plmeek
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In the thread Costs of custom built muzzleloaders... The subject of GRRW Australia came up. Buck Conner made the following comment:
Here is a note a friend shared with me from Allen Vaisham who last owned GRRW Autralia:
The Neil person that Vaisham mentions is Neill Fields of Vernal, Utah that had worked for GRRW Roosevelt until they closed. He then went to Australia and worked for Mal Wade at Charles Hunter & Co. I know of two or three rifles that Neill Fields made while working for Charles Hunter & Co. I've also seen pictures of a couple rifles made by Vaisham.
Leman Indian Rifle made by Neill Fields in Australia
Apparently, Charles Hunter & Co. were an official agent for GRRW Roosevelt. An individual in Australia was kind enough to send me a GRRW price list distributed by the Charles Hunter & Co.
1979 Price List for GRRW Rifles - Charles Hunter & Co. Australian Agent
Here are some images of Allan Viasham's 2004 Catalog.
GRRW of Roosevelt had been out of business for over four years when Vaisham borrowed the name and started calling his company Green River Rifle Works of Australia. Doc White had not registered the name outside of the US, so he couldn't do much about it and didn't really care, anyway.
I know there are some other folks from Australia that post here like Heelerau that may be able to add to this story.
"GRRW Australia" is not the same company as Green River Rifle Works in Roosevelt UT, those guys used Doc White's name and copied the guns the American firm had built. Phil Meek can probably tell the whole story on this firm.
Here is a note a friend shared with me from Allen Vaisham who last owned GRRW Autralia:
December 10, 2017
G'day Gale!
I remember sending the rifles to you.
Mal Wade started importing GRRW guns about 1978 to sell to the Australian shooters, when Neil came over there were still a few kits and parts available and Mal (trading as Charles Hunter & Co) bought up all the parts he could find for him to assemble. I was at that time just starting to assembling rifles for Mal. and learned a lot from Neil! When GRRW Roosevelt closed Mal continued building as GRRW Australia, that was about 1982.
I took over GRRW Australia 1984 and by then GRRW parts were impossible to find so we bought the closest parts we could get from such as North Star, Dixie, Track, etc. Barrels also came from other reputable makes, Douglas, Getz and Sharon, among them. I eventually settled on Green Mountain barrels an stayed with them.
I closed the shop last year [2016] and no longer build guns. The reasons are several but old age, failing eyes, decline in muzzleloading shooters and ridiculous firearms legislation all played their part.
The Serial number is 11 January 1987, the date the rifle was finished in the white, I always used the date as the serial number, at that stage the gun was deemed to be fireable and therefor had to be stamped and entered in our books. (What would happen on 1st November you ask? I would use the next day the 2nd to make it 21187)
Hope this helps!
Allan
The Neil person that Vaisham mentions is Neill Fields of Vernal, Utah that had worked for GRRW Roosevelt until they closed. He then went to Australia and worked for Mal Wade at Charles Hunter & Co. I know of two or three rifles that Neill Fields made while working for Charles Hunter & Co. I've also seen pictures of a couple rifles made by Vaisham.
Leman Indian Rifle made by Neill Fields in Australia
Apparently, Charles Hunter & Co. were an official agent for GRRW Roosevelt. An individual in Australia was kind enough to send me a GRRW price list distributed by the Charles Hunter & Co.
1979 Price List for GRRW Rifles - Charles Hunter & Co. Australian Agent
Here are some images of Allan Viasham's 2004 Catalog.
GRRW of Roosevelt had been out of business for over four years when Vaisham borrowed the name and started calling his company Green River Rifle Works of Australia. Doc White had not registered the name outside of the US, so he couldn't do much about it and didn't really care, anyway.
I know there are some other folks from Australia that post here like Heelerau that may be able to add to this story.
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