The rifle shoppe fowler

Have any of you guys built one of these or had someone build one for you? They have several english fowlers but no pictures of the kits or finished product. I'd love to see some pics if anyone has any. I'd also like to know how much work was done on the stock, in the pic. they show of a kit stock it has basically all the work done including screw holes for the lock and the tang carvings, but the stock they show is off of a musket I think.The metal has no holes of course.

Not sure why anyone would want a TRS Fowler unless they offer metal parts not found else where. I've been told more than once their stocks are less than desirable but their metal parts are wonderfully cast and I have seen that myself, the quality of the metal parts. But unless they offer something you just can't find anywhere else and just have to have, I would look at Chambers Fowlers first. If TRS does not have parts in stock, you'll grow old before they do and you can get a Chambers kit a hell of a lot faster and the quality of parts would be no less. :v

I bought a few parts from TRS that were supposed to be in stock at the time of the call. I was told that my parts would go out the following Friday. I got 'em three months later...in separate packages spaced a coupla weeks apart.

The parts I received were very high quality castings, BTW, but it took a while to get them, even though they were "in stock".

IMHO, it would probably be a cold day in Sheol before you got a complete kit from TRS, so if you want a nice English fowling piece that you can acquire in this lifetime, I would suggest either a Chambers or one of Mr. Brooks offerings.

God bless

J.D. said:

I bought a few parts from TRS that were supposed to be in stock at the time of the call. I was told that my parts would go out the following Friday. I got 'em three months later...in separate packages spaced a coupla weeks apart.

The parts I received were very high quality castings, BTW, but it took a while to get them, even though they were "in stock".

IMHO, it would probably be a cold day in Sheol before you got a complete kit from TRS, so if you want a nice English fowling piece that you can acquire in this lifetime, I would suggest either a Chambers or one of Mr. Brooks offerings.

God bless

Click to expand...

Yeah thats why I have to ask why, I don't see things turning out good here at all.

Things must have changed since I last ordered parts a few years ago then because when I did, the lady who answered the phone stated I was lucky the parts I wanted was in stock and being wendsday, that was the day they got orders ready to ship the following day on Thursdays. She gave the impression that they only shipped on Thursdays.

But theres no excuse for that, if your parts are in stock and they take your money you have a right to receive them in a timely manner. Today's day and age it shouldn't take any more than 7 days to ship any where in the lower 48. :shake:

TRS after i talked to them they get all there parts out sourced and dont keep muh on the self and order when they have enouf to oder
yes there medal parts are top self
i cant do a gun like i have done antique autos
one car i did took 10 years and i ended up selling it coz i got tired of waiting to hear it run the new well not new owner is were i was 10 years ago im sure one day someone will get to enjoy it
so i have to agree with swampy

they have a left hand griffin fowler, that has a fancy lock with all the rollers and other gizmos. I was sort of hoping things had changed in the last year or so. It seems every body is pretty happy with the parts when they receive them. I emailed them and asked what fowler kits they had in stock and I'm waiting for a reply. I'll let you guys know if they ever respond. I'd love to get ahold of them so I could order their catalog if nothing else just to look at the different guns. I can't even tell which fowlers are fullstock and which are half-stock from the internet catalog.

The rifle shoppe is known for good quality parts, long delay in shipping them! :hmm:

I always hear wonderful things about their castings and horrible things about their delivery of parts. I always have to wonder, how in the heck do they stay in buisness?

Because they have what others don't.

Texl, you just gotta hope you have luck contacting them and that parts set is in stock. One thing though is your ordering lock castings or you can have them build the lock, if they do it, it like everything else will take a long time. So you should decide to get the castings if in stock and either you build the lock or find someone to build it for you, either way will be quicker than to have them do it I'm sure.

Call 'em, rather than rely on them answering an email. Ask if they have catalogs in stock, otherwise it might be a looooonnng delivery time on them too, since they only update them every year or two.

IMHO, the reason TRS is so slow on delivery is that they only cast parts when they get enough orders to justify the expense. It can take a coupla years to get enough orders for certain parts, so ya gotta wait.

Blakelys (SP)has some really nice, unique items too, but they are expensive. I'm told that Blakleys castings are a softer steel that is easier to machine than those from TRS.
http://www.blackleyandson.com/

Dyson has some nice stuff too.

http://www.peterdyson.co.uk/acatalog/

God bless

I have a 12 bore fowler made from TRS parts by John Bergmann, he used a L&R lock instead of the one in the kit. I posted pictures on www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/211789/post/468266/hl//fromsearch/1/

Hi,
I've built several guns from parts by TRS and Blackley. I used a few complete parts sets from TRS (Ferguson Rifle for example) but never used their stocks. From what I have heard the stocks are usually adequate in quality and inletting but you can probably do better with a blank from someone else. You can purchase locks assembled but they are very expensive. The unassembled locks are just a pile of cast parts, no holes or threading, no screws, and no heat treatment. They are not good choices for a novice builder. I prefer the unassembled components because I can build a better lock that way but I always end up making some substantial modifications to the castings. TRS castings are made from a tougher steel than Blackleys, which are mild steel. Blackleys are easier to work with and fit but they require case hardening (my preference anyway). The bottom line is unless you are an experienced builder and know quite a bit about lock making, I would not buy a TRS parts set. Go with a Chambers kit because you will be much happier. Also don't get sucked in by the cast-in engraving on TRS parts. Cast-in never looks like actual engraving because casting cannot duplicate the the sharp cuts of the graver. The edges are always rounded off slightly. I always file off the cast engraving and chiseling and do my own, which looks a lot better. Finally, customer service from TRS varies from pretty good on occasion to horrible most of the time.

dave

That is a great gun.

Sorry... :redface: I probably shouldn't have said anything. There has been a British light infantry gun for sale on Gunboker the past few months that I would have bought instantly. Unfortunately the thumbpiece was upside down on that one too.