Japanese Brown Bess Questions

[Mickc01]

Hi all. Please forgive me if this should have gone in the smoothbore forum but since this seems to be the places for flinters I though I’d post it here.

I have a Japanese Brown Bess that I bought way back in 1976 (saved the pennies from one of my first jobs) and am very sentimentally attached to the old smoke pole. But all the talk about exploding Indian made barrels frankly has me spooked.

Over the years, I have had nothing but great service out of my Bess, shooting both RB and shot. I know the lock engraving isn’t first rate but long ago I reworked and refinished the stock, added sling swivels, and think overall it looks pretty darn good.

I’ve been out of the hobby for a while but over the past year have been getting back in, and my Bess has been closeted for quite a while but I want to shoot it badly. So here are my questions”¦..What is you all’s opinion of the Jap Besses? And are they safe? Plus any other comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[paulvallandigham]

The ones I saw being shot 20 years ago were okay. I would use a cleaning patch with alcohol to clean out that barrel, of any dried oils, since you say its been sitting in a closet for some time. Then do an assessment of the bore by "Feel " for pits, and rust spots. You may need to polish the bore. I only a very rare case are you likely to have a barrel is such bad condition that its now dangerous to shoot. If you have doubts, PAY a competent gunsmith to disassemble the barrel and do a full inspection. Some of the bigger shops have a bore scope that can be hooked to a computer monitor, so that the can leave the breechplug in the barrel, yet still inspect all the walls of the bore for rust, pits, cracks, etc. They will, and should, charge you more money to use that very expensive piece of equipment to inspect your barrel.

My first " Look-see" is to remove the lockplate, and examine the backside of the action. That generally gives me an idea of the level of Neglect the gun has sustained since it was last cleaned and oiled. If there are pits showing on the back side of the plate, and obvious rust, I expect to find them inside the barrel, too. I am rarely disappointed, I am sorry to say.

 

[Swampman]

They are the best of the mass produced Short Land Pattern Muskets. They were made by Miroku in Japan, who makes Browning among other brands. There's nothing wrong with the engraving. Clean it, and shoot it. If it's been well taken care of, 90 grains of 3F under a .715 patched ball is the load I always used in all my Brown Bess muskets. Barrel pits are rarely an issue unless they are really deep. Here's mine

 

[mckutzy]

i manage 10 in my regiment, and they have all given great service over the years. were are now getting them restocked, after the years they have seen some long hard use, but the locks are going good still which is a good thing.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[Mickc01]

Thanks guys for the great comments. There seems to be little or no pitting and it gives a great shower of sparks nearly every time. Might just take her out this weekend....Mick