I owned a Pedersoli 1777 Charleville Musket made in the late 1980's as I recall. The lock and barrel were fine and adequate. However the buttplate and bands were stampings and looked like stampings. The woodwork and wood to metal fit was not good-- in fact the wood was over-sanded, and this musket was new. For me the worst part was that it just did not look right-- historical accuracy-wise. I think the barrel was oversize-- probably in an effort to fend off lawsuits by fools who load their muskets with smokeless. Anyway, I was never satisfied with it and finally peddled it off. I remember a Pedersoli Bess owned by a friend did not look right either in my eyes. However, both the Charleville and the Bess would shoot reliably. The only issue seemed to be the frizzen needed to be rehardened after a short time. I have also examined a Middlesex Long Land Bess. I can't vouch for its safety or its reliability (though I have not heard of any problems), but it looked pretty good to me. It also looked to me like a long land pattern should look. I do believe the owner had reworked and refinished the stock, so that may have helped some with the reported bulkiness. Anyway, I was impressed with it.
I have acquired the skills and capability to build my own muskets and now have a M1816 I built from original parts and a Dunlap stock and Whitacre barrel. I certainly don't recommend going this route for everyone, but for me, I am very satisfied with the result.
