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I was looking for input on possibly building a 50 cal percussion for an idaho elk hunt. I would like something reasonably priced and accurate, but not sure if that is doable from a kit. Doesn't have to be fancy, just reliable. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

How in-depth do you want to go? Kits range from simple and basic to more involved. Flintlock kits are more abundant than percussion ones. Generally you get what you pay for with regard to quality of components. At the low end would be Traditions or Lyman offerings. I don't think TC offers their guns as kits any longer. You should snoop around americanlongrifles.com and also check out offerings from Track of the Wolf, Jim Chambers flintlocks, and Jim Kibler's kits. Flintlocks can generally be converted to percussion. TOW offers a great variety of kits, Chambers a few less, and Kibler offers two. Of the bunch, Kibler's are the easiest to finish and will give you a great gun with a little care in the assembly and finish. Kibler's guns are CNC machined and very precise. The other two require more work and care. So far I've completed one TOW gun and one Chambers gun. Next I will either attempt one from a blank or get a Kibler to complete with my son, depending on where life takes me.

It's quite doable to assemble and finish one of these guns at home but there's a balance between taking on a big project vs. compromising in quality. I have erred on the side of more time invested for what I consider a better gun in the end and have not been disappointed. Frustrated and baffled at times, but happy. The TOW, Chambers, and Kibler's guns give you much better architecture, variety, and swamped barrels. These things make a difference.

I should also add that the level of carving and decoration on the historical guns can be intimidating. Rest assured that you don't have to go that route. A german influenced gun such as a longrifle will also have easier inlets than an english gun.

pabucktail covered the answers very well. So the only question I would ask is that you would define as "reasonably priced "?
Kit guns can be had as low as about $475 and as much as $1000.
Built guns can be as low as $600 and up to about $8,500. All are "reasonably priced" depending on who is doing the reasoning.
What one man sees as reasonable is totally out of line to another.
Here is one that I made many years ago that is now for sale. (Below the pictures of the pistol)

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...7476/1/steve-zihn-flintlock-set-for-sale

Some would pale at the price, but others know what kind of investment in both time and parts such a guns costs. This gun has a stock that is 100% hand made along with several other hand made parts. The barrel costs about $230 and the lock about $200 and the piece of wood will come in at about $235 today. The labor took about 450 hours. Wal-Mart pays about 12 an hour, so at Wal-Mart wadges 450 hours would come to $5,400 and then you add the cost of the parts that are not hand made, which would total about $700 more. That would be $6,100, so a price of $3500 is about "half off"

yet $3500 may be unreasonable not because of the value involved, but just because a classic carved, engraved flintlock rifle may not be what is wanted to simply kill deer with. Not that you can't (in fact, this gun has accounted for 5 of them)
But I believe the point is made.

So when you ask for a "reasonably priced " gun kit it is best for you to put a number on that so others can give you a better answer.. What is reasonable to you is 100% reasonable (because YOU are doing the reasoning) as long as you are not asking for "a free lunch".

Thanks for the info. My son and I would be doing the project. A simple kit that is percussion would be my preference. I am not as concerned with a beautiful finish, and checkering as I am in accuracy and dependability. We do a lot of hunting in 2_ states, and a lot of long range shooting, but are novices in the world of muzzle loading, so I appreciate the advice, and would certainly take more.

Maybe these will help. These types are usually good but you need to keep in mind that in some cases you have to fix things the paragraph operator did wrong on kit guns before you can go forward with the build. So the quality of the machining on the stocks is the real issue with some kits.
The ones listed as flint-locks can be had for a bit less money in cap lock too. You'll see the options they offer when you read the pages.


https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/618/1

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Cate...KERT-LONGRIFLE-FLINT-PARTS-LIST-STRAIGHT

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/615/1/KIT-CARSON-HAWKEN-RIFLE-PARTS-LIST

http://www.longrifles-pr.com/stockscomponents.shtml

I built a couple CVAs many years ago and, just looking at the pictures, I was amazed at how good the Kibler inletting looks. Then I saw that the stocks are CNC made. The difference is absolutely shocking!

https://www.jimkibler.net/rifle-kits-overview.html

Thanks for all of the info.

My oldest son builds guitars, and uses a CNC. He can hold .015.

Yowza!
What's he have? About a 1% range in allowable moisture?

He's pretty picky about his wood. He was an engineer for Paul Reed Smith, PRS guitars, for 7 years, and is pretty savvy. Does a lot of fine pearl inlays...