FIE Kentucky Rifle 45 Caliber Rework

[windini]

This is the rifle I bought used back in February. I got a lot of help figuring out some of the lock issues in another thread.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/kentucky-rifle-trigger.883540/

It was a project gun... still is! I barely restrained myself from starting stripping & refinishing the stock! But I wanted to get 'er reassembled so I can, I dunno, maybe shoot it or something.

After tweaking the lock & getting the trigger pull from 7lbs, 12oz down to 2lbs 8oz, I started on the bore. Got a lot of red flakes; uh-oh. But it motivated me to buy a Teslong borescope.


It was pretty bad. This picture is after I sealed the nipple channel with a bolt, filled the bore with Evaporust, let it sit overnight, and scrubbed the youknowwhat out of it. Twice. Since then, I used Kroil & JB Bore Paste to polish it up some, then treated it with Moly Paste to (hopefully) slick up the roughness.

It'll always be pitted, but if it shoots well enough at 50 yards, I'll be happy enough.

The original metal finish was so-so to begin with, I think. In any case, the steel and brass were both "patina'd," and not in an attractive way. I polished up the brass; I'm sure it'll tarnish/develop a patina again soon enough. I may wax it; I may not.

Here's the finish as it was. You can see the blue is kinda greenish grey, and not very even.


Worse, the second time I Evaporusted the bore, some got under the plastic wrap I'd taped around the crown to protect the exterior & I didn't notice it. So there were some swirls & irregular smears of compromised - but not totally removed - bluing.

So I figured it was time to try my hand at rust bluing! I used Brownell's version of Pilkington's Rust Blue compound.

After 1st treatment. I hung it in a closet, and put some water in a mini crockpot w/o a lid. It was the low temp kind that keeps dip warm at a party - holds maybe 3 cups of water. Each treatment was about 24 hours.


A local shop made the steel tank & lid for boiling; I bent 2 pieces of 1/8" steel rod to make muzzle & breech supports to hang over the tank ends. Hindsight: PUT HANDLES ON LIDS THAT WILL GET HOT. Duh.


Converting the red oxide to black went just like the instructions said. After 1st carding with degreased 0000 steel wool & a fine brass bristle brush for the contours.


I gave it 6 treatments. The black oxide did not layer up evenly! I figured I hadn't degreased it as well as I thought. I was resigned to having a somewhat splotchy finish, but wrote it off as tuition for the School of Hard Knocks.

After last carding, I coated it with WD-40 (a water-displacing oil, per the instructions) and left it for another 24 hours.

After wiping it down; Holy Smoke...poles! It came out MUCH better than I expected!


I had a little trouble fitting the thimble & brass cap screws; threads were a little cruddy with all the rust treatments. But I eventually got it reassembled today.



All in all, I'm really happy with the process and the results. This was an inexpensive rifle to get into, and I love the fact I'm not so worried about screwing it up that I won't try new techniques & develop new skills. Noting ventured, nothing gained!

I can't wait to make time to shoot it.

 

[1KPerDay]

Nice work!

 

[cowboydave]

You did a fine job.

 

[bannockburn]

windini

Great restoration job! Looks fine and hopefully it won't disappoint you at the range!

Years ago I got a Traditions Hawken type rifle in kit form for Christmas. Never had taken on a job like this before but it sure was interesting getting everything put together and in working order. Didn't have any way of browning or rust bluing the barrel so I tried my hand at cold bluing and it turned out okay!

 

[windini]

You did a fine job.

Thanks, Cowboy Dave!

Nice lookin' rifle, @bannockburn. I put together a blunderbuss kit some years ago, and the cold bluing was also ok for me. My stock didn't turn out as nice as yours, though.

I made it to the range today, and there was some disappointment... but kentucky didn't disappoint; I did that all by myself.

I set up at 50 yds.

Since I'd moly-treated the bore, I ran a cleaning patch down the bore before loading. It came off the jag. Nope; no patch worm with me. So I popped a cap on the nipple. I wanted to clear the nipple anyway, and I hoped it might eject the patch as well. Nope #2. So pulled the nipple & I trickled some powder in the flash channel, hoping a little more pressure might dislodge it. Nope #3. So I loaded a "blank charge" of 20 grs FFg and another patch to compress it a little, popped a cap. Nope #4. Tried another cap - Bingo! Saw the patches exit the muzzle in a cloud of lovely sulphurous smoke.

Next, I loaded up 60grs of FFG & a patched round ball. Patch & ball were not as snug a fit as I would've liked; started way too easily for good rfiling traction. But time to at least get a ball downrange!

Pft. misfire. Uh-oh. 2nd cap same. Maybe I didn't get that 1st patch out.

3rd cap's the charm? Bang! But it was kinda hangfirey - cap went off, a delay, then ignition & the ball headed downrange! At that point, I was barely aiming - just had open sights sorta generally on the paper plate. I was pretty sure I'd moved the rifle during the delay, started to lift my head at least.

In preparation for another shot, I ran a cleaning patch down the bore. Since the previous thin/small patch had come off, I opted for a larger patch cut from a thicker material. And got it lodged so firmly in the barrel on the way out that it pulled the plastic cleaning jag out of the threading on my range rod. Ok, ok; I can take a hint! Packed ol' Kintuck up and went to the pistol bays for a while.

