This is outside my wheelhouse so hoping someone can point me in the right direction. A friend is looking to purchase a retirement gift for his father, who always admired Davey Crockett's "Old Betsy" Kentucky long gun (the real one). He would like to buy something that looks similar as a gift but doesn't know where to start or how much it will cost him (we know it won't be cheap, but does that mean $2k or $20k?). Here's basically what he's looking for from what I gather:
Original flintlock Kentucky long rifle (not interested in repros or modern production at this time).
Full stock
Brass patch box (but doesn't have to be overly ornate)
Condition - doesn't need to be perfect but decent enough for display and potentially restorable enough to be made to be fire once or twice
Maker and caliber not really important as long as it has the classic Kentucky gun look.
Totally understand cost/value on these will have a really large spread, but for a decent non-uber rare museum example what do you think he'd be looking at minimum cost wise? Any recommendations of where to look (shops, online dealers, etc)? I'm strongly recommending he go to the Baltimore Antique Arms show this weekend as I'm sure he could find something there but he just came to me with these questions today and that might be a little soon for him to pull the trigger on a large purchase. Thanks!!
Original flintlock Kentucky long rifle (not interested in repros or modern production at this time).
Full stock
Brass patch box (but doesn't have to be overly ornate)
Condition - doesn't need to be perfect but decent enough for display and potentially restorable enough to be made to be fire once or twice
Maker and caliber not really important as long as it has the classic Kentucky gun look.
Totally understand cost/value on these will have a really large spread, but for a decent non-uber rare museum example what do you think he'd be looking at minimum cost wise? Any recommendations of where to look (shops, online dealers, etc)? I'm strongly recommending he go to the Baltimore Antique Arms show this weekend as I'm sure he could find something there but he just came to me with these questions today and that might be a little soon for him to pull the trigger on a large purchase. Thanks!!