Is the Brown Bess good for hunting? I will probably be getting a Miruko when I get a Bess as I do not have one. I am going to try to reenact with it, but it would be nice if I could hunt with it
After the first part of the question was answered with a "
yes", folks addressed the statement about reenacting with the 2nd Model Bess.
A ‘2nd ‘ model would be a might early for the F&I, late for War of 1812. milita might draw some guns from an armory and could have an older gun. A Canadian Milita man might have had a second model Bess in the war of 1812 but unlikely .
Something worth mentioning is when Louisbourg was captured in 1745 during "George's War", or the one before the French and Indian War, roughly FIFTEEN THOUSAND Charlevilles were part of the arsenal, and fell into British hands. These weapons would have been valuable for the colonial governments to issue or sell to their citizens, and it is likely that some of them were acquired for that use.
Well the Short-Land-Pattern Bess would be "right out" for anybody doing F&I, But..., since it was for many decades the only pattern available to reenactors, it's most often used by F&I reenactors. It's more probable that Canadians might have surplus SLP's than would Americans.
As far as Louisbourg, I'm not so certain the 15,000 muskets were captured in 1745 rather than 1758, or if they were "kept". If they were, they were the spoils of war for Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, since those colonies alone made up the vast bulk of the assaulting troops in 1745. With so many muskets in the hands of those colonials, it's a wonder those muskets were not heavily seen during the later, F&I war, so perhaps they did not fall into the hands of colonials in large numbers. The fortress was returned to the French in return for the British getting back Madras, India, so perhaps a large number of muskets simply stayed put? The 1758 assault and capture of the same fortress, was done by British regulars, and the military stores captured then, would be free for The Crown to vend.
As far as colonies acquiring muskets in the 18th century (of any type)..., it depends on the colony. British records show a lot of surplus Bess muskets being sold, as well as colonies procuring Dutch muskets, but not so much French muskets. The Pennsylvania Colony, with a government controlled by members of The Society of Friends ["Quakers"], had no militia law, and thus no legal requirement to own a musket or gun, and no colonial arsenal. Maryland, bordering South of Pennsylvania, had an arsenal of muskets in Annapolis from as early as the 17th century, for example, thus...showing the odd differences between colonial approaches to arming citizens.
So it's best to be specific as to one's persona and residence in the colonies before looking into a reenactment musket, as well as checking with your group if you already have a unit with which to participate.
As for hunting with a musket, from a .62 or .65 caliber artillery carbine up to a .80 caliber Fowler, if you can learn to accurately shoot it, it will take deer.
LD