Info on a Tower .75 cal replica.

[glennv]

Info on a Tower .75 cal replica. (Pictures added.)

I bought one of these from a buddy at work. It says Tower on the receiver and "Made in Japan" on the barrel. It's a Rev War replica but I can't find anything on it. I only paid a $100 for it. I'll try to shoot some pics later.

Here are a few snapshots.

 

[mec]

I have one of those Japanese towers. I believe it is 69 caliber. It looks pretty nice and I liked the sensation of shooting it when I could get it to go off. Unfortunately the geometry of the hammer to the steel/frizzen is all wrong and ignition is seldom and problematic.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Miroku. Ya stole it but tell ya what, I'll double your money and give you $200 for it. Yeh, I know, I'll shaddup and keep my ducats and you'll keep your gun. Congratulations on a terrific buy. It's .72 caliber but they did use undersized balls. You can make it more accurate by patching the ball and taking careful aim. Lawrence Babits ("Devil of a Whipping") was able to hit a man sized target 5 out of 6 times in under a minute with his repro "Bess." The folks at Colonial Williamsburg bench rested their Bess repros and all of them hit their man-sized target at 100 yards. The son of some European Champion shooter was able to keep his shots within an 8" group at 100 yards (he patched it).

 

[Jim K]

I had pretty much the same experience as mec. The frizzen (or steel or hammer, whichever one prefers) is not angled right and not hard enough, at least on the one I had. I suspect those used regularly were worked over.

But they do look nice.

Jim

 

[glennv]

Updated the thread with pics. So I still no idea what to shoot out of it or how to shoot it.

 

[4v50 Gary]

You'll need 1 to 1 1/4" flints. Dixie Gun Works sells them as does many other sutlers. The powder grain used is 2F. The flint should be wrapped in leather such that the beveled edge will scrape along the frizzen (hammer, steel, battery - depending on whose terminology you want to use) prior to being clamped into the jaws of the cock. Traditionally, either leather or a small piece of lead was used to secure the flint but I've been warned not to use lead as it adds to the weight and this can cause a casted cock to bend. Tighten the top jaw down such that the flint/leather doesn't shift.

Loading. Put the gun on half cock and open the pan. Soldiers use paper cartridges (paper roll that is sealed on both ends. Click HERE for info on making your own paper cartridges). The cartridge had a measured amount of powder and a large ball (plus 3 buckshots). Be mindful of where the muzzle is pointed at all times while you are loading the gun. With that long barrel, it's too easy or tempting to look down it. Please don't!Taking the cartridge, the soldier bit off the paper that held the lead balls (don't do this and I'm just advising you of the historical method). This exposed the powder in the cartridge and the soldier poured some powder into the pan and closed the frizzen over it. The remainder of the powder is poured down the barrel. The balls were then spit into the barrel and the paper could be wadded up and stuff down it to hold the balls in place. The ramrod was removed and used to push everything down to seat it against the chamber. The gun was then brought up and cocked fully back. On the command of present, the gun was shouldered and lowered (not aimed) towards the foe.

If paper cartridges are too much hassle, you don't really need them. All you need is a powder horn or flask, a measuring device and a bag to hold your lead balls.

Suggest you go to a National Park Site and ask a ranger. You can also try to find a reenactment group and someone there will be happy to show you how to use your musket. Then again, they'll try to show you the drill with the musket and make you wear a red coat or a hunting frock.

 

[mec]

you can disregard what i said. Mine is a pistol

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Yes a Dixie Gunworks 2nd Model Brown Bess made by Miroku of Japan. Some of the early ones hada problem with frizzen hardness, but that's easy to fix to make it spark and ignite well. Considering that they go for $500 easily around any rev war reenactment, you can easily afford the hardening of the frizzen.

LD