Mike Brooks fowler on TOTW

[TN.Frank]

If you can afford to buy a gun that expensive and you are willing to spend that much , I say go for it. I have to make do with some thing that costs a lot less!
Old Charlie

What he said.
And I wasn't being "rude", I simply can't see how a $2700 buck gun will kill or work any better then my $1k Jackie Brown. Sure, more time was taken in finishing the stock and other parts so it looks nicer but the proof is in the shooting.
How many of ya'll have had your nicely painted, "cool" looking hotrods smoked by the guy in the primer grey car. Looks aren't everything, how it works is the bottom line.
Heck, I had to scrap and save to get the "cheap" guns that I have, my wife would have my head on a pole if I spend $2700 bucks on one.

Like I said before, Mike does excellent work that anyone should and would be proud to own but I'm just a working stiff, I've got to get what I can afford and what'll work IN MY PRICE RANGE.
An H&R single shot 30-06 for $200 bucks will work every bit as good as a Ruger #1 in the same ctg., it's just less expensive, that's all. It doesn't mean that Ruger is better, you're just paying a big chunk for the name. :v

 

[RemingtonMagnum]

It was going along pretty good and then you had to say the H&R is as good as a Ruger #1. That is just simply not the fact. A Ruger #1 is machined ten time the proficient work as a NEF/H&R. Just not a good set of guns to compare. I have NEF/H&R and don't have a Ruger #1 so it is not personal just fact. More like comparing a $1 Barlow knife to a Buck knife. Don’t work that way. Two pennies.

Don Jackson Remington Magnum/Ultramag

 

[oldarmy]

You are a lucky man and have a GREAT wife.
If you take care of it, even though you shoot it. I would bet it will go up in value over the years.
That's the true mark of quality and the reputation of the builder.
Most guns you buy go down 30% in value the minute you buy and shoot them.

 

[Java Man]

TNFrank,

Yes, you were being rude. And then continued on for several unanswered posts We're glad you like your JB guns. That's great. But nobody asked for a comparison, OR complained about the price.

Every time I see a pic of Mike's work, its very clear he's underpaid. I can not afford them either, but they are still a very good value.

Java Man

 

[Boomer]

Congrats Marc & thank you!

Thank you for removing the temptation. It looks to be a magnificent arm. I was going to buy it but I know there was no way for me to get it past "she who must be obeyed".
I used to just say "That? Oh I have had that for years." Now she pays attention to my collection :shake:

Do me one small consderation.... I dont want to hear how well it shoulders, swings or shoots :winking:

 

[Boomer]

Frank,

That's why there is Ponderosa & Ruth's Kris, Chevy & BMW.

If you are viewing the world from a practical standpoint then I would say you only have one eye open. Moreover, I would venture to guess that you have never handled/used a high quality firearm. If you had I think you would be singing a different tune.

All things done in life are not about the destination, its about the journey.

IMO without handling said arm & going buy pictures alone it is very attractively priced.

Just my .02

 

Frank,

That's why there is Ponderosa & Ruth's Kris, Chevy & BMW.

If you are viewing the world from a practical standpoint then I would say you only have one eye open. Moreover, I would venture to guess that you have never handled/used a high quality firearm. If you had I think you would be singing a different tune.

All things done in life are not about the destination, its about the journey.

IMO without handling said arm & going buy pictures alone it is very attractively priced.

Just my .02

Amen.

I very much love shooting clay with over/under shotguns. I currently own one, a little Churchill that I gave a guy I work with $150 for about 17 years ago. It's not a bad little gun, and will do the job. A few years ago I had some extra money though and bought a Browning 425 Citori. I'm here to tell you there is absolutely no comparison between these two guns.

Had to sacrifice the 425 a few years later for the greater good of the family, and I haven't picked up the Churchill since. I just don't care about shooting it at all. Haven't been to the clay ranges at all since.

Believe me, there IS a difference between economical and more expensive guns of any type. And when you get into shooting something as finnicky as a flintlock, those little things that someone like Mike spends extra time on that you don't see (like trigger and lock tuning) will make all the difference in the world.

