Military Heritage- Firearms or finger eliminators?

The guns are sold as non firing replicas. They specifically state that if you choose to convert it to a firing weapon that you need to have it done by a gunsmith and that they are no longer responsible for the altered product. Reading between those lines, I’m going to say that they are meant to be looked at and not shot, therefore are not built to a point where they would be safe to fire. The various places where I see photos and videos of them being “fired” are all situations where “blanks” would be used. Essentially a paper wad over a light powder charge where the paper serves only to keep powder against the flash hole. I am a pretty daring person when it comes to shooting guns that probably shouldn’t be shot, but I would not trust one to fire an actual projectile based upon what I see in front on me. Maybe if I were to handle one and check it over then that opinion might change, but still the metallurgy and degree of construction will still be such for display, not use.
 
I would have a barrel liner installed for safety purposes.
 
I'm familiar with these guys. While I haven't fired projectiles from this company's reproductions, I have fired projectiles (58 grn round ball over 100 grn of FFFg) from other companies' replicas with no issue. (That doesn't mean that the previous posts are incorrect.)

My understanding from this particular company is that they are sold as non firing specifically to circumvent European (and, quite possibly, some US States') firearms laws. It is much easier to ship non-firing replica than it is to ship firearms.

I've wanted one of their French muskets for years, but it just hasn't risen to the top of my firearms priority list. I would seriously consider taking it to a gunsmith, especially one who knows BP arms very well, and paying him to drill the touch hole (the only thing that makes it "non-firing") and inspect the gun overall before shooting it. There is probably a way to measure the inside diameter of the breech using a T-gauge, and subtracting that from the outside diameter to get an ideal of wall thickness.

That said, you have to go into this expecting a wall-hanger or reenactment prop. You can't be upset if your gunsmith says hang it on the wall.
 
There's a huge argument over these critters. Some will staunchly defend them as being safe while others look at them as only wall hangers. Choose your comfort level. From what I've seen and handled, I'm not impressed.
 
I own 2 from Military Heritage, while the barrel metal isn’t what I would call superb, it’s definitely safe.
Out of the trade gun(smoothbore.62), I’ve loaded 90 grains 2f and shot it at least 20 times and had no I’ll effect.
For the price, it’s a gun that’ll work, but it’s not exceptional quality.
 
For perspective, some of the original period guns had iron barrels. That's why the rifling wore out and needed refreshing. The early forges weren't hot enough to thoroughly mix carbon into the molten iron ore to make steel.

I fired a Dogan (African tribe) made flintlock that used a steering gear shaft for the barrel. Lock was sand casted as were most fittings. Wrote an article but it wasn't selected for publication.
 
Appalachiannative said:
Some of the guns on there are percussion. What you have to do to make them fire besides install a proper nipple?
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My understanding that I got from them is that's pretty much it. Drill a touch hole, thread it, install nipple. Like I said earlier, I think the whole "non-firing" bit is a rouse to circumvent shipping and ownership rules.
 
You know, this whole discussion of wether or not these were made to be fired could be answered by looking at a rifled gun. If it has rifling, it was likely intended to be fired. Otherwise, why would you make a wall-hanger/replica/movie prop and go to the added expense of cutting lands and grooves in a gun that was never intended to be fired? They would be better served by spending those resources on adding detail to that which can be seen by the naked eye.
 
dave951 said:
There's a huge argument over these critters. Some will staunchly defend them as being safe while others look at them as only wall hangers. Choose your comfort level. From what I've seen and handled, I'm not impressed.
Click to expand...

You know, the other part of that discussion is that these guys make sample of guns that, to my knowledge, no one else makes anywhere. So that my play into some people's arguments.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
You know, this whole discussion of wether or not these were made to be fired could be answered by looking at a rifled gun. If it has rifling, it was likely intended to be fired. Otherwise, why would you make a wall-hanger/replica/movie prop and go to the added expense of cutting lands and grooves in a gun that was never intended to be fired? They would be better served by spending those resources on adding detail to that which can be seen by the naked eye.
Click to expand...

A lot of them are copies of smoothbores so that dog don't hunt.

Dave Markowitz said:
The reason that the Indian made guns are shipped with vent drilled is because of India's export laws.

For the folks who claim that they are pipe bombs waiting to blow, show the list of documented kabooms. I'll wait.
Click to expand...

Only one that I know of and it was overcharged. Check this out. http://www.middlesexvillagetrading....tory_articles/Indian_muskets_and_safety.shtml
 
That does it! At some point I'm gonna purchase one of these, one of the smoothbore flintlocks that is, then test fire it and post the results. Start with blank loads that will progress in power each time and if it survives move on to roundball using the same system all fired remotely (string on the trigger gun in a vice) working my way up all the way to a good bit more than what I would ever plan on using. I reckon it will be My version of proofing. Can't say this will be soon. I got some home improvement projects that come before gun stuff
 
I have one of their Sea Service pistols. I got it because there don't seem to be any other options for such things, other than high dollar customs.

Overall, it's very poorly made, at least compared to what we are used to. That may actually be historically accurate, at least to some degree: the originals were not made with CNC machines. Regardless, they obviously are made by hand, and when you take one apart, you won't be impressed. Mine required a great deal of work, including cutting the springs and reshaping the sear to reduce the 20+ pound trigger pull, and reshaping the breech plug because it interfered with the touch hole. I understand that a lot of these guns don't need that much work, but that a lot of them do - and if you can't do it yourself, the cost of having it done can exceed the purchase price.

Having said that, I don't doubt the safety of them at all. I spent weeks going over all the online stuff and never found a single reliable report of one of these things failing during appropriate usage. I set mine up in sandbags, with 90 grains of FFFg, a tightly patched ball, and a string attached to the trigger, and nothing unpleasant occurred other than a ruined sandbag.

Short version: expectations may or may not be met, but unless you are a complete fool, I strongly doubt you'll blow yourself up.
 
Several years ago I thought about getting one of these and did a lot of research. At that time I found five instances of barrel failure that were absolutely documented with photos. Some of these were most likely user error but there were two that definitely weren't. That being said, I haven't heard of one in years, maybe they were iffy but after the failures they stepped up quality? I don't know. There are different manufacturers in India and I imagine some are better than others. Many consider them kit guns, they often need some work to get them going. Locks are sometimes problematic and need a little work, they use a funky wood that really isn't the best for stocks, and while some of the Brown Bess repros aren't too bad, most do a poor job of replicating the originals. Most people seem satisfied with them for the price.
 
Had a couple of these come across my bench, one was a pistol with lock problems. I was able to repair it and sold it. The other was a lock that was so poorly made it would have cost at least the price of the gun to fix. On the other hand there are guys that have had good luck and success with these things. Reckon it's in the luck of the draw.
 
Jackrabbit1957 said:
India made muskets
Click to expand...

l.cutler said:
different manufacturers in India
Click to expand...

Okay, so, smh, I guess I wasn't aware that these were made in India. That's a huge red flag for me right there. I'm now reconsidering most of what I thought I knew, and all of what I've posted on this topic.

For some reason, I thought these were being made in Europe, similar to Armi-Sport and other repo companies. Apparently not.
 
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