# Old Country BBQ Pits at Academy



## geo1 (Jul 31, 2021)

I've been looking around at patio smokers and for my budget have settled on an Old Country BBQ Pits All-American Brazos Smoker for $1K. The problem i'm seeing is i can't find it or the DLX model anywhere at any Academy stores in the St. Louis area and delivery is no longer an option on their site either. Some stores do show stock but after many phone calls they all claim to be out of stock. I have not been able to find any information about this. Could this be due to Covid or to steel price increases and they are getting rid of old stock before a new higher price is set on them? Just curious if anyone had heard anything or had any information. 

I've looked at the bbquepits.com site and they are listed at $1,350 shipped but i would much rather wait if Academy will get more in at the $1k price point.

thanks.


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## kilo charlie (Jul 31, 2021)

This is the time of year when most grills and smokers go on sale or clearance to make room for the holiday decorations. Most companies will then release newer models in the spring.  This has been a practice for years and isn't likely to be related to COVID 19 or higher material prices. 

if you're absolutely set on that unit, you may have to have it shipped to you at the higher price. If you're not 100% set on it.. now is the perfect time to search stores for sales and clearance deals


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## geo1 (Jul 31, 2021)

I didn't even think about end of season sell off. Every other time i've been in that store its always seemed well stocked with smokers. I'm in no rush guess I'll just have to wait it out and keep using the WSM's.


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## Displaced Texan (Jul 31, 2021)

Before I ended up with the pit I bought, I was interested in the OC Brazos. I was in Fort Worth visiting and went to an Academy there. They had several Brazos and Pecos models. The quality of build from pit to pit was surprising. Some were solid, others just weren't. Wobbly cook racks, etc.  I was ready to get one until I saw them in person. 

Next I was ready to pull the trigger on the Yoder Loaded Wichita until I read about airflow issues. Further research led me elsewhere. 

All that said, for the price, I think the OC pits would be very good if you can find one that is good quality at the store.


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## geo1 (Jul 31, 2021)

Displaced Texan said:


> Before I ended up with the pit I bought, I was interested in the OC Brazos. I was in Fort Worth visiting and went to an Academy there. They had several Brazos and Pecos models. The quality of build from pit to pit was surprising. Some were solid, others just weren't. Wobbly cook racks, etc.  I was ready to get one until I saw them in person.
> 
> Next I was ready to pull the trigger on the Yoder Loaded Wichita until I read about airflow issues. Further research led me elsewhere.
> 
> All that said, for the price, I think the OC pits would be very good if you can find one that is good quality at the store.


That is one concern i have with ordering straight from them and not seeing it in person. These smokers are built to a price point and I would be really afraid of being stuck with one that is subpar.


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## Displaced Texan (Jul 31, 2021)

geo1 said:


> That is one concern i have with ordering straight from them and not seeing it in person. These smokers are built to a price point and I would be really afraid of being stuck with one that is subpar.


Not unlikely, from what I saw.


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## Chasdev (Jul 31, 2021)

I use to drive an Old Country "Pecos" and I can testify that they need work when you get them home.
For the money you are considering spending, I would search Craigslist for a used higher quality smoker.
Here in Austin, $1000 will buy a used $2000 smoker.


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## JWFokker (Aug 26, 2021)

Old Country periodically has supply issues. No telling when a particular model will be in stock unfortunately. They're good cookers for the money. Their gravity fed model hasn't been available outside of Texas yet to my knowledge but I've been hearing about it for the past couple of years.


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## geo1 (Sep 2, 2021)

JWFokker said:


> Old Country periodically has supply issues. No telling when a particular model will be in stock unfortunately. They're good cookers for the money. Their gravity fed model hasn't been available outside of Texas yet to my knowledge but I've been hearing about it for the past couple of years.


I think this was a combination of it being end of season, supply shortages, and steel prices going up. The Brazos is now 20% higher in cost. I  called up Academy's customer service and had them check their systems for one near me. Ended up driving 2.5 hours to pick one up August 7th. It was missing the cooking rack for the firebox and i got them to take $100 off. i would of never used it anyways. I'm very happy with it and am glad i was able to get one tracked down. I've got 3 smokes in on it now and looking forward to using it this weekend.


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## ConrodM (Sep 2, 2021)

From my experience- you have to go to see what they have in store.  I was set on Wrangler ( don’t need alot of real estate) for it’s thicker steel.  Ended up driving 2.5 hrs to see the “2” wranglers they had in stock.  Once there I was able to compare 7 different wranglers and picked  the best one I could. Uhauled it home and been Very Happy since . Bottom line- Go Look!


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## TheBBQChef (Sep 14, 2021)

geo1 said:


> I think this was a combination of it being end of season, supply shortages, and steel prices going up. The Brazos is now 20% higher in cost. I  called up Academy's customer service and had them check their systems for one near me. Ended up driving 2.5 hours to pick one up August 7th. It was missing the cooking rack for the firebox and i got them to take $100 off. i would of never used it anyways. I'm very happy with it and am glad i was able to get one tracked down. I've got 3 smokes in on it now and looking forward to using it this weekend.


