large bore BROWN BESS

[toot]

I have a BROWN BESS flinter that has a red milk painted stock and is a chiefs special, even though it is not a TRADE GUN. it has a 75 caliber 8 groves and 8 lands refiled barrel that i use as a wall gun. 200 grs of 1FG. and either buck shot or a .735 patched round ball is what i fire in it. when you touch her off hang on!!

 

[steam1993]

200 grains sounds like to much powder.

 

[Rifleman1776]

200 grs of 1FG.

Oomigosh! :shocked2:
Wat are ye trying to kill? Yerself?
70-90 gr. will whoop the stuffings out of anything that walks this continent.

 

[nhmoose]

And still not a cannon.

 

[tenngun]

Whoop, will be a great elk gun. As long as you got a clear shot you won’t even have to leave your state to take your Colorado elk :wink:
What sort of sights did you put on it? I would think with that big ball you might have a rain bow but should keep velocity as well as any ball could way past 300 yards.

 

[Artificer]

200 grs of 1FG.

Oomigosh! :shocked2:
Wat are ye trying to kill? Yerself?
70-90 gr. will whoop the stuffings out of anything that walks this continent.

Something one should take care about is taking 18th century examples of British Powder Loads and using them with today's powders.

During the FIW, it seems 165 grains of Musket Powder (1f) was the common load in a cartridge, though of course some of the powder was used to prime the pan.

During the AWI, because of British Contractors cheating the British Military, British Powder of far lesser quality was usually sent and because of them needing far more powder than in the FIW, British Cartridge Powder charges ROSE to between 190 to 220 grains. HOWEVER, again this was mostly due to BAD POWDER.

In the early 19th century, advances by Congreve and others in making British Black Powder much better resulted in a REDUCTION in the British Powder Charge down close to modern quantity.

Bottom line, it seems 110 grains of 1F would/should be a modern maximum charge in the barrel of a Bess and like you, I have found 70-90 gr. to be quite sufficient.

Gus

 

[tenngun]

Is it a rifled bess barrel ? Or is it a beefed rifle barrel stuck in to a stock patterened on a bess but blown up to accept the bigger barrel?

 

[spudnut]

hotoSmile:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Well if it's .75 caliber, it's not a "large bore" Bess..., since the smoothbore ones are .75-.77. IF it's rifled, it's probably a small bore wall gun. :grin:

LD

 

[tenngun]

Such wall guns looked like a bess on steroids. Likewise that English style stock went on a diet to become a NWG.
While I’m sure a modern well made bess barel could be shallow rifled and stand a 200 grain charge I wouldn’t like to lay my cheek on the stock. So I was picturing in my mind a Browns barreled rifle set in a bess looking stock.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Such wall guns looked like a bess on steroids.

Squire Robin posted one of those recently.

 

[nit wit]

:thumbsup:
Nit Wit

 

[Grenadier1758]

My unit has a wall gun. It is a 4 gauge (4 ounce ball), smooth bored firearm patterned on the long land pattern musket. At 40 pounds of weight, it really looks like a brown bess on steroids. It has a yoke for firing from a gun mount and with the mounting provisions, it is considered a small long range musket or artillery piece.

Some of the long range muskets were rifled in the belief that accuracy could be improved. Like most muskets, they didn't have sights so the rifling would be superfluous.

Need to know size and weight to determine if you musket is a rifled long range musket or a painted and rifled land pattern musket.

 

[BrownBear]

Such wall guns looked like a bess on steroids.

How about this carriage gun or "amusette" at the St. Augustine fort in Florida. Bore is a little over 1" if I recall correctly:

 

[Louisk]

Looks like about the right size for a bear gun for your neck of the woods :grin:

 

[Feltwad]

My unit has a wall gun. It is a 4 gauge (4 ounce ball), smooth bored firearm patterned on the long land pattern musket. At 40 pounds of weight, it really looks like a brown bess on steroids. It has a yoke for firing from a gun mount and with the mounting provisions, it is considered a small long range musket or artillery piece.

Some of the long range muskets were rifled in the belief that accuracy could be improved. Like most muskets, they didn't have sights so the rifling would be superfluous.

Need to know size and weight to determine if you musket is a rifled long range musket or a painted and rifled land pattern musket.

Enclosed is a image of a 4 bore rifled rampart gun , this type was mainly used on ships for blasting out the rigging of the enemy .
Feltwad

 

[Rifleman1776]

Everybody needs one of those. I want one for my deck. :grin:

 

[Belleville]

 

[Tinhorn]

Yeah! Now That's a bloody proper firearm! Where do I get mine?
And BTW, do you folks think the 'Rampart Gun' type was the fore-runner of the Punt Guns used in waterfowl hunting on the East Coast? Modified stocks for punt boat use?