Trying my luck at splitting the lead ball on the axe.
First with a flintlock, then move over to a cap lock.
Not doing too well with either....LOL

Below are several different ways to "hit" a golf ball.
They will fly at pretty good distances when you hit one....!! 

Well time and interests change. I just hope you never lose the muzzleloading bug in general. That SMR makes me drool. It's gorgeous. I only own two custom rifles. Both TVM's. Wish I had more but finances won't allow it. Maybe someday my wife will win, I'm sorry I meant to say maybe someday I will win the lottery and that will change.

I ultimately returned the barrel to Kibler and was told Jim would evaluate it and bend it as needed to correct the point of impact. Months went by without any word-- likely because this all coincided with production of the Kibler Hawken. When I finally called to check on its status, I was given a bit of a runaround: reassured that Jim had it in hand and that it would ship the following week, which never happened. Eventually, they sent me a replacement barrel instead.

I was admittedly disappointed, as I really liked how the original barrel's finish had turned out. In the end, though, it worked out for the best. The replacement barrel proved to be exceptionally accurate, and I went on to win the Coeur d'Alene Muzzleloaders' woods walk a couple months later with a near-perfect rifle score.

True to form, I just recently sold that SMR to fund another purchase. Kevin jokes that I have a gun-buying and trading disorder -and he's probably not wrong- but my interests have been shifting more toward living history, particularly the colonial period, rather than the mountain man era. As enjoyable and accurate as the Southern Mountain Rifle is, it no longer fit my personal focus. I've also found that I'm increasingly drawn to custom guns with more individual character, rather than the more uniform, kit-built rifles like those from Kibler. Those Kibler guns sure do run though! They're like the Swiss watch of flintlocks. If I could get a Kibler with just enough relief carving and engraving to keep it from looking like one of the many owned by every Tom, Dick, and Harry, I suspect it would be a forever gun.

Photos of the finished SMR below:

Friday morning I watched Ethan Yazel's video where he finally opens his Chambers New England fowler after it sat quietly for two years, and it felt oddly perfect, because I had spent the previous evening contemplating getting one of my own and decided I'd sleep on it. Yesterday, I pulled the trigger.

I'm pretty excited to finally share my New England Colonial Fowler / Militia Musket, built by Cory Joe Stewart. It's exactly the kind of honest, workmanlike piece that keeps pulling me deeper into this period.

Paired with it is a plug bayonet by Nathan Allen, which absolutely completes the martial side of the story, and a beautifully done woven strap by Shayna Matthews that ties the whole thing together (literally and aesthetically).

There's something special about seeing a project come together from multiple skilled hands. This one feels right at home in the colonial / militia world, and I'm looking forward to putting it to use.

Grateful for the craftsmen keeping this tradition alive.

Photos courtesy of Mr. Stewart.