[Jeff Higgins]

Well, I finally picked up the "kit" yesterday, after many delays. I kinda don't know what to say - it is far, far "rougher" than I anticipated. I've built half a dozen muzzle loader kits, from Thompson/Center, Dixie Gunworks, Lyman, and Pedersoli. All were touted as "95% inletted", requiring "minor fitting" with "common hand tools".

This thing is anything but. The "stock", such as it is, is one really nice piece of tiger striped maple. But for as "inletted" as it is, they could have just given me a chainsaw and pointed to a tree out back. It ain't even close. Nothing is even close to fitting. I honestly believe that I'm looking at a couple hundred hours of very skilled gunsmithing to get this thing together.

*Sigh*... they do pride themselves on being "different", as not using any modern CNC machining or anything like that. The metal parts are indeed outstanding, and quite correct - all are made from castings made from molds taken from original rifles. All are produced by the same methods Samuel and Jacob used. Which means, alas, a great deal more hand fitting than the typical "modern" kit. Which, o.k., also means a much more "individual" rifle than those made from the mass produced, CNC machined kits.

Which, o.k., I guess I was more or less aware of going in. I knew this was kind of the "top rung" of this particular ladder, short of out and out scratch building. I just wasn't prepared for just how close to "scratch building" this was going to be. I'll get there, it's just going to take a whole lot more effort than I thought it would.