Fusil de Chasse , new to me one

Rob M. said:

Second shot .... Love it ! Gotta try some round ball next ...bit busy today though ...had to do few things and go get a tire on the truck ...

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Nice going Rob it’s got nice fast ignition too if it’s to long for you and you don’t want to cut it down you could mail some wind chime stuff you know where lol.

rickystl said:

Rob: Congratulations. I understand these Centermark's are difficult to find second-hand. As mentioned in Post #21 above, they would be an ideal musket for F&I War period impressions. Makes sense.
I don't actually know Centermark's history other than they were made in the 1990's. Maybe others here could fill me in.
I do know they balance well. At least for me. Here is mine I bought several years ago. Had it re-finished with Aquafortis stain.

Again, Congrats to the OP. A hard to come by musket.

Rick

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I visited Centermark when they were in Pittsburgh. I had an original British trade gun I asked , if they were interested in copying.
I love the architecture and furniture, but never liked the lock, especially the cock's shape.

Wasnt gonna shoot it yet but ....had to clean it for the two blank shot anyway so .....shot it 3 times to group it real quick like . I loaded it with 60 gr. 2F , .600 ball with hornets nest wadding ... 25 yards . Marker cap pointing at point of aim , I always aim at bottom of the bullseye . Not too shabby and first time shootin it . pretty cool , two shots touching .I'll try patched ball next time too ....that'll do pig , that'll do ..
LOL .... gotta clean it real quick then work on truck a little ....took 14 minutes to clean ...

Rob M. said:

Wasnt gonna shoot it yet but ....had to clean it for the two blank shot anyway so .....shot it 3 times to group it real quick like . 60 gr. 2F , .600 ball with hornets nest wadding ... 25 yards . Marker oointi g at point of aim ....that'll do pig , that'll do ..
LOL .... gotta clean it real quick then work on truck a little ....took 14 minutes to clean ...

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Oh sure rub it in why don’t ya nice group Rob how about a shot pattern know come on you can do it .lol

WALT53 said:

Oh sure rub it in why don’t ya nice group Rob how about a shot pattern know come on you can do it .lol

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Ah !! Ship bud !! DUH ! I was in such a hurry to do a quick shoot then get on the truck I completely forgot about tryin some shot .... Wouldnt have taken any thing ta do real quick . Welp , next time bud ... D@mn ....

Thanks ALL for the history of the Centermark. So, it appears production started in the late 1980's ? Does anyone know about when production ended in the 1990's ?

Rick

rickystl said:

Thanks ALL for the history of the Centermark. So, it appears production started in the late 1980's ? Does anyone know about when production ended in the 1990's ?

Rick

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Rick, Centermark had only one owner of record, his name is (or was) Raymond J Woodall, he filed for and was granted a business license in the state of Penn. on Sept. 27, 1984.
Mr. Woodall cancelled his business license on April 5th., 1993.
I've personally owned three of his model French Fusil de Chasse flintlock fowlers, I still own two of them, the one I sold was a left hand model, while the Centermark Fusil de Chasse has had it's critics, in my opinion and in my experience (I've owned several custom Fusil de Chasse smoothbores by other makers) the Centermark Fusil de Chasse remains my favorite.
I don't know why Mr. Woodall chose to stop production but I suspect it's for the same reason allot of small manufacturers go out of business, especially when they make a great product that's in high demand, they just don't have the infrastructure to keep up with demand, get behind in filling orders and end up playing catch up.
For anyone looking for a great period smoothbore musket and have the chance to purchase a Centermark, my advise is do it, they don't come around very often.

Center Mark was also made for a few years in Fredonia NewYork. I forget the owners name then but he also owned a winery

rickystl said:

Thanks ALL for the history of the Centermark. So, it appears production started in the late 1980's ? Does anyone know about when production ended in the 1990's ?

Rick

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1993 apparently ....

They were still in business into the 2000s. A friend bought one in 2004 and I was looking at one later than that.

Fitzhugh Williams said:

They were still in business into the 2000s. A friend bought one in 2004 and I was looking at one later than that.

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Do you remember the owners name? I just can't

Fitzhugh Williams said:

They were still in business into the 2000s. A friend bought one in 2004 and I was looking at one later than that.

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Huh ? Ain't that somethin ... Yeah , the guy on here said the business license got cancelled in 93 ... I thought they were making them past 93 but just through hear say during that time period . Interesting ... I wonder when they did quit making them then ? ... Hmmmm ......

Rob M. said:

Wasnt gonna shoot it yet but ....had to clean it for the two blank shot anyway so .....shot it 3 times to group it real quick like . I loaded it with 60 gr. 2F , .600 ball with hornets nest wadding ... 25 yards . Marker cap pointing at point of aim , I always aim at bottom of the bullseye . Not too shabby and first time shootin it . pretty cool , two shots touching .I'll try patched ball next time too ....that'll do pig , that'll do ..
LOL .... gotta clean it real quick then work on truck a little ....took 14 minutes to clean ...

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That’ll take a deer.

Rob M. said:

Huh ? Ain't that somethin ... Yeah , the guy on here said the business license got cancelled in 93 ... I thought they were making them past 93 but just through hear say during that time period . Interesting ... I wonder when they did quit making them then ? ... Hmmmm ......

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The business license in PA was canceled when they Moved to NY

As I understand it, the original company was sold. The new owner was the vineyard operator in New York. They were a little difficult to contact. I think they were more interested in the vineyard than the fusils.

This is from a 2010 post on this forum:
In the 1980s the original owner was still there.
His name was Woodall or something similar. He sold Centermark to Paul Siebert in the early 90s
but i think the guns are essentially the same.
Some say the early ones are better but I have one by the current owner and couldn't be happier with it.
Deadeye

Also, I understand that Ray Woodall made guns in 70s before he opened a business under the Centermark name.

Fitzhugh Williams said:

As I understand it, the original company was sold. The new owner was the vineyard operator in New York. They were a little difficult to contact. I think they were more interested in the vineyard than the fusils.

This is from a 2010 post on this forum:
In the 1980s the original owner was still there.
His name was Woodall or something similar. He sold Centermark to Paul Siebert in the early 90s
but i think the guns are essentially the same.
Some say the early ones are better but I have one by the current owner and couldn't be happier with it.
Deadeye

Also, I understand that Ray Woodall made guns in 70s before he opened a business under the Centermark name.

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Thanks. Paul Seibert was his name. You are right the gun business was done in off times at the Vineyard

Some really great information here, now you all have me wondering where and when my second one was made, my first was purchased in the early to mid '80's by a close friend, I bought my second one in 2020 from a local guy who was the original owner, both Fusils appear to be close to identical except for the stock wood, my first is stocked in Walnut, the second is stocked in dark curly maple.

OK. So the consensus is that Centermark started about the Mid-1980's, and ended about the early 2000's. I'm surprised someone did not purchase the the equipment to continue making these guns as popular as they were, and apparently still are. Seems like they would sell well today.
Again, thanks guys for the knowledge.

Rick

rickystl said:

OK. So the consensus is that Centermark started about the Mid-1980's, and ended about the early 2000's. I'm surprised someone did not purchase the the equipment to continue making these guns as popular as they were, and apparently still are. Seems like they would sell well today.
Again, thanks guys for the knowledge.

Rick

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Sometimes in this peculiar hobby, you meet an owner of a popular product of two who seemingly thinks no one should enjoy what they offer after they walk away or pass away.

dupe