Track of the Wolf Tulle Questions

[i am the mongo]

I do not yet own a muzzleloader of any kind and I am enamored with the TOTW Tulle Kit in 16 ga.
Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated

Thanks
Mongo

 

[saber]

go for it good gun good kit but have you looked at Jim Chabers smooth rifle

 

[alex efremenko]

I have put together more than a few, They make a fair fusil.but its not without its faults.If you want to be HC lose the cannon barrel thimble and get plain sheet metal thimbles.Make your own thinner mounting lugs,forget about all the 'pre carving' thats on it,it will be lost by the time you get it to shape,guns from Tulle had thier own distinct style of carving anyway,or none at all,also hope your barrel fits in its mortise and relates to the position of your lock.As to the lock it needs some work to "look" a little more HC .The trigger assembly is a real PIA to hit with your tang bolt,use rounded lockplate screws or make your own as the squared ones are not correct.Wood screws also find rounded ones,Most originals Ive seen and have pics of all had round headed wood screws. Other comments are the barrel is way heavier than originals, flares at the end where it should just be tapered .End result it it weighes about 8+ lbs where as originals go a little over 7 lb.

Not trying to dissuade your efforts but just relaying info i have learned building and studying originals.

Once you get past all that it makes a nice gun.

It not the best kit for a first time build.

Hope this helps you some,Alex E.

 

[paulvallandigham]

You might want to look at our own Mike Brooks' kits for fowlers. Mike happens to love the 16 gauge, and while his gun is a fowler, rather than a fusil, the guns share many things in common. Years ago, My brother and I searched for a fusil or fowler that would be LHed. We were frustrated at every turn. In 2004, Pete went looking again, and gave up all together on finding a fusil. Instead, he contacted a gunmaker I know personally, to build a fowler for him. Without my knowledge he decided to have two fowlers built, and gave me the other one. These are in 20 gauge, another fine gauge. Our gunmaker made these "American Fowlers" borrowing design elements from British, French, & German/Belgian, and a bit of American influence on the lines of the stocks.

He chose to put 30" barrels on the guns. I would have preferred 36", but I have to admit that the 30" barrel shoots well on my gun, both with shot, and RB loads.

You obviously don't have the RH/LH problem we have, so you have a wider choice of guns from which to pick. However, for field work, the world does rise or fall if you use a French style fusil, or an English or American style fowler. :hmm: :hmm: :hatsoff:

 

[alex efremenko]

A finished product,

 

[cgg]

:shocked2: :applause: :applause: :bow: :hatsoff:

That is really nice Alex

 

[i am the mongo]

Thanks for the info, and that is a really nice looking gun. I will do a little homework and look at other manufacturers. I think I am stuck on the french style smoothbore, just like the look of the stock for some reason.

Thanks
Mongo

 

[paulvallandigham]

I like it. Other than the shape of the buttstock its very similar to my fowler. :hatsoff:

 

[franky4me]

I built one a few years back, it is a beautifull gun. Read Russel Bouchard "the Fusil de TVLLE in north america." it is the defenitive on this fine gun. I firmly beleive that the TVLLE in 28gauge (French Gauge) or about 20 gauge modern where for trade and those in 18 gauge French, about 14 gauge modern where for the "habitants" the French Canadian people. Too bad TOW cannot find a suitable barrel in 14 , this would be great.. so I opted for 16 ..

It did take me about 125 hours of work to do it right... I took my time to make sure...!!!
Francois
Talking Mule

 

[Dane]

I have one for sale right now, in the "Firearms for sale or trade" section.

It is a 20ga with the 44" Colerain barrel. It shoots ball and shot extremely well. All in all, a nice gun. Very fun to shoot and carry.

 

[gabrielguitars]

I have had 2 of those kits from TOTW, and I found them fairly simple to build. The first one I did was the 42" barreled version in 20 ga with a cherry stock. Didn't like the cherry myself. The second one was in figured walnut, with the 44" barrel in 16 ga, and it was not heavy by any stretch! It weighed under 7 pounds. I also quite love the French "pied-de-vache" stock style, and found it quite comfortable to shoot and shoulder. I will echo the other person that said to take a look at Jim Chambers' stuff. I am going to be ordering a Pennsylvania fowler kit quite soon, and am really looking forward to it.