Choosing a build - choosing between Jaeger and NW trade gun

Fwiw I ordered a kit from Pecatonica, tooks months for it to get here ? Called every couple of weeks to enquire , got a different story each time ?
The trigger guard and the butt plate were for a different rifle, didn't find out until I staretd inletting the trigger guard , that was a 6 week delay waiting on the new parts, I might have been more understanding if it wasn't for the p*ss poor attitude. Turns out they had taaken a bunch of orders at the friendship rendezvous (after mine) and mine was relegated to the back of the pack.
Personally I think you would enjoy building and shooting the Yeager more than the smoothie.
Cheers nessy.
 
wally sorry that NSW trade gun is on Traditional Muzzle Loading forum. Not ALR.


Nessy, it seems from reading the forums that your experience is pretty standard. No one ever seems to get what they paid for. I just sent back an L&R lock that looked like a child assembled it free hand! Luckily I was dealing with an upstanding guy who did not make me deal directly with L&R like most resellers do. Too bad cause I wanted a durs egg really bad but what I got was an embarrassing POS. When I sent the reseller pics he went through his L&R stock and was beside himself when he found the same and worse problems with all of them. Can't wait till the chinese start making locks maybe then the quality will go up .LOL.

Wally the other deal out there is a kit from Gun Works for an English Fowler. Look in the used semi custom section. At the very least if you buy from them you know you will be treated well and honestly. Just make sure you are not in a rush if you call cause they will take the time to talk to you! They ship super quick and pack as if they care.
 
nessy357 said:
Fwiw I ordered a kit from Pecatonica, tooks months for it to get here ? Called every couple of weeks to enquire , got a different story each time ?
The trigger guard and the butt plate were for a different rifle, didn't find out until I staretd inletting the trigger guard , that was a 6 week delay waiting on the new parts, I might have been more understanding if it wasn't for the p*ss poor attitude. Turns out they had taaken a bunch of orders at the friendship rendezvous (after mine) and mine was relegated to the back of the pack.
Personally I think you would enjoy building and shooting the Yeager more than the smoothie.
Cheers nessy.
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Well, seems that I'll be avoiding Pecatonica then. Their prices are definitely way cheaper, but apparently quality and customer service are where they make the savings it would seem:p


david doyle said:
wally sorry that NSW trade gun is on Traditional Muzzle Loading forum. Not ALR.


Nessy, it seems from reading the forums that your experience is pretty standard. No one ever seems to get what they paid for. I just sent back an L&R lock that looked like a child assembled it free hand! Luckily I was dealing with an upstanding guy who did not make me deal directly with L&R like most resellers do. Too bad cause I wanted a durs egg really bad but what I got was an embarrassing POS. When I sent the reseller pics he went through his L&R stock and was beside himself when he found the same and worse problems with all of them. Can't wait till the chinese start making locks maybe then the quality will go up .LOL.

Wally the other deal out there is a kit from Gun Works for an English Fowler. Look in the used semi custom section. At the very least if you buy from them you know you will be treated well and honestly. Just make sure you are not in a rush if you call cause they will take the time to talk to you! They ship super quick and pack as if they care.
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No worries - you did actually say traditional, I'm drooling over it in between scanning the rest of the forum.

Good to know about Gun Works. They seem to have a trade gun pic at the very bottom of the page, but the lock is "L&R2000 Queen Anne". To be frank I don't know enough about modern reproduction guns to make any manner of decision right now, but seems Clark industries is a good starting point, even if I'm not overly fond of the affordable Long Rifle/leonard reedy rifle.

In the end I haven't heard much about the Jaegers yet - either kits or general comments on them, other than that it's probably more up my tree than the trade gun. I'm interested to hear some comments of average difficulty of making jaeger kits and the best value for quality kits.
 
H Wally said:
In the end I haven't heard much about the Jaegers yet - either kits or general comments on them, other than that it's probably more up my tree than the trade gun. I'm interested to hear some comments of average difficulty of making jaeger kits and the best value for quality kits.
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I don't think a jaeger kit would be any harder to assemble than a trade gun; main thing is to get it from a reputable company with quality parts especially the lock.

My jaeger is perhaps 1 lb heavier than my trade guns but it is also only 39 cal which adds to the weight. I would got for about 54 cal if that were an option in your case. Keep in mind that with a much shorter barrel, the weight is less of a problem because a 42" barrel hangs out there a lot farther than a 30" barrel so they balance about the same. I would still opt for the jaeger as the first choice in your case

cheers mooncoon
 
Mooncoon I think we are over looking the obvious here, Build both!

Wally I don't know much about this but it seems that guys who get into building these guns are not likely to stop at one. That being said you might as well learn the complete trade. If you can do what the kits require then you might as well build from scratch.
Start with a top quality barrel professionally breeched, a siler lock and a stock blank. Beyond that you just need some solder and an eye for what you can bend/solder/file into Jaeger or trade gun furniture.
Patterns are fun to make on the 11x17 printer at staples.
 
david doyle said:
Mooncoon I think we are over looking the obvious here, Build both!

Wally I don't know much about this but it seems that guys who get into building these guns are not likely to stop at one. That being said you might as well learn the complete trade. If you can do what the kits require then you might as well build from scratch.
Start with a top quality barrel professionally breeched, a siler lock and a stock blank. Beyond that you just need some solder and an eye for what you can bend/solder/file into Jaeger or trade gun furniture.
Patterns are fun to make on the 11x17 printer at staples.
Click to expand...

True enough - my major obstacle is soldering and woodworking. Have yet to do a solder or brazing job I'm happy with, and I'm possibly the slowest woodworker on the face of the earth. I guess when the project is meant to fill your downtime that's not a bad thing though :p
 
david doyle said:
If you can do what the kits require then you might as well build from scratch.
Start with a top quality barrel professionally breeched, a siler lock and a stock blank. Beyond that you just need some solder and an eye for what you can bend/solder/file into Jaeger or trade gun furniture.
.
Click to expand...

I have made 2 or 3 from parts and I think the hardest part is getting shapes and contours correct. I would strongly suggest getting Shumway's book on recreating the pennsylvania / kentucky rifle. Even though you are not making a kentucky rifle, many of the details of the stock are very similar. My first stock had the graceful lines of a plank and the second was only slightly better. What I found extremely useful was having an example in front of me to give me a three dimension pattern to copy. A good quality kit eliminates the need for something to copy and gives you a much better understanding of the shape to try for on your second build

While I agree with David that building or repairing guns can be addictive, you will also find there is a tremendous amount of details that are not as obvious and simple as they first looked

cheers mooncoon
 
tremendous amount of details that are not as obvious and simple as they first looked
Click to expand...
Yep:
Some smart guy said that anyone can build a nice gun if they are patient enough to remove one grain of sawdust at a time.
 
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