Brown Bess

[Wolverine01]

I have been shopping around for a Brown Bess for some time and was wondering what is the quality report on India manufactured Brown Bess. I have never heard of the India manufactured one until shopping around. I know Pedersoli makes them and they are higher quality but they also have a much higher price. I am just looking for backround on India manufacturers, but in the end I understand I get what I pay for. Thanks for any information you might be able to give.

 

[mark/wi]

Wolverine01, I have a 3rd model Bess I bought from Track of the Wolf. Mine works , but works better after I had a liner put in.Glad I got it , fun to shoot. I can not say what the quality is on all of them, mine is the only one I have seen. I would expect tha Pedersoli to have better quality for they are a lot more money and they make nice guns. Mark

 

[Many Klatch]

Wolverine this is kind of a hot topic. There are reports of a very few Indian made repro muskets failing. We haven't been able to tell if it was due to the gun or the gunner, but there have been a few failures. As far as I know there haven't been any failures in a Pedersoli.

I am prejudiced, I shoot a Pedersoli Bess. I think they are worth the extra money. There are people on this board that are very happy with their Indian made Bess and shoot them with regularity.

I wish I knew the 100% correct answer to your question. To me it boils down to a few Indian made ones may have failed, no Pedersoli are reported to have failed. You just need to pick your comfort zone.

Many Klatch

 

[mikee51848]

If you are going to be a reenactor, an Indian-made Bess is ok. If you wish to shoot ball, or shot, buy the Pedersoli.

 

[bebloomster]

I would definitely agree with WildatHeart.... for show and tell time the Indian made ones are fine. For live fire though (lead balls.... not blanks) I would only use the Pedersoli. I shoot a Pedersoli myself and can't say as I've ever actually seen one of the Indian made imports. Have also heard a couple reports of the Indian made ones failing but never a Pedersoli. Yes, the Pedersoli is a few more bucks (actually a LOT more bucks) but to me it is well worth the extra cost.

 

[mr.fudd]

My Indian Bess seems to shoot fine. I haven't had it for long and have only shot loads with up to 90 grains of FFG so far, but so far it's worked fine. There's only been one confirmed kaboom with these muskets and a lab determined afterward that the metal wasn't to blame. It appears to have been due to poor maintenance and possible overloading on the part of a reenactor.

As to getting what you pay for, the trigger on mine when I got it was beyond bad. It was so awful the gun was almost unshootable, (easily over 30 lbs.). With some work though I now have it down to around 5-6 lbs and smooth. The inletting on mine is fairly poor as well. The Indians inlet with hand tools and it shows. There aren't many big gaps where the wood meets metal on my stock, but there are a lot of gaps that probably measure around 1/64" or slightly more. Now that may sound like I'm nitpicking, after all 1/64" is practically nothing, right? The problem is that the gaps aren't even. When you look down the barrel channel where the metal meets wood, you see 4" where the wood touches the metal, then 3" where there is a tiny gap, then another 2" where things touch again, then 6" of gap and so on. If it were uniform from one end to the other, then a gap like that wouldn't stand out, but since there is variation, it is hard to miss when you hold the gun close up, or at least it is for me. The finish on the gun is also overly shiny and the stock color doesn't quite look right. The Indians like to really polish things on a buffing wheel. At some point I intend on removing the barrel from the stock, sanding down the wood and refinishing it, roughing up the metal a little and seeing what I can do to clean up the inletting.

I haven't really wrung the gun out for accuracy yet, but if I can get decent groups out of it, I'll be satisfied with my purchase. For me, that's the real deciding factor. All the cosmetic details can be fixed and these muskets have enough of a track record for safety that I'm satisfied that I don't have a pipe bomb on my hands.

So far I just don't know about that one. People report being able to get 2" groups at 25 yards and 6" groups at 50, but I've only managed about 6" at 25 so far. I haven't really given it a fair shake yet though.

 

[temple]

i proofed my indian bess before live shooting it by hand. I loaded a 180 grains ffg and 2 patched round balls then strapped it to a fame and touched it off. it held just fine. I have shot it for about 3 years since then and have had no problems with it. it shoots pretty good i can hit the black at 75 yards pretty consistently. the only thing i don't like about them is that the parts aren't interchangable. so if something breaks it could be a problem. i had a sear spring break and had to convert it to fit a pedersoli spring.

 

[bingo1952]

A red Scotch Brite pad will dull it down nicely.

 

[dukewellington]

I've picked a few up and they seemed O.k

 

I've picked a few up and they seemed O.k

Besses or pads? (quotes please)

 

[Rick Davis]

... The inletting on mine is fairly poor as well. The Indians inlet with hand tools and it shows. There aren't many big gaps where the wood meets metal on my stock, but there are a lot of gaps that probably measure around 1/64" or slightly more. ...

Wouldn't this be fairly close to how they were originally made?

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

PA Rifleman , to put it politely, no. If you look at any original Brown Bess (or any other original military musket) the inletting is tight and very well done. I have looked at hundreds in over 30 years of collecting and have never seen a military musket in its original stock that showed unproffesional, sloppy work.

 

[nkvd]

Hello All

As mentioned by some here on this forum on different occasions the India made guns can be re-worked and locked tuned to shoot "live" shot fairly accurately! :wink:

Cheers,Rob

 

[JackAubrey]

I have the Pedersoli Bess.It cost a lot but has been worth it.Interchangeability of parts and superior quality control matter to me,unless I want a kit gun.For the price, the indian besses seem rather expensive kit guns.Best regards,J.A.

 

[nkvd]

Hello All

IMHO they are all overpriced!

Rob

 

[mr.fudd]

I would have to agree with that. Given the workmanship on the Indian guns I think they should probably sell for $400 or less new. I haven't seen a Pedersoli up close yet, but for $1200 it ought to be something really special and from what I have heard it's not.

Thompson and Lyman can both build decent flintlock rifles for under $600, so I don't see why a Brown Bess should cost significantly more.

 

[Tsegoweleh]

And replacement parts are extreamly expensive.