French 1717 & 1728 Muskets?

[tree]

I've noticed that both 1717 and 1728 French muskets
are offered by either loyalist Arms or Middlesex
Village. As shooters how are these? Are the locks
reliable? I've shot up to 42 inch barrels--do the
extra few inches on these make them awkward to load
or aim? Thans for any input.

 

[Henry]

The locks are definitely reliable , if anything
the main spring is very strong .

As for the barrel , it is probably better than
an original from the XVIII th cent , but certainly
not as good as one made in the US
on state of the art equipment .

The quality control in India is quite different
than in America to say the least . Some guns are
much better than others .

As an exemple , it is important to take mesurements before drilling the flashole , since
there is a lot of variation in breechplug lenght .

 

[Wes/Tex]

Early on, there were also some problems with the breech plug fit but they seem to have corrected this of late. The really knock I'd have is the rather "clunky" appearance of some of these guns. My first project would be to strip the finish and do some scraping and filing.

 

[musketman]

do the
extra few inches on these make them awkward to load
or aim?

Longer barrels are helpful with older (less keen) eyes, the longer sight picture maker it easier to focus on the front blade...

I have found no issues loading longer barrels as compared to the shorter ones, and I'm not that tall, only 5' 7" in height... :redface: :haha:

 

[Cpl.Parker]

My buddy had one of the 1728s and it was very heavy, almost to heavy for comfort. The frizzen spring was too powerful and it interfered with ignition.

P

 

[jelder24]

I have examined several of Middlesex's firelocks and was impressed with the quality for the price. Their pistols and the cookson fowler are quite nice. That and the fact that they stand behind their product. They are good people.

 

[David Teague]

One of the members of my Jacobite / Scottish Living History group has the MH 1728 French Musket. It just happens to be sitting downstairs tonight as he let me borrow it for an event that he could not make and I needed to equip a few of the newer Jacobite troops for this event.

I would say it is not too heavy, what I would say is the looooonnnnngggg barrel combined with the sharp drop in the stock makes it seem so as the butplate is not curved to mate with the shoulder. If you pull in in it hangs well, if you just lift it up... well :shake:

I'd go for the 1717 from MVTC as they stock parts,
and Pete stands behind his guns. MH does not stock parts, the musket my friend got had a bad frizzen and MH had to strip a musket in stock to fix his... :shake:

MVTC is set up with a bayonet, sling and a flash guard for the stock price, and they take credit cards... unlike Loyalist Arms...

Cheers,

DT