Sharp Shooter

What do you have to do when you buy this kit besides assembley. What do you have to do to blue the barrel? Do you need to rifle it to or is that already done? If so how do you do it?

cayugad

You have to blue or brown the metal barrel and lock. The brass is as it comes. You also have to finish the stock. This is done a number of ways. The old fashion way was boiled linseed oil rubbed into the wood a little at a time over a long time.With linseed oil the scheduleused to be once a day for a week, once aweek for a month, once a month for a year, and once a year for the rest of your life. Many opt for a stain and a polyurethane coat now..

Many times the lock, nose cap, butt plate cover, and escutcheon plate might not fit exact and you have to set them, so there is a little bit of woodworking skill required. Also you have to set the tang level and true or the barrel will be off. If you're good at wood working and detail work you should be able to do this. If you're not, then you are better off just to purchase the rifle.

I put my Renegade together over 25 years ago, and I am still shooting it.

Sharp Shooter

What do you mean by you have to set the tang level? Is the barrel already rifled? And how would you blue the barrel. I have a dremel and like to do wood work.

cayugad

If the tang is off center and not level in the stockthe barrel can be off center and could effect your accuracy. It is not all that hard to do. A dremel tool needs to be used with caution because there is only a small amount in most cases that you need to take off to make the parts fit flush. When I did mine, I used a scraper and sandpaper.

As for browning or blueing the barrel there are a number of different products on the market you can buy to do that. Some of the better ones are made by Brownell and Birchwood Casey (only my opinion). I browned mine with some stuff 25 years ago that I do not even remember the name of anymore.

Yes the barrel is already rifled. It comes with a 1-48 twist. And the breech plug is installed in the new ones I think. So once all the parts are set and finished the gun will go together and your off to the range. Another kit you might want to look at are the Lyman Great Plains Rifle and Great Plain Hunter. I would get the .54 caliber but that is personal preference on my part.

Sharp Shooter

what is the breech plug? I diddnt know Lyman made an unfinished kit. I really like the Lyman style and looks but I did not know they make a kit. I will look that up. The only thing about the Lyman is you either get a 1-32" twist for bullets or connicals. Or you get a 1-60" twist for round balls. That is what cabelas had. What would be better. I think I would want the 1-32" twist, right? The Lyman is more of something you would see back in the 19th centry right? The Hawken is just a design made today right? Or would you have seen it back in the olden days?

mauser06

for rifleing choices its all upto what you want......if you want a roundballs shooter and want to shoot roundballs...a slower 1:48, 1:60 ect are good...1:48s may also shoot conicals pretty good....faster like 1:32 and 1:28 ect are better with bullets and sabots...both guns are kinda traditional..hawkens been around the block a few times....the new ones come with brass......not many came with brass when they were original....it was steel back then i believe i read somewhere..a breech plug is the plug in the rear of your barrel...guess it takes the rearward force of your charge....most traditional rifles have non removable breechplugs....gunsmiths can install and remove them if EVER NEEDED...like a serious stuck projecttile or something bad...but dont touch it yourself....seems that you may want to buy a rifle and get familiar with it first...see if you like it..learn how they work and together ect...then down the road build one.....once you get hooked youll look into building a REAL rifle...with the best lock stock and barrel you can find....and build it based on history...or how you WANT it to look.....or a mix.....kit guns would be fun but really...theres not much work to be done....i baught a used TC hawken and did as much work as the kit takes...id say you need to buy a finished gun to play with for a while first...youll be hooked in no time....i shoot a flintlock..its a blast...i love to just go out and blast away...youll learn how the gun works and how the parts go together ect when your cleaning ect......good luck

Sharp Shooter

I currently own a Tompson 54. cal percussion cap. They dont make the model anymore. I am going to start shooting it and get used to it. Then, I want to build one.

vangunsmith

I would suggest you buy a book on the subject and do a little reading first. vangunsmith