 

[Dave K]

Ah, kind of like the difference between hamburger and steak. If all I can afford is hamburger, I will be happy with it, but I will always want the steak! Wanting for steak, is what drives me a little harder to get more of it.

 

[mbw907]

We all have to settle for what we can afford. If most of you guys shot a day with me you would probably snub your noses at me. My guns are all in the 200 dollar range and I enjoy them all the same. I think that if you can afford a high dollar gun, great. But if that is the fact you dwell on, you miss the whole point. I am glad for you who can afford them, but in the long run, it is the pleasure you recieve that will be remembered. I have BIG fun on LITTLE money. :thumbsup:

 

[Mike Brooks]

I'll bet you guys wonder where I've been on this one. :haha: Been at Conner Prairie teching a gun building class all week.
CONGRATS on the buy Marc. :thumbsup: Do you want the history of your gun? You're going to get it anyway. :winking:
I found that 20 bore Getz barrel inlet into that piece of wood in Getz Barrel Co.'s booth at Friendship in the fall of 1996 and paid $400 for it. ( that's more than 1/2 of TN Franks JB gun right there :winking: ) I acumulated the rest of the parts and built the gun the winter of 96-97 to have something to show that was for sale at Ft. Frederick in the spring of 97. John Getz saw it and immediatly mentioned he had a buyer, and it was sold at that point for $1700. I borrowed it back for a photo shoot in 2000 at the CLA show In Louisville Ky. This photo shoot eventually lead to the 2001 article in Muzzleloader Magazine.
It sold several years ago on TOTW for about the same $ amount you just paid. When you recieve it you'll find the buttplate is covered with engraving as well as the trigger guard. The wood is an outstanding piece of American black walnut with curl/burl in the buttstock. If I were to produce that gun again today it would be in the price range it just sold for, you got a good buy, and didn't have to wait a year and a half for delivery. :thumbsup:

 

And I wasn't being "rude", I simply can't see how a $2700 buck gun will kill or work any better then my $1k Jackie Brown.

Ah, yes - a Pinto and BMW will both get you to your destination, but some of us can appreciate the esthetic differences. It's a matter of "taste" not function. To each his own.

I always question why someone would go out of their way to tell the public they can't afford something? What's the point?

 

[rabjr]

Well I'm jealious...

Grats on the buy Marc hope you enjoy every minute using it, I know I would. :hatsoff:

 

[rich pierce]

Enjoy it Marc. You busted a good move there. I look to Mike's fowlers when I am thinking of my next project. I particularly like the checkering and the wire inlay.

 

[CrackStock]

Brian,

My compliments on your excellent taste. You are a lucky fellow in many ways. Hug that wife -- she is a keeper.

Mike,

My compliments on a great collection of work. I appreciate your skill in gun building which you share with us and also your gentlemanly handling of this situation.

I would love to know how you got that coloring on the lock and barrel. I have been experimenting with mustard, lemon and onion to get various effects. The mustard takes several days, but when applied with a dabbing applicator, it gives a good distribution of patina, but not nearly what you have achieved.

Again :hatsoff: to you both!

CS

 

[AeroncaTAL]

I simply can't see how a $2700 buck gun will kill or work any better then my $1k Jackie Brown...

...I'm just a working stiff, I've got to get what I can afford and what'll work IN MY PRICE RANGE.

I'm a working stiff and I sure cannot afford a $1000 gun. That's why I'm putting together a Lyman Great Plains Rifle kit that I got for under $300. But, if I had the money, I sure would purchase one of Mike Brooks guns. Not because it may be a superior shooter, but because it is a work of art. :bow:

Marc, congrats on the Fowler. Mike Brooks' work is some of my inspiration for my GPR. I'm sure you will enjoy it!

Scott

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Mike, it is a beautiful fowler and will be treasured by its new owner. I think that those who
appreciate and understand the special qualities of a hand made custom always will. And those who don't will not and will continue to make apples to
oranges comparisons--and ignore the fact that no one is disrespecting their choice of gun.

 

[BCarp]

THANKS CARP!!!!! I'm raising a glass of cognac to YOU tonight, friend!

My pleasure, laddie! Congrats on the purchase (and give that fine wife an extra hug!)....