My Blunderbuss is a brass barrelled Indian-made gun, looks like the same one you have. I'm happy with mine, but you should be advised of a few details:
1. The inside surface of the triggerguard bow wasn't finished off to my liking. Fortunately there was plenty of material remaining, so I filed everything smooth and even, then wet-sanded & polished it to a high finish. This is fairly easy to do, and I'm happy that this was all the finishing it needed. Truth be told, I enjoy this kind of work and would have enjoyed it if other areas needed polishing as well. Here's what it looked like before:
The inside of the barrel isn't polished, but does appear to be fine-sanded. Is this they way it's meant to be? I'm pondering how I can polish this to a high shine, maybe someone with experience with this type of barrel can comment.
2. The finish on the stock had a reddish hue that rubbed off easily. It transferred onto clothing, furniture, dog, kids, hands and anything else it came into contact with. After a few days of rubbing with dry cloths, it was much better. I'm told this is closer to the original process and that the newer blunderbusses don't have this issue. This is not a serious issue, and didn't cause any problems.
3. The stocks aren't as strong as a lot of western-made flintlocks, and are more vulnerable to wrist breakage. You'll likely be hunting for a local smith if it needs work. Several months after I had it, I noticed a thin crack in the wrist area running along the grain and through the wrist. Months later I picked it up and found the crack had grown a lot and the gun nearly separated into two pieces. I have never fired this blunderbuss, so loading & recoil isn't a factor. I went to the US-based party that sold it to me, and he would only fix it if pre-paid. Apparently there is no warranty even if it's unfired or damaged in shipping. By this time, it had been in my possession about a year. I don't know if this was a factor, since I have never seen any policies or warrantees in writing from either the manufacturer or the seller. Sending it back to Canada was out of the question, since they would have charged over $150 for a replacement stock, and would have been backordered some time. Since I waited about a year for this one, sending it back to Canada for another indefinite wait was out of the question. And that assumes the drilled vent hole wouldn't cause a problem when it crossed the border. So, I repaired it here. I ordered a thumbplate to reinforce it, and when I have time, I'll fit it to the wrist.
I don't have hard feelings, I'm just a little disappointed how quickly they distanced themselves when I had a minor problem. In spite of the three details (above), I will very likely buy from them again.
Now, some positive points:
It's VERY handy due to it's short length, and a real hit when I show it to kids. It's much easier for them to handle since it's lighter. It's a classic display piece, and the barrel's exterior was highly polished when I received it.
Right out of the box it was a great sparker. As far as operation, it needed a flint & flint wrapper, that's it.
Also, I'll be happy to post more photos on request for anyone that wants a look-see. For now, here are a few as it is right now. As you can see, it's very dusty from a recent move. It also has a lot of fingerprints on the brass, as I encourage kids to examine it. For many, it's probably their first exposure to guns and I want it to be tactile and positive. It's my way of investing in the future.
I haven't fired it, but with it's 77-caliber bore (10 gauge equivalent?) it should make quite an impression.
The Discriminating General has a statement warning against brass-barreled blunderbusses (or is the plural of blunderbuss=blunderbii?). Previously it was a safety warning about the perils of scratches and internal cracks. Now it's a caution warning against using steel rammers in brass barrels. I thought brass would be ideal since it's supposed to be non-sparking? Does anyone have experience with this?
