Bess load and bullet mould.

[mudd turtle]

I have a Pedersolli brown bess and need a bullet mould to cast ball for and could someone be kind enough to suggest a good powder and load for this musket.mudd turtle.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Opinions seem to be divided here. If you want the ball to be patched for hunting, you should find success with a 0.715" diameter ball and 0.015 patching. This is a pretty easy load for the Pedersoli with its 0.750" dia bore. There is a strong case too for the use of a 0.735" bare ball and a single overshot card. I know of people that prefer that load. I found that the fouling built up with the 0.715" load and patching so I needed to wipe the bore frequently. The bare ball shooters will find that the fouling seems to improve the accuracy.

I would try both sizes of ball and find out what works best.

I have had good results using 80 to 90 grains of ffg black powder and a couple of grains of 2fg powder in the pan. You don't need multiple grades of powder for a Bess.

 

[J.D.]

I much prefer a .718 ball with .018 patching, in front of 80 gr FFG. Prime is with FFG.

I cast anything that melts for use in a .715 mould for the bess. Balls mic .718 and shoot very well.

This load thumb starts and shoots well enough to win several smoothbore matches.

A friend shoots a .720 ball very well, but I don't know where he got the mould.
Good luck,
J.D.

 

[mudd turtle]

thank you both for your reply to my post. When the weather gets better here I will try to use what information you have sent me and then let you know what does best for my gun. Where can the over shot wads be found or is this something I can make myself. mudd turtle.

 

[Grenadier1758]

These are 11 gauge cards and they can be found at several suppliers. You can also buy a 3/4" diameter arch punch and make your own from thin cardboard such as a cereal box.

I've seen J. D. shoot and he does pretty good. J. D. has ssen me shoot my 20 gauge. J. D. and I both know a fellow that uses the 0.735" bare ball and he uses a Lyman mold.

Mike

 

[Many Klatch]

My Bess likes a .715 ball, .010 patching and 90 grains of 2F. It will put balls into the same hole at 25 yards and will hit a big gong at 100 yards 3 out of 5 shots. I have worked on improving the sights on mine. I have a fairly large groove in the barrel tang for reference and I soldered a front sight into a slot that I cut in the bayonet lug. The new sights make a difference.

Many Klatch

 

[hawk]

mudturtle happy birthday.
I have shot my bess with a moose hide patch
and a .69 cal ball with good results. the ball starts with thumb ,still looking for a .715 or .735 mould.
:thumbsup: