Milsurp After Hours

I am currently THINKING about making a BP Rifle Kit.
The 2 options I am looking at are by Ardesa.

Ranger rifle, single trigger, .45 percussion. £195 / $318.
or
Hawken Woodsman, double set triggers, .45 percussion. £226 / $370.

Anyone got any advice / observations / doe's & dont's they can pass on?

Reason for choosing Ardesa is that the kits are readily available here in France.

IF I go ahead I was thinking of browning the barrel rather than bluing as it looks easier and may well produce a better finish.
Laurel Mountain Forge Barrel Brown & Degreaser looks like it would do a good job.

I've used the Laurel Mountain browning solution. It works fine and is easy to use. A 2.5 oz bottle will be enough for several rifles.

Thanks Robert. Not sure I can get it here so may have to 'import' it. First, buy a kit - don't tell the wife

Once you have the rifle then you'll need the gear to go with it. May I suggest that a powder horn is much better than a flask asyou can make one yourself if you can get a horn. Powder horns can easily be made water tight and many can be thinned down to where you can see the amount of powder that you have left if the horn is held up to the light; water tight horns usually float even when full of powder.

There's all sorts of things that one can make, just for the fun of it.

Eoin.
Thanks for the idea mate.
I already have a Remington New Model Army and so I have some kit already.
I pre-measure my powder into small plastic tubes ( used for putting blood in for blood tests ) I do have a flask but it doesn't throw a consistent weight of powder.
IF I manage to get a kit I will do a photo diary of it's construction.

The Ardessa rifle kit is a good choice for a starter B/P project you get all the parts you require with it and most of the inletting is already done , some of the brass bits will need to be finished off. Just take your time and dont rush , The same applies to the browning.
Robert

Years ago, I did a Hawken kit rifle. It was alot of work. Wood was inletted OK, but, outside needed alot of scraping and sanding. All the brass was "as out of the mold", so, needed filing and polishing. Finally, the barrel had to be "draw filed" as it was left machined rough. The rifle came out beautiful tho. Fist time I fired it, the stock split at the wrist!