Author Topic: where to start ?? looking for a good .36 cal squirrel rifle (Read 3495 times)

buckweet · « **on:** April 20, 2003, 09:39:49 AM »

hello folks....
my uncle just bought a .36 caliber squirrel rifle..cva ??
we had a lot of fun shooting it, but ?? its got pin's in the stock to hold the barrel in,how does the barrel come off to clean ?? we are used to the hawkin style key's
now im going to have to find me a squirrel rifle of my own,,
any thoughts on brand ?? whats a ''hatfield'' squirrel rifle ??
i like the looks of the kentucky long rifles...
but ?? a .36 caliber lyman trade rifle would be wonderfull too..
my pop shoots a lyman plains,trade rifle in .50 caliber
im looking to
learn all about the front stuffer's in .36 caliber
thanks in advance
buckweet

savageT · « **Reply #1 on:** April 20, 2003, 10:07:12 AM »

Quote from: buckweet

hello folks....
my uncle just bought a .36 caliber squirrel rifle..cva ??
we had a lot of fun shooting it, but ?? its got pin's in the stock to hold the barrel in,how does the barrel come off to clean ?? we are used to the hawkin style key's
now im going to have to find me a squirrel rifle of my own,,
any thoughts on brand ?? whats a ''hatfield'' squirrel rifle ??
i like the looks of the kentucky long rifles...
but ?? a .36 caliber lyman trade rifle would be wonderfull too..
my pop shoots a lyman plains,trade rifle in .50 caliber
im looking to
learn all about the front stuffer's in .36 caliber
thanks in advance
buckweet

Hey Buckweet!
When you say pins....do you mean round pins, or are they the flat wedge pins that have a slight bend to them, that are the traditional means of holding the barrel to the stock?

johnt · « **Reply #2 on:** April 20, 2003, 12:58:09 PM »

hey buckweet,
A feller can knock them pins out and remove the tang screw and pull the barrel,HOWEVER,there runs the risk of splintering the stock just a bit near them pins holes and the more frequently it's done the holes wear.CVA should come out fairly easy(disclaimer: they did on my CVA kentucky,don't know about your gun) pinned custom guns can be very snug.Fellers what shoot a bunch, might pull the barrel from a pinned stock but once a year.But then again, they be a might carefull on them rainny day's,know what I mean? :wink:
They make a kit thing for cleaning that's nothing more than a proper fit nipple drilled out big on the bottom with a piece of plastic tube snugly fit to the top of the nipple,ya stick the tube in bucket of cleaning stuff and commence a cleanin.
I made my own,just drilled out an old nipple,went to the hareware store got 3ft.of tube that fit snug for a buck, scruffed up the nipple end of the nipple, used a little crazy glue puttin it on there and good ta go, also I had too drill a hole in a lead ball the size of the tube,and put that on the end in the bucket so it would stay there,with my most vigrous scrubbing action,that tube liked ta jump out an squirt ya.(once) :eek:
As far as learnin .36 stuff,go down to the bottom of the page in the lower right corner and start clickn the page #'s, this will give ya stuff posted many months back,good reading! I'm sure others will add stuff here.
Good luck,have fun,

buckweet · « **Reply #3 on:** April 20, 2003, 04:47:14 PM »

johnt-savageT
thanks guys !!!
my uncles rifle has the pin's,,great ideal about useing a tube on the nipple,that we will try,,,,
ok,,,im off to montana,load of herbicide,,so i'll be back at end of week,,,hope ya'll have a great one,,
i'll try n' stop by a few gun shops,,
that littel ol' .36 triped my trigger,,
buckweet

Triple Se7en · « **Reply #4 on:** April 20, 2003, 06:22:43 PM »

buckweet

I gotta be straight with you Buckweet! My name ain't Triple Se7en... it's really your ol'buddy Alfalfa! I was down at the old country store when I ran into Darla.. you remember her don't cha? Her sweet daddy passed away this year and left her a nice squirrel long gun. It's a 32 cal Traditions Crockett. Darla only fired it one time at a couple of critters stomping after her sheep. You remember Spanky's dog from the Little Rascal Show... don't chu? You know which one.... he was kinda white and had that round black patch over one eye. Well Darla accidently shot the dog instead of of the critters. That Crockett is a darn straight shooter and you could probably own one for around $220. I gotta go now... some doctor is coming over my house. He's gonna try to remove all my freckles.

http://www.traditionsfirearms.com/eShop/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=R26128101

Anduril · « **Reply #5 on:** April 22, 2003, 01:13:46 PM »

I got started shooting black powder many moons ago with a 36 cal flinter from Numrich Arms, and I like it!
If I was to do it again I would stick with the 36. A 25 pound bag of 000 buck shot at 100 balls to the pound will last almost forever. Recoil sure isnt a problem, so a 36 barrel 13/16 across the flats would balance nice (mines 15/16 and is a tad heavy). My barrel is pinned to the stock, too. You dont have to pull the barrel to clean it, just take the lock out and keep the flash hole pointed down while you swab it out with wet patches.
The Hatfield guns I have seen were real nice, but I dont know if you can get a new one any more. I hear a lot of good things about Tennessee Valley Muzzleloading firearms. You might look at their website.