Did you get it in their Springfield store? That's where I picked mine up a couple years ago and they seem to always have plenty in stock. I've enjoyed mine, though I'm in the process of further optimizing it.

The Brazos is a bottom-up cooker because of the huge baffle installed and I wanted it to cook top-down with lots of convection. Installed a temp stack extension and cut out the baffle. I'm going to add a collector and new stack in the next couple of months. For the money and a little effort, I have been extremely happy with mine.


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## ConrodM (Sep 15, 2021)

TheBBQChef said:


> Did you get it in their Springfield store? That's where I picked mine up a couple years ago and they seem to always have plenty in stock. I've enjoyed mine, though I'm in the process of further optimizing it.
> 
> The Brazos is a bottom-up cooker because of the huge baffle installed and I wanted it to cook top-down with lots of convection. Installed a temp stack extension and cut out the baffle. I'm going to add a collector and new stack in the next couple of months. For the money and a little effort, I have been extremely happy with mine.


Keep us posted on your results


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## Pewter1999 (Oct 7, 2021)

TheBBQChef said:


> Did you get it in their Springfield store? That's where I picked mine up a couple years ago and they seem to always have plenty in stock. I've enjoyed mine, though I'm in the process of further optimizing it.
> 
> The Brazos is a bottom-up cooker because of the huge baffle installed and I wanted it to cook top-down with lots of convection. Installed a temp stack extension and cut out the baffle. I'm going to add a collector and new stack in the next couple of months. For the money and a little effort, I have been extremely happy with mine.



How are the temps and outrunning now with the baffle removed?


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## ConrodM (Oct 8, 2021)

Did my 1st Beef Ribs Wednesday- had to smooth talk the butcher at big box into selling me the full 3-Bones as they are required to cut them in 1/4”-3/8” strips and package/sell that way Why I Don’t Know!!?  $7.37/#.


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## TheBBQChef (Oct 11, 2021)

Pewter1999 said:


> How are the temps and outrunning now with the baffle removed?


WAY better, for the way I like to cook. I can now use the fire to control temps with predictable results. Moved my Tel-Tru to 1.5" above grate level on the stack side. Trucks right along at 265-275 for how I cook. LOTS of airflow. Run with the FB door 1" open to burn a clean fire, built on the bottom of the firebox.


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## ConrodM (Oct 11, 2021)

TheBBQChef said:


> WAY better, for the way I like to cook. I can now use the fire to control temps with predictable results. Moved my Tel-Tru to 1.5" above grate level on the stack side. Trucks right along at 265-275 for how I cook. LOTS of airflow. Run with the FB door 1" open to burn a clean fire, built on the bottom of the firebox.


Glad to hear! Still running the stack extension?


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## TheBBQChef (Oct 11, 2021)

ConrodM said:


> Glad to hear! Still running the stack extension?


For now, until I add a collector and permanent stack that is about the same height.


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## ConrodM (Oct 11, 2021)

TheBBQChef said:


> For now, until I add a collector and permanent stack that is about the same height.


Having that collector is going to be nice!!  I might have to take up welding- sounds like a Fun Project .   Don’t forget to give us progress pictures


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## calvinandhobbes (Nov 29, 2021)

TheBBQChef said:


> For now, until I add a collector and permanent stack that is about the same height.


After you removed the baffle, did you add anything to help direct the heat up? And have you added the collector yet?


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## TheBBQChef (Nov 29, 2021)

calvinandhobbes said:


> After you removed the baffle, did you add anything to help direct the heat up? And have you added the collector yet?


I didn't add anything at all to help get the heat up.  It does it pretty well on it's own, though you lose the 1/3 of the cooking grate on the firebox side.  For larger briskets, I've used a blocking log on the grate to keep the point from getting too crispy. That's the case with any smaller Texas offset though. 

I have not yet added the collector and new stack. Part of my lack of motivation is due to the fact that this thing cooks so well as it is at this point that I haven't been able to bring myself to take it down for the time required to do the work and clean up!


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## jcam222 (Nov 29, 2021)

Chasdev said:


> I use to drive an Old Country "Pecos" and I can testify that they need work when you get them home.
> For the money you are considering spending, I would search Craigslist for a used higher quality smoker.
> Here in Austin, $1000 will buy a used $2000 smoker.


I think this is a great suggestion. I have seen plenty of cases where $1k will buy something that  originally was double or triple that in cost. Lots of Facebook groups for used smokers and Craigslist is an option as well.


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## 1MoreFord (Nov 30, 2021)

OP, I see you're in Illinois and don't know how much freight or distance plays  into your price range but you might look at Bell Fabrication Smokers in Oklahoma.  I've never seen any bad news about them and their prices are great.


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## BigE_TX (Jul 24, 2022)

Noticed academy by me has 1 gf smoker.  Unfortunately, it's missing the briquette rack and top 2 meat racks cannot be removed as the hinges do not allow sufficient door movement for them to slide out.  Is this normal?  I suspect it may be why this one hasn't sold . Like what I've read about the OCP gf, but I'm not a welder.


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