Access Hertiage French 1733 Military Pistol

[Murph507]

I recently decided to get into flintlock muzzleloaders . I purchased the J.L.Carrier French 1733 Military replica pistol from Access Hertiage . I disassembled it and drilled the touch hole . I had to dress the ends of all the screws . Lots of corrosion . The quality wasn't what I was expected . Its made in India. Is it safe to shoot ? I'll probably be asking questions y'all have already answered . Be patient with me . I don't want to get blown up .

 

[cositrike]

I recently decided to get into flintlock muzzleloaders . I purchased the J.L.Carrier French 1733 Military replica pistol from Access Hertiage . I disassembled it and drilled the touch hole . I had to dress the ends of all the screws . Lots of corrosion . The quality wasn't what I was expected . Its made in India. Is it safe to shoot ? I'll probably be asking questions y'all have already answered . Be patient with me . I don't want to get blown up .

You have once more opened the Indian can of worms. I’m sure you will get many opinions from, it’s a great shooting gun, to, it’s a total piece of crap

 

[Zonie]

It should be safe to shoot.
Although the overall quality of guns made in India leave a lot to be desired, if you use sensible powder loads similar to the loads that were typically used in flintlock military pistols you shouldn't have any problems.
As your pistol is listed as being a .64 caliber gun, Dixie Gun Works catalog shows a similar .67 caliber flintlock pistol using a 35 grain powder charge . A smaller powder charge of 25 grains would also work quite well. (A empty cartridge case can be used as a powder measure. For instance, a empty .357 case will hold about 27 grains, a empty .45 auto case holds about 26 grains and a empty .44 Colt cartridge case holds about 35 grains.)

Speaking of powder, flintlocks need to be loaded with real black powder. The synthetic black powders like Pyrodex or 777 work poorly or not at all.

You should use a slightly undersize lead ball in your gun. This should be patched with a tight weave cotton patch large enough to cover the ball in the area where the ball will meet the bore.

Looking at Track of the Wolf's selection of ammunition I see they have .610 or a .626 diameter balls for sale. Either of these would be suitable for your pistol. The thickness of the cloth patch for the .626 diameter ball should be .010 to .012 thick.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/127/3

 

[saaman]

I bought one of the India made flintlock pistols with brass barrel and shoot it a lot with 30 grains of Goex FFF. It came from a company in the USA and already had the touchhole drilled. I would suggest test firing it remotely with a long lanyard if you have any doubts about its
strength.


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[dave_person]

Hi,
As Zonie wrote, it is probably safe to shoot. These India-made guns are inexpensive cartoon versions of the originals they purport to copy. Having said that, many folks have good luck with them as functioning guns and others do not. It is a bit of hit and miss. My concern, is you stated you bought the pistol to get into flintlocks. That might be unfortunate because you are buying a gun with at best a mediocre flintlock mechanism and at worst an unsafe or dysfunctional lock. It is not comparable in quality and function to the firearms made in the St. Etienne arsenal during the 18th century. Hopefully, you will have good experiences with it but if it does not function very well, realize that it does not represent the performance of a well made flintlock.

dave

 

[Murph507]

It should be safe to shoot.
Although the overall quality of guns made in India leave a lot to be desired, if you use sensible powder loads similar to the loads that were typically used in flintlock military pistols you shouldn't have any problems.
As your pistol is listed as being a .64 caliber gun, Dixie Gun Works catalog shows a similar .67 caliber flintlock pistol using a 35 grain powder charge . A smaller powder charge of 25 grains would also work quite well. (A empty cartridge case can be used as a powder measure. For instance, a empty .357 case will hold about 27 grains, a empty .45 auto case holds about 26 grains and a empty .44 Colt cartridge case holds about 35 grains.)

Speaking of powder, flintlocks need to be loaded with real black powder. The synthetic black powders like Pyrodex or 777 work poorly or not at all.

You should use a slightly undersize lead ball in your gun. This should be patched with a tight weave cotton patch large enough to cover the ball in the area where the ball will meet the bore.

Looking at Track of the Wolf's selection of ammunition I see they have .610 or a .626 diameter balls for sale. Either of these would be suitable for your pistol. The thickness of the cloth patch for the .626 diameter ball should be .010 to .012 thick.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/127/3

Thanks .. I got with Track of the Wolf already . They sent me a list and quote of what they would use. I got what they recommended . I got powder from Powder Valley . Swiss FF and Goex FFFF . Black is all I'll use . Read to many stories about 777 synthetic powder fails in flintlocks . Thanks for the info .

 

[Murph507]

I bought one of the India made flintlock pistols with brass barrel and shoot it a lot with 30 grains of Goex FFF. It came from a company in the USA and already had the touchhole drilled. I would suggest test firing it remotely with a long lanyard if you have any doubts about its
strength.
This gun looks like it was made with a hacksaw .


.View attachment 29769View attachment 29770View attachment 29771

 

[Murph507]

You have once more opened the Indian can of worms. I’m sure you will get many opinions from, it’s a great shooting gun, to, it’s a total piece of crap

Open up cans ?? I do that from time to time.

 

[Murph507]

Thanks .. I got with Track of the Wolf already . They sent me a list and quote of what they would use. I got what they recommended . I got powder from Powder Valley . Swiss FF and Goex FFFF . Black is all I'll use . Read to many stories about 777 synthetic powder fails in flintlocks . Thanks for the info .

 

[Many Klatch]

There are lots of threads on this site that will explain how to polish and speed up a flintlock mechanism. From what I can see in your photo this lock is a prime candidate for some judicious file work and polishing. Speeding a lock will improve it's function. It will also give you a chance to determine if the lock parts have been hardened.

 

[Columbus]

Mine's from MVTC - no problems at all, sparks and shoots well.