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  1. dave_person

    Authenticity of Veteran Arms Brown Bess Muskets

    Thanks Bob, I am sure the 2nd NC will very quickly appreciate your worth as well. We are also working with the light infantry of the 40th regiment of foot and may also be assisting Fort Ticonderoga with their musket and other firearm needs. Bob, what is also remarkable is that so few...
  2. dave_person

    Authenticity of Veteran Arms Brown Bess Muskets

    Hi Bob, That is why Maria and I hold live firing sessions for Warner's regiment at my home and range. During each weekend event, we inspect all of their locks, fix serious problems and teach them how to clean and care for their guns. Then they are off to the range to shoot first at round paper...
  3. dave_person

    Authenticity of Veteran Arms Brown Bess Muskets

    Hi, Here is another India-made Bess lock that came in my door this month. The owner was told it was one of the better India-made guns and the stock inletting is better than I typically see. He thought it was from Loyalist Arms but on inspection I am inclined to believe it was retailed by...
  4. dave_person

    Need help identifying this lock

    Hi, It is someone's attempt to copy a Siler. The bridle shape and crudeness of the parts reminds me of India made guns. dave
  5. dave_person

    Colonial .54 touch hole

    Hi Mike, Good, I am glad you have solved it. I like 2F powder for a lot of my shooting too although 3F Swiss is superb in some of my guns. 2F powder is shifted with a wire mesh of 16 wires to the inch. 3F is sifted in a mesh 20 wires to the inch so the granule size is less than 1/16"...
  6. dave_person

    Colonial .54 touch hole

    Hi, Jim Kibler in his post said the vent holes are already drilled to 1/16" . If you drilled it larger, it was not with a 1/16" drill but something bigger. The question is how much bigger? dave
  7. dave_person

    India Barrel Failure

    Hi Guys, As I understand, many India made barrels are routinely proofed in Europe and the UK for use in the retail trade for firearm reproductions. I would not be surprised if a few failed the proofing. I wonder how many muzzleloader barrels made from 12L14 steel, the common material in the...
  8. dave_person

    Authenticity of Veteran Arms Brown Bess Muskets

    Hi, The two locks I showed were from guns likely sold by Middlesex Valley Trading Co. Unfortunately, some come in without the owner knowing the retailer because they were bought second hand. I don't routinely photograph every India-made gun that passes through my shop. I've had guns from both...
  9. dave_person

    Authenticity of Veteran Arms Brown Bess Muskets

    Hi Aglukan, I am sorry. I did not answer your question. The barrels were big at the breech for safety and strength. Remember, the musket was also a kind of pike with its bayonet so it had to be very strong. Also, they were made from wrought iron, not steel, and welded into a tube. Even with...
  10. dave_person

    Authenticity of Veteran Arms Brown Bess Muskets

    Hi Nick, I have both the turn off and Scottish pistol part sets in my shop. None were ordered to be rifled as they both should be smooth bored but TRS sent rifled barrels by default. They don't mention the rifling in their descriptions in their catalog so unless otherwise informed, the buyer...
  11. dave_person

    Authenticity of Veteran Arms Brown Bess Muskets

    Hi Guys, Why the animosity? I greatly admire Commodore Swab's commitment to supplying a need. CS, well done and good on you!!! Reenactors and living history folks are never going to have enough quality and historically correct firearms available to them. They will have to make do with...
  12. dave_person

    Authenticity of Veteran Arms Brown Bess Muskets

    Hi Aglukan, I have no idea what differences there are between Loyalist, Veteran Arms, and Middlesex Valley Traders sold guns. Working with reenactors I have had guns from all of those suppliers in my shop at some point. They all required extensive work on the locks. We rarely accept...
  13. dave_person

    Authenticity of Veteran Arms Brown Bess Muskets

    Hi, No commercially produced Brown Bess reproduction made today is authentic or representative of the workmanship found on original British muskets. Your musket is probably what they sell as a "pattern 1748" musket. You can make it more authentic by getting rid of the lock moldings, thinning...
  14. dave_person

    Brown Bess Lockplate Modification

    Hi, Guys, I urge you to stop and let Josh do what he desires. He has a plan and it could work out. There were several "special" Brown Besses made over the years by commercial makers, Coach and Harness, Holland and Holland, Stowe by Pedersoli, etc. None have much value as historically correct...
  15. dave_person

    What's the purpose of this screw on my TC flintlock

    Hi, These things have hooked breeches don't they? So the crack in the tang is not from forgetting to remove the tang bolts to remove the barrel. My guess is the hook is snug and levers the tang up when installed or removed stressing the tang. That is poor design. On original 18th century...
  16. dave_person

    Help with Finishing Veteran Arms Stock

    Hi, Commodore Swab may be right. The teak or whatever it is used on India-made guns may not react well to traditional finishes. The wood may contain oils that complicate things. I suggest trying finishes behind the butt plate or in the barrel channel to see what happens. dave
  17. dave_person

    Help with Finishing Veteran Arms Stock

    Hi, Do not use raw tung oil. Like raw linseed oil, it takes forever to dry. I will provide 3 good options for you. One, use polymerized tung oil like that sold by Sutherland Welles. Polymerized means it is heat treated and mixed with solvents. On a warm day outside, it dries to the touch in...
  18. dave_person

    Manton preccusion shotgun id

    Hi, It is not a Manton just an inexpensive knock off from the 1850s or later. The barrels are from Birmingham. Manton's name was used illicitly a lot for marketing. None of the Manton family ever signed the locks with lettering such as that and the engraving is very crude and unlike any real...
  19. dave_person

    Flintlock musket - ID help

    Hi, I believe it is a India pattern British musket from the late 18th or early 19th centuries on which someone replaced the lock with one from a French model 1717 musket. They also replaced the flat French flint **** with one from a British musket. If you look closely at the lock, you will see...
  20. dave_person

    Lock side plate metal finish?

    Hi, If you want to be historically correct, polish the outside of the lock bright or temper blue it. Rust browning was not popular in America until the very end of the 18th century despite it being used in Britain 25 years previously. If you decide to brown the lock, polish off the textured...
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