Chambers vs Caywood

[northwoodsdave]

I should have said commercial gunmaker or gun manufacturer. I'm  not saying it's wrong not to put some warning on barrels, just that a manufacturer probably is going to for protection from lawsuits.

David L

[Brian]

Bob,

But then you'll probably have to mark your coffin's "Deceased Only".

HA!  Well said.     Thanks for the chuckle.  Just got back from a business trip last night and was going through the forum this morning to see what was happening.  A  good way to start the day.

[Robert Wolfe]

Well, I just didn't want to see Bob get sued! 

[tg]

If in the future one wants a smoothbore the best parts set around for a French fusil is Davis and for an early English smoothbore the Carolina gun parts by Mike Brooks is hard to beat, Ben Coogle may offer this parts set as well, if you go thru TOW one will have to picks the parts carfully and get a stock not inlet for a lock with their so called C and D guns and use a different lock and do some minor cosmetic work on their replica of a gun with a 44" barrel from the Tulle armory. I would not bother with Caywood for a French gun if one wants a good replica as their barrels are to short and their little locks are much to small maybe OK for a childs Fusil, but the others mentioned above would be the closest one will likely find unless a builder will scrounge up the correct parts and make one that is correct.

[G-Man]

I think you will be happy with your Chambers - they are top quality and great to deal with. I don't know anyone one who has ever regretted building one of theirs or doing business with them.

That being said, I am also happy with the quality of the Caywood Wilson I have.  Some pros - it was an easy build - all of the inletting was so close and the fit was really good with only minimal careful removal of a tiny bit of wood.  The cast-in engraving was crisp and looks very good - much better than most castings that attempt this.  They were also very helpful with the  questions I had.  The Wilson lock really is nice. I didn't do anything to it except some basic polishing. I would say in terms of interior finish the plate was not quite as polished as the Chambers locks but the moving parts were.  And in spite of my initial skepticism I followed their instructions exactly with the 1/16 drilled vent hole with the outer part coned to a larger diameter, and it is super fast.  The "Blackpowder Only" stamp on my dad's Caywood Wilson was shallow and easily filed out.   I don't know if they are still that way or not. I needed to clean up the facets on the 16-sided part of the barrel so was doing some filing of the back part of the barrel anyway and it was no big deal.  There is a small "LONDON" stamp on the top flat that I left on but  looks sort of non-period engraving to me though - I would have preferred it were left off or done with a more period looking type.  And like any kit, be prepared to do a lot of careful wood removal to really sculpt it to a good profile - you can put them together and shoot them almost "as is" but they really benefit from some slimming and sculpting of the details.

Best regards - good luck with whichever route you chose.

Guy

 

 

[Mike R]

I think you'd be happy going either way.  Chambers has the best national reputation if that is important, however Caywood's are extremely popular in my neck of the woods [midcontinent] and I know several folks who shoot Caywood guns [Wilsons or "type C/D" trade guns mostly] and have nothing but praise for them.  The ones I have handled look well made.  They make excellent hunting guns. 

[voyageur1688]

  The post about the Caywood lock being bad and them not standing behind it is enough to finish it for me considering one of them for a later project. I have previously spoken with a lady at Chambers and was told by her that their locks are given a lifetime warrantee. To me if the Caywoods are not willing to make it right that says they are just in it for the money and are not in it for the sport as well. To me that is the last and final strike for them. It may sound harsh on my part but that is how I feel. It is sad when a cheap import will have a better warrentee than a piece that sells for much more. I can see making a profit but at what price to self respect and honesty is important.
  Todd