Military heritage brown bess

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Bigcountry_350sbc said:
Good to know! I'll start small and see how well it performs. I can always step it up if need be
Click to expand...
I have five Military Heritage smoothbore long guns that I vented with a hand held power drill.
I did start small and increased as I used the gun. I used number drills .70 to start went up two more sizes.
My guns had a groove in the plug face and I was able to drill through centered on the pan. I did however remove the breech plugs on several to slightly improve the access to the main charge.
If your vent does not give a nice bright light
You can improve the groove depth slightly depending on your satisfaction with ignition.
LBL
 
Bigcountry_350sbc said:
Hey all!
I ordered a military heritage brown bess on tues 1-9-24. I received this auto email the day I ordered, it is now 9 a.m. on Thurs no shipment confirmation as of yet and the money has not been pulled from my account. I will keep ya'll updated with confirmations and ship time as I go through the process!
*edit* my assumption is it will ship next Thursday 1-18-24
Click to expand...
Hey Bigcountry_350sbc any too many others to quote/ reply to.
First let me say I have bought a Potzdam 1740 from Access Heritage that I'm very happy with.
Yes, you need to drill out the torch hole. Be careful. Things to consider.
They come punch marked for the hole, NOT IN THE CORRECT LOCATION! Mine and the ones I've drilled out for fellow compatriots were marked too low. Should be centered and even with top of pan.
While you can use a hand drill, a drill press is much better and remove the barrel from the stock. (There is actually a video of some country gentlemen (?) drilling these without even removing the lock!!!)
I use 5/64 drill. (These are military muskets not PA long rifles.)
All the muskets from AH I've drilled out all had this type breech plug, HOLLOW!
1705083529005.jpeg
1705083589275.jpeg

So you will drill through both. Also, see how rough the concave face is on this? I cleaned that up so I'd have smooth powder flow into the recess.
If you remove the breech plug, mark it first so it lines up properly when you reinstall it.
My compatriots and I have had good results with these. At least one (so far) has taken deer with his. Like all flint locks you have to figure out what they like. to get the most out of them. (Like a woman)
Congrats on your purchase and be careful with that firestick. Since this is your first, find someone locally that will go out and shoot with you the first time! TDY
 
The Damned Yankee said:
Hey Bigcountry_350sbc any too many others to quote/ reply to.
First let me say I have bought a Potzdam 1740 from Access Heritage that I'm very happy with.
Yes, you need to drill out the torch hole. Be careful. Things to consider.
They come punch marked for the hole, NOT IN THE CORRECT LOCATION! Mine and the ones I've drilled out for fellow compatriots were marked too low. Should be centered and even with top of pan.
While you can use a hand drill, a drill press is much better and remove the barrel from the stock. (There is actually a video of some country gentlemen (?) drilling these without even removing the lock!!!)
I use 5/64 drill. (These are military muskets not PA long rifles.)
All the muskets from AH I've drilled out all had this type breech plug, HOLLOW!
View attachment 284843 View attachment 284844
So you will drill through both. Also, see how rough the concave face is on this? I cleaned that up so I'd have smooth powder flow into the recess.
If you remove the breech plug, mark it first so it lines up properly when you reinstall it.
My compatriots and I have had good results with these. At least one (so far) has taken deer with his. Like all flint locks you have to figure out what they like. to get the most out of them. (Like a woman)
Congrats on your purchase and be careful with that firestick. Since this is your first, find someone locally that will go out and shoot with you the first time! TDY
Click to expand...
I appreciate the insight! I'll definitely clean up the breach plug face on mine
 
The punch mark they put for the touch hole is one of the most aggravating things to me, and one of the most important, which I completely failed to mention last night, as I was in a half-asleep stupor. It aggravates me, because new shooters may not know any better, and they all too often drill on that punch mark. It needs to be slightly above, as TDY said. Things like this just bother me, because probably 8 out of 10 times, someone out there is going to spend 600 to 800 clams or more on a musket and immediately drill on that punch mark.
 
Bigcountry_350sbc said:
I appreciate the insight! I'll definitely clean up the breach plug face on mine
Click to expand...
If you are going to pull the breech plug, scribe a mark on it and the barrel to line them up to where they were. Also, don't be surprised at all the gunk in there. These are not high quality pieces. But they are safe if treated properly. TDY
 
So, as I understand, it is acceptable to drill through the breech plug threads into that smaller recess on these guns? I suppose it is really not a factor if the hole is drilled correctly and of the right size.
 
Cannonman1 said:
So, as I understand, it is acceptable to drill through the breech plug threads into that smaller recess on these guns? I suppose it is really not a factor if the hole is drilled correctly and of the right size.
Click to expand...
On my 1733 French pistol I do have a recessed breech plug that I drilled through then removed the breech plug and notched it to allow good access to the main charge.
It really made for quick ignition.
 

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All of this is making me want a Bess, I've never had one. I don't care for the straight stock on the Charlie with its cut-out, thinking a Bess might be better for a good cheek-hold. But maybe I'm wrong, I've never even held a Bess. It's that, or a smooth-Baker. Pretty sure the Baker will win for my purposes, short and handy for hunting. But I do love the pictures of Bess....
 
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Jungle Dave said:
All of this is making me want a Bess, I've never had one. I don't care for the straight stock on the Charlie with its cut-out, thinking a Bess might be better for a good cheek-hold. But maybe I'm wrong, I've never even held a Bess. It's that, or a smooth-Baker. Pretty sure the Baker will win for my purposes, short and handy for hunting. But I do love the pictures of Bess....
Click to expand...
Besses are now contagious!! :eek:

ETA: Personally, got this one on the want/lust list:

Brown Bess Flintlock Carbine (Black Powder Muzzleloader)

besscarbine1.jpeg


Though I'd do the 11BangBang's strip & refinish routine on the stock to lighten the color. Wood dependent, may slim down the forearm. Was thinking about pulling the barrel off & browning it; not unlike some of the pix I've seen of the Harper's Ferry Muskets. Yeah, Besses are contagious.
 
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Jungle Dave said:
All of this is making me want a Bess, I've never had one. I don't care for the straight stock on the Charlie with its cut-out, thinking a Bess might be better for a good cheek-hold. But maybe I'm wrong, I've never even held a Bess. It's that, or a smooth-Baker. Pretty sure the Baker will win for my purposes, short and handy for hunting. But I do love the pictures of Bess....
Click to expand...
Try the 1728 French musket. It is a better gun in my opinion!!!
LBL
 

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