Things to look for on a Jackie Brown rifle/value?

I'm looking at a couple of different rifles built by Jackie Brown built rifles. I've started doing some research, and it seems like opinions can vary quite a bit.

Are there certain things I should keep an eye out for, and a rough idea of what a fair price foe one might be?

Thanks in advance.

Birddog1911 said:

I'm looking at a couple of different rifles built by Jackie Brown built rifles. I've started doing some research, and it seems like opinions can vary quite a bit.

Are there certain things I should keep an eye out for, and a rough idea of what a fair price foe one might be?

Thanks in advance.

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Hi Birddog1911,
I have a .62 "Carolina Gun" smoothbore with rifle type stock that I purchased used in late '06, in person, from a forum member. My wife shoots it almost exclusively at rendezvous type tradegun & clay events. It's provided good service. It has easily obtained lock parts if necessary. We've had 1 broken (Siler) frizzen spring. Jackie does not build locks, he uses locks.

I had him build me a new, economical .40 rifle with my particular barrel length & stock design in about '13. It serves dual purpose for my .40 or under matches & teenage daughters to use. It has an L & R Queen Anne lock which functions as well as any other L & R lock that we have.

Both are serviceable. Both are rough in the barrel channel & lock mortice inletting when taken apart. Both needed substantial rust removal, cleaning & oiling of the underside of the barrel upon receipt. Both have some inletting gaps. Both had clean, shiny bores upon receipt.

Pan to barrel fit is superb on the .40 cal rifle. Pan to barrel fit is so poor on the .62 smoothbore that I've used a thin leather "gasket" between the barrel & pan since the first couple shooting sessions.

$1200 - ish sounds reasonable in my estimation based on our two & the two others that friends have. I have better, but much more expensive flintlocks with no issues. I also have much more economical older production flintlocks which are hampered with issues. Jackie Brown's guns were a good middle of the road option at the time.

Would I order one from him today? It's unlikely unless I could get a very particular gun to fill a personal niche at a great price, knowing the probable quality.

Would I buy another used one? Most likely, especially if I could see it in person. Over the interwebs would give me pause.

The quality is such that I would want to see a used one in person & probably still have qualms about a new order from the man himself.

It makes it difficult when I'd really like to see them first, but they're both located a days travel away.

HI,
He builds them on the cheap and they look and function accordingly. He does no work on the locks, the stocks are shaped and sanded using cutters and sanders. I've repaired or worked over several because they were popular for a time with some locals because of price and they were not TCs. I won't agree to repair or rework them anymore. To much remedial work is needed.

dave

I’ve owned a few of his guns, quality is hit and miss and like others have noted.. it’s always good to see them in person. Keep an eye on the pan to barrel fit.

I would probably pass on them. I think there are better choices for your money.

What to look for? Aside from generic, non-specific modeling, look under the lock. Check out the inletting. Check under the tang. Look for "fillers" like epoxy or bondo. Look for cracks or chips behind the tang. Look for poor inletting, gaps, etc. Look for mottled, inconsistent finish on the stocks.

I have owned two; they were functional. they were inexpensive compared to others in the market. They did not hold value like a better maker's work would.

Only you know what your expectations and standards are; you decide.

ADK Bigfoot

My first flintlock was built by Jackie for me and I no longer have it. Think I sold it for $600 12 years ago.

Dave sums it up quite well.

Fleener

Yeah, don't think I'm going to pay $1300-1400 sight unseen for one of these.

Birddog1911 said:

Yeah, don't think I'm going to pay $1300-1400 sight unseen for one of these.

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Jackie doesn't even get that much for them. He generally asks $900-$1200 for something right off the bench.

Best to contact Jackie directly. PM if you need his email.

I have 2 from him and as a mid-tier build anything I didn't like I was able to easily correct. I will say ... and I think that even Jackie would admit to it ... that years back he had a 'tough go of it' for a few years there. But from all reports he got past all that and is building good/serviceable BP arms again.

Now mine are fowlers and wear barrels profiled by Greg Christian and they're great and one is my most accurate smoothie!

Note his less expensive rifles will have straight profile barrels. I'd advise anyone to save a few more bucks up and get a swamped barrel longrifle.

Previous posts pretty much cover it. I had him build me a fowler. It required a lot of work to be made functional when I got it after much delay and excuse making. A search will find a series of posts I made on the progress of that build. An example of his work showed up in the lock. It was obvious he simply dunked it in browning solution and shipped with the solution still working on all the parts, internal included. The lock was not even functional as the inlet rubbed on the moving parts. That required a lot of work.

To show that Jackie can make some VERY nice pieces, I got this one a few years ago and it was fantastic functionally, in appearance and shootability … especially for the price paid! Nice piece of tiger-striped wood to boot! Zero issues with the lock too.

Flint62Smoothie said:

To show that Jackie can make some VERY nice pieces, I got this one a few years ago and it was fantastic functionally, in appearance and shootability … especially for the price paid! Nice piece of tiger-striped wood to boot! Zero issues with the lock too.

View attachment 163275

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FS, yes, he can but rarely does. Happy for you.

I got a 45 wormy wood barn type in the white about 10-15 years ago. I de breached it and counter bored the plug to gain a little room to add a white lightning liner and had to mill a slight bit from lock to fit good against barrel. It’s got some sort of radius groove barrel. Some how the lock and trigger pull even unset is spot on good and it’s a great shooter. It was about 600 bucks IIRC.