Kibler's designs historically correct longrifles and builds them with modern machining, in our shop in Kensington, Ohio. We do the precise, repeatable work so you can do the rewarding part: assembling and finishing your own rifle at your own bench.

How it started

Jim Kibler began building flintlocks by hand in 1990, as a teenager working out of a converted coat closet at home. He went on to Ohio State and a career as a metallurgical engineer, but the rifles never let go of him. For years he built custom flintlocks one at a time, studying originals and learning what made them right.

Bringing both halves together

In 2015, Jim put the two sides of his work together. He took the historically correct designs he had spent decades studying and worked out how to machine them to modern precision. That became the Southern Mountain Rifle Kit, and it is still how we work today.

Here is the part worth being clear about. The history lives in the design and the original patterns. The build is modern. We machine the parts in-house with CNC, so the fit is accurate and consistent. We are not trying to do it the way it was done two centuries ago. We are using today's tools to put a faithful historic rifle in your hands, ready to finish.

The hand work is yours

You assemble and finish the kit at your own bench. The barrel is inlet, the lock is fitted, the hard parts are handled, so what is left is the satisfying work: shaping, sanding, staining, and making the rifle your own. People build one as a first project, and people build their tenth. One customer has built one of our kits for each of his grandchildren.

Those finished rifles, and the people who build them, are what this is really about.

Who we are

Katherine joined Jim in 2014. She knew nothing about muzzleloaders until Jim showed her a silver-inlaid fowler, and the artistry and history won her over. She left accounting to handle the photography, the website, the orders, and getting the word out.

We are still a small crew, and we still care about the same thing we did in the coat-closet days: putting a good, historically honest rifle within reach of anyone willing to build one.

Build one yourself

If you have ever wanted to build a piece of American history with your own hands, we would be glad to help you start.