Access Heritage guns?

[Louisk]

Large selection of Flintlocks here. They are sold as non-firing replicas which could be made shootable by drilling out the flash hole. Anyone know who makes these? It's hard to believe they'd be selling quality guns at that price. http://www.militaryheritage.com/muskets.htm

 

[Kansas Jake]

Interesting. I'm not familiar with them, but the double flint shotgun looks interesting.

 

[FishDFly]

It's hard to believe they'd be selling quality guns at that price.

Yep, you are very correct. Wonder why??????????????????

 

[nwtradegun]

MADE IN INDIA.

 

[Zonie]

As rj morrison says, they all are made in India.

There are hundreds of posts on the forum about Indian made guns with many arguments both for and against them.

If one wants a truely accurate representation of one of the historic guns, these guns are not the answer.
They almost always use the wrong type of wood for the stock and they are usually not shaped correctly.

The locks, like a lot of the things that are made in India, are a hit or miss thing.
Many of the locks are hand made and often need a lot of work by the buyer to make them work reliably.

The reason the touch holes are not drilled has to do with the Indian export laws that forbid exporting operating firearms.

That said, these guns can add an interesting gun to a collection for a very reasonable price and with a bit of work, they can be made to shoot.

 

[coloradoclyde]

From their contact page...

Access Heritage Inc (formerly The Discriminating General)

 

[nit wit]

Discriminating General had some real no nothings working for them! The India guns are all right for someone who wants to get into the game for less money. They have really heavy trigger pulls but that can be fixed. They are on the low end of the scale and are now have gotten pretty pricey for what they are. Last Year I picked up a used Italian made Charleville for 500.00 and this year an Italian made Bess for 550.00.
Save your money and be patient.
Nit Wit

 

[Blackfingers]

I bought 2 Baker Rifles from this place, both needed extensive work to smooth the trigger and time the locks. I am currently waiting for a musket from MiddlesexVillage.com They get Indian guns but rework them, drill vents and otherwise make them what the buyer expects of them, a little more money, some wait-time, too, I'm at over 4 months. Feedback on their site gives me confidence in my purchase. :wink:

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Under India's firearms laws there are some expensive red tape procedures for shipping "working" firearms to other countries. In addition, both the US and I'm sure, Canada, have higher import duties on "working" firearms. So for the Indian manufacturers to export them and the Canadian seller to import them, it is cheaper and less hassle all the way round to get them in as "replica" guns.

Indian made guns run all quality ranges from pretty crappy to very high end highly engraved modern firearms that sell for tens of thousands of dollars. In general, the Idia made muzzle loaders, tend to be on the lower end for fit, finish and materials. That said, I have two India made pistols that serve their purpose quite well. I have also ordered locks directly from M. Sikligar and for the price, they were nicely finished. Sikligar has been in business making muzzle loaders for 40-50 years. Decades ago, Navy Arms imported and sold double barrel muzzle loader shotguns from India.

There is some junk out there. One importer of Spanish muzzle loaders sold guns that were not fit to load and shoot. For a very few years some Chinese made flint muskets were sold in the US. Total junk. (around 1978) Blew up and killed people.

There have been a lot of stories around about muzzle loaders blowing up. I don't know of any documented cases of India made muskets blowing up. a few Savage made smokeless muzzle loaders have blown up.

A lot of folks truthfully say that if you want a historically accurate gun, don't buy India made. and to a big extent that is true. But a TC Hawken, was likewise not a good example of a historical gun, same for CVA.

 

[LA]

I kept checking the web page for when the MTS-016 English Dragoon Pistol was back in stock. After months, it finally showed back in stock. I ordered right away. The email stated “If the product in stock it normally takes 3-5 Business Days to process and ship your order.” A month went by with no notices from Military Heritage (Access Heritage Inc.) I finally emailed them about my order. Robert emailed me back after a week stating “We are presently sold out of the Dragoon pistols but expect a new shipment in the next 10 days.” I emailed Robert back stating “I have been checking the web site to see when the “MTS-016 English Dragoon Pistol” was available and ordered it when the page did not show “temporarily out of stock”. I checked today and it still does not state out of stock. Is the web page not correct?” Robert replied a few days later, “They just arrived not two hours ago. We will be shipping yours out to you in the next few days.” Two weeks go by with no notice of shipment so I email them again, “Can someone provide an update on my order?” Robert replied,” Sorry for the delay. I had marked your order as filled but it was not! Totally my fault and I sincerely apologize. Just processed payment and sent your order to the warehouse to ship as soon as possible.”



I replied back, “Considering how sloppy your company has handled my order, I would like a full refund. It just is not worth it and I have no trust in your company. Please provide a receipt of the full refund.”



I would not recommend purchasing from this company.

 

[Kansas Jake]

LA, your experience looks like the typical company that operates on the edge and uses float from funds folks send to cover other folk’s past purchases. A house of cards that will crash at some point.

 

[John Spartan]

FWIW I have bought several non-firearm items from them and packaging and shipping from Canada to the United States was less than a week. Good quality too much better than I expected honestly. Of course YMMV.