Have fun.

buckweet · « **Reply #6 on:** April 23, 2003, 12:01:14 PM »

hey !!! whats darla's number

? lol !!!!
yup,,methinks a good bp rifle will be just the tickett,,,,
im agonna ck out that web site,,,,
just bought the ''complete book of black powder muzzel loader''
im here in montana now,,
looking in the pawn n' gun shops round town,,,cuzin danny let me use his house n' pickup while im here,,n' hes outta town,,,,great guy or what

ok,we bee bac's home in free day's
buckweet

buckweet · « **Reply #7 on:** April 23, 2003, 12:14:18 PM »

ok,,guys,,,,found my dream rifle..........
a traditions half stock ,,,crockett rifle...............
but

my uncles rifle is a .36 caliber...would like to have same caliber as his...........
then my next rifle will be the flintlock .36 caliber,,,for now learn n' use the cap rifle.............
wow !!! if only the caliber was a .36 i'ed of just now bought it !!!!!
keep looking !!!!! send me all ya find !!!!
buckweet
freckles

ouch !!! removing them

how

sandpaper

?

rich e · « **Reply #8 on:** April 23, 2003, 01:37:49 PM »

Hi Buckwheat, I'm surprised no one mentioned Cabelas Blue Ridge rifles, they have it available in 32, 36, 45, 50, and 54 cal. in both flintlock and perc. there also a copy of the hatfield, which u were asking about, the barrel is held to the stock by screws that go thru the thimbles, and the tang bolt, so its a little easier to take the barrel off. there a well made gun, and definately worth a look.

buckweet · « **Reply #9 on:** April 23, 2003, 02:13:53 PM »

ok

bear with me,
so far im looking at everything you guys are telling me about,
imathinking

.36 caliber
half stock..with key wedges[too simplfiy getting barrel off]
removable breach plug
hawken style rifle
cap lock
what ya tinks

do anyone make shuch a critter

?
thanks
buckweet

savageT · « **Reply #10 on:** April 23, 2003, 04:00:53 PM »

Quote from: buckweet

ok bear with me,
so far im looking at everything you guys are telling me about,
imathinking
.36 caliber
half stock..with key wedges[too simplfiy getting barrel off]
removable breach plug
hawken style rifle
cap lock
what ya tinks
do anyone make shuch a critter ?
thanks
buckweet

Buckweet ole buddy,
I don't know, with those wedge pins, I think you will find that it will come with a hooked breech, instead of a removable breech. I could always be wrong?

?

buckweet · « **Reply #11 on:** April 26, 2003, 06:01:58 PM »

hey,folks, just got back in from montana,,,stoped by cabela's out in sidney nebraska,,,found a used .36 caliber blue mountain flintlock..

350.00$$$ is that a good price

the rifle looked like new,,,
anyhoo...putt it on payment plan .wise choice

hope so........
let me know whats ya'll thinks

buckweet

johnt · « **Reply #12 on:** April 27, 2003, 08:22:25 AM »

Ya done good.
I frequently deal with Cabelas in Owattona,Mn. They have a no hassle return policy,last year I tried the sporterized Hawkin Carbine;
couldn't git it to shoot fer hoot.I took it back after about 3 months,reason for retrun: "not happy",OK, no problem.(done deal).
Now your rifle, ya must have found it in the Bargin Cave,(a good place to look) that's about 80$ under list.Every store has a cave,it's the catalog returns section,everything has full warrenty,the locals hit the cave alot!
I'm pretty sure the BlueRidge is made by Pedrosoli for Cabelas,a good gun. The 1:48 twist in .36 is a slow twist for that cal. and that long barrel should be a ball shootin' tackdriver.
I hope ya git it soon and start havin fun!
Till then ya can study up on flinter stuff,
Good luck bucky,,,,,

mamaflinter · « **Reply #13 on:** April 29, 2003, 11:33:06 AM »

Buckweet if you ever get a chance to shoot a Blue Ridge take it. They're awfully fun to shoot and well balanced. My hubby owns 2 of them. Both are flintlock one in .36 one in .50. He takes his .36 out for bushytails often. You'll be well pleased with them.

buckweet · « **Reply #14 on:** May 03, 2003, 08:33:52 AM »

thanks folks.sorry its took me so long to respond......
im a truck driver.not home a whole lot.....
ok......im making payments......5 bucks a month !!! lol !!!
nah...it'll be here b4 i know it...i hope !!!
thanks fer all the help...
buckweet :shock:

