If one buys a new Indian made musket and then has to pay a qualified gunsmith to do such work as needed to make it a reliable and decent shooter their total investment would probably exceed the cost of a good used Pedersoli. I almost wrote "new Pedersoli" but then remembered Pedersoli muskets cost a lot more than my Blue Ridge rifle. :haha: But if one is a capable "tinkerer", willing and able to do some simple work for themselves, then they may be worth the price.
My only Indian gun is a 12 gauge percussion single I got from MVTC. They had obtained a small quantity of those which just didn't sell, so he put them on Gunbroker at half price. It was $250 IIRC, and at that price I thought I'd take a chance.
I replaced the musket size nipple with an AMPCO nipple for #11 caps after examining the threads and finding them OK.
I pulled the breechplug and found both male and female threads OK although the plug did not bottom out in the threads, there was an extra female thread or two. This didn't worry me as I have seen lots of similar pug fits and they seem safe enough, though I do see where corrosion could collect over time.
I found the bore had a double taper, smallest in the middle and tapering larger toward both ends.
I used a common adjustable reamer fitted into a piece of steel tube and turned with a Crescent wrench. I adjusted the reamer to just lightly cut the tightest portion, then withdrew it and enlarged it by about 1/8 turn of the adjusting nuts and reamed the tight section a bit more. Using lots of cutting oil I repeated that process until the reamer was cutting evenly all the way from the breech to within two inches from the muzzle. I stopped there to leave a bit of choke. I then cast a lead slug in the barrel on the end of a rod. I coated the slug with lapping compound and turned it with my cordless hand drill, continually working it in and out the length of the bore. After just a few minutes I pulled the lapping slug, cleaned the bore and was surprised to find a mirror polish.
The only work I did on the percussion lock was to make a new sear spring which would not support a truck. I now have a 6 1/4 pound percussion shotgun which will smoke clay birds like a trap gun for my $250 investment. I'm not delighted with the blond mystery wood and plastic finish but I'm not so turned off as to bother refinishing it, maybe a winter project?
For me it was worth it, remember I got it for half price, for you?