Everyone's thoughts about these rifles ?

[PowderSchooner]

I have been inactive on this forum for quite some time. I dont have a muzzleloader yet and I have been meaning to get around to it. I walked into a local outdoor shop today and they had some muzzleloaders on the wall for sale. Only three stood out to me the rest were old rust buckets that werent taken care of. The three rifles were a Dixie Gun Works Lancaster .45 caliber, Dixie Gun Works Tennessee Mountain Rifle .50 caliber and Thompson Center Hawken .45 caliber. All rifles are in a 9 or 9.5/10 Condition they have been well taken care of and were in someone's private collection. The Lancaster is a .45 caliber flintlock and is listed for $550. The Tennessee is .50 caliber percussion but the rifle comes with a new L&R Flintlock and would just need a vent hole amd me to convert it. Lastly the Thompson Center Hawken is .45 caliber and is $600. All these prices are high in my opinion. I wanted to know what fair prices are to ask for these rifles ? The store owner said that all prices arent final and these rifles have been on the rack for some time as no one wants and rifle without a scope. They are being sold on consignment but the seller is flexible. I only want to pick up one rifle if I can. I just want something nice to use and practice with before I move up to a custom build or a kibler. The rifle will be used in Maryland to hunt deer in the Chestertown area. If anyone has an idea on a fair price to ask please feel free to comment.

 

[Trot]

I would be cautious of the Dixie Lancaster. I had one years ago and never could get the flintlock to work reliably. It also had very shallow rifling. I think they were made by Palmetto arms and weren't exactly a top of the line rifle. Mine may have just been a lemon, but I would be cautious.

 

[FishDFly]

What caliber is legal for deer in your state?

T/C.

 

[Phil Coffins]

If the 45 is legal in Maryland the TC is the safest (sight unseen) bet. Prices around here are $4-500 for a nice one.

 

[NorthFork]

The T/C is usually a safe bet.

 

[PowderSchooner]

What caliber is legal for deer in your state?

T/C.

.40 and up

 

[PowderSchooner]

If the 45 is legal in Maryland the TC is the safest (sight unseen) bet. Prices around here are $4-500 for a nice one.

.40 and up are legal use in MD

 

[R Ellis]

What's the price of the mountain rifle

 

[appalichian hunter]

Dixie mountain rifle hands down.

 

[KDJ B10]

Have had several T/C Hawken/renegade rifles and all of the factory ones were nicely put together and accurate after finding the right load combo. They seem to be in the $450-500 ballpark in my area if in nice condition.

 

[nchawkeye]

I'd go with the .50 and the L&R lock, they are known as reliable, that is, if you can install or get someone to install a good touchhole, set in the proper place...White Lightning touch holes, from Jim Chambers are good...Good Luck!!

 

[bang]

Get the TC 45 and find a 50 barrel to have.

 

[Daryl Crawford]

You don't list the offered price on the .50 SMR. If you could get it for $500 you've had a really good deal. If you can get the TC .45 for $425 that would be a good deal. The SMR with the new lock in it should easily bring $600-$700 depending on one's location and the quality of the wood.

 

[TDM]

None are bad choices to get started. But I’d say the mountain rifle or the TC. Just try to whittle the price down 10%. But the prices aren’t really out of line.

 

[LECook]

Of the 3 the 50 cal SMR would be my choice provided the bore is in excellent condition. It would be the closest to a gun from back in the day. JMHO and good luck with your decision.

 

[Ed Pilkington]

https://www.jimkibler.net/

 

[Grenadier1758]

I would be leaning toward the Dixie Mountain Rifle. A vent liner with the same threads as the drum would allow for easy conversion between percussion and flint. The L&R lock will perform well once all the new has been polished off for a simple tuning. The sear lever may have to be adjusted (shortened) if the tip is hitting the wood in the lock mortise.

The T/C is priced way too high in my opinion. The Dixie Lancaster lock is not as good as the L&R and the eventual buyer may want to exchange that for a better replacement lock and that would have to be figured into the pricing of that rifle.

 

[APG]

I don't know the cost of those but if the owner is willing then haggle the price. All they can say is," no".

 

[Zapadach]

I have been inactive on this forum for quite some time. I dont have a muzzleloader yet and I have been meaning to get around to it. I walked into a local outdoor shop today and they had some muzzleloaders on the wall for sale. Only three stood out to me the rest were old rust buckets that werent taken care of. The three rifles were a Dixie Gun Works Lancaster .45 caliber, Dixie Gun Works Tennessee Mountain Rifle .50 caliber and Thompson Center Hawken .45 caliber. All rifles are in a 9 or 9.5/10 Condition they have been well taken care of and were in someone's private collection. The Lancaster is a .45 caliber flintlock and is listed for $550. The Tennessee is .50 caliber percussion but the rifle comes with a new L&R Flintlock and would just need a vent hole amd me to convert it. Lastly the Thompson Center Hawken is .45 caliber and is $600. All these prices are high in my opinion. I wanted to know what fair prices are to ask for these rifles ? The store owner said that all prices arent final and these rifles have been on the rack for some time as no one wants and rifle without a scope. They are being sold on consignment but the seller is flexible. I only want to pick up one rifle if I can. I just want something nice to use and practice with before I move up to a custom build or a kibler. The rifle will be used in Maryland to hunt deer in the Chestertown area. If anyone has an idea on a fair price to ask please feel free to comment.

I would go with the southern mountain rifle, I had a DGW smr in .50 caliber and it was a great rifle. Unfortunately years ago I traded it for a saddle.

 

[Ben Meyer]

I have the DGW TN Mth rifle in .50cal. It has been worked over by a gunsmith, improving it. I have the original lock and an L&R RPL lock for it. They both work great. BUT, the L&R is NOT a simple drop in replacement. Mine took being sent to a gunsmith and then back to L&R for work. The patina needs to be done to natch the gun as well, I used Laurel Mountain Barrel Brown.