Horsefeathers · « **Reply #15 on:** May 03, 2003, 06:25:29 PM »

Buckweet. Original Hatfield rifles made 20-25 years ago were like custom rifles they had green river or green mt. barrels ,outstanding materials and workmanship. Then they were made in Japan from junk. Dont know how they are today, but I saw one used at a local range that looked alright. I thought Buckweet am daid?....Horsefeathers.

buckweet · « **Reply #16 on:** May 03, 2003, 06:32:45 PM »

horsefeathers........
nope im alive !!!!
so

the hatfields are kinda rare

im trying to get a cabela's blue mountain long rifle in .36 caliber flintlock...
just trying to get my penny's all in order,,
thanks fer the info !!!!
buckweet

mamaflinter · « **Reply #17 on:** May 04, 2003, 03:43:34 AM »

buckweet I think you will like the Blue Ridge. When you get it you will notice their loading data is on the conservative side. That's because they base all their loads on SWISS powder which is much more powerful than Goex and Elephant that American shooters use. If you get the chance, try some Swiss in it.

Hubby has tried Swiss in his. He said it performs quite well.

buckweet · « **Reply #18 on:** May 04, 2003, 03:59:36 AM »

mamaflinter......10-4 on the swiss powder
i'll see if i can round some up..is it the same?? as in ff or fff ect ?? wonder wich i should get

the pan uses triple f right

i've got some ''goex'' FFFg here at the house..
also found a neat web site called www.how stuff works.com
been reading up on flintlocks, did you know

that flintlocks where in use for three hundred years

and the cap lock only about 50 years ??
been reading about the flash holes...the wrighter says ''big'' is better,,n' the hole should be high above the pan,flint should be sharp n' strike full length, no hang time ,fast lock time........im learning

lol !!!
buckweet

buckweet · « **Reply #19 on:** May 04, 2003, 08:25:12 AM »

yup i'm reading so much about flintlocks,my eye's are going screwy!!!
did i learn anything

hope so....
found a neat web site called TRACK OF THE WOLF
click on n' check it out
shure wish someone would post his/her routine of cleaning a flint lock..step by step

in simple terms

that a truck driver would understand

as in .... 1st thing i do is pick the rifle up.................
then i ...

....
and so on..
boy !!! have i gots the flintlock bug bad !!! and no place to scratch !!!!
buckweet
p.s. anyone wanna trade a good squirrel rifle for a contender

johnt · « **Reply #20 on:** May 04, 2003, 01:08:57 PM »

Track of the Wolf (aka:TOW) is great!
I live just 40 miles north. I get down there once a month or so with a shopping list. The tough part is sticking to the list!
Their catalog is very handy! Much of the stuff is displayed with actual size photo's.
As long as your messin with the 'puter another candystore is;
www.dixiegunworks.com

p.s. now that you've been bitten by the bug!? I should tell ya,,
"there is no known cure"

mamaflinter · « **Reply #21 on:** May 04, 2003, 01:20:33 PM »

Buckweet Yes 3fg is what you want. You want either 3fg or 4fg for priming. 3fg will work and if you use it, you will only have to buy 1 granulation. It comes same as Goex 1fg, 2fg, 3fg, 4fg plus has a 1-1/2fg. No I hadn't heard about that site you refer to. I'll have to check it out. Yes I did know the flintlock was used for 300 yrs. Bigger is NOT always better. You don't want your touch hole liner too big or ignition will suffer. But ideally you want the communication hole just above level with the pan.

johnt · « **Reply #22 on:** May 04, 2003, 01:22:35 PM »

Another thing Bucky:
Go up to mamaflinters post,and on the bottom of her statement are links she has provided,click on the www one and it'll take you to her web site.
Lot's of good info there,(the cleaning thing spelled out plain)even I could understand it,and some great links to other places.

mamaflinter · « **Reply #23 on:** May 04, 2003, 01:23:40 PM »

Buckweet Have you been to my website? If not go have a look here http://mamaflinter.tripod.com/ and check out everything I've got over there. I tried extremely hard to make it as easy to read/understand as I could. If you have questions you can always email me and I'll help you.

Squirrel rifle for contender? Contender isn't a flintlock......Be forewarned that flintlock addiction is highly contagious and there is no known cure. The only thing that will help is to succumb to the addiction and that will help keep symptoms at bay for awhile.

msmith · « **Reply #24 on:** May 04, 2003, 05:03:22 PM »

Buckwheat,

I think you'll really like the .36 flintlock. I have one that I built several years ago. It has a 42 inch Ed Rayle barrel and a small Siler lock. I love this thing. I find the flintlocks to be more reliable than a caplock. Just make sure you have a freshly knapped flint when you go hunting. I like the english flints the best but the duraflints are ok. I wouldn't waste the money on the duraflints unless you shoot an awful lot. You just can't beat an english.

