Flintlock Repair .com

[Carteret Kid]

Has anyone here bought from Flintlock Repair? How is their quality and service?

 

[jamesthomas]

I've never heard of them. :hmm:

 

[necchi]

I've never heard of them. :hmm:

I haven't either.

 

[tecum-tha]

Looks like another "made in India" dealer to me.
Towards his other services, I can not comment.

 

[George T.]

I had never heard of them either. I did call up their wed site and it's pretty well done and well thought out. It does seem that most of their firearms are made in India. I have never seen one but their pictures are flattering. I don't know if I would take a chance on them or not but if I were close enough to drop by I would do that! Geo. T.

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

I had to jump on one of the India-built Jaeger smoothbore "rifles" when a deal was put in front of me that was too good to pass up. I contacted Earl and Kathy at Flintlock Repair to get some work done on it. Earl picked it up directly from the seller just this week since he lived nearby! I haven't got the gun shipped to me yet but several of my friends have dealt with him and they praise him highly. He and Kathy are nice folks to talk to and where else would you find customer service like that?

Friends report that Earl can fabricate lock parts for guns where no replacement parts can be found and that they are well pleased with his work.

I should add that yes, they also sell India-made guns and I was impressed with the breech plug photos and comment on the website.

 

[Renegade Dan]

If your talking about Earl Kathan Gunsmith Flintlock repair, He came highly recommended by Track of the wolf. I have used him to tune my locks on my flintlocks. He is an outstanding person to deal with. Very reasonable prices, Very knowledgeable and I have always got my locks back within a week. (I'm only 1 state away) He only works on traditional Black powder guns. He reworked one of my locks on my Pedersoli Jaeger made a world of difference, it went from a an unreliable flintlock, to my go to gun for hunting. :thumbsup:

 

[Joe Sullivan]

I bought my 1728 french infantry rifle from them. Great to deal with all around except they shipped USPS "Priority". Thats a one word term meaning "14 days"

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

I received my Indian Smoothbore Jaeger back from Earl Kathan yesterday. I was well pleased with his work.

I bought the gun brand new knowing that it had some "issues". The frizzen was not wide enough to cover the pan and worse yet, the pan did not fit tight against the barrel. Replacement frizzens were not available. Additionally, the importer had drilled a touch hole that was not very well lined up with the pan. The frizzen was not hardened and would not spark.

Earl deepened the lock mortise and reworked and widened the frizzen to fit the pan and spark well. The pan now sets tight to the barrel. He also addressed the nose of the frizzen for better rollover and reduced frizzen to spring tension. He also reduced pan length and deepened pan depth so that the touch hole lines up better.

He did everything that I asked of him and did it quickly. As stated, I found his customer service to be very good and his prices quite reasonable as well.

 

[Matt85]

its good to know of another good muzzleloader gunsmith.

thanks for the update Muskeg!

-matt

 

[Carteret Kid]

I bought my 1728 french infantry rifle from them. Great to deal with all around except they shipped USPS "Priority". Thats a one word term meaning "14 days"

They now ship by Fed Ex.

 

[yakimaman]

Was glad to see this post - had been looking for a musket and had a very nice conversation with Kathy yesterday - having them polish and tune the lock and my new 1728 French musket will be on its way. I have an original Colonial rebuild based on parts from a French 1728 - it will be interesting to compare.

rm

 

[Carteret Kid]

They sent my Bess fast.

 

[yakimaman]

I phoned in the order for my musket on the 29th. Fedex rang the doorbell about 20 minutes ago. Pretty fast service. I wasn't expecting much and was careful to keep all packaging as I unwrapped it. I've had multi-thousand dollar guns shipped to me with much less packing. It was like peeling an onion. Finally got down to the gun and I was pleasantly surprised. Fit and finish are better than I hoped for. No gaps in wood to metal and I ran a tight patch down the bore and it stayed tight all the way to the breech plug. Stock is stained and has some oil in it but leaves me room to hit it with BLO and some steel wool. Too darn cold to go shoot now, but on first look this is definitely a keeper and the Kathans and Flintlock Repair get my recommendation for great service and a pretty decent value.

 

[Dphar]

I had to jump on one of the India-built Jaeger smoothbore "rifles" when a deal was put in front of me that was too good to pass up. I contacted Earl and Kathy at Flintlock Repair to get some work done on it. Earl picked it up directly from the seller just this week since he lived nearby! I haven't got the gun shipped to me yet but several of my friends have dealt with him and they praise him highly. He and Kathy are nice folks to talk to and where else would you find customer service like that?

Friends report that Earl can fabricate lock parts for guns where no replacement parts can be found and that they are well pleased with his work.

I should add that yes, they also sell India-made guns and I was impressed with the breech plug photos and comment on the website.

Firearms of this "quality" are never a bargain even if free.
I would not let one in the door of my shop since I would then enter the liability chain.
At least two of the Indian import barrels have failed while re-enacting with BLANK CHARGES.
But the importers can hide behind the "reloader defense" its an umbrella that has been used successfully to ward off lawsuits in the past. The defense, and cluesless attorneys for the plaintiff, saved a now major manufacturer of modern arms back in the days of their ML "blowups that were all the shooters fault".
Basically these importers can sell any junk they want and if the customer blows off his hand its his fault because be loaded it wrong and the customer cannot prove otherwise. Of course how one loads unwadded blanks wrong I cannot say...
Sooner or later there will be a catastrophic failure and someone will be REALLY hurt or killed.
Frankly the level of ignorance and just plain "head in the sand" attitudes concerning such things, even thought its been written and talked about for DECADES, is appalling.

Dan

 

[Billnpatti]

Flintlock Repair deals in Indian made guns. I have never owned an Indian made gun but would not order one by mail. From what I have heard, the Indian manufacturers contract out the manufacture of the rifles to various makers. Some of the guns are relatively well made while others are just cobbled together. Mail ordering one of them is a manure shoot. If you could go by in person and pick one out, you may get a decent gun. I think the real market for these guns is the reenactor who needs a gun to look good at a distance and be able to shoot blanks. I am of the opinion that if you want a gun for shooting actual projectiles, that will be accurate and will last, you will be better served by saving up a bit more money and purchasing elsewhere. A few people will disagree with me but I think that most will agree with what I have said.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Indian manufacturers contract out the manufacture of the rifles to various makers.

If you have ever seen documentaries about factories in India you have seen small children, sitting on muddy floors in squalid conditions working long hours making the items the factory contracted for. I try not to be a bigot. But, I am biased against India made merchandise.
Interestingly, the web sites for American dealers of India made ml guns are beautiful and well written. Some of the best out there. But the merchandise is another story.

 

[yakimaman]

Dan, I'd like very much to read about the Indian gun failures... would you send or post a link for that information.

Rich

 

[yakimaman]

I've seen a number of travel show, documentaries about India. Thankfully, I wasn't born there. But it's wrong of us to try to apply our standards to their way of life. Yes, they live and work in squalor and children work as well. How would you have it? All the kids at home with mom and dad in an apartment or house? It's India, not the United States. I'm sure those kids get paid and would stand in line to get the work. I don't like it either and wouldn't visit that country even if the trip was free, but a boycott of Indian made goods because they live in much different cultural and sanitation standards than we do doesn't make sense.

 

[Zonie]

While I don't think I would want a gun that was not made for shooting** from India, I bought something that was made there.

After almost 2 years of owning it there have been no problems and it now has over 8,600 miles on it.

** The government of India forbids export of functional firearms to all foreign countries.