More Brown Bess Questions

[shaman]

As I wrote earlier, the .75 mold I got for the Bess didn't work out. Instead of throwing balls at .735, it throws them at .76.

That leaves me with a Lee .69 mold that is spot on. However. . .

I get the whole thing with paper cartridges, but is there a patch material you'd recommend for filling that large gap (.69 to .75). Cotton flannel maybe? I've got everything for making cartridges, but I'd also like to try patchin.

Second question:

Lee is still not accepting orders for custom molds and everywhere I look the larger molds are all on backorder/unavailable. Is there a source of .7-something molds out there suitable for the 'Bess?

 

[DeeTV]

Just curious...could you give any info on the mold that is throwing oversize? Manufacturer or Dixie item number?

 

[DeeTV]

This company has been recommended on other threads. They are overseas but may be worth looking into.
https://www.ballmoulds.com/

 

[Artificer]

As I wrote earlier, the .75 mold I got for the Bess didn't work out. Instead of throwing balls at .735, it throws them at .76.

That leaves me with a Lee .69 mold that is spot on. However. . .

I get the whole thing with paper cartridges, but is there a patch material you'd recommend for filling that large gap (.69 to .75). Cotton flannel maybe? I've got everything for making cartridges, but I'd also like to try patchin.

Second question:

Lee is still not accepting orders for custom molds and everywhere I look the larger molds are all on backorder/unavailable. Is there a source of .7-something molds out there suitable for the 'Bess?

First of all and if you don't have them, I cannot more strongly suggest you get a good pair of calipers that read to .001" accuracy. This is a whole lot easier to do today because fairly good and inexpensive digital calipers are available.

Next, you need to take an accurate measurement of the bore size at the muzzle with those calipers to determine exactly what bore size you have.

Next, take your calipers with you to a fabric store and ask to see the linen that is closely woven and fairly thick. Measure different fabrics to see what sizes they are. Yes, you might get strange looks the first couple of times, but who cares? This is how you get the patching material that may/will work best in your gun. BTW, you MUST wash the material you buy a couple of times to get the sizing out of it.

In my .753" bore diameter Bess, I found the most accurate load was with the .735" ball and .018" pillow ticking with lube. I had to use a short starter. I normally could load 5 or 6 shots before swabbing the bore with that load, but if you live in an extremely humid area, you may have to clean a little after two or three shots.

However, Spence wrote about using a shot card over the powder, then a lubricated wad and then a thinner linen patch and reported excellent accuracy. If you use cards and wads, they have to be 11 Gage ONLY for the Pedersoli Bess. You can get that size from Track of the Wolf.

Gus

 

[FlinterNick]

The best overall size ball for a .75 pedersoli bess is a .715 ball, its a shade tighter than a .69 and manages fouling well.
In a .77 colerain or a .79 rayl barrel the the .735 ball is what i use.

 

[Artificer]

The best overall size ball for a .75 pedersoli bess is a .715 ball, its a shade tighter than a .69 and manages fouling well.
In a .77 colerain or a .79 rayl barrel the the .735 ball is what i use.

With respect, I found that size is too small for the best accuracy.

Gus

 

[TreeMan]

This company has been recommended on other threads. They are overseas but may be worth looking into.
https://www.ballmoulds.com/

I too have a Pedersoli Bess. I second your recommendation to get a mold from those guys. Mine is a 735 and works perfect in my Bess either bare ball or with a thin patch. Throws a real .735. Came from England from ballmolds.com in about seven days. Uses Lee handles.

 

[FlinterNick]

With respect, I found that size is too small for the best accuracy.

Gus

i find it perfect for both range and deer and hog.

i use a heavier paper cartridge made from parchment and coated in wax with 100 1f, I can get 15-20 good targeted shots without a swab. 4 out of 10 on the mark.

if youre looking for a single dead center shot of course that would be only Be achieved with a patched round ball not saying I don’t do that but I don’t do it often at the range.

personally they key to an accurate shot in my opinion is the powder volume, not so much the size of the ball. Windage always takes over in smoothie.

 

[FlinterNick]

I too have a Pedersoli Bess. I second your recommendation to get a mold from those guys. Mine is a 735 and works perfect in my Bess either bare ball or with a thin patch. Throws a real .735. Came from England from ballmolds.com in about seven days. Uses Lee handles.

i use tanner moulds, just got a .625 from him

 

[FlinterNick]

As I wrote earlier, the .75 mold I got for the Bess didn't work out. Instead of throwing balls at .735, it throws them at .76.

That leaves me with a Lee .69 mold that is spot on. However. . .

I get the whole thing with paper cartridges, but is there a patch material you'd recommend for filling that large gap (.69 to .75). Cotton flannel maybe? I've got everything for making cartridges, but I'd also like to try patchin.

