fletcher -bidwell

[geo]

hi! i'm new to this forum. but have just some quick questions. any of you spencer shooters out there own a fletcher-bidwell spencer repro? know of anyone owning? know of the fletcher-bidwell? i have one, but as far as i know i'm the only person who does. thanks in advance. geo.

[Major 2]

I was sent a flyer & order form ...the date indcates the price's were good to May 31, 2001
This was from their 305 E. Terhune St. Viroqua, WI. address.

The Price quoted was $ 2395 was for a CW carbine or  65 carbine w/20" ...and soon a rifle.
It said they were chambered for 56-50....

I contacted them for a couple to prop a film I was bidding on in 2002.
If they were still in Business, they did not respond to several email fbguns@ or answer their toll free or fax #.
They must have closed shop I assumed , I still have the flyer in my files.

[Grizzle Bear]

Hoo-boy!  Can I ever tell you about Fletcher-Bidwell.................................

When they first started saying they were building a repro Spencer, I sent them my $500 deposit and ordered one.  They said they would have a working rifle in 18 months.

Over SIX YEARS later, they sent me something they claimed was a replica Spencer carbine.  It was an unbelieveable piece of sh%t! Among other "features", the barrel was held in the receiver by a set screw, which had wiggled loose in shipment.  The barrel then rattled around loose in the receiver.  The overall quality of workmanship was such that it appeared it had been assembled by someone with no idea of what a gun was, or what it would be used for.

I took pictures of this thing, and wrote a product review for the NCOWS magazine, "The Shootist."  The editor declined to publish it, as he was concerned we might get sued by F-B.

I never even attempted to fire the thing.

I returned the thing, and got my money back, which is about the only good thing I can say about F-B.  Actually, I should have gotten my money back, plus interest, as long as they had it.

I suspect the whole affair was simply a dodge so the owner could tool up and make a few decent guns (I saw some decent prototypes) for himself and his buddies.  Then they shipped this junker around to all the other people that had sent in a deposit, that had been in the bank all those years drawing interest.  They could then return the money, minus the interest, and still come out ahead.

So, if you got one that the barrel doesn't rattle, and doesn't have gaps in the wood to metal fit that you can stick your finger into, you must have got one that belonged to one of the owners buddies.

My advice is to fire it from a rest with a long string, before you actually try to hold it and touch one off.

Good Luck!

Grizzle Bear

[geo]

i can symphasize with the waiting period...i waited seven years. but i got the spencer for the original contracted price. mine is well finished, shoots very accuately (i did have the front sight changed - but that was because of aging eyes). i have had one parts failure to date. the catch for half-cock failed. a competent black powder gunsmith corrected the problem and said it was common to many of the repros he's worked with. the contractor or manufacturer uses soft metals. i actually have quite a file of correspondance from dr. piper who represented the company. and i have spoken with him on the telephone. albeit not recently. i know they had problems with the orginal machinist who stole the design and tried to manufacture his own repro. there was some involvement with a german machinsist contractor but i don't know the outcome. i did get a flyer showing the repro under construction. thanks for your info. geo.