new smoothbore

[Shudy]

I have a couple of smoothbore questions as I am thinking of purchasing another smoothbore. What does everyone think of Jackie Brown's or Jack Garner's smoothbores? Are they both good and reliable and has anyone had any bad luck with either. I am thinking of getting an early style fowler with a 36 in to 46 in barrel. (depending on price) Both of thes smoothbores are decently priced. I just want to do some research and check with others before I buy. Thanks in advance.
Shudy

 

[Rebel]

I have a Jackie Brown Carolina smoothbore that i really like. Ignition is very fast and it shoots real good. I took a 21+ lb Tom turkey with it this spring and hope to take another turkey and a deer with it in Oct. Mine has a 42" barrel.

 

[Russianblood]

I have a Jackie Brown 28 bore canoe gun and it's very well built and is an excellent shooter!

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

How long have you guys had your J. Brown guns? I ordered one a few years ago, and had to send two back before I finally gave up and asked for a refund.

 

[Evan Ebersole]

I would check out Tip Curtis Frontier Shop
at Cross Plains,TN
He has a good selection of Smoothbores.
It took 3week to get mine from him a Dubbs 28ga. in the white $995

 

[Rebel]

I bought mine used from another forum member so i don't know when it was built. But i have no complaints except the front sight isn't quite centered on the barrel. It sets just a bit to the left causing it to shoot just a bit to the right. Not a big deal though. I love the lock time and the rest of the gun.

 

[TNtrapper]

Ive got a Garner early english smoothbore in 11 guage. I had him build it with a 36 inch barrel for turkey hunting. Cant really tell any diference in patterning between it and my virginia smoothbore with a longer barrel.Its got a large siler lock and is very quick.Jack G. and Brian Turner do great work and I would recommend them to anybody needing a quality longgun. Just my 2 cents.....Have a good un!!...........TN :hatsoff:

 

[Joel Lehman]

I have the 20 guage fowler built by Brian Turner. It is well made and accurate,I shoot a 600 RB and 1/38 ounce shot loads, both with 90 grains of 3f Goex. I had him install a white lighting touch hole liner. Ignition is fast with the large Siler lock.

I hope to get plenty of dove action with it this year. Last year was bad. I only fired 3 shots, but got one whitewing dove. This year my brothers and I have a dove/hog lease in South Tx with water. With the drought continuing, the water will be important this year.

Joel Lehman, Austin TX

 

[crgabel]

Welcome to the Forum I have a Garner Blunderbuss and have had good results. Parts were standard that everyone sells. Good quality wood,barrel,and lock (L&R)
Craig

 

[Shudy]

How long have you guys had your J. Brown guns? I ordered one a few years ago, and had to send two back before I finally gave up and asked for a refund.

Scattershot,
What was the problem with the gun you had to send back?

 

[Russianblood]

I've had mine for 2 weeks. I have no complaints about the gun. It is a great gun for a great price!

 

[TN.Frank]

I picked up a lightly used Early Rustic Arms(Larry Williams made) Cumberland Fowler in 11ga for $700 bucks. It's well made, points nice has an L&R Queen Anne lock so it's easy to get parts for it if I ever need to and has a 42" Oct. to Round barrel. I made up a couple nice ramrods for it and I've shot it a couple times with birdshot, good lock time, seems to pattern ok, at least at 15 yrds the milk jug had a boat load of holes in it. Larry's delievery time is around 16 months last time I heard anything but I'm sure you can find one used on the market some place. As for Jackie Brown built guns, I've only heard good things about em', I'd like to own one someday. Either way, ya' can't go far wrong with a quality built smoothbore. :thumbsup:

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

The stock finish and inletting were not very good, and the barrel inside looked like 40 miles of bad road. I understand that Mr. Brown had some problems awhile back, and that may be the source of the workmanship issues I had. I hope all is well, now, and that he is turning out a quality product. I, too, have heard nothing but good things about him, but that's my experience. I'd still like to have a canoe gun!

 

[BCarp]

Here's a nice-looking Turner piece currently available on Track of the Wolf:
[url] http://www.trackofthewolf.com...=12&subId=81&styleId=284&partNum=AAC-500[/url]

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Scattershot,
I have seen one as well from same maker from the late 90's with the same problems. It looked like the inside of the barrel was not protected during the browing process.

Shudy,
you mention "early" so I assume you are looking for a certain level of authenticity to a time frame. If so, I would suggest getting a chambers kit and if needed, have someone put it together for you. Chambers keeps a list of builders for that purpose.

