Loyalist Dave
Member
Not boasting, just extremely lucky, in this case...
So I bought a used Bess from a gun auction site. I didn't expect to win it, as I have a practice that I bid once, based on what the seller says will cost to ship the musket, and that factors into what I'm willing to pay
Every now and then I get a Bess or Charleville, and they are usually pretty beat up, hence me getting them at a good price. Then I clean them up and when I resell them I break even on the stuff I needed to do the metal and often the stock..., and a reenactor gets a good, serviceable musket that doesn't break the bank. (Needless to say, they don't need to drop $1400 on a new one with a bayonet.)
So I saw this Bess, with heavily browned lock and barrel, and I saw it had an after-market, rounded side plate opposite the lock. Well that was a nice touch so I bid, and I won. I guess folks didn't like the color. Normally somebody beats me. It arrived and I cleaned her up. OOOPS..., there was a lot more to the old girl than I had seen in the photos. I knew she was a Pedersoli as I could make out "Grice" on the lock, but...,
The rounded sideplate is the first photo, and it's prior to polishing. The lock after cleaning with Evaporrust and polishing,is the second photo. I found the engraving has been changed from "Grice 1762" to "Grice 1756". Plus the "teadrops" found on the Short Land Pattern Bess have been removed. The comb on the butt plate has been extended as seen in the third photo. The last photo is my adding of an after-market, forged ramrod to replace the Pedersoli "button tip" ramrod, and it shows the color of the barrel before polish compared to the polished ramrod.
So what I ended up with is a Pedersoli SLP Bess, that somebody has modified to look more like a 1756 LLP Bess.
So normally I turn these around for reenactors, but in this case this one stays with me. Now to get a bayonet to fit her.
I got very lucky with this one as the gun dealer who sold it didn't know what he was selling. He probably should've started the auction with what I ended up paying for her. I'm pretty much used up as far as "lucky gun finds" after getting this Bess...., probably the luck is used up for the next several years.
Just goes to show you that you need to always keep your eyes open, as you never know when something will pop up.
LD
So I bought a used Bess from a gun auction site. I didn't expect to win it, as I have a practice that I bid once, based on what the seller says will cost to ship the musket, and that factors into what I'm willing to pay
Every now and then I get a Bess or Charleville, and they are usually pretty beat up, hence me getting them at a good price. Then I clean them up and when I resell them I break even on the stuff I needed to do the metal and often the stock..., and a reenactor gets a good, serviceable musket that doesn't break the bank. (Needless to say, they don't need to drop $1400 on a new one with a bayonet.)
So I saw this Bess, with heavily browned lock and barrel, and I saw it had an after-market, rounded side plate opposite the lock. Well that was a nice touch so I bid, and I won. I guess folks didn't like the color. Normally somebody beats me. It arrived and I cleaned her up. OOOPS..., there was a lot more to the old girl than I had seen in the photos. I knew she was a Pedersoli as I could make out "Grice" on the lock, but...,
The rounded sideplate is the first photo, and it's prior to polishing. The lock after cleaning with Evaporrust and polishing,is the second photo. I found the engraving has been changed from "Grice 1762" to "Grice 1756". Plus the "teadrops" found on the Short Land Pattern Bess have been removed. The comb on the butt plate has been extended as seen in the third photo. The last photo is my adding of an after-market, forged ramrod to replace the Pedersoli "button tip" ramrod, and it shows the color of the barrel before polish compared to the polished ramrod.
So what I ended up with is a Pedersoli SLP Bess, that somebody has modified to look more like a 1756 LLP Bess.
So normally I turn these around for reenactors, but in this case this one stays with me. Now to get a bayonet to fit her. I got very lucky with this one as the gun dealer who sold it didn't know what he was selling. He probably should've started the auction with what I ended up paying for her. I'm pretty much used up as far as "lucky gun finds" after getting this Bess...., probably the luck is used up for the next several years.
Just goes to show you that you need to always keep your eyes open, as you never know when something will pop up.
LD
