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