Atlanta Cutlery P-1796/1839 Percussion Musket

[Jac Spring]

I just got the latest AC catalog - they keep sending and teasing me with their British antiques from the Nepalese discovery.

They have a listing for "East India Company P-1796/1839 Percussion Musket" which includes the correct button ramrod. $895

I am interviewing for a new job on Monday (wish me luck!) and am optomistically contemplating getting one of these as a celebratory purchase (and I don't even have to sell another gun or two to get it ).

So what do you guys think of these? Worth the money?

I would most definately want to shoot it - these are converted "India Pattern" Brown Bess muskets, so what caliber are we talking here? Use .690 patched balls? Do you think a 200+ old piece like this would be safe to fire with modest loads?

They also have P-1753 rifle kits (comes with new stock that needs some inletting) - would this be better? I think I'd like either for collection purposes - this one is $545.

It would eventually reside over the fireplace and be shot once a year maybe just for kicks.

All comments/advice appreciated.

 

[sjb1958]

Good Luck on interview... don.t know about guns tho. Shel

 

[paulvallandigham]

I don't know the particular guns, but I do know a little about shooting old guns. Whether a gun will stand being shot depends entirely on its internal condition. You can't know that unless you see it.

Paying what amounts to another $300 for a genuine period stock seems to be the difference in the two guns. For shooting, I am more concerned about the condition of the breechplug, and the barrel. If I were a collector, I would just buy the more expensive model, and take my chances.

You can have the barrel lines, with modern steel, that will seal a leaky breech, if that is a problem, and provide a good base for either a drum, or whatever way they have created to add the nipple to the back end.( I am assuming that these guns are percussion, and not still flintlock, based on your opening description. )

As to your queston about what they shoot, I think that has to wait until you have your gun in hand, so that you can measure the actual bore diameter of your gun, and examine it for condition of the bore. If the bore is too beat up with rust, you should seriously consider having it lined. Lining the bore will give you a " New " bore dimension, and you can buy your mold, or ball, or conical bullets based on that new caliber measurement.

My brother had an 1884 Springfield .45-70 lined with a new barrel liner, because it was hopeless oversized in the bore dimension, explaining why our father had so little success finding any reload that would stay inside an 8 inch circle at 100yds, even off a bench. You cannot see the seam where the original barrel and the liner meet. The barrel now shoots a properly sized, .458 bullet like crackerjacks! I think the cost was just over $100.

 

[flintlockmdj]

A friend of mine, William Hove Smith, wrote an article or three in "Backwoodsman Magazine" on hunting with original Napalose muskets from Atlanta Cuttelry. He had to specify that he was writing an article on the muskets and must have one in firing condition still he had to send one back before they sent one to meet his criteria.

It is my understanding that there is no selection for a shootable musket, you get what the order packer picks up.

 

[Jac Spring]

Good information gentlemen, thank you! :hatsoff:

 

[BRUN]

I got their catolog in the mail today.That gun has a cool lookin trigger guard.

 

[Jac Spring]

check out their web site - shows some other rifles available as well - click the "military items" from the menu and then under "other military" click the "genuine antiques" selection - that'll getcha there.
[url] http://www.atlantacutlery.com[/url]

 

[Wes/Tex]

When these guns first hit the market a couple years ago the catalogs were very specific about them. Each had a warning, now dropped for whatever reason that ran something along the lines of:

"Remember these gun were put in storage with or without cleaning more than a century ago. We don't recommend shooting them unless you want them to convert themselves into short barreled blunderbusses"... or something along those lines. Some models were probably not even English made but were from arsenals out in the hills of Nepal or somewhere there-abouts! :winking:

 

[hawk]

it seems you get the old stock and a new stock with the kit???

 

[Jac Spring]

Wes-Tex - understood - should be checked out by uh... gunsmith that knows blackpowder uh....firearms.. right. Hard to find around here aren't they?

I would personally inspect the piece for corrosion - that's the key to me - that would scare me off of shooting.

Hawk 2 - yep you get the original repaired stock and a burn new one to fit if you want.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Wes-Tex - understood - should be checked out by uh... gunsmith that knows blackpowder uh....firearms.. right. Hard to find around here aren't they?

Amen brother! Need to think about X-ray or magnaflux those old barrels. These aren't damascus barrels and may have a bit more "cheating room" but you need to go slow with old guns, especially if the seller starts off with "it's not our problem, not our fault, don't do this at home"!!!! :rotf:

 

[jchochole]

I have bought 2-3 of the P-42's and one of the P-53 Enfields from Atlanta Cutlery. They are a crapshoot and none of them would I trust with pressure and a ball in the barrel. They have seen years and years of abuse and neglect not to mention the original questionable forging techniques.
If you buy one- have that barrel tested inside and out. I did fire blanks in the P-42's and they were good for that- but again, very little pressure as everything just blew out the barrel.

Cheers,
Jim Chocole

 

[Jac Spring]

Thanks Jim - probably not my cup of tea then. But they are very cool... :hatsoff: