[Eric in the Ozarks]

Early Winchesters were almost hand made. Where will anyone find that workmanship in these times ?

[redgolum]

Hasn't been that way since 1964 correct?

There are a few custom gun makers that still do work like that. But to be honest a hand made gun would be out of reach for most.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

It is all just a evolution in the manufacturing process for production guns. With close tolerance investment castings and CNC, new ones can be just as good, and in more that a few cases, better than the old ones.

OTOH, with flintlocks and percussion muzzleloaders, (inlines are not spoken by this child) the mass produced ones are more akin to clumsy clubs when compared to the hand built originals.

To assemble and emulate a reproduction of decent period flintlock, one is looking at seven or eight hundred dollars, just for the components, which in many cases consists of a slab of wood and raw unfinished castings. Then follows many, many, hours of precision handwork to do it right.