Is it possible to find a brown bess for well under $1000?

[Whiterabbit]

Repro, kit, doesnt matter, I'm most interested in a shooter, not a looker. Only real criteria is not a carbine. Track of the Wolf has a kit but the base price is $962 and it goes up from there.

Is that just the going rate? No way to own and shoot a brown bess on a budget?

[Rio Grande]

$650

http://www.middlesexvillagetrading.com/M1BB.shtml

Can't speak for these guys through experience, I've read good and bad about them.

[waksupi]

I have looked at enough of their guns to have an opinion of them. They don't cost much, and they aren't worth much. They are made for looking at, with very little shooting. If you can get them to go off.
If you are going to get a decent gun, no, there are no cheap ones. Keep an eye on the buy and sell section on the American Long Rifles site. Sometimes you will find a decent deal. Jackie Brown sells a lot on there. He isn't the best quality workmanship, but they will fire, and are safe.

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?board=7.0

[tubb_ooh_lard]

i looked at a few of the middlsexvillage guns at a show ... im not going to say this for sure but the barrels sure looked like high pressure hydraulic tubing to me . not something i'd want to shoot .
ill refrain from commenting on the locks

[drcook]

Dixie Gun Works also has a kit. It is 925.00

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?products_id=3525

They also have a Pedersoli one (a complete rifle, not a kit) on sale for 1050.00 which is close to what you want to pay

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?products_id=957

[missionary5155]

Good evening
I just took a look at Gunbroker and there are a couple of used candidates there that I would shoot. Threre is a couple there that have the cheap India componets. All you have to do is read the description. Mike in ILL

[fouronesix]

Just looking at the pictures of the middlesexvillage??? guns, alarms were going off- that is even without looking at one in-hand! I think you'd be much better off finding a used one with a little better pedigree or just bite the bullet and get something like a Pedersoli from Cabelas for just under 1000. http://www.cabelas.com/traditional-rifles-shotguns-brown-bess-musket-1.shtml

[AviatorTroy]

Wow that Pedersoli looks really nice. I'm not into smoothbores but that could be fun.

[gnoahhh]

Speaking as an old Rev War re-ennactor, the Pedersoli Bess is the best of the production Besses by far. If you can swing it, or find a good used one, I would grab it. Throw a twenty in a jar every week and next year this time you'll own one.

[Wayne Smith]

Just clicked on the Dixie link. On sale for $995.00! Merry Christmas.

[troy_mclure]

I looked for quite a while, never could swing $1k for a decent one, and what used ones I saw we're $700+ for not very good guns.

[Whiterabbit]

thanks guys

[texassako]

What about one from IMA? I have been kind of tempted to get one myself after cleaning up one their Martinis. They have as found clean it yourself and kit form with old lock and barrel with new wood.

[waksupi]

What about one from IMA? I have been kind of tempted to get one myself after cleaning up one their Martinis. They have as found clean it yourself and kit form with old lock and barrel with new wood.

Got a link to those?

Ha! Found it!

http://www.ima-usa.com/british-eic-p-1771-brown-bess-flintlock-parts-set-gurkha-marked-lock.html

They sound like interesting project guns, on price par with several other kits. My only caveat is, once you get past the 20 bore size, they get uncomfortable if you like to shoot a lot.

I just looked through the project assembly tutorial. Most likely not a good project for someone with out a fair amount of experience.

http://britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/topic/10102/British-EIC-P-1771-Brown-Bess-Flintlock-Parts-Set-Gurkha-Mar?page=1#.UJ80_Gc5uSo

[fouronesix]

Whiterabbit,
I'd either build one from a quality kit or get the Pedersoli. The Nepalese stuff looks pretty rough to me!
The middlesexvillage guns still look odd to me. They appear to be some of the recent imports from unknown sources. The cheap fully assembled Bess muskets on Track of the Wolf also look odd to me and they too are imports of unknown origin and in some ways similar looking to the middlesexvillage guns. They are no doubt cheap enough at 439.00 and all you have to do is drill a hole for the vent. My gut says avoid them. Here's a link to one of those that Track of the Wolf is selling. You could call them and ask the low down.

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/488/1/AAH-842

[waksupi]

Whiterabbit,
I'd either build one from a quality kit or get the Pedersoli. The Nepalese stuff looks pretty rough to me!
The middlesexvillage guns still look odd to me. They appear to be some of the recent imports from unknown sources. The cheap fully assembled Bess muskets on Track of the Wolf also look odd to me and they too are imports of unknown origin and in some ways similar looking to the middlesexvillage guns. They are no doubt cheap enough at 439.00 and all you have to do is drill a hole for the vent. My gut says avoid them. Here's a link to one of those that Track of the Wolf is selling. You could call them and ask the low down.

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/488/1 (http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/488/1/AAH-842)/AAH-842 (http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/488/1/AAH-842)

I'm not sure what those guns are, but they are definitely imported. That is why the vent isn't drilled, to get around export-import laws.

[KyBill]

www.veteranarms.com .Ran across this site a while back for the brown bess and bayonet and others

[KyBill]

A site I ran across looking for Hand mortars. http://www.veteranarms.com/ReproductionMuzzleloadersandFlintlocks/Veteran-Arms-LLC.html