Pecatonica

[No Deer]

Does anyone have any experience with Pecatonica shaping a stock and the barrel channel and inletting the lock? Good or bad?

 

[fleener]

Pecatonica does a lot of stock shaping for quite a few other retail shops.

If I am not mistaken they do the stocks for TOW.

I would not hesitate to use them.

Fleener

 

[Larry Akers]

They are great folks to do business with. I am fortunate to live close enough to go to their shop and pick out wood from their stock. Their pre-inletted lock mortices are a monolithic opening large enough to acommodate all the internal parts. There is enough wood left to remove to get a good plate to wood fit--they aren't drop-in. Barrel channels are tight and the ramrod hole is drilled.

 

[Vaino]

Rec'd a Hawken precarved stock which was one component of their kit early on in my gun building and after putting a few hrs into the stock, realized that the DSTs didn't have enough wood to function asre the lock inlet.

Called them and made the trip of 100 miles to their shop and they agreed that the lock inlet was not located correctly.

The precarve as ordered was a grade 4 and they showed me the only grade 4 that was in stock but it had a 13" LOP which was way too short. After a long silence on my part due to their lack of accommodation, they finally showed me a grade #5 which was their top grade and a magnificently curled precarve and I accepted and happily went on my way.

The wrongly located lock inlet can happen, but their recalcitrance in offering me a replacement wasn't as easy as I described above....but in the end, I was very satisfied and would recommend their products.

The Hawken that was made w/ their precarve was my elk rifle and shot a few elk and is now owned by my son who also has shot some elk using it....

 

[Col. Batguano]

Had an Ohio Vincent of theirs a few years ago. Barrel was inlet short and shallow for the lock location. GM barrel from them was breeched, but I never could unscrew the plug

 

[excess650]

Several years back I had them do a "Virginia" stock around a 31" Rice Jaeger barrel. It isn't a catalog item, but I was very pleased with their work.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I got a Tn rifle precarve from them, some issues, there was a 2" long gouged out place in the ramrod channel that I had to fill with new wood. There were a few other issues with the precarve but nothing that one wouldn't encounter on any other build and could be straightened out with a little effort.

 

[Zonie]

I have never had a problem with Pecatonica Rivers stocks or any of the other parts they have supplied.

Typically, their curly maple wood is better than the grade number implies.

They have always been helpful with any question I've asked and I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again.
Their prices for what you get are also a little less than the other suppliers.

Like all of the companies like them, the stocks they supply have an overabundance of wood on all of the surfaces.
This IMO is intentionally done to allow the builder to shape the stocks final size and shape to whatever he wants to end up with.
Also, all of the "kits" they sell are basically just a box of rough hardware. The guns are no where close to a "assemble, sand and finish" type of gun.

I guess if I had to pick out one stock they sent me that left something to be desired it would be this Tennessee stock in Walnut.

I did not like the way the grain of the wood runs thru the wrist.



In this guns case, the grain isn't a big problem because the long length of the trigger plate which runs back to just in front of the rear trigger guard leg and the barrel tang allowed me to install two screws, one towards the front and one at the rear.

That essentially made a "steel sandwich" with the wood acting as the filling.

I've never had this problem with any of the 10+ curly maple stocks I've bought from them.

 

[BillinOregon]

Zonie, good gracious, even without optimal grain orientation that is one handsome rifle! I have always been partial to the Tennessee style.

 

[No Deer]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I have never dealt with them before. I took a nice maple stock (couldn't guess at the grade, cut from a friend's tree) to the Kalamazoo show and gave it to the Pecatonica rep to take back and shape, carve the barrel channel, and inlet the lock. An acquaintance cautioned me (after the fact) to not have them inlet the lock as it "never comes out right and is difficult to impossible to correct". I also know that he has a bias against Pecatonica (although I don't know why), but it did make me second guess my decision. You guys have restored my confidence in my decision. I am going to make a Bedford style in .40 cal. I will be making 2 guns at the same time..... 1st and last lol.

