I got a little story to tell so sit back and bear with me. I was checking out the online listings of muzzleloaders for sale when I came across an ad for a "Tennessee Rifle by Matt Avance". One look at the photo and it was obvious the seller didn't know what he had. The gun was a TVM Fowler and a nice one by the looks of it. Close examination of one photo showed what appeared to be a chip of wood missing from alongside the trigger plate. There was nothing in the description that told the age of the gun or the condition of the bore and lock. The opening bid was low so I went ahead and placed one. Then I contacted the seller about the possible missing chip and asking about the bore, etc. I also pointed out his mis-identification of the gun. He replied that a family member had given him the gun and that he knew nothing about muzzleloaders. He also told me that the gun was already packed in bubble wrap for shipping so he couldn't check on the items that concerned me. Red flags were popping up in my mind all over the place. Did I mention that his log on name was MrMiracle? Not exactly a confidence building handle. I told him that if he couldn't answer my questions about the gun that I was withdrawing my bid. He came back with he had looked and the spot on the stock was a scuff of paint and that there was another scuff about half-way up the stock. He said the bore looked "dusty". What to do? I had never bought a black powder firearm from someone who wasn't a shooter. Part of me screamed "RUN!" Another part said that if I got it for the right price it was worth the chance. Did I mention that I'm a lefty and so is the fowler? Then there was the fact that it is a TVM and my experience with Matt's guns is that he is a true craftsman. I let the bid ride. I even increased it when I got outbid in the low numbers. I won it for $709. The seller said shipping would be $43.00 which would have been about right for Priority Mail. I sent the money order and started sweating bullets because I had either gotten a good deal or just paid a lot for a piece of junk with a rusted out barrel, lock, damaged stock, etc. I received a delivery confirmation number and learned that he had not shipped Priority but standard parcel post. That put delivery a week away. Now I had even longer to worry. I knew I had also been taken on the shipping.
The gun arrived this past Monday. I picked it up at the post office and defeated the urge to open the package in the parking lot. I got it home, took a deep breath, and opened the box. The seller had certainly done a good job of packing. There was layer after layer of bubble wrap. I'd get one layer off only to be confronted by another. Finally, I could see the gun. I checked the stock first and was disappointed. That "scuff" beside the trigger plate was actually a sizable ding although the grain didn't appear to be broken. The other "scuff" about halfway up the stock was actually two. One was a ding that didn't break the grain but the other was larger and did indeed break the grain of the wood. I knew that the two lesser spots would at least partly raise if I applied steam. The other one was a different story. I could make it look better and fill it to a certain extent but it would always be there and visible. That's the difference between a simple dent and something that actually breaks the wood fiber. There were a few other peck marks here and there but they were minor and I could deal with them. My overall impression was that the damage was in keeping with a gun that spent a lot of time in a safe. Also unmentioned in the listing or our emails was the fact that there is a silver oval inlaid in the top of the wrist with the initials THM engraved in script. THM match the initials of the seller whose last name really is Miracle.
I turned my attention to the lock and my jaw dropped. There wasn't a single mark on the face of the frizzen. I grabbed my bore light and shined it down that big .62 caliber hole. The bore was shiney and perfectly clean. The gun had never been fired. I suddenly forgave MrMiracle for the damage to the stock. I almost forgave him for overcharging me on the shipping. I started working on the stock problems and did make them a lot better.
Today was my birthday and I had a new smoothbore that needed shooting. My friend William (Bull3540) drove up from New Braunfels for a casting session and we burned a little powder as well. My first shot from the smoothbore using a rest hit about 5" low at 25 yards but centered for windage. The second shot appeared to have missed the target entirely until we walked up. The second ball had simply enlarged the hole made by the first. I call that promising. I let William shoot it. Ol' Deadeye shot standing on his hind legs and punched the center out of the bullseye. Figures. I took a standing shot and again hit 5" low but centered for windage. Next I loaded an ounce of #8 shot and fired from the same 25 yards. The pellets peppered the bull and were pretty evenly distributed.
So that's my story. I'm one happy smoothbore owner. Her name? Miracle, of course.
Take it easy,
Storm
Topic: New Smoothbore - First Shots (Read 907 times)