In the midst of this ammo shortage, I figured it was as good a time as any to get back into black powder shooting. I had never played with a flintlock, so I bought an "1801-05 prussian sharpshooter musket" from military heritage.
http://www.militaryheritage.com/musket32.htm
Their guns are, of course, made in India. I already know that this thread will spark a heated debate with responses ranging from "they're pipe bombs and I would never touch one", to "I shoot mine all the time".
Neither of those tells us anything. The first party has no first hand knowledge, and, when pressed, will produce one of only two pictures of blown Indian muskets that I have been able to find and verify. Even then, we don't know the cause, and I can find as many or more blown barrels from other manufacturers. The second party doesn't tell us what they have been shooting out of it. It might be 10 grains of powder and a ball of paper for all we know.
So, I have decided to document my experiences with this one. If it performs flawlessly, you'll all know. If you stop hearing from me for a year or two, well, that'll tell you what you need to know.
So far, here's what I have.
The breechplug has thread engagement past the pan. There is a groove cut in the plug to allow the touch hole to be drilled in the correct spot. I drilled mine at 1/16" with the hole centered with the top of the pan.
I had to remove a ton of material from the frizzen spring to get it to move. When I got it, the spring was the same thickness all the way through. The hammer couldn't budge it. I was kind of expecting that when I saw that spring in the stock photo. Looking at the photos for their other models, they don't seem to have this issue. This model was marked "New product" when I ordered it.
Now that the frizzen can move, the lock throws lots of hot sparks. It can actually ignite pyrodex (more on that later).
I have fired a total of two shots with 60gr pyrodex p and 1oz of #7.5 shot. It patterned nicely at 25 yards.
The inletting is rough to say the least, but everything stays in place, and the fit is good enough to keep fouling out of the works, as you can see here.
About the pyrodex. I mentioned to a friend that I had bought the musket, and I was going to have to get some real black powder. He said, "I have a bunch of it that I load 45lc with. I'll bring you some!" A week later, he shows up with a peanut butter jar marked "FFF 2lb". I thought, "great. 2 pounds will last me a while." The next day, I loaded the gun up and pulled the trigger. As soon as I saw how it burned, smelled the smoke, and saw the sheets of fouling it left, I immediately knew it was pyrodex. I only fired the second shot because I was going to have to clean the gun anyway, so I might as well see how it patterns. While it will ignite, it burns very slow in the pan and makes for a long firing delay. Oh well, it was free. I'll shoot it in my revolvers until it's gone and switch to the real stuff.
Update 12/31/20: I took 5 reference measurements along the barrel in preparation for the proof test. They are as follows.
1. Just ahead of the breechplug- 1.0785"
2. Where the end of the proof load will sit.-1.023"
3. Halfway between the first and second lug. -0.8385"
4. Halfway between the second and third lug.-
-0.7985"
5. At the muzzle. -0.7785"
I know, I know, calipers are not accurate to that many decimals. They're digital, and I just wrote down the numbers they showed me. I didn't round because that's an added variable.
Update 1/1/21: Happy new year! I brought it in with a bang.
Here's the part you've all been waiting for. The proof test.
The proof load was 200gr of 3f powder, a folded paper wad, 3 ounces of #7.5 shot, and another paper wad.
I reassembled the gun, loaded it up, and put it in a rest. I tied a piece of paracord to the trigger and ran it to a great big oak tree that was to be my shrapnel shield. I then primed the pan and cocked the hammer.
Safely behind the oak tree, I took a deep breath and yanked the string. I heard the big kaboom and prepared for the worst. It was time to inspect the damage.
I was extremely relieved to see a. complete gun in one piece. There were no cracks or visible bulging. The stock was intact.
I brought it inside and gave it about half an hour to cool to room temperature. I removed the barrel and took measurements at each of the 5 reference marks. NO CHANGE!
As far as I can find, this is the first publicised proof test of an Indian-made musket. Take from it what you will. As for me, I'm going to order the matching pistol and have fun.....the things I do for knowledge.