Brown Bess

[pargent]

I have found some documentation that barrels were pulled regularly for cleaning, this relates to training troops at reg. base in England , in reality I doubt that this happened at all in the field.Most barrels I have seen that were in action or on over seas duties apear to have not been pulled at all pior to inspection in our times,due to the level of rust etc on the barrel bottoms .

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

Whether British, American, French or Australian, all stated specifically in their ordnance manuals and practice the same thing - barrels, whether pinned or banded, were not allowed to be removed from the stock by the common soldier whether in the field or in the barracks. That was the specific purview of a trained armorer. When in the field the soldier was not even allowed to remove the lock of his weapon unless recommended by and under the supervision of an officer.

Of course, in the modern era with the cost of the services of an armorer (gunsmith) being relatively expensive, the modern owner can do whatever he likes - though he may find out why the manual did not allow the soldier to do the work himself.

 

[pargent]

:grin: :thumbsup:

 

[wahkahchimaol.com]

Here's a range report;

Since my last posting we have had two more classes for archaeology students and we have fired about 50 shots from a Pedersoli Brown Bess.

The paper cartridges were reloadable if I cleaned between shots. Average group size was about 6" at 25 yards with some fliers out to 12". But now it gets interesting.

I fired a "modern" load of 75 grains FFFG, .715 ball, .015 lubed patch with a 12 gauge fiber cushion wad below the patched ball. It produced 3" to 5" groups to point of aim at 25 yards, a vast improvement over the same load without the 12 gauge shotgun fiber cushion wad. Wow. A 3" to 5" group is pretty much a one-big-hole group.

Also we are learning to center the front sight picture on the tang, so we're learning to shoot a bit better as well.

So what did the big thick fiber wad add to the mix?

This would be an extremely deer-worthy load, would it not?

 

[Many Klatch]

I have never had to use cushion wads in my Bess to get good accuracy, but that doesn't mean that your using them is wrong, it is just what your Bess likes. I find that a charge of 90 grains of 2F gives me better accuracy, but it does kick a bit :grin: when I shoot it.

For fun try shooting at clay birds at 25 yards with your Bess. I pick up thrown ones at my local range and put them on the backstop. If you can hit those 3 out of 5 times then you are getting pretty good with a Bess.

For better accuracy you might try using a Dremel tool to cut a small straight line in the middle of the tang. The groove can be used as a horizontal "reference" point when sighting. If shooting in an official NMLRA match, anything below the plane of the barrel is not considered a sight. I have also found that another small groove cut on the top of the bayonet lug will help as well.

Many KLatch

 

[wahkahchimaol.com]

Good advice! Thank you!

 

[Pigman]

I have tried to put a piece of masking tape on the breach with a line jsut to get more consistant sighting.

Foster From Flint

 

[wahkahchimaol.com]

Foster, did it work?

 

[pathfinder Ted]

I have a TRS Bess I put together @ 18 years ago with a .77 Colrain barrel. I use 90grs of 2f under a pillow tick,spit patch,.745 ball. It's a lot more accurate tha I am!

I've been shooting smoothbore's for a lot of years and use the "show more or less barrel" technique,then I put "kisser" button,small brass tack,where the corner of my mouth is on the stock. Carry over from my Long Bow day's. Usually place in the top 10% when shooting her in rfile matches.

 

[buzz]

i foudn in my bess ,715 ball with paper wrap cartiage works ok and .735 bare ball is about he same both 90 grains and i hit a siloet targer yards all day
im goin to try the smaller ball and see were im at
i can say shot pattern are great out of my bess as well