I have wanted a nice Southern Banded Horn for quite some time. I'm always perusing traditional muzzleloading sites and was keeping my eye out for something that really tripped my trigger. I saw some really nice ones, but they were all quite large. I was looking for something more in the range of 11 or 12" around the outside curve. I have a number of horns, so I never really had the right motivation to add another one to the stockpile unless it was something special. Well, I recently built a Southern Mountain Rifle and figured that was as good a reason as any to intensify the search.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Ames had a nice one in the classified, but again, it was pretty large. I had commented on it that it was beautiful, but too big for what I was looking for. He PM'd me back advising he could build a smaller one and had some smaller "raw" horns that he sent pictures of to me. I liked one of them for the base color and size and then went on a search of the internet to find one that really tripped my trigger so he could duplicate it. Sent him a picture, he quoted a very reasonable price. He went to work on it and it was completed in a very short time...way less than I could have imagined. When done, he advised that USPS was really, really slow, but UPS, though a few dollars more, was doing better. I chose UPS and even in the Christmas rush the horn made it to my house today on time as promised by UPS.
Of course, I had already seen pictures of it, as many of you may also have if you review posts to The Craftsman Workshop Forum. It looked GREAT in pictures. But, there's nothing like looking at something in your own hands and this horn was no exception. While the pictures were good, there are subtle coloration details that just don't show in the pictures. It's everything I could have wanted.
The whole experience with Ames was fantastic. From being willing to build exactly what I wanted for a reasonable price, and having superb skills to do it, to the quick turn around of the build, and a shipping tip that got it in my hands quickly vs still sitting in a Post Office Distribution Center in Maine somewhere, it was as good as it could be. I'd highly recommend Ames to anyone looking to get their first, or add another horn to their outfit.
Nothing like getting exactly what you want for Christmas!
Just a couple of weeks ago, Ames had a nice one in the classified, but again, it was pretty large. I had commented on it that it was beautiful, but too big for what I was looking for. He PM'd me back advising he could build a smaller one and had some smaller "raw" horns that he sent pictures of to me. I liked one of them for the base color and size and then went on a search of the internet to find one that really tripped my trigger so he could duplicate it. Sent him a picture, he quoted a very reasonable price. He went to work on it and it was completed in a very short time...way less than I could have imagined. When done, he advised that USPS was really, really slow, but UPS, though a few dollars more, was doing better. I chose UPS and even in the Christmas rush the horn made it to my house today on time as promised by UPS.
Of course, I had already seen pictures of it, as many of you may also have if you review posts to The Craftsman Workshop Forum. It looked GREAT in pictures. But, there's nothing like looking at something in your own hands and this horn was no exception. While the pictures were good, there are subtle coloration details that just don't show in the pictures. It's everything I could have wanted.
The whole experience with Ames was fantastic. From being willing to build exactly what I wanted for a reasonable price, and having superb skills to do it, to the quick turn around of the build, and a shipping tip that got it in my hands quickly vs still sitting in a Post Office Distribution Center in Maine somewhere, it was as good as it could be. I'd highly recommend Ames to anyone looking to get their first, or add another horn to their outfit.
Nothing like getting exactly what you want for Christmas!
