1777 charleville musket

[jproveaux]

Hello this is my first post for starters i have never owned a musket befor but i have shot a few.i had my sights on the 1777 charleville french army musket from track of the wolf. I have contacted them and they have told me it was made in india.now i hav heard sum bad things about muskets made in india i want to know what yall think.about the gun/the place it was made. Btw i really want a charleville.

 

[Alden]

Welcome. Artifcer here recommends them, I think...

 

[Artificer]

To give you the best answers we can to your questions, it would be good to know how you intend to use the gun. Are you going into re-enacting? Are you going to shoot live rounds through the gun? etc.

Welcome Aboard the Forum,
Gus

 

[jproveaux]

Yes i plan on using the gun to hunt game ..i prefer a french designed because of my heritage.i appreciate all feedback.

 

[Artificer]

If you are planning on hunting with the gun, then the M1777 is really not a good choice, as it is so heavy.

I am not familiar enough with French Sporting Arms to help you much, other than to offer this article:
http://www.jaegerkorps.org/NRA/Hunting Guns in Colonial America.htm

Hopefully others will chime in with more information for you.

Gus

 

[Alden]

Look for a graceful, efficient, effective fusil-de-chasse mon'ami.

By the way, the 1777 is one of my favorite of all arms, however, I would avoid India-made to the extent practicable (although sometimes it isn't).

 

[tenngun]

What the above two said. Muskets are made to ram home a bayonet and to block a thrust , the butts can be used to smash feet, break knees' and cave in skulls, The whole thing can be used as a quater staff, oh and they can shoot.
They are great for what they are designed to do, and a gun that can drop a man can put paid on most game, however some sort of fusil will serve you hunting better. Unless you plan to be in a line or just like milatary guns you can do your heritage with a lot of French style guns that are easy on the eyes.

 

[jproveaux]

Thanks for all the good advice. Keep it cuming ... i plan on gettin a musket in a month or two.so any advice would be much appreciated

 

[Artificer]

As you wait to collect funds for your gun, it would be a good idea to educate yourself as much as you can before you buy the gun. Use the search function here for threads that talk about "Fusil de Chasse", "Fusil Fin", and "French Trade Guns" for examples.

It would be a good idea for you to contact anyone in your local area that has one of the guns and better still if you could handle or shoot one.

These guns range from $600.00 (India Made) to $3,000.00 for a well built custom gun. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a "center of the road price gun" without buying a kit that costs close to $ 800.00 and then spending close to that amount to have it competently assembled. It would be great if Pedersoli made a gun of this fashion as you get a good gun that works in a medium price range, though often not absolutely historically correct to the smallest details.

I remember what it was like saving money to buy my first Pedersoli Brown Bess in the 1970's when I wasn't making much money. I was VERY glad I had done it, though, as I had a gun that worked though it needed some fine tuning.

If you decide the cost of an India Made gun is about all you want to spend, then you should realize there seems to be a wide range of guns that range from barely working or not working at all to only fairly good - depending on where you get the gun.

If you are on a modest budget, my advice would be to purchase a gun from someone like Earl Kathan who has a good reputation on this forum for working on flintlocks. He drills the vent holes and properly hardens the frizzens on these guns. Include the EXTRA cost of him test firing and hardening the sear and tumbler and doing the lock work. Then you will have a dependable gun at the lowest cost possible that won't drive you crazy with frustration.
http://www.flintlockrepair.com/flintlockmuskets1.html

Gus