L&R American Classic vs Chambers Deluxe Siler

[Nater]

I'm in the process of having a new flintlock built and I am down to these two locks. I like the fact that the L&R has a roller on it. I have played with a the Deluxe Siler a little bit and the spring seems very stiff. Does anyone have experience with both of these locks? What are the pro's and con's of each? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[RC]

I have the gunbuilders deluxe Siler by Chambers love it! not a problem! but if there was,,I know Jim or Barb would take care of it...without hesitation...jus sayin.............. :thumbsup:

 

[Mike Brooks]

Go delux siler 100%

 

[Nater]

Why are the Silers so much better? Quality issues?

 

[roundball]

I can answer 1/2 of your question after using 5 Chambers Deluxe Silers...they are simply outstanding.

Yes, when you go to full c o c k on a deluxe siler, you do feel the power of the spring as you overcome it...which is exactly what I want for my hunting. When the sear trips the flint is snapped forward into the frizzen so fast and with so much force I get lots of sparks, fast.

And after using a couple of deluxe silers I was so impressed that when I bought a couple of rifles with large silers on them, I sent the large silers back to Jim Chambers/(Dale Johnson) to be upgraded to deluxe silers.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

NAter

The Chambers is a better lock IMO. If you absolutely want a a roller frizzen go with the "Late Ketland" by Chambers.

 

[TGJaeger]

Get the Chamber's lock. Very nicely made, very fast and if there is ever a problem with it Jim and Barbie are wonderful people to work with.


Altho' Barbie said I was getting forgetful in my old age! :hmm:

- I wish I could remember why she said that...

 

Chamber's locks are superior in every way to the L&R's , with the price about the same. The Deluxe is good for some styles, but the other Chamber's locks, are more correct for styles like the early Virginia, and Tennessee's. Chamber's warranty, and service is way above the others.

Bill

 

[wattlebuster]

Do yourself a big favor an go with chambers :thumbsup:

 

[Burningprince]

Chambers definitely, i own and use the deluxe it's fast efficient and has never let me down.

 

[Dphar]

Chambers.
Get it from Chambers direct.
I use other locks for some projects but most need work, sometimes a lot of work.
The Chambers stuff is good to go when received and only needs external polish, if you want it polished.
Dan

 

[Nater]

How is the flint life on the deluxe silers?

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have no experience with the Chambers except the glowing reports I see here and on other forums. But, I do own an L&R Classic and am just giddy over it's quality. Great lock as is the Late English I have from them.
I would worry about flint breaking and/or short life with such a strong spring as you describe with the Chambers.
However, my advice is: cover yer eyes and go ennie-meenie-minee-moe......
You won't go wrong with either. You may send me the discard. I won't complain about either. :wink:

 

[ebiggs1]

I doubt you can get an objective answer to your question from this forum. :hmm: Because everybody here is in love with Jim Chambers! And, rightly so, if everyone you ever dealt with was Jim Chambers, there would be no trouble in the world. :thumbsup:
I don't have a Deluxe Chambers on anything but I have one in my hand. It is oblivious it is a fine lock. But the folks at L&R, like Bill, are good to deal with, too! I don't have the L&R lock you are asking about at all, but I do have several of the replacement L&R locks. The roller on the frizzen is a gimmick, in my opinion. :grin: If you don't know it's there, you won't know it's there! :shocked2:
The thought of a main spring being too strong is also largely a myth, within reason of coarse. I have messed with several main springs and messed up several main springs. :redface: Learning the hard way!

And, the correct answer is, they both work, but the Chambers is the better lock. :wink:

 

[ODG34]

I have an L&R RPL on my GPR. It worked great right out of the package. I if very fast and reliable and I get great flint life. With that, I put an L&R Dickert on my John Armstrong when I built it. It is a nice lock but, I had to do a bit of playing to get it not to dull the flints after only a few shots. I know lots of guys with Chambers/Large Siler lock that have never had a problem out of the package.

 

[roundball]

"...I have no experience with the Chambers..."

"...I would worry about flint breaking and/or short life with such a strong spring as you describe with the Chambers..."

Given the first statement what can you possibly base the second statement on?

Understanding locks and their design / tuning to place the flint striking the frizzen at the proper angle so there's no abnormally short flint life or breakage is the goal of any lock.

Have a good 1000-1500 shots on a couple of deluxe silers and never had a flint break yet...knapp and reuse 3/4" x 7/8" Tom Fuller black english flints for at least 2 range trips of about 30 shots each...then clean and save them for rainy day edge-reconditioning with a dremel tool to use for a 3rd range trip in the future.

 

[Rifleman1776]

The roller on the frizzen is a gimmick, in my opinion

I have to agree. Really not needed. But I like having it on my old English lock. Many (most?) of the old-old-old presentation grade guns had them and I like the idea of emulating those.
Sumptin' like engraving. Wonderful to have but won't make yer gun shoot enney better.

 

[Dane]

There is NO comparison. The Chambers is a FAR superior lock.
Let's look at a couple of things.
The Chambers main spring. If you notice, it has a camming action. Very hard to start, but get easier as it goes back. Which means, when you release it, you get a nice light trigger pull, and the further forward it goes, the faster and harder it hits. Make sense???
Secondly, it's not the strong mainspring that breaks flints, it's the angle at which the flint hits the frizzen, or if the frizzen snaps back and strikes the flint. I've used flints down to where the front is flatter than the back 70 to 100 rounds at least. Then knapped them, moved them forward and used again.
I've used "MANY" Chamber's locks. Never had a problem with one.

I've never seen and L&R that had enough of a mainspring to give good sparks. I've made a couple servicable, by re-bending the main spring. Both were only marginal at best.

I'll never buy another flintlock L&R. It's just not worth the effort when I can buy a Chambers.

And "NO" I don't work for Jim.

So, if reliability is what you're after.... go with the Chamber's.

 

[CrossXstix]

Being a Lefty, the Deluxe is unavialable and most likely never will be, according to Jim, because the Deluxe uses parts from his other Right handed Locks.

Danny Caywood makes a Left Hand Queen Anne style lock similar to the Chambers Queen Anne, that I would like to use for a Early Virginia style rifle.

Question,..... How do the two compare.

X
David

 

[Dphar]

Being a Lefty, the Deluxe is unavialable and most likely never will be, according to Jim, because the Deluxe uses parts from his other Right handed Locks.

Danny Caywood makes a Left Hand Queen Anne style lock similar to the Chambers Queen Anne, that I would like to use for a Early Virginia style rifle.

Question,..... How do the two compare.

X
David

Then use a standard Chambers Siler.
Dan