Anyone bought one of these...

[Thomas (Tom) Horn aka James Hicks]

I see on Taylor & Company website under black powder revolvers... they show a 1847 Walker "Build-Your-Own-Kit".  It is made by Uberti, The revolver is in the "ROUGH"... the loading lever is case hardened finish and the cylinder is blued, all other parts are in the rough.  Has anyone bought one of these kits?  Taylor shows a price of $327.00 for the kit. Taylor's Overview reads... "This kit is pre-assembled but will require final finishing such as sanding, bluing, and polishing. Loading Lever is already finished and case-hardened." They say the cylinder comes in Blue Finish... so I will assume the cylinder has been polished. Just wondering IF anyone had bought one of these kits and if so what are your opionion of the product.  Thanks in advance.

[Major 2]

well if you like " I finished it myself feeling", it's Ok
If your doing it to save the difference in retail, you time is worth $, and really it's not that big a difference, so buy the complete gun.

Understand the grips need to be fitted, sanded & finished, Brass will be rough case
... just takes some time.
The Cyl. will be finished roll engraved,
but the barrel particularly the lug area are will be rough machined an need filing , though barrel - round part should be about 98% finished.

[MJN77]

I bought one from Dixie a few years ago.
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_162_194&products_id=2033
The frame and barrel are bare metal. The brass trigger guard is rough cast and needs sanding and polishing. The wood grips are rough and need to be sanded and finished. The barrel on the one I bought was not "rough machined" and did not need filed, only finished. The only part I needed to file was the trigger guard. The gun was assembled and functional out of the box. They're not hard to finish.  It just needs to be made pretty.

[Thomas (Tom) Horn aka James Hicks]

My thanks to Major2 and MJN77-

Well I do have time on my hands, I saw this, not from the standpoint of it being cheaper... Since I like working on my guns, I thought this might be a good project to see if I could make it look as good as a Walker finished at the factory.  I know the revolver is in the rough, but that does not bother me... I know how to polish the metal... May have to send the barrel and backstrap to hoof hearted for hot bluing, I have not ventured into that arena as of yet. Thanks for your reply and comments.

[Mogorilla]

I did one of the 44 colt navy kits from Navy Arms years ago.  It was in the rough.  I did not take shop in school and was working way too many hours at the time.  took me a bit to be sure.  It was not the last kit I bought, but they are fewer than finished ones.

[Pettifogger]

My thanks to Major2 and MJN77-

Well I do have time on my hands, I saw this, not from the standpoint of it being cheaper... Since I like working on my guns, I thought this might be a good project to see if I could make it look as good as a Walker finished at the factory.  I know the revolver is in the rough, but that does not bother me... I know how to polish the metal... May have to send the barrel and backstrap to hoof hearted for hot bluing, I have not ventured into that arena as of yet. Thanks for your reply and comments.

If you have the skill and are doing this as a relaxing hobby, have fun.  It can be an enjoyable pass time.

However, about 90% of the kits are never finished as the owner gives up and 99.9% of the ones that are finished look like they came from a kit and are virtually unsaleable if you ever decide to get rid of it.

[griswold]

Yep, I agree, it takes tme and a lot of work to make pretty. I bought a 2nd Model Dragoon from Navy Arms many years ago as well, rough cast trigger guard and back strap, cylinder and barrel were finished but needed bluing. Frame was Case hardened.

Issues I had it was too tight between the barrel mouth and the cylinder. Not having the proper tools save for some files, I kinda messed the gun up but finally got it assembled. And it shot well, used too much powder I thought.
The hand would drag and sometimes lockup..........so I took it apart again to smooth up everything, left my parts laying out and my young sons lost the hand and barrel wedge. I never bought replacement parts and it just sits in my safe getting old and looking like a honest to God relic.

Navy Arms sold it as a Texas Dragoon, manufactured by Richardson Arms in Richardson Texas. Has a Texas Star and banner on the cylinder.

Griswold.