Pecatonica River Long Rifle Supply?

[kernalvax]

Has anyone purchased a Pecatonica River rifle kit? how to they compare to the other kit suppliers?

thanks!

-Tim

[geb324]

I have Built several they are good quality But you do need some
woodworking skills and take your time.

[Bill of the 45th]

First off, welcome to the ALR Kernalvax.  Pecatonica builds a good parts set, and they supply precarves to some of the other suppliers. Dick Greensides is a great guy to do business with.  My advice though is to call when making an order, so that you can find out if everything is in stock.  As I stated they are parts sets not kits, and are packed to the customers order.  I like to cut my own lock mortice so I order the stock without it cut, as I don't always use the lock recommended.  There are better parts sets on the market, Dave Keck, and Jim Chambers to name two.  Again welcome, and good luck with your build.

Bill

[Captchee]

yep i agree dick is great to work  with
 IMO much better the ToW .
 Not as high end as jim chambers assemblies. but still very good 

[Goldhunter]

Yes. I've built two flinters and also restocked a percusion with thier stocks.   They are not a "kit" but more a box of parts; but that's part of the fun, right?

You can also talk to him and cut out part of the "kit" if you like.  I prefer to do all inletting of parts other than barrel and ramrod myself.  I've asked for no inlets but the barrel and rod and he's always delivered.  If you have questions on barrel lenghts, lock choices just ask.  He's got some good info and will help you if you have questions.   If you are looking to duplicate a specific rifle you will likely have to look elsewhere for specific butt plates, trigger guards, etc.   I did that on my Lehigh build so I asked him not to include the TG, butt plate, and a couple other things in the kit and he was happy to help.  I've always seemed to get a higher quality stock than I asked for also.  I think he grades a bit higher than some.

I don't think you'll be dissatisfied with PR and Dick Greensides.  Never done a Chambers kit so can't comment on that.

[G-Man]

My first build was a Tennessee rifle from Pecatonica and I was very happy with it.  Dick Greensides was great to deal with and actually will work with you on options - barrels, etc. moreso than their website indicates.

Some of their assemblages of components are better than others with regard to actually looking like the styles they are intended to represent.  This is typical of many of the component sets on the market, when existing common available castings and locks are grouped to try to portray a certain "style."  So what happens is that you can end up with a triggerguard, triggers etc. that are on the kit because they were the closest thing available that fit, rather than being really correct for that style gun. As others have said, if you are able to do a little more inletting, you can have Peatonica leave things un-inlet and select better choices of locks and hardware for your particular style if the ones offered as standard are not what you want.   One example of this is the use of Siler flintlocks on  1830-40 style Tennessee mountain rifles - they are just not really correct.  (Although I realize that Pecatonica offers a choice of locks on some of their Tennessee patterns.)

Some suppliers offer castings that were designed just for their kits, or at least carefully selected to ensure that they are completely appropriate - Chambers is one, and there are a few others.

Whatever you go with, have a good idea of what you are trying to portray before you buy.  "Kit bashing" from precarve can be a lot of fun-as long as the basic shape is there - you can then customize it as you see fit.  There is nothing sacred about the shape of a barrel tang, lockplate (unless these things are already inlet), curve of a triggerguard grip rail etc. "out of the box".  Sideplates are pretty easy to make - especially for Tennessee rifles.  The key is being able to see that what you select to start from is a good starting point to get you where you want to go through modification.


Guy

[elk killer]

TOW buys all their stocks from Pecatonica
or used too,,easier to go to the manufacturer

[Pete G.]

I prefer to deal with Pecatonica because their wood has been consistiently higher grade than others. Just looking at their catalog looks like the parts are a collection of the same parts as Track of the Wolf, and such. Call them and discuss what you are trying to do, if for no other reason it is fun to hear them answer the phone..........