Boy, was I surprised when I went down to clean up my target:


One .45-cal hole in the lower left rim! And that from a barely-aimed, no-follow-through hangfire!

Once I get my issues worked out, I think I'm going to be pretty happy with my Kentucky rifle.

Epilogue: I did get the plastic jag & patch out once I got home. While cleaning, the hot water did not flow freely from the flash channel, even with the nipple removed. Yup: never did get that first patch out, which explains the mis- and hang-fires. It's out now, and the rifle is ready for another trip to the range!

 

[bannockburn]

windini

Look at it this way...you probably experienced nearly every mishap that could have occurred on your first trip to the range! It can only get better from here on out!

 

[windini]

windini

Look at it this way...you probably experienced nearly every mishap that could have occurred on your first trip to the range! It can only get better from here on out!

Ha ha! Yeah - this is what passes for "efficiency" in WindiniLand.

 

[kje54]

This is the rifle I bought used back in February. I got a lot of help figuring out some of the lock issues in another thread.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/kentucky-rifle-trigger.883540/

It was a project gun... still is! I barely restrained myself from starting stripping & refinishing the stock! But I wanted to get 'er reassembled so I can, I dunno, maybe shoot it or something.

After tweaking the lock & getting the trigger pull from 7lbs, 12oz down to 2lbs 8oz, I started on the bore. Got a lot of red flakes; uh-oh. But it motivated me to buy a Teslong borescope.
View attachment 1013678

It was pretty bad. This picture is after I sealed the nipple channel with a bolt, filled the bore with Evaporust, let it sit overnight, and scrubbed the youknowwhat out of it. Twice. Since then, I used Kroil & JB Bore Paste to polish it up some, then treated it with Moly Paste to (hopefully) slick up the roughness.

It'll always be pitted, but if it shoots well enough at 50 yards, I'll be happy enough.

The original metal finish was so-so to begin with, I think. In any case, the steel and brass were both "patina'd," and not in an attractive way. I polished up the brass; I'm sure it'll tarnish/develop a patina again soon enough. I may wax it; I may not.

Here's the finish as it was. You can see the blue is kinda greenish grey, and not very even.
View attachment 1013681

Worse, the second time I Evaporusted the bore, some got under the plastic wrap I'd taped around the crown to protect the exterior & I didn't notice it. So there were some swirls & irregular smears of compromised - but not totally removed - bluing.

So I figured it was time to try my hand at rust bluing! I used Brownell's version of Pilkington's Rust Blue compound.

After 1st treatment. I hung it in a closet, and put some water in a mini crockpot w/o a lid. It was the low temp kind that keeps dip warm at a party - holds maybe 3 cups of water. Each treatment was about 24 hours.
View attachment 1013683

A local shop made the steel tank & lid for boiling; I bent 2 pieces of 1/8" steel rod to make muzzle & breech supports to hang over the tank ends. Hindsight: PUT HANDLES ON LIDS THAT WILL GET HOT. Duh.
View attachment 1013684

Converting the red oxide to black went just like the instructions said. After 1st carding with degreased 0000 steel wool & a fine brass bristle brush for the contours.
View attachment 1013685

I gave it 6 treatments. The black oxide did not layer up evenly! I figured I hadn't degreased it as well as I thought. I was resigned to having a somewhat splotchy finish, but wrote it off as tuition for the School of Hard Knocks.

After last carding, I coated it with WD-40 (a water-displacing oil, per the instructions) and left it for another 24 hours.

After wiping it down; Holy Smoke...poles! It came out MUCH better than I expected!
View attachment 1013688 View attachment 1013689

I had a little trouble fitting the thimble & brass cap screws; threads were a little cruddy with all the rust treatments. But I eventually got it reassembled today.

View attachment 1013690

All in all, I'm really happy with the process and the results. This was an inexpensive rifle to get into, and I love the fact I'm not so worried about screwing it up that I won't try new techniques & develop new skills. Noting ventured, nothing gained!

I can't wait to make time to shoot it.

Is that a two piece stock?

 

[windini]

Is that a two piece stock?

Yes sir, it is.

The forend is "bracketed" by two brass castings whose tops are cut/cast to the bbl profile. Each endcap has two pins, parallel to the bbl, that lock into holes in the endgrain of the forend. There are countersunk holes up (behind the ramrod channel) for screws into the bbl. (Note the ramrod thimbles also have these.) There are access holes for those screws on the brass parts except the one under the muzzle. That one is accessible once ramrod is removed.

It's definitely more complicated to dis- and re-assemble than the Hawken style, but I'm used to it now and I like the aesthetics of it.

 

[kje54]

Yes sir, it is.

The forend is "bracketed" by two brass castings whose tops are cut/cast to the bbl profile. Each endcap has two pins, parallel to the bbl, that lock into holes in the endgrain of the forend. There are countersunk holes up (behind the ramrod channel) for screws into the bbl. (Note the ramrod thimbles also have these.) There are access holes for those screws on the brass parts except the one under the muzzle. That one is accessible once ramrod is removed.

It's definitely more complicated to dis- and re-assemble than the Hawken style, but I'm used to it now and I like the aesthetics of it.

Was wondering, it almost looked like a pre-Hawken style barn rifle with an added forestock. Lots of the early "Kentucky" reproductions were two piece stocks. Ya did a pretty good job rescuing it.