My powder horn

Making a possible bag for my muzzle loader

Making a Muzzle loader Pistol

I just finished building a Traditions Trapper pistol muzzle loading kit. It took just about a month to build. It was really rough to start with so I had to fix a lot of stuff before I could move forward. I took off 2 brass pieces and replaced them with cherry wood which looks just killer!

I cut a big piece of cherry off a large board and used my table saw and a chisel to make the barrel channel, and the drill press and files to make a hole to insert a brass rod to house the ramrod. The brass tube was used in part to help stabilize this extra wood for the stock. I did have to notch the brass tube so that the piece that the wedge pin will fit. So I fit the 2 pieces together and used 2 ton epoxy to glue it together. Then I cut off the extra portion of the cherry wood so I could work with it.

I drilled holes through the base of the barrel channel in order to get epoxy all around the brass tube. I also waxed up the barrel and used excess epoxy to "bed" the barrel, which worked very well. Then I clamped it all together and let the glue dry over night, and then started to sand and file the stock in the rough.

I had to put bluing on all the steel parts and fit them all together. The sights had to be fit in the barrel, and final fitting of all the parts had to be done. Then I spent a week sanding and filing the stock to make it smooth. I sanded in a place for my thumb and it feels really good. Then I spent another week finishing it with 3 coats of light cherry stain, followed by about 5- 6 coats of Tru-oil with steel wooling between each coat. The last coat, I did not steel wool, but just rubbed a lot with a clean cloth. After a day of drying it feels just silky smooth.

Finally I got to assemble the whole thing and just see how cool it looks. I can't wait to go and shoot it! I just made a loading stand for it last night so I can take it to the range and sight it in. I used some dense foam to form fit the handle in, and then covered it with leather from some scraps I had. This way it will not scratch my gun when I am at the range loading it, and it is a very sturdy stand to let it sit in.