R.E.Davis fusil kit for first build?

[Coldfingers]

Howdy.
Looking for info on the Davis kit.
Quality? Ease of asembly.

Thanks in advance

Smoky

 

[Cruzatte]

I don't know what you're going to do for a lock. The web site still says the French lock is on hold.

 

[Coldfingers]

I see that now, I missed it.

I am thinking that today's "new normal" is "If you want it,and its available, don't hesitate, it will be gone in moments"



Thanks
Smoky

 

[billraby]

That is a standard pre-carved stock kit. It looks like you just put the pieces together and it is ready to go. That is not how it goes. These kits are much different than the Kibler kits. When they say that the stock is 95% inlet they are correct. It only has 90% of the work left to go. None of the parts will actually fit in the stock. All of the final fitting is up to you and that is where all of the work is. None of the metal parts are ready to use. You will have to do all of the metal finishing. Picture shows the breech plug in the barrel. That does not mean that it fits properly. Will have to check that and possibly fit the breech plug to the barrel. There are no holes drilled or threaded. You get to do all of that. The stock looks like the right shape but you will carving the entire surface down to final shape and dimensions.
This is not a weekend project. It will likely take several months to put it together. Definitely buy the books recommended. Start watching gun building videos online. The cool part is that by building one of these you are learning how to build guns. These kits require all the same skills that building from a blank does. My opinion is that building from a blank is easier.
They do not have the lock in stock. It might be a long time before they have it. A number of other parts may not be in stock either. Call them and ask before ordering. All of these parts are available elsewhere. Check with other suppliers to see if they have the parts needed. Or you post here that you are looking for a lock and maybe someone has one that they are willing to sell.

 

[EC121]

Some of Davis's locks are made from Pete Allen molds. He died a while back, and the molds are "somewhere". If that lock is made from his molds, it could be a while.

 

[Cruzatte]

Some of Davis's locks are made from Pete Allen molds. He died a while back, and the molds are "somewhere". If that lock is made from his molds, it could be a while.

Yeah....like a long while. I think if the OP is bent on a French fusil of one sort or another, one of his best options might be Track of the Wolf's Fusil de Chasse parts set. The Davis fusil looks about the same level of difficulty as the Track fusil.

 

[satwel]

Have you spoken with them about availability? Twice I have sent an inquiry via email about purchasing the fusil kit and I've never received a reply. Several years ago I called and asked about their Jaeger kit and they told me they didn't have any of the components and they had no idea when they would be back in stock.

I was interested in the Davis fusil kit because I had read good things about it on other forums. It was supposed to be a reasonably accurate reproduction.

BTW, Track of the Wolf no longer lists their Fusil-de-chasse kit on their website.

 

[Cruzatte]

I just checked, and it is, and it isn't. All the parts are listed, and available, but the parts as a whole package aren't listed. Strange.

 

[Coldfingers]

Thank you all for the reply, I think I'll put that on the back burner for awhile.
Doing dirt work and hope to get the n shop up this summer, so I'll stalk the for sale boards for the summer.

Thanks again
Smoky