A Lancaster Flintlock Rifle Build

I finally built myself a rifle, I wanted a simple gun, single trigger with not a lot of carving but just enough.
I went with a 45 cal Rice barrel, 38" with round bottom rifling.
Also went with what's known to be the best, a large siler lock.
I added the touch of X on the side plate to represent I am the 10th generation here in Pennsylvania, I have several accounts of my lineage dealing with Indians during the French and Indian war as well as the Am Rev War with contfrontaion by George Washington to my 6th great grandpa that a battle was to take place on his Chester county farm.
I love history, Im glad that my family had documented their descendants through it all.
God bless America and our 2nd amendment.

[@larryadams2184]

Very nice my genealogy grandfather's last name is Toby they came to America in 1699 from England and settled in Tennessee they came to Philadelphia but very very nice 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@bkauffman0390]

That's awesome!

[@andrewcheff4035]

Exceptional firearm! 10th generation Pennsylvanian awesome! God bless!!

[@bkauffman0390]

Thank you and thanks for watching!

[@geneslodysko6150]

Beautiful gun!!! Great job!!! Keep these type of black powder videos coming!!! Always love flintlock era videos!!!

[@bkauffman0390]

Thanks man! I'll try to keep em coming

[@jimmybritt9537]

I was brought up tweaking the sights never seen anyone bend a barrel to achieve point of aim . Good job on the build looks like a museum piece 👍👍🇺🇸

[@bkauffman0390]

Thanks, I always tweaked the sights until I talked to Colrain barrel manufacturer and some master gun builders. If you think about it, there is no reason you can't flex the barrel a little bit to get the desired point of impact to the point of aim you desire. These barrels are soft. Since this video I flexed it more and have it shooting about 1" above my front sight at 50 yards. Thanks for watching

[@jimmybritt9537]

@@bkauffman0390 So she is right on at one hundred ?

[@bkauffman0390]

@@jimmybritt9537 I didn't shoot it at 100 since that adjustment. I did at 25, 50 and 75. It was right on at all three ranges

[@HobbiesHobo]

That was a very interesting video, never even would have guessed you could "Adjust" a barrel like that. Really good info. Thanks, Mike.

[@bkauffman0390]

I was told by a friend that's what he does to get his rifles sighted in...I mean who wants a gun with sights sittin' way off center? So the smoothbore I built last year shot low...I called Colerain Barrels in Spruce Creek PA, (not far from me) and he said yeah bring it over I'll bend it to shoot straight...I said ok well I'll try it myself first. I mean these barrels are soft metal so understood the idea. I took the barrel out of the stock a few times till we got it right but my buddy Rick flexed the crap in it off it and brought it up to shoot true. You can even see a slight upward bend in the barrel if you look close. But hey I killed 2 deer with it last year. The thing shoots right on now! So that's why I was comfortable doing it to my rifle. Thanks for commenting

[@barrygraber9776]

I never knew this could be possible thanks for the tip. I must add I just lack the confidence to try this. Bye the way love your video. Nice build

[@mrwdpkr5851]

Of all the flinters I've seen that is one of the prettiest rifles yet .Oh and Mr Glass wants his rifle back , sir !

[@bkauffman0390]

Really!? Why thank you sir! I've heard guys say it's nice but not the prettiest they've seen, so thanks a bunch!!

[@wvcruffler123]

Great build.

[@jblocker6613]

Nice rifle!! I learned something new today on barrel bending. It obviously works well. I had the same problems with a ramrod some years back. I ended up heating it up and putting a ever slight bend in it to keep it in place.

[@cdp50359]

Absolutely beautiful! You did a outstanding job bro.

[@bkauffman0390]

Thanks Chad!

[@cdp50359]

@@bkauffman0390 I need to mail you some cast bullets for it. They are LEE "R.E.A.L." bullets. If you want to try it

[@bkauffman0390]

Chad this is a 1 in 66 twist for roundballs only. Thanks tho

[@bobjimenez4464]

Nice work, you made a really nice rifle that will probably be kept in your family for generations.

[@h-minus2212]

I really like the finish on your rifle. I can see that gun in the hands of a gentleman back in the 1700s, using it to garner game for the family and secure the household from harm. I would have never thought to bend the barrel a bit in order to adjust the point of impact. With my limited skill, the rounds would have impacted several feet to the left of right. Great job on the gun.

[@DARIVSARCHITECTVS]

WONDERFUL! Was barrel bending the common method of tweaking a rifle shot placement back then instead of adjusting the sights?

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

Well done, she is a beauty,

[@jackblackpowderprepper4940]

Wow you do phenomenal work. That rifle looks 300 years old. The curly maple full stock Hawken I'm doing will be inspired by your work. I'm reshaping the cheek rest to look like the old flintlocks. Also decided to brown the barrel like my Shenandoah. Brown barrels change them dramatically. I will also remove alot of wood on the stock because it's so blocky. Using the brass trigger guard but all other furniture will be copper. Once again you are an inspiration.

