I disagree, obviously. I think new shooters who are contemplating having a custom gun made need to think through all the alternatives before deciding on a builder, and a particular gun. I spent more than 5 years going through these kinds of decisions, with my brother, and we looked at and studied every gun of the type that interested us in detail. It began when the first few companies began making and selling French Fusils. That was actually more than 10 years ago. Because we are left handed, my brother and I wanted to find someone who would build a left handed fusil, or, later, a fowler. But, there were no English LH fowlers that we could find, and many highly qualified builders would just not make them, no matter what you offered to pay them. They had spent years mastering the styles of the old guns, and just were not comfortable producing something that was not historically correct. So we continued to look for a builder. In the process, my brother said, do we really need a patch box? we both had guns with them, and we didn't use them. ERGO: Scratch the patch box. Did we need fancy brass furniture, inlays, checkering? No. ERGO: Scratch those items. We checked on kits. Some dealers would not sell us a kit without all that stuff, even when it would shorten delivery time considerably. We moved on.
We got a working grade fowler that we could hunt with and not cry over too much if the stock was scratched. The price was right, and delivery was what was promised. The quality of workmanship is excellent. We could have saved more money if we took delivery in the white. But my brother had the guns made, and surprised me with mine for a birthday present- NICE BROTHER! I knew, of course, he was getting a gun made for him, but mine was a surprise.
So, after reflecting long on my own experience, and re-reading Jim's request for information, I decided that there are lots of readers of this forum who need to know that there are other builders out there, and that both the delivery time, and the cost of the gun can be affected by what they order. I have nothing but respect for Mike Brooks as a gun builder. The guns he has made that I have seen on this forum are breath-taking. The kind of time it takes to learn all the details of a particular style of gun, and then to reproduce it with modern parts, while getting it done in a reasonable period of time that he can make a living of sorts as a gun maker is simply awesome. I cut him some slack when he sounds a little short with some people's glowing descriptions of an off the shelf factory gun that really doesn't meet the design of the old gun it purposts to replicate, simply because he has put in the time to learn it well. It does anger people when you hear someone making glowing praise about a gun that falls far short of historical accuracy, and it should. Why should anyone put in the time to learn an exacting craft, if they have to compete with a company who throws together a gun and sells it for less than 1/3 the price of the gun he produces to exacting standards?
My respect abounds for the custom builders like Mike, and one of these days, maybe I can also afford the time and money to own one of their guns. For those of you interested, you should attend the shoots at Friendship, and go to the builder's hall to see the displays of custom made guns, and meet the builders. Or Attend Dixon's Gunmaker's Fair near Allentown, Pa. The artists who attend and put on demonstrations and lectures are among the best in the country. I am sure there are other fairs, or rendezvous where builders display their firearms, but these are the two big ones I have attended and noted the huge variety of guns, and numbers of gun makers.
It is in Lexington, KY in Aug. Lots of high end work that could give new meaning to "nicest gun that I ever saw". Great place to check out some well known builders and others not known but who make a great gun. :thumbsup:
