Adice ref Pedersoli Brown Bess

[glidingdoc]

It has been years since I last shot a muzzle loading Brown Bess and, worse, with very little training. I had been trained to use side by side 12 g shotguns but, in those days, in Scotland, there was little formal training available.

I am now entering my second childhood and am reluctant to rely on luck to ensure my safety! Is there a dummies guide to muzzle loading? Specifically, is there any advice regarding load and type of black powder for shooting either a 0.75 ball or shot?

What sort of wadding would prevent gasses "escaping" from between the shot?

Can anyone advise on what accessories would be appropriate for a flintlock and a percussion Pedersoli Brown Bess?

How does one prevent the "hidden" part of the barrel, ( where it lies on the wooden stock), from becoming rusty?

Any advice welcome.

Steve.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Hello Steve.
Loads of resources here and experienced folk to advise.
For shot wads a ball of newspaper will work well and one on the shot.
But watch for fires! The paper like to smoulder once nitrated from the powder.
Failing that look for some 11g over shot cards and use a few together as a wad.

 

[Artificer]

We don't often mention it, but 11 Gauge Cards and Wads are what you want with a Pedersoli Brown Bess. I used a .735 Round Ball and patched with a thick pillow ticking greased patch for round ball accuracy and I had to use a short starter to get the ball started down the barrel. My accuracy load was 70 grains of FFg DuPont/Goex powder. That load may vary in your Bess and may vary more with another powder or size ball/patch combination.

Gus

 

[Grenadier1758]

Since protecting the "hidden" part of the barrel that is covered by the stock requires removal of the pins in the stock to remove the barrel, I need to know that you have the proper pin punches to drive the stock pins from the stock. In general, the stock pins should be removed the same direction as the lock bolts. You will also need a screwdriver blat that fits the slot in the tang to remove the tang bolt. Once the barrel is removed, a heavy coating of furniture wax will protect the metal in the barrel and the stock from water damage caused by zealous cleaning.

 

[tenngun]

It has been years since I last shot a muzzle loading Brown Bess and, worse, with very little training. I had been trained to use side by side 12 g shotguns but, in those days, in Scotland, there was little formal training available.

I am now entering my second childhood and am reluctant to rely on luck to ensure my safety! Is there a dummies guide to muzzle loading? Specifically, is there any advice regarding load and type of black powder for shooting either a 0.75 ball or shot?

What sort of wadding would prevent gasses "escaping" from between the shot?

Can anyone advise on what accessories would be appropriate for a flintlock and a percussion Pedersoli Brown Bess?

How does one prevent the "hidden" part of the barrel, ( where it lies on the wooden stock), from becoming rusty?

Any advice welcome.

Steve.

A lot of things can serve for wads. Above mentioned news paper, fibers picked from old wool, felt, commercial wads, tow, bits of hemp cord or sisal rope picked from the string, dryid old cleaning patches rolled in to little balls and greased, wasp nest, Wads of dogs hair( that stinks real bad).
2/3 of last fun is playing with stuff you feed it.

 

[Columbus]

"Wads of dogs hair( that stinks real bad)"

I have a big male Akita and as a result more "wadding" than anyone, anywhere would ever need.

 

[glidingdoc]

Hi Gentlemen, Greetings from England.
Thank you for your kind and helpful responses. It is great to be "surrounded" by so many helpful folk who give of their time and knowledge so generously.
Grenadier 1758. I like your ide of using furniture polish. I understand the concept of a pin punch as I remember my old India Pattern Besses had three pins that held the barrel to the wooden stock. I can't remember the "Lock Bolts", are you refering to the way in which the firing mechanism was fixed? What was the Tang Bolt?
Britsmoothy, thanks for the idea of using Newspaper. I used to use Blue Toilet Paper but, as you warned, the bits of burning paper fell back to earth and presented a fire hazard. (My mates used the coffee laced with whiskey to put out the fires. I was cross and told them they should have used the thermos with the soup!) My concern about paper as a wadding material is that, if using the Bess as a shotgun, the hot gasses will burn through the paper and then through the shot and so diminish the power of the charge and shorten the range. At least, that was the excuse I used for not hitting anything! Would cork work or is that likely to cause too great a pressure within the barrel? Somewhere in these discussions, someone was making their own paper cartridges using paper wrapped around a suitably sized piece of Dowling or cylindrical wood. I am unsure whether the extra work would be worth the while.
I am afraid that the wife won't let me get a dog, so that solution isn't open to me. Mind you, she has got that wretched cat.......
Thank you to all of you.

