COMPANY INFORMATION

Updated 5-9-2011

Thank you for visiting our website. We hope you find the information you need. Please feel free to call us if you have further questions and we'll be happy to answer all of your questions!!

Danny with an approx. 400 lb. Arkansas black bear taken with the .48 caliber David Crocket Rifle!

Caywood Gunmakers, located in Berryville, Arkansas was formed in 1990 and began producing French and English origin firearms in 1993. Our gunsmiths have over 100 years of combined experience building firearms and our goal is to offer the highest quality in historically accurate firearms. We have striven to produce 18th century firearms, which have the look and feel of the originals, with the durability of modern firearms. We do complete stock work from blanks. Our barrels are built from pre-drilled and reamed blanks of modern high carbon barrel-quality steel to provide the safest and lightest barrels possible. We machine all of the critical outside dimensions and contours to allow barrel interchangeability. Our approach to the barrel system gives the user a choice of 20, 24, and 28 gauge smoothbore and .50, .54. and .58 rifled barrels, all of which will interchange in our five basic models. The .32, .36, .40 and .45 calibers are available in the Mountain Rifle and 12 ga./.62 rifled also in English fowler pattern guns. This provides unmatched versatility for a fraction of the cost of multiple guns! ,

Charles Caywood began building black powder rifles in the early 50's. Danny picked up the gun building bug at the age of twelve with instructional help from his father. Danny has been building guns for  35 years now, with 18 years of fulltime experience building custom American longrifles.  The production facility was built in 1992 to bolster output to meet demand.

All guns feature our interchangeable barrel system, with the 12 gauge English fowler having a.62 caliber rifled barrel option..

Our English Fowler is also available in the 12 ga. and weighs a delicate 6 3/4 lbs.!

 Our English Game Gun with 30 inch barrel, in .45, .50, and .54 rifled and 28 ga. smoothbore. This gun is built on the English Fowler pattern, but with a round barrel to cut weight down to 6 1/4 lbs. in the .54 version. The gun will be available with the option of a sliding wooden patch-box. We have also added the 12 ga./.62 rifled barrel version to our English Game Gun/ fowler/Officer's fusil gun line for those who want the ultimate in power and incredible handiness/lightness.

In response to numerous requests, we are now offering all of the English fowler pattern guns in PERCUSSION! Left handed guns are available in flint only. Barrel lengths are 41 1/2 inches on the English Fowlers, 37 1/2 " on the English Officer's Fusil, and the 30 in. barrel Game Gun. The percussion is properly done in the correct "conversion" method. The gun would have been built only in flintlock in 1745, so the PLATE IS CONVERTED AND A NEW PERCUSSION HAMMER ADDED. IT  GIVES YOUR GUN THE PROPER CONSTRUCTION TO FIT THE TIME PERIOD... (some customer comments notwithstanding...LOL!)

Barrel length for French guns is 41 1/2 inches.

Barrel lengths for Wilson and Northwest are 41 1/2 and 36 inches. All guns are available in left hand version except the French guns. Standard pull length is 14 inches. The Northwest gun can be ordered in blank butt stock version to allow pull lengths from 12 1/2 to 15 1/2 inches. We can  fit a custom pull length  for young shooters and women for an additional charge.

Our line of guns are offered in these forms: Basic kit, semi-finished kit, and assembled-in-the-white and factory finished. All factory finished guns have a lifetime warranty. Due to the complexities of the delicate French pistol construction, it is offered only in semi-finished kit, assembled or finished versions. The kits come with inletted stocks done to 99% stage. The furniture is engraved, most guns having iron or brass choices. Kits include instructions, parts, pin stock, bolts, stain and either browning or blueing. The barrels are 100% inletted with tenons installed, pre-slotted and stock pre-drilled for the pins.

Our Commitment to Quality

At Caywood Gunmakers, only a qualified gunsmith builds your gun or components.  Our customers trust us to build high quality, safe firearms and we feel that only experienced gunsmiths are capable of accomplishing this.  We use only high carbon B.Q.S. (Barrel Quality Steel) in our guns. All of our barrels are breeched properly for the safety of the user.  Breech plug threads must fill the barrel threads to keep the breech from rusting out.  If a barrel is short breeched, the threads are exposed to the extremely harmful effects of black powder corrosion. Our customers can rest assured that this condition will never be a problem with their gun.

We also perform another valuable step in the finishing of our guns which can be vital to the performance and durability of factory finished guns.  We completely seal the gun inside and out in a hardening, penetrating sealer.  This keeps the moisture from the elements and also cleaning fluids from being absorbed into the wood.  The absorption of moisture causes wood to expand, contract, shrink, swell, crack, twist and be unstable. We seal the gun and then apply numerous coats of finish which harden into a beautiful wear resistant top coat.  This assures the user of a stable water resistant gun, which will shoot to the same point no mater what the temperature or humidity.

You can be assured that when you choose our company to build your gun, we have cut no corners and spared no effort to build a safe long-lasting high performance product.

We would like to add a little food for thought from the fine folks at Brownells.  A quote from John Ruskin:  "It's unwise to pay too much ... but it's worse to pay too little.  when you pay too much, you lose a little money . . . that is all.  When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.

The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot.  IT CAN'T BE DONE.  If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run.  And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better."

We feel this philosophy is especially pertinent when considering the purchase of a gun.  We don't cut corners to build a "cheap" gun.  We build safe and quality guns.  Our lifetime warranty reflects our confidence in building a lasting product.  

....And the sparks will fly.