a pic.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Maybe some ideas maybe not!

Turned out pretty good methinks. More of a pipe and weapon than a camp-tool, although fine for very light chores. I left a very steep angle on the cutting edge. Very sharp though. Again, more of a weapon than a hatchet.
The Turtle had a square head! I fixed him. And very short blunt legs, and a short tail. Anyhow, some good bow-making epoxy, and a cross pin and I don't think the head will move. It's not tapered. Also I put a "wedding ring" of bicycle handle bar on top of the shaft, and cross pinned it. (fore and aft) I colored the pipe bowl with the propane torch just for....color...but I like how it looks like it got really hot while smoking. !!!!! And once broke in, it smokes really nice.

Anyhow, can I muddy up your thread any more than with pics of my Hawk? No. Sorry about that!

 

[tallpaul]

Well, not quite the same. If one (a Kibler fowler) is coming out, I'd wait. I'm surprised it isn't out yet, as the fowlers are very popular. .

At his open house last year he said the fowler was in development and was next. Jim will not rush or let smoething out until its right

 

[Ugly Sauce]

At his open house last year he said the fowler was in development and was next. Jim will not rush or let smoething out until its right

As it should be.

 

[.38 Special]

This showed up at work today. I can't imagine what it might be, but I'm not going to attack all those little screws until I get home with the power screwdriver.

 

[.38 Special]

Well, what do you know. It's a rifle-in-a-box.



That is a pretty piece of wood. The way the grain runs through the wrist pleases me no end.


Not bad right out of the box. Time to get out the prussian blue, sharpen up the chisels, and see if it can be made perfect.

 

[.38 Special]

Easy enough. Twenty minutes with the chisel - and the barrel in and out a dozen times! - and the gap closed up well. I wish I could get a better picture; what looks like a gap is the shadow of wood standing proud, which I'll take care of down the road. Looks like the tang will need some filing too...

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Very nice. I would have screwed it up already. What caliber is it? Sorry if you already mentioned that.

 

[.38 Special]

Very nice. I would have screwed it up already. What caliber is it? Sorry if you already mentioned that.

It's .54, rifled. I'm going very slowly - it would be so easy to screw up that nice piece of maple!

 

[Ugly Sauce]

It's .54, rifled.

I approve that message.

 

[troy fairweather]

Not sure if I'd go 54 or 58 on the colonial, 58 weights less but 54 leaves more options with balls and room to rebore for some reason in the future. I'd cast my own balls so doesn't matter, can't get bp here so have to find a place across the line in pa to get black powder.

 

[.38 Special]

Next step is the trigger plate.

Fitting a screwdriver to the tang screw.


The trigger plate dropped right in. There's a gap in the wood, but it's underneath the rifle, so I'm not going to whine about it. My neighborhood is more humid than Jim's, so maybe the wood will swell a bit.


Tang screw fitted.


Butt plate fitting. Lots of wood needed to be removed here - cut and try and cut and try and... At least the plate is easier to remove than the barrel. Finally got it pretty close, but will need to bang on it a bit before I'm perfectly happy. There's also a slight defect in the casting that I'll work out with files and a punch, but I think I'm done for the evening.


(Edited to replace the blurry photos.)

 

[.38 Special]

Not sure if I'd go 54 or 58 on the colonial, 58 weights less but 54 leaves more options with balls and room to rebore for some reason in the future. I'd cast my own balls so doesn't matter, can't get bp here so have to find a place across the line in pa to get black powder.

I almost called up to tell them to send out a .58 instead - I just couldn't make up my mind.

 

[troy fairweather]

I almost called up to tell them to send out a .58 instead - I just couldn't make up my mind.

58 seems almost more traditional even tho this is jims copy of I think a Virginian rifle I believe. I'm not sure how I'd finish the either, probably aqua fortis on the wood. Don't know if I'd engrave the wood or not, I kind want it to be like a rifle pulled off the new rack in the mid 1770s. Think I'd rust blue the steel to hold up better then the cold blue most guys do.

 

[.38 Special]

58 seems almost more traditional even tho this is jims copy of I think a Virginian rifle I believe. I'm not sure how I'd finish the either, probably aqua fortis on the wood. Don't know if I'd engrave the wood or not, I kind want it to be like a rifle pulled off the new rack in the mid 1770s. Think I'd rust blue the steel to hold up better then the cold blue most guys do.