Second question:

Lee is still not accepting orders for custom molds and everywhere I look the larger molds are all on backorder/unavailable. Is there a source of .7-something molds out there suitable for the 'Bess?

i use waxed hemp cloth,. 15 i punch my own

 

[Grenadier1758]

@Artificer is spot on with respect to ball size and the need for a set of calipers. Inexpensive calipers can be bought at Harbor Freight or Midway USA for about $20. I get the same readings with my Harbor Freight digital Vernier calipers as my classic analog Mitutoyo Vernier calipers. Patch thickness id about 0.002 to 0.003" thicker than my Starrett micrometers. I would use the 0.025" 100% cotton canvas as patching for the 0.690 ball. With any lubricant, that loading will fit loosely but hold in place.

The Tanner molds from England are a good value but they don't come with sprue cutters. A diagonal wire cutter will remove the sprue well enough for use in a smooth bored gun.

The 0.735" wrapped in a wad of tow is another method of loading a ball in the King's Musket. Tow can be made from strands of natural twine such as jute, hemp, manila or sisal instead of the waste byproduct from making linen thread from flax.

I do use paper wrapped cartridges using a 0.715" ball in my 0.770" bored (Loyalist Arms) King's Musket. After a couple of shots, the fouling has built up enough that if I spit on the paper wrapped ball. the fouling stays soft and accuracy is acceptable for my purposes.

 

[FlinterNick]

I agree with Gus, a set of calipers is kind of a must have in the BP shooting world. Don’t go crazy on them, some can go as high as 200$ for engineers.

 

[FlinterNick]

People can give you what they consider premium advice on shooting the Brown Bess, but what it really comes down to is what you’re comfortable shooting and what you enjoy personally.

You really have to test out what style you like using, paper cartridge vs. patched round ball, heavy powder volume or light, powder quality 1F - 3F.

I found for myself I really enjoy using paper cartridges in-spite of their drawbacks.

 

[Artificer]

I used 70 grains of FFFg for my accuracy and hunting load. I tried going up 5 grains at a time from there until I hit 95 grains and stopped, because as the charge increased, the group size just got bigger and bigger. My Pedersoli didn't like Fg or FFg, though some folks report good accuracy with either.

Gus

 

[Artificer]

Bottom line, one has to experiment with ball size, patch type and thickness and powder charge to find out what shoots best in their individual Pedersoli Bess.

Gus

 

[FlinterNick]

I used 70 grains of FFFg for my accuracy and hunting load. I tried going up 5 grains at a time from there until I hit 95 grains and stopped, because as the charge increased, the group size just got bigger and bigger. My Pedersoli didn't like Fg or FFg, though some folks report good accuracy with either.

Gus

IF seems to work really well with paper, not so much a patch. I think it has something to do with the breech of the bess being so large, and the 1F packs pretty well and the 2F with paper tends to become more contaminated over time and rounds foul out faster

 

[FlinterNick]

I forget, its been a long time since I’ve had one, but a Miroku bess with a patched round ball in .69 was like a sniper rifle at the range. I think it was because the bores with slightly smaller then a pedersoli.

 

[Artificer]

I was EXTREMELY fortunate to have had an older Mentor on shooting Flint Muskets in the mid to late 1970's.

FlinterNick is going to love this. My Mentor shot a NA Charleville and was a better shot than I in those days.

He could hit a milk jug at 100 yards standing at least 9 out of 10 times with his Charley. The best I could do was 8 or 9 times out of 10 with my Pedersoli Brown Bess Carbine.

Still, I found regular going up against someone who was/is a better shot, challenged me to improve my shooting.

Gus

 

[Musketeer]

#8 (18oz) cotton duck averages around .038". You might buy a yard and experiment with it. edit: btw, have you measured your Bess's bore yet? There is some variation. Many seem to run in the .750-.753" range, while mine (2016 manufacture) mics out at .746". There was a review several years ago on a Brit gun site of a Pedersoli Bess and their sample mic'd out at .747".

 

[FlinterNick]

I was EXTREMELY fortunate to have had an older Mentor on shooting Flint Muskets in the mid to late 1970's.

FlinterNick is going to love this. My Mentor shot a NA Charleville and was a better shot than I in those days.

He could hit a milk jug at 100 yards standing at least 9 out of 10 times with his Charley. The best I could do was 8 or 9 times out of 10 with my Pedersoli Brown Bess Carbine.

Still, I found regular going up against someone who was/is a better shot, challenged me to improve my shooting.

Gus

awesome story gus ! My navy arms charleville is the most accurate Military smoothie Ive used thus far. I could only imagine how much more BBC accuraye it could be rifled like an 1840 flinter.