i been wanting to build a big smooth bore flintlock...i want to hunt turkeys and such with it....turkeys will be the main game...but id definently be carrying it for squirrels and such also....and if i can stuff a huge roundball down there to put giant holes in targets...maybe deer if its accurate enough thats a great bonus...i only have one flinter and like to have back up guns or other options to take hunting...i was going to buy a bow this summer but it dont look like ill beable to afford the one i want being in college and all...but if i can build a rifle for...600 or less i may consider it...i was going to wait till after college to do it but hey...it may be cheaper then buying a bow...and if i can pull it off cash wise i just might do it now..im not looking for anything fancy...just a good reliable lock and barrel...id probably go with a kit...or somewhere i can get a stock thats inletted...i heard a jaeger rifle would be a good choice but cant find much of them anywhere...i want to go with somewhere around 12ga..(70 some cal probably.....)i can finish the stock and brown the metal thats no problem i like doing stuff like that...anyone know of what a good rifle would be and where to find one?? should i wait till my price range is higher?? waiting is no problem...just figured id ask..maybe i can find one cheaper then i thought....thanx guys....

http://www.earlyrusticarms.com/pricesanddescriptions.htm Mauser check Early Rustic Arms.. they have some excellent prices on kits, you can deck the rifle out as much as you like, and they use excellent quality parts in their kits..

this might be the thing you can afford and still go to college...

wow cayugad.....thank you soooo much...thats absolutely awesome...them are some prettttty nice guns...and the prices aint bad!! hmmmmm lol....thats definently something to think about.....im sure they used the fanicier wood in most the pics..but they are still all nice lookin guns..i just might be makin smoke by next spring gobbler season!!!! i just found out theres problems with my school loan...so i wont be buying till atleast fall....but man...i can start planning and dreaming!! and they say "clover leafs at 30yds is a normal grouping!!!!!" thats awesome!!! a 75cal round ball will knock the snot out of a deer.....and i can stuff a ton of BBs down that sucker.....

would you recommend the longer barrel or shorter?? i didnt read it all yet but noticed atleast one says you can choose 36 or 42 inches...since i want a good pattern for turkeys id think longer right?? and it cant really hurt...except a little more weight...a little more time to stabalize my giant roundballs....lol...if everything goes alright i just might have me a nice winter project...come home and do a little every weekend...then when winter breaks itll be ready to pattern....people will look at me like im nuts turkey hunting with a flinter!!! exspecially the guys with 3 and 1/2 inch mag semi autos lol.....

because you want to shoot roundball as well, I would go with the longer barrel. You're a young strong man so the additional length should not be a problem to you as far as balance. Besides, I like a longer barrel. They seem to balance better to me. It should be good for turkey out to 35 yards, maybe even more.

They have all grades of wood you can purchase... I've been looking at a .62 caliber with a rifled barrel for roundball shooting in the Colonial Smoothbore with a rifled barrel of course. I think that would make an excellent rifle for shooting. Of course I told myself no more rifles. Good thing I talked to them before I made that promise.. thenI can claim past preference.

sounds awesome...im kinda excited about this! i read they need a 300$ deposit...and take about a year to get done...so i could save the 300 this summer...order it...maybe even a little nicer then the basic rifle since id be paying like half now half next summer.....i gota talk to dad about it tonight...and i remembered about an old bow in the garage i gota talk to him about....i may be able to have the best of BOTH worlds lol...bow hunting..AND my big bore flinter....figure i can set the bow up and be shooting for 200$ or so and have that old bow flinging some good shots...then save the 300 and figure out what i want and order my gun later in the summer.....then work on it next winter.....i dont really mind the wait...itll kill me...but works out good for me....dont be surprised if i got more questions regaurding what i want etc....lol..hope you dont mind..

wood really doesnt matter to me....i mean it would be nice to have a fancy piece of wood on it..but thats another 100+...and ill be small game hunting with it more then anything i bet...so itll take a bit of a beating...and being long its bound to take hits from branches and such..basic wood will do me just fine..i love the looks of nice fancy wood but really dont want it on a shotgun that ill be USING and hunting with...pheasants...squirrels..bunnys..turkey...dee r...all from the same gun....i might as well sell all my other rifles lol

my dads going to think im nuts...but he knows i love flintlocking...and when he hears i can load it with shot OR a giant round ball he will be impressed...excpecially next year when i get some roundballs to fit it!!!

I think a .72 caliber roundball weighs... 549 grains because they load a .715 ball.

If memory serves me you take your constant of 1502 X ball diameter X ball diameter X ball diameter = ball weight. If you were shooting a .710 ball it should figure to 1502 x .71 X .71 X .71 = 537.5 grains. For instance a .490 roundball for a .50 caliber is; 1502 X .49 X.49 X .49 = 176.7 or 177 .54 caliber; 1502 X .53 X .53 X .53 = 223 grains. Incase you want to figure the weight of a roundball....


have you all got your calculators out?

holy moly....so if id go through with it...and im definently thinking about it HARD...and order the .75 cal...it should shoot .74dia balls...which weigh around 610grs!!! thats 11.5ths of a pound...which is roughly an ounce and a half! ....now the question is....can i found .74dia round balls to fire from this sucker??? and im sure ill have to learn to cut wads and patches huh?? how much powder do you think the max load would be? have any idea?? will i have to shoot Fg powder since the caliber is so large?? i have no idea about this big bore stuff.....kinda neat.....im guessing that 150grs of powder will be probably about the right load? so i should beable to fire about an ounce and a half of BBs give or take...i read that most of the better smooth bore patterns use the same powder measure as shot measure...for turkeys ill definently use a hot heavy load...man this will be fun...and ALOT to tinker with...small game loads...turkey loads...deer loads...clay shooting..small game hunting...turkey hunting...deer hunting if im accurate enough....man why didnt i think of this a long time ago!?!?

There must be someone that makes roundball for that rifle. Also I would personally have a mold made if necessary and cast my own. I lucked out last week and hit a bonanza of pure lead. So casting is not going to be a problem for me for a VERY long time.

thanx for the info...if i cant find them im sure i can cast them...just somethin else for me to tinker with on the cold winter nights!! lol..im going to need a range in my backyard like you just to have time to play with it all and make loads and shoot! im excited...i hope i can pull it all off financally...my school loan company is giving me a run around so i gota see what happens..so i cant place my order till the fall semester starts and i make sure they gimme the money i need...i hope they arent like one of my taxidermist....told me about a year and its going on THREE! but im betting they are better then that....andill be sure to talk to them before i send them money...i cant seem to pick one i like the best yet lol...i too like that Colonial smoothbore...i want something that will shoot well as a shotgun and also have a decint stock to shoot balls from accurately....this gun will be staying as it should..no fiber optic sights...no bluing....time to go look at the webpage again! lol

I don't like a short thick stock or a stock that takes a sharp angle downward. So I narrowed my choices to the Cumberland Fowler/rifle or the Colonial Rifle. The other stocks are not the right angle. When they get down like that I just have a hard time getting behind them.

I hope all the college finanical stuff works out for you. Just remember, you have the rest of your life to collect rifles and shotguns, but college is something you need to get in there and get done or it becomes old... good luck.