dissapointing Sitting Fox

[Rifleman1776]

I saw a Sitting Fox made smooth bore today.
Very dissapointing.
The frizzen wouldn't close without force. The corner jammed against the barrel. Correctible but, IMHO, should not have been shipped that way.
The patchbox was poorly inlaid with large gaps around it and those filled in with some kind of black stuff. Pure ughs IMHO.
The lid of the patchbox extended beyond the buttplate.
The end of the lid of the patchbox was knife edge sharp and the exposed corners even sharper. I cut myself handling it.
Hammer/cock seemed hard to pull but it may just have been a very strong (unnecessarily so, IMHO) mainspring.
After seeing that, if I were in the market I would not put Sitting Fox on my list of possible builders.
Also, touch hole seemed small and ignition was not reliable but I'll give the builder a 'bye' on that since it is something that can easily be changed to suit the customer.

 

[Ranger1759]

Was it built by Sitting Fox, or was it a kit that someone tried to do themselves? I know Sitting Fox does or used to sell kits....just seems out of sorts for the fit and finish to be that bad from a factory completed gun....

Ranger

 

[Rifleman1776]

Was it built by Sitting Fox, or was it a kit that someone tried to do themselves? I know Sitting Fox does or used to sell kits....just seems out of sorts for the fit and finish to be that bad from a factory completed gun....

Ranger

Finished gun, not kit.

 

[Tommy Bruce]

Was it a recent build or an earlier gun?

 

[buzz]

I not supporting sitting fox but Ray told me is he has about 10 guys biulding his guns from parts sets in the white and finished but yes i like to konw more on this as i was about to buy one of his kits with some inletting done

 

[Johnny Too-Tall]

I never had Ray at Sitting Fox ever build me a gun. But I grew up down the road from the man and he personelly builds some very nice rifles. I have built many of his kits and they are good quality parts and wood. I am wondering like the others if this gun was something someone else put together other then Ray or his guys, knowing Ray I would bet that this gun was built from someone else trying to be a gunmaker and passed the poor work off of somebody elses. Honestly if the gun was that poor quality it should have been returned since it had not sounds like someone else built it and they threw the blame elsewhere.
But that just my opinion, you can see guns Ray has built for sale on his website and they are very nice guns. Ask to see a sales reciept that will solve the debate right there, or better yet PM me the guys name and I will check with Ray personnally and see what the deal is.

 

[razorbritches]

couple a years ago I bought a kit from Mr Franks for my son's first flint . Kit was great, parts where quality,service was great,and to top it off the gun shoots great my son won't hunt with anything else. We had a good experience with
Sitting Fox so like some of the guys here I am wondering what excatly you done got into here. Not critical, just curious.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Was it a recent build or an earlier gun?

Recent.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I not supporting sitting fox but Ray told me is he has about 10 guys biulding his guns from parts sets in the white and finished but yes i like to konw more on this as i was about to buy one of his kits with some inletting done

Before seeing this, I thought I was the world's wustest inletter. I lost that title.

 

[Johnny Too-Tall]

Rifleman, see if you can get me the customers name, and the order number. I will talk with Ray directly and see if the gun was indeed one of his or his designated builders. If it is I will see what I can do to get it fixed properly or replaced. I have know the man almost my whole life if it is indeed one of him he will do right by the customer.

 

[FishDFly]

Where are the pictures? Seems documentation needs to be shown, does it not in all fairness?

 

Ask to see a sales reciept that will solve the debate right there, or better yet PM me the guys name and I will check with Ray personnally and see what the deal is.

So far, I haven't heard the actual customer complain about anything. Why is everyone here even trying to get involved? Why not let the customer deal with the builder if he has a problem?

 

[Spikebuck]

I bought a Sitting Fox Fowler about 18 months ago and dealt exclusively with Ray on the deal. It was my impression that he was building it...I should have outright asked the question. It was shipped from some guy out of Mississippi and had some poor inletting, runs in the finish, a bent screw on the sling swivel and the swivel itself was mishapen. The Cock Jaw screw was bent. Many of the pins where in crooked (not 90 degrees to the barrel). The ramrod had the wrong sized threads from my order and the threads were full of glue. The other end of the ramrod was basically narrowed to a point because the ramrod hole had not been properly drilled. Net, much less than I would expect for the price. Ray's answer...that's what happens when they try to build them too fast. I had been pushing because it was not made on schedule as promised by Ray in the first place. It was like he didn't build it, so he took no responsibility for it even though it was a gun with his company's name on it and I dealt exclusively with him not knowing he had vended out the job. Net is, Sitting Fox wouldn't be on my list for another gun. :shake:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Sorry for your unfortunate experience. Validates my observation.
Very surprising he outsources his work. Meaning one does not get a Sitting Fox gun. You just order through him and get his bill.
When/if I ever order another gun it will be preceded by a long phone conversation.

 

[jdkerstetter]

I thought it was common knowledge on this board that Sitting Fox was a middle-man outfit. I have read post by others who ordered kits and the parts came in different boxes from different places. I seem to recall reading that he farmed out the builds too....but that could've been on the other board but I don't think so.

I can not attest to the quality as I have no personal experience. Sorry some have had bad experiences.

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[chuck-ia]

Pretty sad the way things are these days, sometimes it's like rolling the dice. I have a similar situation going on with a custom barrel I ordered. flinch

 

[Matt85]

it shouldnt be a problem that the work is farmed out. the problem is that its farmed out to people who build them poorly.

i dont really care who builds my guns as long as they do a good job.

-Matt

 

[TinStar]

Unfortunately these things happen. And it isn't just restricted to building muzzleloaders. You can find this in everything in life. Honesty is disappearing and customer satisfaction going with it. Thank God that there are folks out there that still stand by what they do.
That has to be a downright rotten gut feeling when you open a package full of expectation only to have your gut sink when you realize what has happened; and have it compounded by a shoddy excuse.

TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!

 

[SgtSchutzen]

I used to live just a couple of miles from Sitting Fox and even though I`ve never owned one of their guns, I knew they are a middle man operation. What surprises me about this post is that the guns from them that I have seen and handled have been pretty nice. I wonder if those in question are from a new builder he`s using or something.

 

[CG6018]

I was seriously considering ordering a kit from Sitting Fox for a winter project for my grand-daughter's birthday. Are similar problems encountered with the quality of kit parts?