 

[54ball]

Welcome to the forum :hatsoff:
I am a proud owner of a new Jackie Brown Carolina Smoothbore. I received it back in May.
It is a very well built gun. The inletting is A plus. I am very proud of it. It is a .54 caliber-28gauge. The muzzle end of the barrel has a noticible flare which I think was a nice touch. I have not seen this feature on the larger calibers.
What struck me when I pulled it out of the box was the lightness of it. It is very slender and long so you would expext it to be muzzle heavy and awkward. Not so. It feels like it is a part of me when I shoulder and carry it.
Plusses:
The overall fitting is excellent.
The pin work is perfect.
It sparks well.
Slight file marks are on the barrel letting you know this is a hand made gun.
Minusses:
A couple of very tiny runs in the finish.
A small area on the outside tip of the frizzen did not take browning well.
Some may not like the slight tool marks mentioned above.
My impression of of it, It is the finest gun I have ever owned.
It took longer than expected to get my gun. Jackie had to move his shop so that is understandable. Expect a wait. I belive Mr. Brown, who wants to please his customers, belives he can complete his guns sooner than he actually can. I was told it should take about a month to get my gun, it took eight. It was well worth the wait.
I would not hesitate to order from him again.

 

[Shudy]

Thanks to all that has given their advice and experiences. I am looking for an early smoothbore because you can have an earlier gun for a later time frame but not the other way around. I dont even have any kind of persona going yet so this has been a very slow process for me even though I already have two flinters. I have heard good and bad experiences and although no maker is perfect it just shows one has to be careful in his/her selection. These makers and some others provide a more affordable gun to those of us whos collar is blue. Thanks again folks!
Shudy

 

[54ball]

I think you cannot go wrong with a musket. By musket I mean an 18th century arm commonly used by the armies of the day. I would also include the trade guns and militia arms of the day. Heres my recomendations.
1. The North West trade gun. It dates from the 1690s up until the First World War. It is simple and is made in kit form by several makers. North Star West makes a good version at a reasonable price. It is plain and well, ugly ,but it will get the job done.
2. Military Musket The Pedersoli Brown Bess is a good one but this pretty much locks you in to the AWI. It is based on the second model Brown Bess There are plenty of people here who can tell you how to make it correct, maybe even how to make it represent the first model. Go to the search and type in PC Brown Bess in a year or so after you have read all the old posts You should be an expert on the Bess. :grin: Completed Pedersolis are expensive. A good deal IMHO is the Bess kit by Dixie Gunworks it is reasonable and is more of an in the white gun than a true kit. It is the only Pedersoli kit I know of for the Bess. The kit Bess allows some originality for your persona. Instead of an infantry soldier, You could brown it and be a far ranging Indian agent stirring up the Indians durring the AWI. This is a correct persona for our region durring the AWI. Dixie also has a trade gun based on the Bess. I think Euro-Arms and Armi sport offer versions of the Bess as well. 1763 Chavarvelle late Continental AWI. Can be used for early 19th Century also since many were still in use and the US 1795 Springfeild was a copy. There are also many types of India made muskets Early French and English types suitable for the F&IW.
3. Fusils or Fuzees. Fusils are more refined and are shorter than muskets. They were usually slighly smaller in bore size also. A Bess is about 11 balls to the pounf a fusil about 16. Fusils were carried by officers or militia. A fusil is a cross between a fine fowler and a service musket. Northstar West makes a fine officers fusil and also a chiefs grade trade gun wich is a really a type of fusil. British fusils are correct for the F&IW through 1812. French Fusils and Fusil DeChasses can be had in kit form from many suppliers. A maker can also build you one. These are correct For French and Indians durring the F&IW and Militia and Indians for the AWI.
4. Fowlers. Fowlers are civilian guns that range from plain to fancy. Calibers can vary. The militia were comonly armed with fowlers. My Jackie Brown gun is an example of this type. Many suppliers offer fowler kits and a maker can make you one.
5. Blunderbuss. Small short barreled gun known to have been in use from at least the 1600s up to the ACW. Blunderbusses have the large flared end. They were very common on board ship. TVM makes a kit and a few India made guns are available.
6. Canoe guns. A sawed off trade gun or musket. Available through makers but they are hard to document historically.
7. Hand Mortar a small barreled large stocked gun resembling a blunderbuss. Used to fire grenades. Hence grenadiers. The 18th century version of the M-84 grenade launcher. High end kits are available through places like the Rifle Shoppe.
8. I almost forgot the Wall Gun. A wall gun is a heavy smoothbore musket on steroids. They were common defense guns mounted on a swivel on a wall. They could also just be placed on the wall for support, hence the name Wall Gun. They are a very BIG musket with a bore of over one inch or better. High end parts for these are offered through the Rifle Shoppe. It would be an advanced project. You dont shoot the enemy with a wall gun, You shell them.
A list of suppliers and makers are in the links section.

 

[Shudy]

Thanks for the advice of many types of smoothbores I could get. By the way where excactly is the "Heart of Dixie" :grin: I think it is in TN but yours maybe different.

 

[54ball]

Why the Heart of Dixie is the great state of Alabama. :thumbsup: We still have the Heart of Dixie logo on our car tags. It gets smaller and smaller every tag issue. Apparently some find the phrase Heart of Dixie offensive which is a shame and total :bull: