I went to Kibler Longrifle's open house

woodnbow said:

With my high degrees of technical skills I probably need that 700 up charge. Plus I would rather shoot than sand and scrape.

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I tried a really basic "kit" once. The kind of kit that is really just the raw materials and a rough cut stock. I got as far as ruining the maple stock. Then I had Keith Lysle/Birddog Six of Alabama build me my Jeager with the left over parts that I hadn't got around to ruining yet. He made me a nice walnut stock from a blank hunk of wood that is beautiful. That turned out much better. !!!!! He did leave the rifle "in the white" to give me a big price break, which he normally does not do, and had not done before.

Ugly Sauce said:

Okay...that makes a little more sense!

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Sorry; not the cleanest paragraph I ever wrote.

The Kibler kits are nothing like the Italian and other kits. His stocks are produced on a CNC machine, rather than a standard stock duplicator. They just need basic sanding and finishing. The inletting is 99% done and just requires minor fitting to get the metal installed. I found the most time consuming tasks were cleaning up the cast brass fittings and draw filing, then polishing the barrel. IMHO, before you go spending $700 on assembly, think about going to the NMLRA course in Bowling Green.

Their wood is also very nice. My Colonial is cherry and has a lot of figure. My SMR is fancy maple and it has a lot of curl in it. I took the class before the pandemic and some of the guys ended up with some gorgeous maple stocks.

Here's my cherry stock from the class. I stained it with Fiebing's dark brown leather dye that really brought out the red in the wood.



Compared to another student's cherry stock with just a tung oil finish, no stain.



Another student's rifle in maple. I don't think he had fully finished it yet.



I love this pic. It's one of the SMR kit rifles, completely finished by Kibler himself. The aging and finish work is spectacular. This is a new rifle that transports you back in time!

CraigC said:

IMHO, before you go spending $700 on assembly, think about going to the NMLRA course in Bowling Green.

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The one that costs $730?

In all seriousness, I would consider it money well spent and would do it if I could. Life is just so full right now that, if nothing else, I simply don't have the time for a vacation to Kentucky or anywhere else.

Ugly Sauce said:

Heaven help me if they ever offered a Ferguson kit. I fear to think of what I might sell to finance that.

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Ferguson rifle kit
http://www.therifleshoppe.com/catalog_pages/english_arms/(513).htm

Bill Raby said:

Ferguson rifle kit
http://www.therifleshoppe.com/catalog_pages/english_arms/(513).htm

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Had to tempt me eh???!!!Well, I think that is the kind of "kit" that is beyond my abilities. Luckily. I'd have to then pay someone to build it for me, and I sure don't have that kind of cash laying around anymore. I suppose I could sell my '48 Dodge, or '37 Harley, or something like that...but I don't think so.

It sure would be a Holy Grail for me though, but then the Bess and my Jeager would forever gather dust. So, Heaven is helping me...helping me say NO!

Man...can you imagine trekking through the mountains, through some "enchanted type gloomy cedar forest", with a Feguson in hand?? !! Wow.

CraigC said:

Here's my cherry stock from the class. I stained it with Fiebing's dark brown leather dye that really brought out the red in the wood.

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They way you stained that is absolutely beautiful. Did you knock down some of the shine when you were done, or do you let her shine? I sure love reddish stocks, and dark stocks in general.

Ugly Sauce said:

They way you stained that is absolutely beautiful. Did you knock down some of the shine when you were done, or do you let her shine? I sure love reddish stocks, and dark stocks in general.

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Thanks! I also prefer dark stocks so for me, they just have to be stained. I basically learned how to do a tung oil finish on that rifle. The first coat was too heavy, so once it dried I steel wooled most of it off, then put on several more thinner coats. It has a slight sheen to it now. I'm going to do my SMR with aqua fortis and then antique it.

Very cool. "slight sheen" is just right, and will sheen a little less over time.

I was at the open house, very neat operation. My son and I both ended up ordering mountain rifle kits when we got home, had I known he wanted one we would have ordered them that day on site.

Just a couple of nights ago I was looking at Kiblers kits. But I told myself "No" I don't need another gun much less another BP gun. One thing is I don't think I could do one of those kits justice. I have no idea how to carve even simple stuff into the stock or how to dress up the metal some. I have built several CVA, Lyman and T/C kits plus buy wrecked attempts at CVA rifles and pistols in pawnshops and redo those but Kibler is several steps above those guns.

CraigC your gun has the exact color I have always wanted on a BP rifle. My wife has a picture frame around here that has that color to it I always wanted in a rifle stock.

I would love to have one but I can't afford it. My woodworking skills are abysmal. I tried building a 99% pistol kit once and ruined it.