Left handed flintlocks on a budget??

I am having a heck of a time finding a new lefty flint lock. The closest i can come is the lancaster by tvm. Is there any other custom shops or even mfg's that make a lefty flintlock in the virginia or lancaster style at a decent price? :bull:

Not in that style unless yo locate one used. Lyman, and I think Traditions pop out lefties, and there are some used TCs floating around.

As for you saying "decent price :bull: ", I guess it depends on the hourly wage a builder should make. If you don't like to pay someone a decent wage, or feel they're overpaid, get the parts and build it yourself.

As far as i can tell the mfg's do not make a full stock flint lock in a lefty. I do not want a half stock hawken type of rifle but more of a full stock poor boy or lancaster or virginia or even a tennesee style. My price range is under $1200.

Save up your money until you can afford a good gun at a "fair price".

Jim Chamber, and L&R make a variety of left-handed locks. So does Caywood, and Davis. You can link up to their websites by going back to the index page on this forum, scroll up to " Member Resources", and then look for an entry, " Articles, Charts, and Links". Click on " Links" and it will take you to a long list of suppliers. Several General Suppliers, such as Track of the Wolf, sell many of these locks, and provide you with full-sized pictures of each which makes it easier to compare with the size gun you are working on.

I have a Tennessee Poor Boy style rifle acquired more than 30 years ago, from a now Bankrupt company. I ordered it with a Cochran lock in LH percussion, then had it converted to Flintlock a few years later. Cochran is no longer in business, and the closest size lock that would fit my gun today would be a large Siler, sold by Jim Chambers. My gun is .50 caliber. There was a time when Dixie Gun Works sold similar rifles in a variety of calibers, from .32 to .50. If you are building a smaller gun for a child or woman, or man of short stature, in a small bore caliber, you might want to downsize the parts, including the lock, and look for a small Siler, or pistol lock to use on the small gun. All this has to do with how the lock parts( internal) fit up against the barrel of the gun, with the biggest issue being whether the lock is Long enough to reach from behind the breech plug to where you need the Touch Hole located.

Good luck on your build. :hatsoff:

sdhunter said:

My price range is under $1200.

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TVM will fix you right up with any of those styles for $1100 or less depending on the model and details, and $100 off their list for in-the-white if you want to finish it yourself.

You can cut the cost by another $350 or so if you just get the parts from them and build your own. In my experience though, building myself means working for less than $3.50 an hour, considering the 100+ hours it takes me to do the build.

check out www.jklongrifles.com Jim built a peter Barry for Me in the white. :wink:

Call Tip Curtis........ 615-654-4445. He may have one already built.

Keith Lisle

siler locks are the way to go no matter who builds it. had a spring break called to order a new one and was asked to send the whole lock to them. it was back in my hands less than 8 days later with a new spring tuned up and working great. caywood will rip you off!

caywood will rip you off!

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Say it ain't so! :rotf:

If Jim klien will build you a rifle for $1200 in the white you better jump on it. :thumbsup:

This will make you cry, but......

I've been slowly saving for a nice rifle for a few years. A year ago i started looking for a nice lefty flintlock longrifle, figuring I'd be into it for $700-1000.
This August my town had a yard sale weekend, and my wife called from a sale a block and a half from my house, saying they had a rifle like I shoot. I thought I'd find a CVA Hawken.

Instead, I found the rifle I've been dreaming of. 40 cal, left hand flintlock longrifle with a pretty brass patchbox of a lady in a dress. When I look under her dress, I find the name of the maker, W R Wall, of Detroit, and the man he made it for, and the year 1968. As best I can tell, it had been test fired only.

Custom rifles don't come free though. I had to pay the man a whole $100 to take it home.

I see the early lancaster kit from tvm is $650. Would this be too hard for a first build?

O.K. Trent you just wanted to make the rest of us feel bad. Admitt it! Custom built high quality for $100. You just wanted to make us feel bad!! :idunno: :idunno:

There are many builders out there that will do a left hand flintlock in the white. $1200. for a plain gun may be possible. I would think $1400. is very do-able. Go to the CLA site, they have a list of builders and contact info. Start sending out emails. Narrow it down to s few then ask for references.

Remember, all Siler locks are not created equal. Siler is not a brand name. It's a model of lock, a small plastic bag of rough castings. Who assembles the lock determines if its any good.

Bill

sdhunter said:

I see the early lancaster kit from tvm is $650. Would this be too hard for a first build?

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This is going to depend entirely on your skill set and available tools.

If you are serious about building a set of parts I would strongly encourage you to buy a builders book and familiarize yourself with the processes, also there is a really good tutorial here from Mike Brooks that does a very good job showing the process.

The reason I push the book also is that it is indespensible to have the reference material on the work bench when you need that critical bit of information.

I am not familiar with the Avance parts sets so cannot comment on the amount of work left to the assembler.

If you have any mechanical inclination you will do fine, just take your time and review the particular step several times before you cut/drill/file etc.

Bobby or Greg Christian can likely build you one for under your budget - they built both of my guns. :thumbsup:

Keith, which one was the rifle i shot of yours?

Call TVM and ask them about the level of the kit. Matt is very helpfull. They are good people to work with.