 

[Chowmif16]

I've never built from a Pecatonica pre carve, but I have seen several of them built by others, so please take this for what it is worth.
Every one that I have seen seems to have massively over sized edges around the lock mortise. That is a solvable problem if you recognize it, but many don't seem to see it.
Look at originals, and you will more than likely see about a 1/8" lock mortise. It's skinny.
The Pecatonica pre carves seem to come with a thick lock mortise and a thick web between the the barrel channel and ramrod channel, at least to my eye.
Please don't take this as denigrating their product. Every pre carve ive seen from all the companies are way fat (Kibler's SMR excepted). That gives the builder the flexibility to maneuver. You just have to understand that you need to take a lot of wood off.

Hope that helps,

Cheers,
Chowmi

 

[Micah Clark]

I've never built from a Pecatonica pre carve, but I have seen several of them built by others, so please take this for what it is worth.
Every one that I have seen seems to have massively over sized edges around the lock mortise. That is a solvable problem if you recognize it, but many don't seem to see it.
Look at originals, and you will more than likely see about a 1/8" lock mortise. It's skinny.
The Pecatonica pre carves seem to come with a thick lock mortise and a thick web between the the barrel channel and ramrod channel, at least to my eye.
Please don't take this as denigrating their product. Every pre carve ive seen from all the companies are way fat (Kibler's SMR excepted). That gives the builder the flexibility to maneuver. You just have to understand that you need to take a lot of wood off.

Hope that helps,

Cheers,
Chowmi

I've heard some on this forum make this exact same point about TVM rifle kits. I own a TVM Late Lancaster . . I took quite a lot off the stock and some off around the lock mortise too . . . as you say, it's not a problem as long as it's recognized. Not a bad thing, just how it is . .. . Chambers shapes his stocks more . . . just a difference to note. Petunia has quite a wide selection of kits which is one of their big selling points in my opinion.

 

[Col. Batguano]

I am going to make a Bedford style in .40 cal. I will be making 2 guns at the same time..... 1st and last lol.

Bedfords are an exceedingly thin style of LR, and benefit particularly from a thin web to maintain that look. That of course translates to a thin wrist, and, it is particularly angled downwards sharply starting right there at the breech. What that means is that grain direction through the breech and wrist is much more critical for strength than with "beefier" schools, like say PLains Rifles for instance. On the plus side, most Bedfords are made with DST's, so that long trigger plate will help you with reinforcing that area.

 

[Zonie]

Your mentioning of a Bedford style got me thinking you might like to see what I did years ago with a Pecatonica River Bedford stock.





The wood is Pecatonica River #3 curly maple.

(The width of the lock panel around the lock is exactly the same as the rifle in the photo of an original Bedford I was using as a guide.)

 

[No Deer]

Thanks everyone.

Zonie, that is a beautiful rifle. Mine is going to be a flintlock. I will be extremely happy if mine comes out anywhere near that nice. I might let you see it when it is done, probably about a year from now lol.

 

[excess650]

There were a number of makers from Bedford County, and rifles varied from dead plain to over the top gaudy. The rat-tailed lock is present on most.

 

[akapennypincher]

Zonie is the expert on Pecatonica, and I have seen his finished product several times. When you star a project with great part, you can end up with a great finish smoke pole.

Time, skill, right tools, and pacience are the key to getting something to be proud of.

 

[b737tvc]

I have used them and had a few stocks that were messed up, i.e. ramrod channel and amount of wood left for forearm . When in letting ramrod pipe there was bascily no material to seat the tang of the thimble into the forearm. Call, talked to Dick NO Questions asked, new stocks shipped out that day.


Chris

 

[MSW]

I made a southern mountain rifle using one of their pre- carves... couldn't be happier ... great guys, and their grade is said to be one better than what you pay - mine sure was!

I'd deal with them again in a heartbeat.

 

[kemart17]

i just bout parts from them to build a .36 cal underhammer. ordered grade 4 wood for the butt stock. piece of wood is very nice. good peolpe to work with.