i think i want a brown bess.

[troy_mclure]

i think i want a brown bess. a guy at my range has one(real from india), it looks like a blast to shoot. but they are so expensive.

[Nobade]

I agree. If you lived where the woods are thick it's really the only gun you need.

I'd get a Pedersoli or build one from the TOW parts (or others) before I got an Indian made one. Way better quality, y'know.

[Boerrancher]

You would cry if you knew how many of them I walked over in Afghanistan. Them dang things were laying all over the place. There were caves that had several hundred in them still in original shipping crates. I almost sent a couple home but I got tired of packing them out of the mountains to get back to my Hummer, so I just tossed them along side the trail. They had some sort of heavy packing grease on them that was so old it had harden like parafin wax. Now I wish I would have toughed it out and packed them on back but I had other things going on, like getting out in one piece, and a pair of Brown Bess flint locks was not aiding that progress.

Best wishes,

Joe

[DIRT Farmer]

Troy, I have truly enjoyed mine byPedersoli, Using both shot and ball. I got my first flintlock deer with it and shot my first banded goose with it. I have shot around 20 turkeys with it. I have no Idea how many quail, doves and rabbits I have gotten with it. I do know a .730 ball will send a squirrel off the side of a tree. I have fired thousands of rounds at clay targets and placed well in compation with it.

Joe I have heard those stories from young vets. Hard to belive but I guess the dry climate has protected them.

[grullaguy]

You would cry if you knew how many of them I walked over in Afghanistan. Them dang things were laying all over the place. There were caves that had several hundred in them still in original shipping crates. I almost sent a couple home but I got tired of packing them out of the mountains to get back to my Hummer, so I just tossed them along side the trail. They had some sort of heavy packing grease on them that was so old it had harden like parafin wax. Now I wish I would have toughed it out and packed them on back but I had other things going on, like getting out in one piece, and a pair of Brown Bess flint locks was not aiding that progress.

Best wishes,

Joe

Those might have been original Brown Bess rifles from the first Afghan War.
Could you imagine flooding the market with those puppies?

[waksupi]

Be careful of the ones from India and the Mideast. Some are down right dangerous to be around. The breeching is "questionable".

[square butte]

+1 whatt Waksupi says. The Indian ones a just plain C#%* ola. Have looked at a bunch of them. Pedersoli are way better - although still leave me wanting a bit in the historically acurate.

[Cornfused]

A Brown Bess is fun but not 'practical'. Minimal sights limit hunting accuracy to real close, true cylinder bore for shot has big groups very quickly, LONG barrel is clumsy (But I don't like 'Kentuckys', either).

Quality - You get what you pay for.

Has anyone modified a good short pattern Bess kit by hacksawing off the barrel to 36 inches and making appropriate changes to the stock? You might have to fill in some screw and pin holes but it sure would be a more practical swamp gun. I built such a 'semi-military musket' from a blank stock and love it.

[Boerrancher]

Those might have been original Brown Bess rifles from the first Afghan War.
Could you imagine flooding the market with those puppies?

I am sure they were originals. There was one old fort that originally been built by Alexander the Great, that was packed full of Brown Bess Rifles, powder, and ball. Some of the crates and barrels had been damaged but there was quite a few that had not. Those people didn't give a rats hind end about any of that stuff over there. I wish I had a way to gather all them old muskets up and send them back here.

best wishes,

Joe

[gnoahhh]

For many years I carried a Pedersoli Brown Bess whilst a member of the 42nd Regiment of Foot (Re-enacted)- the Black Watch. We took part in many live-fire competitions, and I'm here to tell you inaccuracy claims are hogwash in the main. After determining the correct ball diameter through experimentation, I could regularly hit a gallon milk jug at 50 yards, and more often than not at 100 yards. That's with the "stock sights" and paper cartridges- no patching. Mind you though, I put many, many rounds through it to get good with it.

For sh*ts-and-grins I took it deer hunting and knocked down a dandy one at 40 yards, one shot. I never found its length to be unhandy in the woods, but did get some very strange looks from other hunters!

If I were searching for another one I would definitely get another Pedersoli Bess. The Japanese/Asian ones just don't compare.

A pal has an original India Pattern 3rd Model Bess from circa 1800-1830 that his resolve to keep is weakening on. Perhaps someday soon... (Those models were called "India Pattern" but weren't built in India, rather in the good old U.K.)

[KCSO]

Have hade a couple including one cut down for a canoe gun. For my use they are not as usefull as a trade gun. The 11 Ga. is OK for turkey hunting but the gun is too heavy and long (in standard form) to swing well for upland birds. The 11 Ga ball is simply too big for deer much past 50 yards as it either drops like a rock or you have to put in a ton of powder. Mine shot well with 90 grains of FFG and a 710 ball patched but that is just too much for a day of shooting on the range. By contrast my 24 ga trade gun shoots a 58 caliber ball pretty flat out to 70 yards with 70 grains of powder and is light enough to swing well on upland game. On turkeys I have to call them in to 25 yards or so but that's no handicap if you call. In an all day shoot the recoil isn't punishing and the gun is light enough to carry all day.

If you just want it for occasional fun shooting or survival use the B/B is about as good as any flinter.

[DIRT Farmer]

I never found the length to be a problem in the woods or brush. Just personal I guess. I deer hunted with 70 grns of ffg and a wadded ball. no problemkeeping it on a paper plate to 75 yds. Most of the places I hunted with it 25 to 30 yards for the longest shot.

With shot, I found 35 yards to be my self imposed max range for turkey or waterfoul with 1 1/8 oz of shot. I did miss guess the range one time and shoot a turkey at 41 paces, it still had six shot in the head and neck.

I did step down to a 28 ga trade gun after my heart surgry, I worked so well I am still using it mostly after 11 years. The 28 is not legal here for turkeys so the Bess hunts the Spring and Fall season. Admitedly the 28 is more fun for all day shooting but a bit lite for geese. I stayed with the 42 inch barrel in the 28, it helps keeping the swing going and for me the increase sight length helps in shooting round ball.