For cleaning I just use squares of the blue shop towels from Wally World. They are tough and absorbant. I put a wad of cleaning patches against the touch hole and close the frizzen on it to hold it there, this is too soak up any moisture that comes out of the touch hole when you are cleaning the bore. I then run patches wet with cool water down the bore until one comes out clean, then I run dry ones down 'til one comes out completely dry, then I lube the bore with a natural lube like Young Country or Wonder lube. I also wipe the pan, frizzen and cock with a wet patch. If it will be a while til I shoot again, I take the lock off and clean the lockworks and lube them with a good gun oil. (Don't get any oil on the face of the frizzen) Never any need to remove the barrel or use tubes. I think people get too caught up in the intricasies of cleaning when they don't have to, probably due to the "wonder bore cleaner manufacturers".

Keep it simple, so many of my friends won't shoot very often because they are turned off by the cleaning process. They think you have to have a bucket of hot soapy water and about 20 minutes of messy scrubbing.

I use the cool water and no soap so that I don't remove the lube that has the bore seasoned. I have been doing this for years and my frontstuffers show no rust even after being mildly neglected (not recommended though).

Check out Mountain State Manufacturing here http://www.msmfg.com/default.htm

Good luck and enjoy,

buckweet · « **Reply #25 on:** May 04, 2003, 06:23:30 PM »

wow !!! mamaflinter !!! hoowee !!! been reading yer site,now im begining to understand flintlocks,,
i think

i caint wait to git one n' give it a try,,
shure do thank everyone here for yer time n' patience..
imathinking ?? im really going to like this....
well anyhoo..gotta go back to work,,see ya'll next week...
buckweet

mamaflinter · « **Reply #26 on:** May 05, 2003, 11:59:34 PM »

Quote from: buckweet

wow !!! mamaflinter !!! hoowee !!! been reading yer site,now im begining to understand flintlocks,,
i think i caint wait to git one n' give it a try,,
buckweet

You're quite welcome. That's why I built it so people could read and print off information they needed and know it was accurate. Have fun with it.

BobYoung · « **Reply #27 on:** May 07, 2003, 05:36:44 PM »

Buckweet:
My only .36 is a T/C Seneca that I bought new 4 or 5 years ago. The Lord was smilin' at me that day. I wasn't even sure what I was buyin and actually haggled the price down a bit...rare for me. Knowing what I know now, I would pay almost any price for that gun. It's half-stock, caplock, with hooked breech and a wedge to hold the barrel in. Trigger is double-set. Barrel is 13/16" across the flats and the walnut is a knockout. Best of all, shooting about 25 grs. of Pyrodex P, it'll shoot accurate and load easy all afternoon without cleaning. At first it wanted .010" patches, but now it wants .015" for good accuracy. I shoot it sparingly now 'cause I know it probably can't be replaced.

T/C stopped making them after the fire they had a number of years ago. They say they lost the tooling in the fire. Can't understand why they wouldn't reinvest in new tooling and put this fine product back on the market.

They're hard to find these days, but with your travelin' you might just stumble on one. I only paid $300 for mine. Used should go for less.

When I lived in Indiana there was an old fellow who often brought an armload of Senecas and T/C Cherokees to the big Indy 500 gunshows. Most were .45's but I remember some 36's and 32's salted in.

Good Luck.
Bob

mamaflinter · « **Reply #28 on:** May 08, 2003, 12:27:56 AM »

Quote from: msmith

I like the english flints the best but the duraflints are ok. I wouldn't waste the money on the duraflints unless you shoot an awful lot. You just can't beat an english.

msmith Ya know English flints are good, however it is difficult for some to find a reliable and consistent source of flints. When I say that I mean that sometimes when you buy flints, they are good flints, spark well, etc. Other times you buy them and they don't perform well.

Another thing, I realize you may not like duraflints, but I can tell you this. I had a friend over shooting one day. He was shooting one of our flintlocks, and upon firing the flint exploded. The small pieces embedded in his arm as he was a left hand shooter shooting right handed. It was shortly after that we heard of the duraflints and gave them a try. Yes they do cost more, but you don't have to worry about wearing one out.

mamaflinter · « **Reply #29 on:** May 08, 2003, 12:31:51 AM »

Bob Young, You hang on to that Seneca. I'd love to find one myself. I don't know why they won't retool for some of the discontinued rifles either. But according to Tim Pancurak (I think he's CEO or something in T/C now), he says it's not cost effective. They're fun rifles that you can shoot all day long and not burn up too much money compared to the big bores.