I have built several rifles from Pecatonica stocks. In my opinion I have always gotten better wood than I have paid for. I have always used just the regular precarves without any of the optional inletting. I want to be able to position the lock, trigger and butt plate in the correct places. Yes they generally have a thicker web between the barrel and the ramrod, you can thin that down with a little work. There is a lot of work involved in using one of their stocks they are not a snap together and finish. I recently did some pricing on parts for a guy who was wanting me to make him a rifle. If you want just a plain rifle, A Schimmel, barn rifle, Po Boy or whatever you call it your looking at around $750. Parts for a fancier rifle probably around $1000 so you aren't going to save that much money and you will be doing a lot more work. The thing with Pecatonica is you can get styles that you can't get from Kibler or Chambers. You can also build a rifle that fits you instead of having to accept what someone else decided what was an average size shooter and you can also get a percussion gun. Sorry guys not everyone wants a flintlock.