Thanks for the generous offer tddeangelo. I just may wait until the July show at Dixons. I figure close to 2hr drive for me. Not sure what the prices run for these, but I see a Tenessee Valley stock rifle runs about $1500 or so. I figure at my age (and economics), one good flinter should take me to the end of my PA hunting days. Just wondering if I wait until July or August if I can get one by next season.
Depends on what you want. If you want to commission a gun for you, made to your interests/tastes and measurements, it will not be ready for flintlock season. Even ordered now, with most makers it would not be ready for this coming season.
The rifle I showed in my pic is a rifle I commissioned to be made for me be a maker who is at Dixon's fair regularly. My wait was a smidge under 3 years from booking the build to when I picked up the finished rifle. That gentleman I think is backlogged about 2 years currently. Some are less.
If you go into commissioning a rifle, you need to understand two things:
1- the wait is there because they make these things by hand and can only make so many of them. Good builders are in demand.
2- The cost will shock you, but you also need to know that a good barrel will be 300 bucks or more. Locks are 200 and up. Stock blanks are 250-300 and up. With metal fittings (ramrod pipes, trigger, trigger guard, buttplate, etc), you'll quickly hit or exceed $1000 just in the raw material. An exceptional builder will still have many hours in shaping the wood, fitting everything properly, and then doing whatever stylistic things you are interested in having...carving, inlays, etc. If you prorate the cost (minus materials) over the time spent, they are not getting rich. Not by a long shot.
Now, all that said, there is nothing at all like a rifle made for you. I own three guns. Two are good fits and I bought them from someone else, so they were not made for me. But they fit me pretty well. The one rifle that was made for me, though....shouldering that one is like slipping on that old pair of jeans that is just perfect. When that rifle comes to my shoulder, I don't have to find where my cheek should be, I just lay it to the stock and it's there. I don't look for the sights, they're in front of my eye. I don't have to acquire the target...I look at it as the rifle comes up and the sights are there as if by magic. Except it's not magic, it's a rifle that was made to fit me perfectly.
The wait is tough, but it's worth it.
If, however, you are looking to keep the budget a bit more wallet friendly and be ready for this coming fall, still go to Dixon's. Many builders will have guns for sale that are done already. Dixon will have a bunch of custom/semi-custom guns for sale in the shop, too. If you fall in love with one, you could very well walk it to your vehicle that day.
If nothing else, you'll learn a lot.
Beware of haste in this endeavor. If you want to do this once and call it done, take your time and make sure to do it right.