I probably will go with iron nitrate and then a light color stain. I like an orange-red color with dark stripes. I was considering leaving the barrel in-the-white and letting it patina, but I think I'll hurry it along with Jax black rubbed back with Scotch Brite. Still haven't decided what to do with the brass. I don't really like bright brass, but don't want to do the whole "antiquing" bit. Just something to dial back the brightness.

As for carving and engraving, I may do just the tiniest bit but no more. If nothing else, my abilities simply don't lie in that direction. Rather than mangle that nice piece of timber, I'll just fit it to the metal as closely as possible, finish it as best I can, and let the natural perfection stand out.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I almost called up to tell them to send out a .58 instead - I just couldn't make up my mind.

Deciding on caliber is NOT easy. I struggled with that. My choice, with my Jeager, was between .58 and .62". I had all the .58" "stuff", bullet molds especially. And, I'm a fan of the .58". But, the bigger the bore, the lighter the barrel, and I planned to hunt far and hard with it, and take it trekking and exploring too. So the lighter the better. The other "thing" was that as I hunt in a Grizzly recovery area, the increase in whomp was not a bad thing. Although, I'm not sure what a hot loaded .58 can't do. Or, "was there enough difference to make a difference"?

In the end I went .62", mostly due to the weight, which again, is not that much difference. But when ranging far and wide, every ounce can count. As for power, I can always load the .62 "down" to a .58", in theory? but the bigger bore will always have an edge, when both are loaded as hot as one dares, although at the price of more whomp to the shoulder.

If you aren't spending time in Mr. Grizz's backyard, I don't think you'll be unhappy with a .54". All I hear about them is good stuff. Sure haven't heard complaints about it. People dropping moose and elk with it. And the ball certainly has plenty of weight, way outclasses the .50" bore. It's a good caliber.

 

[.38 Special]

Deciding on caliber is NOT easy. I struggled with that. My choice, with my Jeager, was between .58 and .62". I had all the .58" "stuff", bullet molds especially. And, I'm a fan of the .58". But, the bigger the bore, the lighter the barrel, and I planned to hunt far and hard with it, and take it trekking and exploring too. So the lighter the better. The other "thing" was that as I hunt in a Grizzly recovery area, the increase in whomp was not a bad thing. Although, I'm not sure what a hot loaded .58 can't do. Or, "was there enough difference to make a difference"?

In the end I went .62", mostly due to the weight, which again, is not that much difference. But when ranging far and wide, every ounce can count. As for power, I can always load the .62 "down" to a .58", in theory? but the bigger bore will always have an edge, when both are loaded as hot as one dares, although at the price of more whomp to the shoulder.

If you aren't spending time in Mr. Grizz's backyard, I don't think you'll be unhappy with a .54". All I hear about them is good stuff. Sure haven't heard complaints about it. People dropping moose and elk with it. And the ball certainly has plenty of weight, way outclasses the .50" bore. It's a good caliber.

The truth is that in my case it probably just doesn't matter. I'm almost certainly through with big game hunting; this rifle probably will never kill anything more lively than a pinecone. And when those pinecones live in bear country, there will be a .500 S&W hidden under my coat! So horsepower won't be any issue, and the small difference in rifle weight likely won't either. And if worse comes to worst, I'm sure Jim would be happy to sell me another barrel!

 

[troy fairweather]

I probably will go with iron nitrate and then a light color stain. I like an orange-red color with dark stripes. I was considering leaving the barrel in-the-white and letting it patina, but I think I'll hurry it along with Jax black rubbed back with Scotch Brite. Still haven't decided what to do with the brass. I don't really like bright brass, but don't want to do the whole "antiquing" bit. Just something to dial back the brightness.

As for carving and engraving, I may do just the tiniest bit but no more. If nothing else, my abilities simply don't lie in that direction. Rather than mangle that nice piece of timber, I'll just fit it to the metal as closely as possible, finish it as best I can, and let the natural perfection stand out.

I don't like bright brass either, I'm not really a fan of any brass on any gun. I've thought to just blacken it right out but doesn't fit with my fresh off the rack look I'd like. Don't think I'd engrave either, don't think many new guns then we're when new it's hard to say if they were. If you think the best guns back then we're all used and worn out the survivors today maybe the rifles not as popular, unless they were special.