Craig, all I know about re-pops is what I read from you guys. Euroarms=bad...Pedersoli=good, or at least better.
Well it is mostly Armi Sport and Euroarms in the US Civil War reproduction market.
Pedersoli primarily caters to European customers with a line which is heavy in BP target
rifles and flintlocks. They offer comparatively few US Civil War products which are
50% to 75% more expensive (at least) compared to Armi Sport and Euroarms.
You know, it is not so much that they are "bad" as much as "they could be better."
And at little to no cost. Euroarms promised to make corrections to their Enfield, which
is not that bad, back in 1993 when then Watchdog Assoc Editor Geoff Walden
discussed what needed to be done with them. Never happened. In fact, in some
circles Euroarms were considered to be "a little nicer musket for a little more money."
This was certainly true of their US Model 1861 (vs Armi Sport).
However, Euroarms never offered a bayonet that would fit their oddly tapered barrels, or
re-designed the muzzle so a bayonet would fit despite the fact that nearly 90%
of their customers needed a bayonet. They were overly heavy, weighing in at
over 10 lbs, mostly due to the barrels. The company introduced no new
products in the last twenty years. The word around the campfire is the enterprise
started in 1960 by L. Amali was upon retirement handed over to son Paolo Amali.
Paolo liked chasing snow bunnies on the ski slopes of Europe more than producing
reproduction firearms. Dad finally came in and pulled the plug.
Good economics lesson here. Ignore the wants and needs of your customers, produce
second place products in a two horse race, and lose your business.