Steve

 

[cositrike]

Hi Gentlemen, Greetings from England.
Thank you for your kind and helpful responses. It is great to be "surrounded" by so many helpful folk who give of their time and knowledge so generously.
Grenadier 1758. I like your ide of using furniture polish. I understand the concept of a pin punch as I remember my old India Pattern Besses had three pins that held the barrel to the wooden stock. I can't remember the "Lock Bolts", are you refering to the way in which the firing mechanism was fixed? What was the Tang Bolt?
Britsmoothy, thanks for the idea of using Newspaper. I used to use Blue Toilet Paper but, as you warned, the bits of burning paper fell back to earth and presented a fire hazard. (My mates used the coffee laced with whiskey to put out the fires. I was cross and told them they should have used the thermos with the soup!) My concern about paper as a wadding material is that, if using the Bess as a shotgun, the hot gasses will burn through the paper and then through the shot and so diminish the power of the charge and shorten the range. At least, that was the excuse I used for not hitting anything! Would cork work or is that likely to cause too great a pressure within the barrel? Somewhere in these discussions, someone was making their own paper cartridges using paper wrapped around a suitably sized piece of Dowling or cylindrical wood. I am unsure whether the extra work would be worth the while.
I am afraid that the wife won't let me get a dog, so that solution isn't open to me. Mind you, she has got that wretched cat.......
Thank you to all of you.

Steve

Hi there Steve from deepest Sussex, England. One good way to get all the information you need on this side of the big pond, is the Muzzle Loaders Association of Great Britain, or MLAGB, as its known. There are branches all over England. Ranges and clay shooting clubs can also be found. Might be worth a look on our website. Lots of good people and resources
Regards
Simon

 

[Loyalist Dave]

The tang bolt connects the tang from the back of the barrel through the stock to the trigger below

The two bolts that hold the lock in the stock are the lock bolts


There are other names for other parts but you will also hear "frizzen screw" which is slightly different than "frizzen spring, screw"



LD

 

[Griz44Mag]

We don't often mention it, but 11 Gauge Cards and Wads are what you want with a Pedersoli Brown Bess. I used a .735 Round Ball and patched with a thick pillow ticking greased patch for round ball accuracy and I had to use a short starter to get the ball started down the barrel. My accuracy load was 70 grains of FFg DuPont/Goex powder. That load may vary in your Bess and may vary more with another powder or size ball/patch combination.

Gus

My best accuracy load so far is a .735 ball, .010 cotton patch lubed with mink tallow and 80gr of O.E.
Any patch thicker and I can't get it started down the tube without cutting it on the muzzle.
The seating of the ball is very tight until it gets about 6" from the powder, then it loosens up to an easy push.
I have fired a few shot loads. I used the same 80gr of powder with TOTW wads sized in 11ga.

 

[glidingdoc]

My best accuracy load so far is a .735 ball, .010 cotton patch lubed with mink tallow and 80gr of O.E.
Any patch thicker and I can't get it started down the tube without cutting it on the muzzle.
The seating of the ball is very tight until it gets about 6" from the powder, then it loosens up to an easy push.
I have fired a few shot loads. I used the same 80gr of powder with TOTW wads sized in 11ga.

What is OE? What does TOTW stand for?

Many thanks for the picture and diagrams, that was very kind of you, Loyalist Dave.

Will join the Muzzle Loaders Association.

Steve

 

[Griz44Mag]

What is OE? What does TOTW stand for?

Many thanks for the picture and diagrams, that was very kind of you, Loyalist Dave.

Will join the Muzzle Loaders Association.

