Bess Update

[engravertom]

Hello folks,

I went to the range the other day, after losing the front sight off of the Musket. The base of the lug, into which the sight blade had been soldered, was still there. I used it as a front sight, and tried to hold it in the bottom of the rear notch. I decided to fire off hand at 25 yards, with my head further back on the stock, to see if it was more comfortable on the cheekbone.

It was more comfortable to shoot, but the point of impact was high. The first three uppermost shots on the target where the ones fired at that point.

I decided to leave the range, and remove the rear sight after work the next day. I was hoping by doing so that the point of impact would be lowered.

I took the barrel out, and then noticed that it had been bent upwards. Talking to the former owner, he confirmed that he had bent the barrel to change the point of impact. I went ahead and removed the rear sight, using a heavy duty belt sander, then finishing with finer grits and a wire wheel to blend it in. A bit of a hasty job, but it will do for now. You can see the file mark still in the barrel that was right next to the rear sight. I didn't want to try and polish that out. I may get it welded up and polish it out later.

A few days after, i stopped at the range just ahead of a thunder storm. I walked up to the 25 yard line, and got off one shot off hand before the sky opened up. The fourth shot, slightly below the others, was the one i fired that day on the same target.

Now, I am considering having the barrel straightened, as it presently points upwards. The bend also explains the tight spot in the barrel during loading.My thought is that may lower the point of impact without the need to add much height to the front sight. I will shot another full group before doing so, to make sure that the one shot is not a flyer.

The musket is more comfortable to shoot without the rear sight, and with holding my head on the stock in a more upright fashion further back on the stock.

I'm pretty well hooked!

take care,

Tom

ps the shots are around 8" high above POA at 25 yards.

 

[William Joy]

sounds like a good plan....

 

[Britsmoothy]

Good for you, I do wish people would stop bending barrels of perfectly fine guns!
britsmoothy.

 

[Zoar]

I guess I would shoot a bunch more and try different patch/ball/powder combinations before I would go the drastic route of barrel bending... but that might just be me... One more group is, in my opinion, not enough to evaluate the capabilities/properties of this gun, particularly with the "sightless" condition it is in.

I shoot a few muzzleloaders with front sites only and I discovered I seemed to shoot some differently on different days. When that happened my initial directions are to point at the shooter, next the load, especially the ball/patch combo, and not the gun. Guns with no sights require alot of shooting, in my opinion, to figure out where the point of impact is as compared to where you think it was aimed.

However, it is your gun and you have actually loaded it and shot and you can see it. If you think---based on actually being there---that you need to bend it and strongly believe only one more group is needed for evaluation, then that is certainly your perogative. :thumbsup:

Nice looking Muzzleloader, by the way!

 

[Captain outwater]

Out of the box, a brown bess does not have either a front or rear sight...it has a lug on the front to connect the bayonet to, that can act as the front sight, but should have no rear sight. In fact it should need none, since it is inaccurate after about 75 yards, and you should be able to aim at a paper plate and hit it looking down the bore over the front lug.
Bending a barrtel if not a good idea...it can crimp the bore, even cause it to explode. Have a gunsmith check it and or fix it.

 

[engravertom]

Thanks for everyones' comments.

The advice to shoot it for a while seems sound to me. I guess I am concerned about the barrel having been bent, and the tight spot in the bore. Reading the other thread about barrel bending, I am eager to get it straight, and then alter the point of impact by regulating the muzzle, if it then proves to be necessary.

Straightening barrels was part of my training in gunsmithing school, but that was a long while ago now. I have concentrated much more on engraving since then. However, I work with a bunch of gunsmiths everyday, so they should be able to keep me out of trouble, if decide to have the bend straightened out. I suppose if worst came to worst, I could get another barrel for it.

I'll leave it be for now, and just shoot it a while longer as is, and see how I do. Also, I may shoot out to 75 yards, and see if the ball is dropping by then, and how much. It might be good see if I can discern where the trajectory is topping out as the barrel is currently configured.

Thanks again, and any more comments would be welcome.

take care,

Tom

 

[Britsmoothy]

Tom, that makes perfect sense :hatsoff:
Britsmoothy.

 

[Many Klatch]

I have bent a number of barrels on smoothbores and one rifle, but only after 50 or more shots. If I can't get the gun to shoot to POA after all that, then I will give it a tweak between two trees.

My Bess Carbine never required any tweaking. It shoots dead on with 90 grains of 2F a .715 ball and .010 spit patching. I filed a groove in the barrel tang to serve as a rear reference point. For many years I shot it with a small groove filed in the bayonet lug. It really helps on the horizontal hold to have reliable reference points.

Try getting your head down on the stock and showing the entire bayonet lug almost to the barrel over the rear tang. That may take care of your elevation problems. A lot of smoothbores need to show a lot of front sight to compensate for the thinning of the barrel from the breech to the muzzle.

Many Klatch