Do I want a Pedersoli Bess?

[MSW]

ayup

 

[J.D.]

Depends. What do you plan to do with it? If you only want something for target shooting or hunting, IMHO, there are better choices, for the money.

I have a 20 year old Ped bess that I have done a lot of work to, and it is a sure fire shooter and a heavy thumper, however, the stock is so straight that many people have a difficult time shooting them well. IMHO,that straight stock is the reason many in the reenacting community feel that bess' are inherently inaccurate.

I recently handled a new Ped bess at a local Cabelas, and it wasn't the gun my old one is.
IMHO, the fit and finish just weren't there.

If you want something comfortable to shoot, I suggest an English fowler. English fowlers have more drop, so you don't have to scrunch down on the stock to sight down the barrel. They are also available in smaller gauges. IMHO, a 16, or 14 ga will do anything that an 11 ga will do, and with less powder and lead.

IMHO, you can get a gun with much higher quality lock and better fit and finish from an American maker. In addition, buying something from an American maker will keep your $1000 here in the States, stimulating our own economy, instead of sending it overseas. A TVM, Early Rustic, or something from Tip Curtis might fill the bill.

I suggest asking for a Chambers or Davis lock from what ever maker you choose.

good luck, and God bless,
J.D.

 

[PRM]

I bought a Pedersoli Bess Carbine off of Gun Broker about 2 years ago. Gave $825 for it at the time (NIB). It had a beautifully grained (stripped) stock. Its fit and finish is on par with custom guns I have owned. The gun shoots great and has done what I wanted it to do. I did brown the barrel with 15 coats of Plum Brown Finish applied with a cotton swab (metal heated with propane torch). It turned out with a classic deep burgundy finish. Personally, I would not have even considered a cheaper made version. Over a life time of owning a gun - cost becomes negligible, especially if you are only talking a few hundred bucks. My experience with flintlocks is that you get what you pay for. Buy a cheap firelock and you will never be satisfied. A quality lock and good English flints goes a long way to having a great day on the range or in the field hunting.

There is a Pedersoli Brown Bess Trade Gun Kit on Gun Broker right now. Current bid is $675.00

Auction # 119222535

 

[user 13289]

Personally, I'd call Tip Curtis. I'm sure he has an in-the-white, shaped kit, and/or complete one in the rack. not imported-which means something to me. :thumbsup:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Tip Sells an in-the-white Bess? that could be a good way to go indeed.

 

[user 13289]

Tip Sells an in-the-white Bess? that could be a good way to go indeed.

He claims "over 130 patterns to choose from", I'll bet there's a Bess or two in that group. :thumbsup:

 

[mikee51848]

Pedersoli Bess is a fine gun to own and shoot. But any idiot can make mistakes, and any gun can fail as a result. Here's a picture of a Pedersoli that I got from another board I belong to:
http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/Revlist/photos/view/4326b=9

 

[bebloomster]

Go with a Pedersoli Bess and you will never regret it.

 

[BlackNet]

Bess? Yes please!

 

[mike alexandre]

The Pedersoli Bess is a good gun, if you want it for re enactment and its not a bad shooter either. If you only want a shooter and are not bothered about the re enactment bit then have a look at NSW Officers Bess, its a stunner and an excellant shooter.

 

[stevekl]

... and some are selling the kits for $500 right now. :hmm:

:shocked2: like where?!

 

[smoothbore69]

Right now, Dixie Gun Works has the Pedersoli kits for $875 and finished guns for $950.
I have to concur with what appears to be the majority opinion on this thread- go with the Pedersoli reproduction if you want a Short Land "Bess".
I own two Pedersolis and have owned a couple others besides the two that I currently own. I bought one new back in November. I am planning on doing some work to it as I think that the stock needs to be thinned down and reshaped a bit to make it more like an original. I am also eventually going to buy the stamps from Track to make it more authentic as well. I do think it needs some work, but would rather begin with it than the India versions. As someone already said, the Pedersolis do have walnut stocks. Replacement parts such as tumblers, sears, and lock springs are readily available for Pedersolis from Dixie Gun Works.
One of the Pedersoli "Besses" that I own was one that was reworked by Kit Ravenshear some time ago. He re-engraved the lock so that the date is 1755 intead of the incorrect 1762. He also stamped the barrel and stock with correct proof, etc. as per originals and he relocated one of the rammrod pipes and upper sling swivel so as make the Short Land into a cut-down (barrel shortened) version of a Long land musket.
I do have to admit that I have not owned a India-made "Bess", but have owned other India-made repros. In my opinion, the finish of the stocks was not good, the engraving (and stamping) on the metal was not done well either.

