TOW Tvlle kit

[Woodsman1752]

I have been wanting a French styled hunting Fowler for quite some time now, the Tow kit I decided on is iron trimmed, walnut stocked, 44" barrel length in 16 gauge,I believed I have found one that I will be happy with. My questions are has anyone had experience with ToW kits, because of time constraints and the proper tools I would like to get it pre assembled in the white, does anyone know if they offer this service any information would be helpful, I want to order it this week. Many Thanks in advance.

 

[Trot]

Best to ask TOW to be sure, but I am pretty sure they will not do this. You would probably have to line up a builder who would do the kit for you.

 

The only gun I ever "built" that turned out the way I wanted it to was the TOW Tvlle kit.

My gun building skills are such that my other two efforts resulted in guns that were worth less than the parts.

Unless you are totally inept, you should be able to assemble the TOW kit yourself. Or, to put it another way,if I did it, anybody can.

 

[JohnN]

They will do some things for an added price such as putting on the barrel lugs and sight.

 

[yakimaman]

Try these guys. You can buy the kit, or have them finish in the white or for a bit more finish it completely.
http://www.sittingfoxmuzzleloaders.com/intro.html

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Try these guys. You can buy the kit, or have them finish in the white or for a bit more finish it completely.
http://www.sittingfoxmuzzleloaders.com/intro.html[/quote]
FWIW I have a Fusil de Chasse kit from Ray of Sitting Fox, but be AWARE you need to modify their basic kit some to get a more historically correct version.

First, his basic kit is a 42" barrel and a real one per Rouselle Bouchard's book would be 44.6" long. Walnut stock is correct, but the lock will be wrong IIRC, as you need a flat-faced long lock.

But the bigger issue is his basic barrel is not tapered and it will be thick throughout the breech area and up to the single wedding band transition, whereas a better barrel would taper from the breech up to the band ...

 

[jdkerstetter]

Is Sitting Fox supplying Black or English walnut for these "kits"? I don't know but Black would not be appropriate. Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Is Sitting Fox supplying Black or English walnut for these "kits"? I don't know but Black would not be appropriate. Enjoy, J.D.

I equate the piece that had I received as equal to a very nice 'old' T/C stock and believe that it is definitely not English walnut ...

I, for one, bought the FdC kit well before I knew the true meaning behind HC and this mzl'ding pursuit ... never mind PC and ACDC !

OK, omit the band reference ...

 

[alex efremenko]

FWIW, The TOW is incorrect,The profile is totally incorrect.There are only two peeople using the correct barrel. English walnut or some kind of "fruitwood" are the preferred HC/PC stock choices.

 

[JohnTulle]

Alex-

So who is using the correct profile? Names please. Is that barrel profile or barrel and stock profile. From what I've seen, the stock profile can vary quite a bit, especially over time.

I have built two FdCs and am thinking about a third, the idea being they get more correct as I go. My two are the Mold & Gun and Track 44".

Track has now revised their some of their parts for the 44" FdC.

Naturally I have as many references as I can find.

Any comments? I am listening...

John

 

[alex efremenko]

The Rifle Shoppe uses a properly dimensioned barrel[if You keep on them ]
And myself, I have an almost intact St. Etienne FDC barrel from the 1740's We have had duplicated. It is very close in size to two Tulle barrels that I also have.the only real difference being the 16 sided transition.

 

[alex efremenko]

From what i understand, The new TOW lock is made by Chambers[??] It would fit in a pinch in the Mortise of TRS SE FDC they offer.i have one i intend to use and keep using as long as they make it.There are a few real small details that 99 out of 100 would not notice.
As a note to the TOW kit. If you take off all the wood your supposed to on that gun, Plan on losing all if not most of the "precarving" The finial on the tang carving it wrong anyway......

 

[JohnTulle]

Alex-
Yes, the new Track FdC lock has the internals of the Chambers English /Colonial lock - sturdy.

I have one in front of me on the desk. It's the best commercial copy (realistically) available, barring the one from TRS. The only thing that I notice right away is the frizzen spring. The outside is not beveled the full length. The bend area is left with a thick edge, which makes the whole spring look sort of clunky, instead of light like the originals. I don't know if beveling it to match the rest would make the spring too light for the mainspring. Maybe some one could comment.

As to the precarved stock, most kits I have dealt with have to be recarved once taken to the proper thinness anyway, so that's just something I expect. What do you think of the shape of their pattern?

Your barrels intrigue me. I might want to know a little more about them....

John

 

[alex efremenko]

THE TOW stock pattern is not bad, A few seem to think where the comb transition into the wrist needs to be a little higher.to me its comfortable to shoot.

 

[Supercracker]

I have been wanting a French styled hunting Fowler for quite some time now, the Tow kit I decided on is iron trimmed, walnut stocked, 44" barrel length in 16 gauge,I believed I have found one that I will be happy with. My questions are has anyone had experience with ToW kits,

Here's a thread about a ToTW Tulle kit me and my buddy put together last year.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/274382/fromsearch/1/tp/1/


It could have looked a LOT better. I didn't thin up the wrist and trigger plate area nearly as much as I should have. I should have made the lock surround much thinner as well.