A Review - Early Rustic Arms "American Fowler"...

[DGeraths]

Greetings all...

As promised, here is a first hand review of the Early Rustic Arms "American Fowler".

First some background... a quote from the makers website about this firearm.

"1750-1760 approximate time frame: Our American Fowler is taken from an original pattern available in the catalog " Battle Weapons of the American Revolution." This handsome arm has a sharply curved stock that achieves an extremely delicate and graceful profile, it shoulders and balances surprisingly well. Originally made by Joseph Chapman near Windsor Connecticut this type of American fowler was used through out the early colonial frontier. It offers a plain maple wood stock stained real dark, L&R Queen Ann flintlock, brass mounted, early butt plate with inletted finial, acorn type fowler guard, side plate, three upper thimbles, and a 46

 

[DGeraths]

Here is a shot of the tang and barrel. The tang is not quite flush with the stock, which is kind of a turn off. I realize that nearly every original firearm that I have looked suffers from this same issue so I do not think this it is all that unusual and certainly does not effect the period nature of the piece. It is more of a personal preference.
This shot also shows the "distressed" barrel finish.

Like the rest of the gun, the muzzle and end stock are no frills. The woodwork on this smoothie is very impressive. It does have some gaps here and there in relation to parts but certainly nothing I am going to lose sleep over. The one thing that I really look for in a finished stock are sanding scratches.

You know the kind... the slightly rougher section of wood in a tight recess or curve. The spot that the gunsmith could not or forgot to sand completely to a smooth finish. Most custom guns have this issue somewhere. Well, I cannot find a single rough spot here. The entire stock is smooooooth... very impressive work indeed.

Now we come to the only significant problem I can find with the gun... the fit of the buttplate. As you can see in the photo above, the bottom of the brass buttplate actually sticks out ever so slightly from the stock. It is not really that noticeable at first glance, but if you look, you find it.
Luckily, this problem is correctable with a little filing and sanding on the brass. It seems shocking that the weapon would have left the shop with this overlap so pronounced. It is an entry level mistake made by a very experienced gunsmith so it is a bit of a shock. Certainly not something you would expect from a gun that cost nearly $1000, but at least it is correctable.

Here is detail shot of the trigger guard. The finish of the guard is a bit rough and could have probably used a bit more sanding IMHO. The fit to the stock is nice and very straight. Perhaps the finishing on the guard is another part of that "working man's gun" look. This weapon is without carving or engraving and the fact that the trigger guard is nice but a little rough could be seen as more of an issue of consistency rather than poor workmanship.

Overall, for the price (around $850-$1000, depending on options) this is a very fine weapon indeed. As I said before, I have owned many flintlocks and this one ranks way up near the top of the list in regards to overall style, construction and balance. For the reenactor that is trying to look as "real" as possible and portrays a woodsman or longhunter who is carrying a tool, not a status gun, this is a very fine choice indeed. The no frills, smooth lines and simple furniture simply scream out 18th century working gun.

The barrel (.54 cal) has a nice slight taper to it with a simple but effective brass fin sight a couple of inches back from the muzzle. The ramrod is a simple affair but it does have a threaded end which will be especially nice for swabbing the 46" inches of barrel.

The touch hole is in perfect placement and very fast ignitions should be no issue at all (I will let you know). I have found that the placement of the touch hole can be a real indication of the quality of a gunsmiths work. There are no problems here in that regard.

Overall I would say this firearm rates a 8.75 out of a possible 10. The gun is well built, clearly was made with quite a bit or care and has no serious issues in regards to its construction, with the exception of the buttplate fit problem.

There has been some discussion in the past on this site regarding this builder and his guns and I must say that I am very very pleased with my fowler. I would certainly recommend anyone interested in getting a fine custom made weapon for less than $1000 to give Larry a call.

I have not fired it yet so this is just a quick and dirty construction and look review. Perhaps when I get done pheasant hunting with her next month I will post a shooting review.

If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask.

All the best,

Dana

 

[marcstephen]

Dana,

Thank you very much for the pictures and the review. You got a great piece there. Thank you for sharing it with us.


:thanks:

 

[Mike Brooks]

First, let me say that is a very attractive gun.
The edge of the buttplate sticks out from the stock for the same reason the barrel tang does.....the wood has shrunk since it has been built. This is a vey common occurence. Did you buy it from someone out west? Their low humidity out there compounds the problem, especially if the gun was built in a humid area. If you dress the buttplate down till it meets the wood the wood will eventually swell back out again and your buttplate will be too small. I'd leave it alone, it's not really a problem.
The 1750-1760 time frame on this gun isn't going to work. The acorn pattern trigger guard finial wasn't used untill 1765 in England and it took 5 to 10 years for this style to show up in north america. The mid 1770's is about as early as this gun will date.
That's a well put together gun for $1000. I'd want at least $900 for the labor alone. :youcrazy:

 

[Tommy Bruce]

Very nice gun indeed. It is one you should be proud of. Another nice thing about the L & R lock is that you can put a flash guard on it fairly easy for reenactments as well. I'd say if your doing Rev. War militia this is an excellent choice and should make a fine woods running gun as well. Even if the trigger guard is a little late, as many pedersoli 2nd model Brown Bess's that I've seen at F & I events I doubt anyone will notice it. And I think everyone considering a gun from ERA would do well to look at your pics, thank you for the time and detail involved in putting them together.

