Mike, I believe early on, Ted Hatfield was crafting fine rifles, and somewhere along the way, he got some national media coverage. As the demand grew, he found he could not get supplied regularly with Douglas barrels and Siler locks, so he turned to Davide Pedersoli. Pedersoli provided everything except the wood.
I still have brochures from the days I sold Hatfield rifles. Spread across the front, it reads, "Uniquely American". We Hatfield dealers were left in the dark about Italian locks and barrels. One day, I decided I wanted to switch barrels on two Hatfields. As I removed the first barrel, I felt stamping on the bottom flat, and turned it over and saw the Pedersoli Mfg stamp.
I called "Oz", the gunsmith over at Log Cabin Shop and told him of my discovery, and he took a barrel out and discovered that the flat where the Pedersoli stamp would have been, was filed off and the rest is history. About this time, early '90's, I became enamored with Jack Garner's, Tennessee Valley line of rifles, so we switched "horses" and never looked back.
The Hatfield was an attempt to produce a "handmade" custom rifle that sold between $ 350 (?) for Grade I to $ 650 (?) for the Grade III. Grade III had Premium ++ wood. The locks were out of proportion to the rifle and the barrels had patent breeches. The barrel threads were about two inches long. After about ten shots, the breech cup would foul up.
Pedersoli produces its "Blue Ridge Hunter" which is the continuation of the Hatfield Rifle.
Buck Buchanan
Cumberland Knife & Gun Works, Inc (1972-1999)
The late Lewis B. Sanchez, Owner & Partner
