Continental Army musket

[Russ T Frizzen]

That lockplate looks French.

 

[Steve Blancard]

According to the historical marker, they were patterned after the Brown Bess.
Historical marker

These markers are not always accurate, so take it for what its worth.

 

[mastrsgt]

There are pictures of a Fredricksburg musket in "Battle Weapons of the Revolution" by George C. Neumann. He says that the few remaining examples from this factory exhibit a wide variety of styles and patterns. The only consistent feature is the lock design. The one pictured in the book has a curly maple stock, land pattern butt plate, early european Dragon side plate, american trigger guard and French oct. to round barrel of 69 cal.

Don R

 

[Steve Blancard]

Thanks Don, appreciate the information. I called the Fredericksburg area museum today. They have an example from both the Fredericksburg Gun Factory and the Rappahannock Forge Manufactury (located across the river from Fredericksburg). I will try to get to the museum this week and see them close up.

 

[Carteret Kid]

Get pictures if you can . :thumbsup:

 

[cahokia]

There is a guy from Charlottesville,Rob VanLier who does a great job of transforming besses into Virginia muskets with the correct markings for either Fredericksburg or the Rappahanock Forge. He usually sets up at Ft. Freddy in the spring at their market days. If you need his email address, let me know. Cahokia

 

[Carteret Kid]

Don , I am looking at Neumann page 133 at the Fred musket . While it is interesting , I have some suspicion of it's actual origin . I see the Indian trade side plate and wonder if this is a post war composite weapon that reused a Fred lockplate . Of course during the war large number of parts were reused . If only these old guns could talk .

 

[Steve Blancard]

This is getting interesting!

Chuck - I'd like to have Rob's contact info if you have it. I'm very curious about his Fred and Rappahannock Forge conversions.

I will try to get photos of both at the Fred museum.

 

[mastrsgt]

You could be correct. Neumann refers to the side plate as early European and there are similar side plates shown on page 43. The whole gun seems to made up of parts on hand, so when it was built is any bodies guess. Maybe this is the gun on display at the factory. You're right, it is to bad they can't talk.

Don R

 

[Carteret Kid]

I am going to guess that the Fred. muskets were of 3 types without a precise distinction between them.

Type I , when they first open , they concentrate on repair of older weapons and assembly of composite "anything that goes boom " arms .

Type II , once things are set up and more parts are locally made , there is a transition to a B Bess knock off completely made of in house parts .

Type III ,after large numbers of French weapons arrive , that style is judged superior and banded muskets are produced .

Of course I am just guessing .

 

[jj-22]

I've been looking for the same type of thing as the original poster in this thread. Being from Massachusetts I want something that would have been used in the opening days of the AWI. It's been hard trying to figure out what's what but this forum has been a huge help.

I've looked at muskets from ERA and MVTC. I almost settled on the fowler from MVTC but it seems to be awful long and isn't "military" enough for my liking. I accumulate "modern" era military arms. I love the militia musket from ERA but the price and wait time make it unappealing. I have no experience in building so a kit would be a chore but my buckskinning brother who builds his own stuff has offered to help.

While working today, I did some thinking. How about if I started with a Long Land Bess from MVTC as a donor and slowly turned it into something like the ERA militia musket. The stock can be reworked (shaped & darkened), a new pre-Rev buttplate, wooden ramrod, sheet brass pipes, maybe a different sideplate and or trigger guard.
Sort of my own composite militia musket. Good idea or am I nuts?

 

[mastrsgt]

JJ

in the long run, wouldn't it be cheaper to get the militia musket kit from ERA. They advertise it for 475.00 on the web site. since you would be rebuilding anyway, why not start out with stuff that's ment to go together.

Don R

 

[oreclan]

I got an Early Rustic Arms Kentucky barn gun in the the white, and am very pleased with it. I am modifying it to resemble a relic I have(broken off in front of the trigger slot) ,so I didn't get a buttplate or the triggerguard installed. I am installing those using altered production parts from Track of the Wolf.
You get a bare bones semicustom gun made of quality parts at a reasonable price. It is a one year wait, however but worth it :thumbsup: .
Ron

 

[jj-22]

JJ

in the long run, wouldn't it be cheaper to get the militia musket kit from ERA. They advertise it for 475.00 on the web site. since you would be rebuilding anyway, why not start out with stuff that's ment to go together.

