Know any good custom Flintlock Rifle makers

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Its nice to have a friend with such talent. Of course there was my buddy Hooper. He could open a beer bottle with his eye socket :shocked2: . But I agree with Swampy you cant go wrong with Roy or Mike Brooks. Your gun will be right.
 
Steve Zihn built my Christian Springs 16-bore:

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...and as a matter of fact, I DO look for gratuitous excuses to post these pictures...

Alan
 
talked to a fellow from port matilda pa that builds real nice flintlocks but cant remember his name
 
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With this many builders to choose from can you guys give me an idea of price ranges. What would be considered good and inexpensvie, good and mid priced and what are the actual dollar ranges. I know from the top end you can spend as much as you want.
 
Some names mentioned here so far are not really known for building custom type work.
There are also custom builders who are sometimes well known for specific styles. There are others who are proficient at the mechanical process of the build but have no idea of the historicity of what they do nor do they have an eye for architecture. There are some that have it all.

You get what you pay for. As far as this forum and the builders here that I am aware of that take orders, I would say go with Mike Brooks, Birddog 6 or Roy Stroh. I think the type of gun you want will dictate the best choice as each has a "niche" area that they shine in the most.
I am not aware of Birddog's or Roy Stroh's prices but I bet they are reasonable. I do know Mike Brooks' prices for what you end of with is probably one of the best bargains now. I can tell you that I would suggest deciding on what you want then seek a builder for that particular gun.
If you cannot wait 18-36 months then you probably do not want a custom gun.
 
Contact Jim Klein who lives in Michigan. Probably one of the best flintlockers makers you could find.
 
Capt Jas brought up an important point many of the makers are considered semi custom and one can argue the terms all you want but they basicaly offer a genric high level production gun sort of like a higher level TC tyle with more options yet sill vague enough and generic enough to usually not have any detail or traits which will connect the to the type of gun they are called. Some builders will go a bit farther n thne guns but seldom will one finsd a well researhed gun with what it takes to make it identifiabke as a tyle of gun it is claimed to be and thne needed PVC/HC elements to connect it to said gun, they are quality well made guns however. Quite often the issues lie on the buyers shoulder for not knowling what the details are and insisting that thewy be included in the gun, mnay times the builder is not the best place to look to research on the PC/HC factor. I would bet that the fast majority of these guns if shown to a long time gun student like Schumnway or the like the they could not make a determnation of wht type or where the gun came from, but would likley comment on how pretty the wood is.
 
Here's a bad photo of a very nice Bucks County rifle that Allen Martin built for me about seven years ago.
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It took several years, and it wasn't cheap, but Allen's work is anything but generic. There are other builders who are as good, but few who are better. That said, school/era matters a lot. Allen is best known for his Lehigh Valley rifles, and while I'm sure he could build a credible Hawken, for example, he might not even accept a commission for one. Other makers specialize in Hawkens, but wouldn't be the logical first choice for an English fowler.

Do your research, both on the style of rifle you want and the builder you would like to have build it. Then talk to the builder, put down a deposit, gather your money, and wait a few years.
 

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