[@bkauffman0390]

Thank you for the kind words, I hope you enjoy your project

[@larryreese6146]

Wonderful job. That flintlock is as fast as some caplocks. But why tweet the barrel when all you had to do was tap the back sight a little to the left or the front sight a little to the right? Seems chancy.

[@bkauffman0390]

Thanks. The reason I flex my barrels to POI is because I can't stand seeing sights off center, I also don't like seeing guns built with sight dovetails sticking out past the flat, it just looks crude. When I first had an issue with my smoothbore shooting low, (I built a few years ago) I called the manufacturer and he told me to bend it or bring it to him and he would bend it. These barrels are soft, and it's very little amount of flexing to get it shooting dead on. Another reason is when I aged the barrel, rusted it etc, the rear sight starts to cease into place, I don't want to break that "crust" It's all in the way I like my guns, and how I've seen the best gun builders do. I think it's what sets a nice looking gun apart from an exceptional gun.

[@markgoostree6334]

Outstanding! Good looking, good shooting flintlock! I like your "X" theme.... perfect.

[@bkauffman0390]

Thank you!

[@daveyjoweaver6282]

A Lovely gun you created and I’m sure your ancestors would be very proud! Kind Thanks and Good Shootin! DaveyJO in Lancaster Co. Pa.

[@Jst12341]

Stunning work. Well done, you've inspired me to build a Lancaster myself

[@bkauffman0390]

Thanks and good luck

[@dennisatkins9837]

Absolutely beautiful!

[@АнатолийСулименко-с4в]

Любовь к истории родины и труд, уважение

[@stuartliggitt6723]

One of the fastest flintlocks I've seen. Good job

[@bkauffman0390]

That's all in the siler lock with a sharp flint. Thanks for watching

[@alanparadis5061]

Man that is as cool as it gets!! The rifle came out spectacular and thec10th generation in your family is great stuff!! VERY cool!!

[@bkauffman0390]

Thanks!!

[@flintymcduff5417]

Love those "birthing" pictures. Great looking rifle.

[@randalltom9750]

What a beautiful rifle! I hope she provides for all the venison you can stomach… looks like fun!

[@michaelwagner4451]

Very beautiful rifle. I Like these kind of a rifle. In Germany, they are very expensive . Nice rifle.

[@bkauffman0390]

Thank you

[@natebumppo4929]

Great job on the rifle.

[@jamesvatter5729]

I wondered about that "X." Good stuff. Brian. Nice choice on the rifle build.

[@bkauffman0390]

Thank you

[@RN-yo7ws]

Beautiful gun. Fantastic job my friend.

[@bkauffman0390]

Thank you

[@MrKmoconne]

I have never heard of bending the barrel to improve the sight picture? Most can be cured by drifting/filing the front and rear sights.

[@bkauffman0390]

Yes you can move the sights but it looks horrible. If you want centered sights and a nice moving center sight picture, it usually takes just minor flexing. If it's too far off, then sights can be altered.

[@pamtnman1515]

Brian, I got here from the Muzzleloading forum. Well done and well said!

[@bkauffman0390]

Thanks! Once again, good job on your doe

[@danfifield8679]

Getting one soon

[@TurkeyCreek-ek8mj]

You done real good boy!

[@bkauffman0390]

Thank you it's a real shooter. Wish I would have built it in a 42" barrel rather than a 38"

[@TurkeyCreek-ek8mj]

The next one can be a 42". You know you can't stop with this one; it's addictive. I have two that I plan to build this winter, plus some blacksmithing and braintanning, and making some new videos. It really does this old man's heart good to see a young man such as yourself taking to the old traditional guns and the old ways, and to be proud of your frontier family heritage. Stay the course! TC

[@bkauffman0390]

@@TurkeyCreek-ek8mj oh know it.... Already dreaming up a 40 cal lehigh barn gun.... As far as your videos, please do, I've watched all your videos I wish you weren't so far away I'd like to meet you someday. I like your stuff

[@snipehunter1]

Nice flintlock. Love the looks of that style. Very elegant shape. About what does it weigh? I have a Lyman GPR that is thick and heavy. Been thinking that I need a Pennsylvania rifle to honor my ancestry. Many of my german ancestors came out west to South Dakota from Pennsylvania after the civil war.

[@bkauffman0390]

That's awesome. I never weighed it. I'll have to check. It's definitely lighter than a Lyman great plains

[@trevorfitzgerald4996]

Move the site might have been my only choice. Great job but you make me cry doing that bending crap who ever told you to do that.

[@bkauffman0390]

The barrel manufacturers, like Colerain. Allen Martin. Rick Brouse. It is commonly practiced.

[@MustangCowboy.1]

Why didn't you just drift the rear sight to the left to get on target?

[@bkauffman0390]

@@MustangCowboy.1 I explain why in the video

[@MustangCowboy.1]

@@bkauffman0390 Never heard of anyone bending a barrel to correct the sight adjustment rather than drifting the rear sight instead. To each his own, I guess.

[@bkauffman0390]

@MustangCowboy.1 it's in history books, and contemporary barrel makers like Don Getz, Colrain, Bobby Hoyt all do (did) it.

[@andrewvu1752]

I know this video is quite old, but where did you get the precarved stock from? I'm guessing it's a Jim chambers or something. Thanks for your time if you read this!

[@bkauffman0390]

The man that shapes stocks for Jim Chambers kits, Track of the Wolf and a couple others, his name is Bob Lepley from Sunbury PA. He cannot shape a stock and sell it patterned off of Chambers or Track because they own the template for their guns. It's like a copyright thing...He has his own stock pattern which is very near to the Track kit stock, Isaac Haines. So to answer your question it's not a Chambers or a Track of the Wolf. It's Bob's pattern

[@andrewvu1752]

@@bkauffman0390 thanks! That makes a lot more sense

[@StevenMMan]

Are you saying neither the front or the rear sight isn't dovetailed?

[@bkauffman0390]

They're dovetailed. I just had them centered. I'm not moving them, I don't like sights sitting offset on a gun, it looks crude

[@StevenMMan]

@@bkauffman0390 okay it's taking me I while to come back to this one. I love to watch a passion being carried on, and have a great respect for the quality of what you're doing. The care and attention to detail of the long bow that leads into the progression of the long rifle. That's why I am so baffled by bending the barrel. The pholocify of of the craft if in the perfection of fit of wood to the metal. To much contact here relieve there. The science of barrel harmonics is the same in 1822 as it is in 2022. I'm willing to bet if someone grabbed the barrel of your grandfather's robert's and tweaked it, or shoved a brad under the barrel you be on the fight. In my hay day I could shoot reload up to 4 shots in minute in competition days. If there is any drought about heat shoot 6 rounds of standard pressure. 45 colt as fast as you can feel the barrel. Than compare to a full black powder load in the same manner, than tell which is hotter. A front or rear sight taped to one side or the other by a couple hundredths of an " and filed to the desired point of impact looks historically normal. More dependable than variations in point of impact due to barrel temperature Its yours do it what you will but for me who has ridden a many mile with Bertha across my lap and pommel in grizzly country I prefer to rely on consistancy of my tools. I have my faith in them. I love the progress you are making, and I think you will go places Mountain man

[@bkauffman0390]

@@StevenMMan yea the barrels are soft, and the tweak is so minimal. Hear me when I tell you this ..my first gun shot off, I called Colrain, and they said to bring it up and they would bend it. That's nothing I can't do, it's part of gun making. The 45 here was just a couple inches off to the right if I remember right, at 25 yards. It shoots true now, it's killed 5 deer and several paper shoots. My 58 was about 1" right at 25, I moved the rear sight, it's off of center on the flat just a little, but I can live with it....I think. Thanks for watching

[@garyruxton5226]

Bend the barrel? Are you kidding? You square up the sights for the distance you are shooting, dont touch blade height until settling on powder charge and normal distance you expect to shoot as remember at 25yds the ball is in an up trajectory.. back up target to 50 then 100 to seeing still on, fine tune it for 100 and back to 25. An expert gunsmith can tell by looking down the barrel to see if it were bent. It shouldn't be because they are stress relieved and are truly never out of line. TOO Many more things to do before you go beating on the barrel.

[@bkauffman0390]

Nope, flexed the barrel, shoots dead on. Sights are trued, clean, and centered. Gun shoots great!

[@bobjimenez4464]

Nothing wrong with tweaking the barrel to your liking....it's your rifle, do whatever works for you

[@bowlofrice8]

I just bent to barrel on a savage 24s 22mag/20ga. The barrels weren't aligned properly I can drift the sight to get the 22mag to hit but out right miss pop cans with the 20ga at 15-30 yards. Stuck her in the vise gave it a couple pulls and it'll hit squirrels now.

[@zdunkle9070]

Does this come as a kit or did you just buy parts and make the stock

[@bkauffman0390]

I just bought the parts, not a kit

[@zdunkle9070]

What resources did you use as far as carving the stock out? Or did you just use pictures? I’m interested in giving this a try but would like to get my ducks in a row first

[@bkauffman0390]

@@zdunkle9070 I had it shaped by a local guy who had a duplicator. There's various places that will shape a stock for you, inlet the barrel etc. Then all you have is the minor shaping.

[@bkauffman0390]

@@zdunkle9070 "Knob Mountain Muzzleloading gun stock patterns" www.knobmountainmuzzleloading.com/stocks.html

[@zdunkle9070]

Thank you. I appreciate it

[@thegreystoics6421]

That's sick AF