TRS Baker and Ferguson Kits

[dave_person]

Hi,
I am just posting this short note to congratulate The Rifle Shoppe on their Baker rifle and Ferguson rifle kits. Over the last month or so, I received them but will not be making either for a while. The Ferguson is on my docket for Spring 2023 and the Baker for sometime in early 2024. I'll post some photos of each a little later. The quality is outstanding and my impression is they have really upped their game with respect to the pre-carved stocks. The barrels are superb and it looks like they even duplicated the wide, slow twist Baker rifling. The lock for the Ferguson came assembled and the fitting was very good. I will make a few tweaks to improve it but it is basically very well done. The Baker came with lock castings, which look great. All of the brass cast hardware is superb and will not require a lot of clean up. I am very pleased. These are not Kibler kits nor were they ever designed to be like Kiblers. They require much more work, skill, and knowledge to complete faithfully. I will post both projects when I get to them. I'll try to concentrate on the historic details that distinguish these guns from more generic gun building projects.

For those unfamiliar with thses guns, here is a Ferguson:

And here is a Baker:

dave

 

[Loja man]

Very cool!! Looking forward to your build thread!!

 

[Col. Batguano]

Out of curiosity, what was the lead time on ordering to receiving them? TRS doesn't have the reputation on being the speediest.

Their Germanic wheel lock rifle has been on my to-do list for a long time but their reputation has scared me from ordering it.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Looking forward to these as well! Nice to have a few builds lined-up and ready to go.
I have read how the Ferguson was susceptible to break in the weakened stock at the breach area due to the screw taking so much wood structure away. Will you be reinforcing that area? (I had seen one builder inbed a metal strip inside the lock mortise and down into the wrist that he said greatly strengthened the design).

 

[dave_person]

Hi Bob,
I have 9 guns in my queue for the next year so not a few. I only pick projects that interest me otherwise I would be overwhelmed with work, and I am supposed to be retired. The Ferguson stock was very weak at the breech. Having already built this gun, I know to coat the area with Acra Glas to increase strength. I believe the original Fergusons that broke (almost all the military ones) were because the screw plug breech acted like a jack hammer during recoil eventually cracking the stocks (all in the same place). The solution is to line the breech with Acra Glas and make sure there is a tiny bit of excess space in the fit of the breech to the rear.

dave

 

[Scota@4570]

Out of curiosity, what was the lead time on ordering to receiving them? TRS doesn't have the reputation on being the speediest.

Their Germanic wheel lock rifle has been on my to-do list for a long time but their reputation has scared me from ordering it.

I bought two Bakers from them in September. I went in person that had done a batch, it took about an hour.

They also had a batch of Fergusons.

Based on reputation I would not order anything out of the catalog. If it is in stock then it is not problem. They appear to do batches of waxes and stocks. They may not have catalog items in stock. They are a small family run business, not a factory. Currently TRS consists of father son and wife. If it is not in stock it might be a very-very long wait.

 

[Col. Batguano]

I also haven't heard many good things about the TRS wheel lock either. There's a guy in Argentina that posts here some times that makes them, and from what I understand, they're first rate. His lead time is about a year I think. Last I heard I think his pricing was about $900 for a fully. tuned and functioning lock.

 

[Scota@4570]

I tried to make a TRS wheel lock work for a friend. I had been assembled by a recognized builder. I even made a new tumbler from scratch. I was unable to make it work reliably. I gave up. The owner sold the gun.

Here is the thing. IF you assemble a lock of any kind from rough castings it will not work properly. A cap lock may work after a fashion, but flintlocks, snaphans, wheelocks and such need to be made with precision to be reliable and long lived.

I get the impression that a lot of the boutique historical guns are mostly used by re-enactors and collectors who have lower expectations than serious shooters.

 

[springfield art]

Hi,
I am just posting this short note to congratulate The Rifle Shoppe on their Baker rifle and Ferguson rifle kits. Over the last month or so, I received them but will not be making either for a while. The Ferguson is on my docket for Spring 2023 and the Baker for sometime in early 2024. I'll post some photos of each a little later. The quality is outstanding and my impression is they have really upped their game with respect to the pre-carved stocks. The barrels are superb and it looks like they even duplicated the wide, slow twist Baker rifling. The lock for the Ferguson came assembled and the fitting was very good. I will make a few tweaks to improve it but it is basically very well done. The Baker came with lock castings, which look great. All of the brass cast hardware is superb and will not require a lot of clean up. I am very pleased. These are not Kibler kits nor were they ever designed to be like Kiblers. They require much more work, skill, and knowledge to complete faithfully. I will post both projects when I get to them. I'll try to concentrate on the historic details that distinguish these guns from more generic gun building projects.

For those unfamiliar with thses guns, here is a Ferguson:

And here is a Baker:

dave

Really nice photos.

 

[Commodore Swab]

Wrapping up a Ferguson now, I have worked with many of their locks as cast.