Steve

Sorry for not expanding... Sometimes I am lazy when typing.

O.E. Old Ensford Powder - made by GOEX as a premium product line
TOTW - Track of the Wolf - a great place to get ANYTHING related to muzzleloaders, including the muzzleloaders...

 

[Grenadier1758]

You will never prevent all gas leakage. Even with the proper 11 gauge over powder cardboard cards or over shot cards, some gas burn through will occur. Cork will also work as a wad, but even well lubricated cork too is porous. I believe it is better to use a coarse powder in the larger bore shotguns. Use of 2f or 1f has a softer push that is gentler on the over powder wads to contain the charge as it pushes the shot or ball from the barrel and you still get enough power to effectively hunt or shoot target or clay birds.


The fact that the newspaper wadding was burning after the shot charge left the barrel indicates that the firing charge did its job to contain the firing explosion long enough to send the shot on its way. You're correct that the whiskey and coffee should not have been used to put out the fire. Either the soup or the Gulliverian solution to putting out a fire in Lilliput would have been better.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Many thanks for the picture and diagrams, that was very kind of you, Loyalist Dave.

You're quite welcome, my brother of the Bess.



LD

 

[tenngun]

What is OE? What does TOTW stand for?

Many thanks for the picture and diagrams, that was very kind of you, Loyalist Dave.

Will join the Muzzle Loaders Association.

Steve

The secret language. Cults and elitist( I don’t know what our fraternity of front stuffers is, I little of both I reckon) love to use special words to identify them selfs. Luckily you didn’t call your shooting bag a possibles bag. I have not seen it my self, but have heard the such heretics are whipped from the field by their own ramrods.
Seriously our language is pretty arcane, and computers have made it worse. Since most of us were born before the invention of the type writer we stick in odd self made acronyms when ever we get too lazy to look for the next letter. Then spell check is not programmed for many of our words.

 

[Griz44Mag]

The secret language. Cults and elitist( I don’t know what our fraternity of front stuffers is, I little of both I reckon) love to use special words to identify them selfs. Luckily you didn’t call your shooting bag a possibles bag. I have not seen it my self, but have heard the such heretics are whipped from the field by their own ramrods.
Seriously our language is pretty arcane, and computers have made it worse. Since most of us were born before the invention of the type writer we stick in odd self made acronyms when ever we get too lazy to look for the next letter. Then spell check is not programmed for many of our words.

I do enjoy your sense of humor.... Well put sir! (With more than a bit of truth though!)

 

[Artificer]

Seriously our language is pretty arcane, and computers have made it worse. Since most of us were born before the invention of the type writer we stick in odd self made acronyms when ever we get too lazy to look for the next letter.

Good Grief, Tenngun,

I'm older than you and we had a Remington Manual Typewriter at home since I was in Middle School. When I took the class "Personal Typing" as a Sophomore, we had electric typewriters in the class. The first commercially viable typewriter came out in 1878 according to Bing a ling ding.

What you may be confusing this with is there were no digital calculators back then, except for using the digits of our fingers or an abacus, if we owned one.

Gus

 

[Griz44Mag]

I took 2 semesters of typing in high school. Nothing but manual typewriters.
I had a real need to learn typing.
It also just happened that I was the only male in a class of 30.

 

[tenngun]

I took 2 semesters of typing in high school. Nothing but manual typewriters.
I had a real need to learn typing.
It also just happened that I was the only male in a class of 30.

Alright,so I exaggerate a tiny bit. Although I thought of taking ‘ Home Ec’ for the same reason .

 

[missionary5155]

Greetings and Welcome.
Only item I will add is to be sure to ram whatever your desire to launch down tight onto the charge.

Many different items I have tried with shot loads seem to be fine for shooting called crows in East ILLinois. Those shots are usually 25-35 yards. Click on the photo to the left. That is our double flintlock I use for crows with #5 shot. I am not a big fan of paper unless the ground is wet.
We also use tight greased thick cork wads over the powder when I know the shots will be longer. But for closer shots most any material can serve well. May not produce the absolute best pattern but a dead crow is a dead crow to me.