A Gift From Me To Me...

[FiveStrings]

This just arrived today. Black powder shooting just got a whole lot more interesting. This is the Pedersoli Brown Bess from DGW. So far I could not be more pleased with the quality of the fit and finish. Flints, powder, balls, and cleaning gear are on order and on the way.

I've shot cap and ball and BP cartidge for a long time, always used Pyrodex P and RS for that because it was convenient. This will be my first flinter and from everything I've read they seem to need to be fed with real BP. I called Grafs, placed an order for some Goex - got a few pounds of FF, plus a couple pounds of FFF and a pound of FFFF headed my way. I never used real BP before either, so this gonna be extra fun. Graf's seemed very easy to work with and their powder prices are excellent.

 

[sltm1]

Nice rifle...sweet lines.

 

[Fingers McGee]

Sweet. I've always like the lines of the Bess and the way they handled. Wish I still had one (or two )

 

[junkman_01]

sltm1,

That's not a rifle! It's a smooth bore musket.

 

[DrLaw]

And what you will need to do to get maximum enjoyment out of it is to learn how to use and shoot a flintlock. I hate to suggest it because of the good people on this forum, but you will get loads of correct info at the Traditional Muzzleloading forum, which has sections for Flintlock firearms.

I have a Pedersoli Jager, and from what I learned there, and with others there helping me, the gun shoots practically every time with no pause between the ignition in the pan and in the barrel.

For the charge, you will need 2FG, for the pan, 4FG. For a flint, a good Rich Pierce flint, and for the ball, a patched ball with a patch. I have a friend who shoots rings around most with a smoothbore at 75 yards. He has the right ball and patch combination to make the ball tight in the barrel. What makes people think that smoothbores are not accurate is that most shooting smoothbores do not know how to load a smoothbore. You need that right patch and ball combination.

Also, you will probably be learning how to mold balls. With a Lee Mold, they are a snap! A good place for patches is THE POSSIBLE SHOP.

Anyway, you have a nice piece there. Learn it and you will be smiling from ear to ear and impressing the begeebers out of your buds.

The Doc is out now.

 

[junkman_01]

And if you decide you want to load and shoot it like real soldiers did, then you will be using paper cartridges filled with the proper charge of 2F (they didn't call it that 'back in the day') powder first in the bore, then in the pan, then drop a ball in the bore followed by the wadded up paper from your paper cartridge. Then ram it all home.

 

[FiveStrings]

Thanks for the feedback! Everything you guys are telling me totally supports my motive for choosing the 2nd Model Brown Bess. I've read and watched a ton of material on flintlocks, but have never experienced one firsthand. I'm partial to military arms and I looked long and hard at the 1861 Springfield, the 3 band Enfield, and the Brown Bess. At the end of the day the challenge of learning the flintlock, plus the stout diversity of this .75 smoothbore that played such a big part of both US and European history won out! Pedersoli really turns out works of art! God bless those Italian gunmakers!

 

[marwin95]

Oooh. Very nice. I like the coloration of the wood.

 

[junkman_01]

My own Revolutionary War musket is a .69 cal. 1763 Charleville. I love it too. Best of luck with your 'Bess'.

 

[sltm1]

junkman, At least I didn't call it a "gun", and no, I didn't know it was a smoothie, thanks for the info.

 

[alsask]

Pedersoli makes some fine looking guns. One plus with having a smooth bore is you can load it with shot if you want to hunt some birds while out in the bush.