Quote Originally Posted by Kees View Post
Great looking thing! I would be scared sh*tless to shoot a self-built gun. Have you tried it?
No gunsmithing knowledge is necessary to build from a kit, and if you do not exceed recommended loads, kit guns are perfectly safe to shoot, using normal safe gunhandling procedures. Just as safe as commercially built firearms. A few wrinkles exist in the use of black powder guns, most of which are obvious. No powder or cap containers left open, ever. If shooting from a bench, always make sure there is no powder residue laying around from sloppy loading. Use grease or a wad in every chamber of a revolver to prevent chain fires. A few other things like that. Very important to be safe when handling black powder or any black powder substitute, as well as percussion caps in quantity. Stay safe and you will be safe.

Building from scratch is a whole nother critter. You need to know what you are doing, or work under the guidance of someone who does, or follow stock instructions with care and precision. But if you are handy with tools and with steel, there is no compelling reason to avoid a gunmaking project. Study and a good mentor are essential. Mostly it is all about not using danerously strong loads in a gun not designed for big loads.

Remember, 200 years ago many if not most gun barrels were built one at a time, the barrel forged from a flat bar of steel spiraled around a mandrel and forge welded together. Very ordinary steel, not anything special. Failures happened but they were not so common, using safe loads. A machined barrel made from modern steel is naturally a lot stronger.