 

[John Tice]

A big thanks to Dana for taking the time to put up the photos and write the descriptions, its appreciated. In terms of the acorn finial trigger guard, in the book "The New England Gun, The First Two Hundred Years" by Merrill Lindsay (1975) there is a gun illustrated that belonged to Colonel Ephraim Williams of Massachusetts. His name is on the trigger guard, which has the classic acorn motif, and his initials are on the escutcheon plate. He died fighting up on Lake George in 1755 so the gun must predate his death. There is another acorn trigger guard illustrated that predates this one. Therefore, I would place the acorn motif like the ERA one at least back into the F & I period in America. Perhaps it may have peaked in popularity in the 1760s 1770s period, but it was certainly around before then.

 

[Mike Brooks]

A big thanks to Dana for taking the time to put up the photos and write the descriptions, its appreciated. In terms of the acorn finial trigger guard, in the book "The New England Gun, The First Two Hundred Years" by Merrill Lindsay (1975) there is a gun illustrated that belonged to Colonel Ephraim Williams of Massachusetts. His name is on the trigger guard, which has the classic acorn motif, and his initials are on the escutcheon plate. He died fighting up on Lake George in 1755 so the gun must predate his death. There is another acorn trigger guard illustrated that predates this one. Therefore, I would place the acorn motif like the ERA one at least back into the F & I period in America. Perhaps it may have peaked in popularity in the 1760s 1770s period, but it was certainly around before then.

Well, I hate to say you're wrong.......but I will anyway. The first time you see the "classic acorn" guard finial is in London, ca. 1765. The "husk" finial predates the classic acorn and goes back to 1720 or a little before.
There's been a lot of water under the bridge since Lindsay wrote that book in 1975. Some of his info is out dated with new research in the last 30 years. Check out "GREAT BRITISH GUNMAKERS, 1740-1790" by Neal & Back. The classic acorn style is intensly coverd in that book as to when it appeared. The sterling marks on the silver trigger guards nail the date down to 1765 give or take a year or so.
Any gun with the clasic acorn that is american made puts it solidly into the 1770 or after time frame.

 

[DGeraths]

His name is on the trigger guard, which has the classic acorn motif, and his initials are on the escutcheon plate. He died fighting up on Lake George in 1755 so the gun must predate his death.

Well, I hate to say you're wrong.......but I will anyway. ... Some of his info is out dated with new research in the last 30 years.

Whoa... hold on. :huh: Now how does that make sense.. ::

If the name is ON the trigger guard and he died in 1755 in America, then explain how new research could dispute that without having to twist the very fabric of time and space?

I would say that a name on the trigger guard of someone who died during the F&I war is pretty solid evidence, regardless of what any book says.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Fine with me, believe what ever you want to. After all, I wouldn't believe any one who built this era of guns for a living either.... :shake:

 

[rich pierce]

Names and dates have been put on guns after the fact any number of times as it can increase the value of a gun many-fold. Other possibilities: could have belonged to a son, nephew, you name it, and the family story was wrong (they often are).

Let's put it like this: say you found a 1873 Winchester with Abraham Lincoln's name on it. Dag-gone thing must have been made before he died, right?

 

[DGeraths]

Names and dates have been put on guns after the fact any number of times as it can increase the value of a gun many-fold.

Or it could have belonged to him and you could be wrong. Seems like solid evidence to me.

 

[CG6018]

DGeraths, As someone who appreciates his copy of an Andrew Figthorn, Berks Co. rifle, I'll remain in the "gaggle of Kentucky's and Penn's". Nice gun, enjoy. :thumbsup:

 

[newt]

Thank you Sir!
Your post with photos is a great one.
Nice details and a good read to boot.
I could look at pics like those and text all night long.
Nice job.

 

[DGeraths]

DGeraths, As someone who appreciates his copy of an Andrew Figthorn, Berks Co. rifle, I'll remain in the "gaggle of Kentucky's and Penn's". Nice gun, enjoy. :thumbsup:

Well, speaking as someone who is just getting out of four years of WWII reenacting, where ALL the guns are the same... it feels nice to have a little bit of individuality again.

Dana

 

[rich pierce]

Names and dates have been put on guns after the fact any number of times as it can increase the value of a gun many-fold.

Or it could have belonged to him and you could be wrong. Seems like solid evidence to me.

That way works out well for you, so why not go with it? You end up having a gun you believe is period correct- and that was your main goal. Results may vary for others.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Not saying it was done a'purpose, but I've known of modern makers of "distressed" firelocks to purposely leave the furniture proud to simulate the wood shrinkage of age. Larry might well be doing this. I think the rifle is burnished after an oil finish to smooth the finish and reduce the wood. His looks smooth enough to have been burnished.

Nice looking piece.

May she serve you long and well.

Best thing about a slightly weathered piece is that you never have to worry about putting the first mark on her. ::

Bore size?

 

[tg]

I think it has become common place to use a little history and poetic liscence to push guns way back to fill the demand for early guns, most of those who actually study the old guns find themselves at odds with most makers dating of their "early" stuff.

 

[rlee58flh]

The toe of the buttplate is left extended slightly past the stock to offer a little protection to the wood at the toe. If it were from shrinkage, it would also stick out on the sides of the stock.

 

[Stophel]

I'm with Mike on the triggerguard. The acorn was brand new in the 1760's. Earlier ones had a version of the Acanthus leaf. I'm building a gun right now of the 1750-1760 time period, and wondered about the triggerguard. Went with the acanthus leaf one. Otherwise, I don't see anything "wrong" about the gun as far as being earlier.

Haven't seen the original gun, but I wish I had a nickel for every old gun with a phony name, date, or inscription put on it...

 

[bnail]

Dgeraths
Thanks for the review. One's been long overdue for ERA.
I've got two questions for ya:
1. How much "aftermarket" work do you think was done to the piece?
and secondly:
2. Knowing what you know about this, would you have any reservations about ordering an new piece from Larry?