Euroarms 1803 Harpers Ferry

[condorsp]

Howdy,
Does anyone have experience with, or knowledge about the Euroarms 1803 Harpers Ferry rifle?
I'm thinking about buying one...
Thanks, John

 

[LRB]

I kinda re-built one for a friend. Fine gun after a lot of work. The lock was not great. Screws tapped in at angles, hard trigger pull, parts slightly misaligned, ect. Barrel had a slight bend to the left that could be seen by just looking down it, although at 50 yrds, shot a ragged one hole group. The bend was just enough that the sights could not be adjusted for it. Could have been straightened, but the owner bought a custom replacement. A days work in the shop got the lock going pretty well, with a nice trigger pull weight. Unless you can smith it over, or know someone who can, I would say look in another direction.

 

[mr.flintlock]

Here is another idea you may want to consider. Track of the wolf offers an 1803 Harpers Ferry kit for $806.65 It has a walnut stock that is shaped and inletted. The barrel is made by Colerain and the lock by R.E.Davis, both top notch makers of components.

My thinking is why buy something that needs to be re-engineered when I can build it right to begin with.

Just another option to consider.

 

[matt denison]

A guy in our club had one that wouldn't hold full cock. He was shooting it by holding the cock back with his thumb and releasing it when it was on target. I took it away from him, brought it back to the shop to repair. What a nightmare. Lock parts were soft, hammer throw was way too short and the frizzen was basically junk. Worst of all was that the wood inside the lock mortise was crumbly, little pieces would crumble off and get stuck in the lock work. Long story short I coated the whole inside with superglue to try to hold it together. Then I told him to hang it on a wall and not load/shoot it. My advise: stay away. They are muzzle heavy to boot which makes them awkward to shoulder and hold on target.

Just MHO, I'm sure someone has one that loves it. I didn't think it was a very good gun, especially considering he told me he paid $600.00 for it new.

 

[condorsp]

Thanks to all. Looks like I just lost interest in the Euroarms rifle...
John

 

[MattyB]

I have one, and it doesn't have any of the above problems......but it only fires about once every 6-7 times. If there was someone near me that did BP gunsmithing, I would take it to them and have it tuned up, but it's probably not worth mailing it and paying for the fix, then the shipping back. YMMV

 

[poordevil]

I know there is a US made drop in replacment lock but forget who makes it. Someone here should know

P

 

[rabjr]

Not only the above stated problems with this gun, it's a poor copy of an 1803 and really shouldn't be called one. But of course if Historically accurate is not a consideration, then you can disregard that fact.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I have been enamored with the 1803, I think the 1803 and the 1903 are the best looking military rifles of all time. I've owned three of the Italian repops, two .58's and a .54 and I can second all of the issues mentioned except for the bent barrel, I never saw that. On one lock I half-soled the frizzen with some of that depleted uranium stuff Russ Hamm used to sell, boy does that stuff ever spark! On another I replaced all of the internal parts with those from a large Siler. The last one I got from a guy who owed me 150 bucks. He couldn't get it to spark, took it to a "gunsmith" who also failed. I re-cased the frizzen and had it shooting great by the end of the day. The R.E.Davis 1803 lock will not interchange with the Italian and it really isn't a great lock either.

 

[Carteret Kid]

I was going to buy one until I picked one up at a gun show. The fore stock is just so narrow it felt wrong in my hands. I am glad I felt it before buying by mail.

 

[rwiliff]

Had one as my first flintlock. I learned to shoot and fix it. No longer have it. Glad it's gone.

Robert

 

[tmdreb]

I replaced all of the internal parts with those from a large Siler.

How well did the internals fit?

 

[B. Miller]

I currently have a replacement. My first the barrel was drilled off center and would have needed a sidecar on the barrel for the rear site just to get it to hit within two feet of the target. I now have a replacement which took them slightly over two years to get to me which just sits in my cabnet. I did send it to John Zimmerman and he took care of most of the historical correctness problems but still have not fired it. I have to many others and two of them shoot great and one of them is the Lyman I purchased to cover for the HF while it was on vacation.

Bruce

 

[nkvd]

Yep

Just goes to show you that the more "pricey"
italian jobs don't always guarantee a better
made or tuned for the $$$!

Cheers,Rob :wink:

 

[F.G. Ford]

It is hard to understand that a large, and well equipped company like Euro Arms could not replicate such a simple rifle like the 1803 Harpers Ferry.
To use proper steels to make the lock, cost the same as to use mild steel. Why?
With the Lewis & Clark anniversary, there would have been a good market for this gun, but sadly, this was the best they could do????
Old Ford

 

[JJasper]

John,

I have a Euroarms 1803 Harpers Ferry and recently posted my mixed assessment of this rifle on this forum in the "Flintlock - Navy Arms Question" post of 3/26/11. I know this is an old post, but perhaps someone else will have this same question as we get closer to the 200 year anniversary of the War of 1812, when the 1803 saw at least some action.

The folks at Euroarms did not seem to be too keen on details that is for sure, but the rifle is not without its good points. It is a very close replica of a Type II 1803, being much, much closer to an original design than are the many "sort-of-like-a-Hawken" rifles now on the market. (At least Euroarms gave it the proper length barrel and a brown finish)!

It can be made to shoot very accurately as I mentioned in my other post. The Civil War arms, spare parts folks at Lodgewood.com tell me that Pedersoli may buy out Euroarms. Maybe they will make an 1803 that doesn't have to be doctored-up from day one.

 

[nkvd]

If there is indeed a buy out,I can already
see the $$$ racking up! :shocked2:

Rob

 

[JJasper]

It would be especially nice for the North/South Skirmish guys if someone that really cares about making high-quality replicas (even if they are expensive) would step up and fill the gap left by Euroarms. They did not even have the good grace to take down their website and were not good at customer service in my opinion.

 

[Ken Cormier]

I had one and the lock sucked glad it's gone

 

[S.Kenton]

I have an original..but it's been abused and neglected for so long..it hardly resembles what it should be. Someone decided they should put a HAMMER on it, replaceing the flintlock stuff. Then one owner modified the stock, it's pretty much a BAD wall hanger now..lol