Almost feel like breaking down TC’s

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And selling them on eBay! $450 for a stock and fittings… fairly plain walnut to boot!
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i started buying TC's off ebay when i retired. i found i could buy lock, stock, and barrel for about 175-200. i would put them together tweak them over the winter and sell them to entry guy's just before spring bear season here for enough to keep up the fun.
suddenly someone somewhere got greedy and the cost doubled. now its worse yet. i saw a Hawken percussion lock sell for 239.00
 
I saw a guy posted on Facebook that he got a stock and triggers for 50 dollars on eBay. I asked him if it was a broken stock. I didn't call him a liar but I told him I didn't believe it. I also told him that I have nor seen prices like that in any years.
I bought Renegade for 200 locally a little over a year ago. I got stupid lucky getting that one as a donor rifle for a build.
A guy stands a chance to pick up a good deal but not on an auction site.
 
Well. here's my recent story. Bought a thoroughly rusted up T/C 50 Cal New Englander at a Laurel MS gun show in late Oct 2021 for 125,00 It was so bad I had to come back to it 3 times and noticing it was the ONLY BP for sale. Lot of negatives.
Barrel was to far gone. Outside the lockwork crusted with rust but discovered the inside was shiny! Thought of Hoyt to do the barrel to .54. Started working with the stock and it came out way better than expected. Even have some nice stripes in the wood.
Went to Track of the Wolf for some incidentals and noticed they had a T/C New Englander barrel offered for 249.00. Well. I figured that's at least what I would pay with frt back and forth to Hoyt. I got lucky the barrel was new unfired! though not advertised as such. The rusted barrel will go to Hoyt this spring when he is caught up and I'll get it smoothbored for shotgun. End of story got the rust cleaned cleaned up and reblued and a pretty good looking and shooting T/C for a lot more than expected. Would I pay 400.00 for my gun in its present condition?. No Am I happy to have this gun for 400.00? Yes. The journey was worth the price.
 
Concerning the insanely high prices on evil-bay, as my old co-worker ‘Hollywood’ Britt would say “no law against bein’ stupid’. If people will pay it, more power to the seller.
 
Of course ebay won't allow auction of complete muzzleloaders, but also will not allow sales of a stock and components and a separate barrel at the same time by the same seller if they find out. Watch for the barrel for a stock like this to come up. Years ago I bought a nice stock on ebay. The seller asked if I'd be interested in the unlisted barrel, too, despite being against ebay rules. It saved him from having to list the barrel separately. I got a nice complete rifle out of the deal.
 
I just read the end of auction prices on eBay and Gunbroker in disbelief. Here's just one example from late November 2021

Thanks,
O.R.

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Hell, that's cheap compared to some I have seen. New kits are approaching a $1,000. There is a new group[ on the web] TC enthusiast's.95% of the group has no idea of TC's past history.It's like a feeding frenzy on there,people on Ebay and Gunbroker etc. spending whatever it takes to keep up with the next guy!!
 
I pick up TC rifles and fix'em up for new shooters in the area. That seems to be all they want and really there is not much more out there. Just paid $600 for a Hawken for a younger shooter, he saw the stock and had to have it. If a person is lucky enough to find one here he will look to pay at least $400. I bought me a new unfired 54 Renegade the other day for $275.
 
bought a Ardesa .54 stock on ebay with nice figure and some nice brass inlays for finished price of 130.00
searched the sellers other items and he had the barrel for the same price.
had never played with Ardesa made stuff so said WTH.
finest shooting .54 i have! and it looks like a CVA mountain rifle which is one of my favorite looks.
 

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Things have changed in the last few years, I found an new unfired Renegade kit barrel in the white on eBay for $65, Dixons was selling it, I picked up some sights from a friend, under rib and thimbles of Ebay for $27, a stock less the lock but with everything else for $65 and put a L&R RPL flintlock on the gun. I had $410 in it (parts cost plus all the shipping to get them to my house) and sold it to a great friend for $400, I never shot it and he has never shot it so it is pristine. It would probably go for big bucks now.

I told my friend he could probably get $700 out of the gun now with a new barrel and the L&R lock, he said he he loved having the rifle in his collection and had no interest in selling it.

I made a nice gun out of the parts.

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I bought a .45 Hawken 2 summers ago with a Green Mountain barrel, .45 cal. Based on ebay, I could sell the barrel alone for way more than I gave for the entire gun. I got lucky, bought the gun and the original barrel for 275.00 with a bunch of accessories. Stock was crap and beat up, but did get a couple of decent buys on a stock and another stock with all the furniture. Kept the one with the Green Mountain barrel, sold the other for a reasonable price, got my money back on it and sold the crappy stock to someone who wanted a project.

When all said and done, ended up with about 325.00 into the gun I ended up keeping.
 
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I really like the sharp clean edges here and I assume on the off side panel as well. A good 80% of all refinished stocks I see have had those edges blended and smoothed almost as if they were melted away. It’s just nasty and looks like the refinishing was done with a belt sander and 80 grit belts! Nasty 🤮
 

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