Market for match grade bp rifles and pistols

K

KY DAN

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I am doing some research

Is there a market for these kind of items?

I have no experience with BP but I am a tool maker with a lathe and mill.

If there is a market what "calibers" are allowed in the competitions for rifle and pistol?
 
There's a market, but not a terribly large one. Much depends on what you can or are willing to make. If you are trying to sell a modern-type muzzleloader, the market isn't very large. Period arms...significantly larger.
 
There is a niche market for guns like this but it's a small niche. Most bp competitions require period correct guns and they have to be approved. Cost is also going to be a factor.

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If you're going to do anything with building guns for a living be prepared to be real hungry. Cost of a production gun is so much less than a custom one that it makes the custom gun market a very narrow market. If you have the talent it can take years of struggling before your name and reputation get recognized. Just saying, be prepared for lean times.
 
Did you hear the one about the Match Grade Black Powdah Gunsmith who is a millionaire??????????????




... wait for it ....




Well he used to be a multi-millionaire! :what:
 
But to be serious ... I shoot competitively and have friends that attend Friendship every year. We buy such arms - yes - but from people who have been building for years and who have earned that name recognition.

Now you may have heard of Lee Shaver, the gunsmith. He now makes his own ultra-long range BP rifles for the 1000-yard Rigby type of shooting. He is successful as he is involved in the sport as a shooter himself.
 
Lefty38-55 said:
But to be serious ... I shoot competitively and have friends that attend Friendship every year. We buy such arms - yes - but from people who have been building for years and who have earned that name recognition.

Now you may have heard of Lee Shaver, the gunsmith. He now makes his own ultra-long range BP rifles for the 1000-yard Rigby type of shooting. He is successful as he is involved in the sport as a shooter himself.
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I’m not aware he’s making the long range Rigby style Rifle. it’s not on his website. Have you seen examples?
 
Jackrabbit1957 said:
If you're going to do anything with building guns for a living be prepared to be real hungry. Cost of a production gun is so much less than a custom one that it makes the custom gun market a very narrow market. If you have the talent it can take years of struggling before your name and reputation get recognized. Just saying, be prepared for lean times.
Click to expand...
Add to that "I don't have any experience with BP" and one will be looking at years of gaining that experience. Not to mention the art, voo-doo, and science that goes with BP arms. I don't think talent and machinery is going to be enough.

Now if one learned to do black powder barrel boring, lining and rifling, I think one could get a foothold in that field fairly fast.
 
You know what I would like is some exact grip frames. Some of the repros are way off and some are pretty close but I don't think any of them are exact. I would really like 1851 Navy, 1860 Army and 1847 Walker grip frames with the exact size and shape of the originals but make them so they could fit on a Uberti. I don't know if that's even possible, the frame size of Uberti might make it impossible for the grip frames to be exact duplicates of the originals but it sure would be neat to get the exact same feel as an original.
 
I stand corrected ... Lee Shaver (also Capt of the 2022 US Long Range Muzzleloading Team) made a run of Ferris Rifles.

"The Ferris rifle is a custom hand-made reproduction of a long range muzzle loading rifle built by George Ferriss around 1880. George Ferriss was a famous and popular Utica, New York, target rifle maker from the time he went to work for Morgan James in the early 1850's till his death in the mid 1880's."
 
4v50 Gary said:
Niche market. Chunk guns & other target rifles.
Click to expand...
Right, could take years, if ever, to break into that one. But I'll say again, with Hoyte being six months or more behind in his work, and hard to get ahold of, I think one could break into the business of relining, boring, and rifling of ML barrels.
 
You're looking at a very, very narrow market and you'll never make a living off it since you don't have an established name and presence. If you are serious, look at rifling and relining barrels. There aren't many who can recut rifling or reline a barrel. Hoyt is months behind and has a long established name and he's also an active black powder shooter but, like many in this game, he's getting on in years.
 
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