Don R

Probably but the ERA would have to built. The part that scares me is the stock but my brother assures me it's no big deal (for him anyway). I'll have to check with ERA to see what the wait time is on a kit, if any. Then there's the problem of getting time together with my brother only when our schedules would allow. With the MVTC musket I would be able to use it right away and make the changes slowly and at my own pace.
I'm just toying with ideas at this point.
Jon

 

[oreclan]

Actually it wouldn't be that difficult ;except for the side plate replacement. The sideplate will be inlet and you would have to fill in the hole with a wood inlay(don't use pastic wood filler)or find a sideplate that is larger than the original one.
I have a New England doglock fowler from MVTC and I slimmed down the lock and wrist area and added beavertails as per the original Cookson fowler from which it was copied.
Colonial gunsmiths restocked used parts from varied sources all the time ,even mixing French and English pieces. Just make sure to start with early style parts so that it fits the time period you want. Get a copy of Flintlock Fowlers The First Guns Made in America by Tom Grinslade as a reference.
I also have an original musket of British long land (buttplate, 1753 lock)and short land pattern (trigger guard, ramrod pipes)with a triangular sideplate pieces all mounted on a dark stock that has a very low chair rail (cheek rest) butt to illustrate the point.
Ron

 

[Wes/Tex]

You also need to remember that any gun for the Continental Army and the militias of the various colonies required the gun to have a bayonet fitted, iron ramrods and Massachusetts even required "a hundred of buckshot". Not a stickler if you're not in re-enactment but all guns would have been fitted for such.

 

[jj-22]

In searching around a bit more, I found Jim Chambers. It looks like his New England Fowler/Militia Musket "kit" would be just what I'm looking for. It's $85 more than the ERA version but the stock looks to be more than just "rough shaped". The stock carving is the part that scares me.
I guess the MVTC idea was kind of nutty.

 

[patriot]

Not trying to put down a Jim Chambers kit. Their reputation and quality is second to none. After reading your response, I went to the Chambers site. An $85 dollar difference had me interested. There is a BIG price difference between a Chambers kit and a ERA kit. ERA kit for the militia musket is $500 compared to the Chambers at $835. An ERA "in the white" sells for $775. To my understanding, there is a big difference between a "kit" and "in the white". All parts are installed on an "in the white" and only final sanding and staining are needed. I opted for a finised ERA Militia Musket because you can barely buy the necessary materials to finish an in the white kit for $100 (if it's your first attempt). Correct me if I'm wrong, but a Chambers kit requires more than average skill to produce a finely finished piece. Again, I am not trying to persuade you in any direction nor am I trying to insult anyone's ability or intelligence. I seriously thought about a Chambers kit, but it is surely an expensive first attempt.
Good luck in whatever way you choose to go. Keep us posted as to the final results.

Patriot

 

[Rick Davis]

I was at the recent NRA Convention in St.Louis this year and stopped by the DGW booth. They had on display the Pedersoli 1766 Charleville. I handled the gun and it looked well made considering a production gun. JFYI.

I *have* one and I can tell you is -is- well made. I also have a 1980s era Pedersoli Brown Bess still going strong, too. Neither have ever required service, except for the frizzen re-hardened on the BB. Hundreds of kids have handled it, and struck the frizzen.

 

[jj-22]

Not trying to put down a Jim Chambers kit. Their reputation and quality is second to none. After reading your response, I went to the Chambers site. An $85 dollar difference had me interested. There is a BIG price difference between a Chambers kit and a ERA kit. ERA kit for the militia musket is $500 compared to the Chambers at $835. An ERA "in the white" sells for $775. To my understanding, there is a big difference between a "kit" and "in the white". All parts are installed on an "in the white" and only final sanding and staining are needed. I opted for a finised ERA Militia Musket because you can barely buy the necessary materials to finish an in the white kit for $100 (if it's your first attempt). Correct me if I'm wrong, but a Chambers kit requires more than average skill to produce a finely finished piece. Again, I am not trying to persuade you in any direction nor am I trying to insult anyone's ability or intelligence. I seriously thought about a Chambers kit, but it is surely an expensive first attempt.
Good luck in whatever way you choose to go. Keep us posted as to the final results.

Patriot

I get an "F" in reading comprehension! I didn't realize that the barrel was above and beyond the kit price in the Chambers kits. :shocked2:
That fact makes the ERA kit much more attractive. I'd go for an in the white package but I don't want to wait a year for it either.
I believe a call to ERA is in order.