Chris Quattlebaum

 

[Tommy Bruce]

I've had two pedersoli Besses. One sparked like a house of fire the other somewhat less. I have heard from other folks about the frizzen needing re-hardened. They are a solid, reliable gun but before I'd spend 1000.00 on a new one(I feel this is way to much)for about the same money I'd get a fowler from TVM, Tip Curtis or Early Rustic arms. If your stuck on a Bess look for a used one they come up from time to time on various blackpowder boards for 6-700.00.

 

[smoothbore69]

I have to agree with Tommy's advice.
I do think that he said that he had settled on buying a "Bess".
A person could find a good fowler, especially used, for less than the price of a new, finished "Bess" from Dixie. I have a nice club butt that I am considering selling and it would be much less than the price of a new "Bess".

 

[Captain outwater]

The Pedersoli are a better gun than the India-Pakistani guns sold by Loyalist or Middlesex. Middlesex has better customer service than Loyalist. Some of Middlesex's guns have some problems, but they are willing to make the corrections, if you get one with any.

 

[stevekl]

Well I ordered a Pedersoli kit after all. Thanks for all the advice and replies! this forum is great.

Does anyone know if the metal parts on the kit are polished or are sent as-cast?

 

[Rick Davis]

I know this is late, but here's a product review I did for this site: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/reviewpost/showproduct.php/product/3/cat/4

Very good quality, bought my Pedersoli Bess new in 1986 or 87. It was my first flintlock and I wasn't disappointed. It hasn't needed any service over the years except for a frizzen hardening. The bore is still shiny and the wood is still tight and smooth. I paid about $500 for it from Navy Arms, they had two left. In retrospect I should have bought both as the price shot up quickly. 21 years later, my musket's still chugging along.

In retrospect, it's an excellent starter gun for someone not familiar with flintlock. It's easy to clean, reliable sparker, very forgiving of most mistakes and simple to operate. I really regret not buying one when I was in my early teens, it would have been a lot of fun to shoot during summer vacation in the woods.

Pedersoli's quality is very good, but with their newer investment casting process they should have been able to keep their prices down. I must also admit Pedersoli's quality really spoiled me. Their inletting is top shelf, I assumed all black powder arms were built to this standard. I'm sure you can imagine my reaction when I pulled an Indian-made gun out of the box for the first time.

It's a musket, and like all muskets it behaves like a shotgun. Really destructive up close but strictly short range. It's a good sparker, but the frizzen went soft over the years at some point. It's been played with a lot by guests and kids who like seeing the lock spark. So I hardened it for the first time about a year ago.

Right now my musket's fighting the war against ignorance. It's part of a mobile historical exhibit that I take to local schools, and kids can touch a real musket for the first time. So, hopefully my Pedersoli is sowing the seeds for a future generation of gun enthusiasts.

In closing, don't hesitate to buy one used but make sure it's Pedersoli, *not* Navy Arms. Many people, including me, assumed the two are synonymous. They aren't, and it's an old seller's trick to list a musket as a "Navy Arms musket" with the hopes it'll draw lots of bids from inexperienced bidders assuming it's a Pedersoli. Navy Arms sold several different manufacturers over the years, and I ended up with a Japanese made musket while expecting a Pedersoli. This is important because Pedersoli continues to sell parts and support their products, the Japanese made guns are not. Parts supplies are serious problem with some Japanese-made guns. Fortunately it worked out okay in the end, but it could have easily been a serious mistake.

 

[stevekl]

It's still 200 miles and 2 days away! :cursing:

 

[JackAubrey]

I have a Pedersoli Bess I bought in 1994 and a Pedersoli Blue Ridge I bought in 1198 and both are well worth the price I paid.I highly recommend the Pedersolis.Best regards,J.A.

 

[tecum-tha]

As you`re in the US, there is no need for you to buy an imported replica. If you need the gun for reenacting, I would hesitate to use the short land pattern (unless you`ll do revolutionary war or later only). The fit and finish of the Pedersoli guns have gone down quite some in the last 15 years. I have that Pedersoli Hatfield I am reworking completely right now and I have been to a big German retailer lately, I took a close look at the new Hatfields. No comparison in fit and finish here. I would go handsdown with a TRS kit,even if it is much more expensive. But I spent money on production ML guns before which I don´t touch anymore since I have custom guns with much better fit and finish.
Another thing is with a Pedersoli, that you don`t know how the breech area of your gun looks to function like it should. On Roy Strohs site I have seen a nice Bess,too. I would call and ask him what parts he used and what price he paid for the parts.
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