Q. about Jack Garner signed rifle

[The Baron]

A Jack Garner signed .54 flintlock rifle has come up for sale locally. I'm interested, but don't know too much about the value. The seller says he's owned it about 10 years and it is extremely accurate. It looks like a Leman style rifle and is signed J Garner on the barrel, so I assume this means Jack made it himself? Assuming it is is nice condition, what would you judge the value to be?

 

[hanshi]

I believe Jack Garner was the original owner of TVM(uzzleloading). Matt Avance studied under him and learned to build fine rifles. Don';t know how much that rifle sells for but it should be a very fine catch.

 

[The Baron]

Don';t know how much that rifle sells for but it should be a very fine catch.

That's what I figured, so it shall be mine now. :grin: The seller has a perfect rating on this local gun forum and I felt comfortable. He says he's 99% sure it's a Siler lock and Green Mountain barrel, made sometime in the late 20th century or turn of the millennia (lol) and is in outstanding condition. In reality, I paid about what it would cost to buy a Leman kit from TOTW, so that seemed like a no brainer for a guy like me who couldn't build a square birdhouse, never mind his own gun. :redface:

I'd be interested in any/all thoughts and comments, to help me learn more about this gun.

Couple more pics:

 

[Zonie]

The lock is a L&R Manton, a reproduction of a fairly late English lock (1800-1830 according to Track of the Wolf).

The trigger assembly could be from L&R or Davis.
Both companies make good triggers.

Without examining the triggers I don't know if they are single blade or double blade.
If they are double blade, they will fire the gun without setting the rear trigger.

If they are single blade, the rear trigger will have to be set before the gun will remain at the full cock position.

It looks to be a nicely built rifle and offhand I would say if the builder was proud enough of it to sign it, it probably is.

 

[George]

I believe Jack Garner was the original owner of TVM(uzzleloading). Matt Avance studied under him and learned to build fine rifles.

Jack Garner's company, TVM, is Tennessee Valley Manufacturing. Matt Avance's company, TVM, is Tennessee Valley Muzzleloading.

I don't know if Avance trained with Garner, could be. The history of the two companies is always confusing people.

Spence

 

[Grenadier1758]

Jack Garner was the original owner of TVM. He sold the muzzle loading final production part to Matt Avance. Jack signed the rifles and smoothbores produced when he was the owner. Well most except for my smoothbore which I bought from Jack in the weeks before the ownership was changed. A short time after TVM(uzzloading) was transferred to Matt Avance, Jack Garner started TVM(anufacturing) to supply some parts mainly stocks IIRC to Matt.

All said, that rifle will be a good rifle built of quality parts. Probably made in the 1990's.

 

[mike garner]

it has to be a GREAT gun, after all Garner is my last name also. :grin:

 

[pa woods roamer]

Oldest Son had one and it was very accurate and reliable Flinter. He shot a couple Deer with it here in Pa. In fact, we were out in the late season and He slipped and fell and broke the stock on it where the lock mortise is. Had it pinned and used it for a number more Years.

 

[hanshi]

A few years ago in a phone conversation with Toni Avance, she talked very fondly of Jack Garner and said Matt did train under Jack's tutelage prior to Matt buying the business. That will explain the similarity of the "style" of both builder's guns.

 

[silverfox]

I have one in .40 cal Southern Mountain style with full curl on stock. A beautiful rifle always get a lot of looks when on the range. Got it from a guy who thought it was a safe Queen, now it's the King of the range. It has a small Siler lock, and double set triggers. I was told the barrel might be a Longhammer out of Florida as there are no marking on it except for Jack Garner on the top barrel flat. It was put to gether by a master gunsmith. Fox

 

[Jerry Samouce]

I just got my hands on a Jack Garner rifle. It's a 50 cal.

It was won at a recent Raffle by a friend who only shoots Flintlock pistol... Who promptly sold it to me....

I then re-finished it and added a hand etched "Man in the Moon" cheek plate (etched by another friend) as its only modification.

What is one of Jack's rifles worth these days?

 

[EC121]

There is no telling how many of those rifles Jack built. He shaped them with a side grinder and hand held belt sander. He could build a poor boy style(no buttplate, entry pipe, or nose cap) in a day. One time he came to our shoot in Alabama to sell stuff and deliver a rifle and something was wrong with the order. He left Montevallo, Al and drove back to Corinth,MS to build another rifle. He came back the next day with the correct rifle. It was only stained, but a lot of his Tenn. and poor boy rifles were just stained with no finish on them. They a had regular assembly line in their shop.

 

[Kansas Kid]

The one I got just as Jack sold to Matt sure looked like it was built in a day. I sent it back and Matt built a whole new one.

 

[springfield art]

A Jack Garner signed .54 flintlock rifle has come up for sale locally. I'm interested, but don't know too much about the value. The seller says he's owned it about 10 years and it is extremely accurate. It looks like a Leman style rifle and is signed J Garner on the barrel, so I assume this means Jack made it himself? Assuming it is is nice condition, what would you judge the value to be?

Gosh, any Garner rifle is a good buy, assuming the price is reasonable. I'm sure he made the rifle, but probably sourced the barrel from an actual maker. My garner SMR is not signed, from about 1974. Good luck!

 

[Grimord]

Gosh, any Garner rifle is a good buy, assuming the price is reasonable. I'm sure he made the rifle, but probably sourced the barrel from an actual maker. My garner SMR is not signed, from about 1974. Good luck!

I also have an unsigned Jack Garner percussion rifle, but i have the invoice to prove it was built by him in case I decide to sell it some day.

 

[tnlonghunter]

I've got one of Jack's Tennessee Mountain rifles. I love it - it was my first flintlock. They're a great option if you want something a couple of steps up from the TC and Lyman (and those are good rifles, don't get me wrong).

But there a many, many of them in this otherwise small niche of the shooting world. They probably don't have, on average, a big intrinsic value - maybe in the $1200-1500 range - but they're usually solid shooters.

 

[Zutt-man]

I have a .40 poor boy’s of Jack’s. It was my first muzzleloader. That percussion gun was a real shooter. This year will probably be the last time it gets used until my boy is old enough

 

[Y2GREY]

I picked up a really nice Garner Early Virginia "Iron Mount" in .54 a couple of years back from an estate. It was accompanied by a Jim Chambers Pa. Smoothbore Rifle also an Iron Mount in .60. Both guns are great. The Garner is has been the most accurate of all my front loaders and I have quite a few.

 

[springfield art]

I just got my hands on a Jack Garner rifle. It's a 50 cal.

It was won at a recent Raffle by a friend who only shoots Flintlock pistol... Who promptly sold it to me....

I then re-finished it and added a hand etched "Man in the Moon" cheek plate (etched by another friend) as its only modification.

What is one of Jack's rifles worth these days?

View attachment 100422View attachment 100423View attachment 100425View attachment 100426View attachment 100428

Looks a lot like mine. (Minus the nice moon!)

 

[springfield art]

There is no telling how many of those rifles Jack built. He shaped them with a side grinder and hand held belt sander. He could build a poor boy style(no buttplate, entry pipe, or nose cap) in a day. One time he came to our shoot in Alabama to sell stuff and deliver a rifle and something was wrong with the order. He left Montevallo, Al and drove back to Corinth,MS to build another rifle. He came back the next day with the correct rifle. It was only stained, but a lot of his Tenn. and poor boy rifles were just stained with no finish on them. They a had regular assembly line in their shop.

Amazing!