IMHO, that is too much for the Hatfield unless NIB & if it is used it is way too much. Going rate for a good used Hatfield is around $ 375 to 500, and the latter being a top notch rifle in lexcellent cond. Inside & out.
If I were you & just starting out, I would do a little more investigating on what it avail & prices & not jump yet. Get this T/C rifle going, see how it does for you & also try to go to some places shooting BP and see what they have. Looking at the map, it appears you are in ML heaven, as it appears you are fairly close to Dixon's Gun Shop, & it would be WELL worth a trip to there & talk to them & see what they have. It will give you a whole different look on black powder rifles & give you allot of dif types to shoulder & Feel, not be inspired by just looks.
One point to keep in mind as you are looking, makes no dif what it looks like if you are not comfortable shooting it.... Forget about stripes in wood, brass, shiney things, etc. Doesn't matter what everyone else shoots, what they like, what is pretty, primitive, PC, non-PC, who built it, what style it is, none of that matter at this point except how it feels to "You" when you shoulder it. That is the best starting point.
Example: You would not beleive the Thousands of BP shooters that have bought thousands of rifles simply by looks, me being one of them. See one & MAN, just had to have that one ! Then find out it doesn't fit me well & it sits in a gun safe for years or you trade it or sell it & start all over...... I have bbeen shooting BP for over 35 years & to this day I just absolutely love the looks of a well made hand built Hawken rifle like Don Stith makes & a few others. But to this day I have never shouldered one I felt comfortable shooting, so I don't own one. After owning 50+ different ML's over the years & building lots of them myself, I find the rifle I like the best all around to shoot is a Lancaster type Isaac Haines rifle with a 38" barrel & with the smaller buttstyle. The only other one I really like is a German Jaeger. And I have owned & shot dozens of other ones, but I always end up back at one of these two rifles for general shooting & hunting.
So if ya want to save yourself thousands of dollars in the future & lots & lots of hunting for the Right rifle, forget of what it looks like, go by how they Feel when you shoulder it.... And if ya wish you can always get a fancy striped inlaid carved Whatever later & at least when/if ya do look for this rifle, this time ya Know what ya want. :thumbsup:
If I were you & just starting out, I would do a little more investigating on what it avail & prices & not jump yet. Get this T/C rifle going, see how it does for you & also try to go to some places shooting BP and see what they have. Looking at the map, it appears you are in ML heaven, as it appears you are fairly close to Dixon's Gun Shop, & it would be WELL worth a trip to there & talk to them & see what they have. It will give you a whole different look on black powder rifles & give you allot of dif types to shoulder & Feel, not be inspired by just looks.
One point to keep in mind as you are looking, makes no dif what it looks like if you are not comfortable shooting it.... Forget about stripes in wood, brass, shiney things, etc. Doesn't matter what everyone else shoots, what they like, what is pretty, primitive, PC, non-PC, who built it, what style it is, none of that matter at this point except how it feels to "You" when you shoulder it. That is the best starting point.
Example: You would not beleive the Thousands of BP shooters that have bought thousands of rifles simply by looks, me being one of them. See one & MAN, just had to have that one ! Then find out it doesn't fit me well & it sits in a gun safe for years or you trade it or sell it & start all over...... I have bbeen shooting BP for over 35 years & to this day I just absolutely love the looks of a well made hand built Hawken rifle like Don Stith makes & a few others. But to this day I have never shouldered one I felt comfortable shooting, so I don't own one. After owning 50+ different ML's over the years & building lots of them myself, I find the rifle I like the best all around to shoot is a Lancaster type Isaac Haines rifle with a 38" barrel & with the smaller buttstyle. The only other one I really like is a German Jaeger. And I have owned & shot dozens of other ones, but I always end up back at one of these two rifles for general shooting & hunting.
So if ya want to save yourself thousands of dollars in the future & lots & lots of hunting for the Right rifle, forget of what it looks like, go by how they Feel when you shoulder it.... And if ya wish you can always get a fancy striped inlaid carved Whatever later & at least when/if ya do look for this rifle, this time ya Know what ya want. :thumbsup:
