my new John Buck ECW Matchlock

[oldarmy]

Here is my new English Civil War matchlock.
All hand made, except for the barrel and the screws.
It's a 20 gauge and I can't wait to shoot it.
Need a shooting stick and period powder horn to go with it.
I had no idea it was going to be so LARGE :grin:

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[RickD]

Looking good..

 

[bingo1952]

Nice. Keep us posted on how it shoots. :thumbsup:

 

[Chuck Thom]

John Buck makes a great gun......I love mine....Chuck thom

 

[benvenuto]

lovely stuff! :thumbsup:

 

[nkvd]

Hello

To get an example like yours made,how
much would that cost?

Cheers,Rob

 

[oldarmy]

It was $799+ shipping.
I ordered it last year. Put it on hold for 6 months while my wife and I separated and then divorced.
John was great through the whole ordeal.
This one is just his basic.. low cost model.
I would recommend him, give him a call.
Decided to order a musket stick and period powder horn for it from him.
One of the nice things about these is there is no need for priming powder.
regards
Mike

 

[nkvd]

Thanks for the reply,not cheap but a lot less
for any Pedersoli I have bought in the past
but from what I gather,sounds like he will
work with you. Sorry to hear about the
divorce!

Rob

 

[oldarmy]

Thanks,
I still love her..my wife, well the matchlock also :grin:
She just wanted something else. :surrender: Once they decide to go, there isn't any thing you can do to stop them.
It was a "friendly" separation. Just a splitting of our assets, So I decided to go ahead and buy the weapon.
It's all handmade,here in the USA. Should have ordered the stand when I ordered the musket.
All guns are expensive these days.. However, I think the European imports should be coming down some with the falling euro. Might be the time to re-look at them.

 

[Teleoceras]

Oldarmy:

Nice Musket!

On the mention of priming powder, historically, Matchlocks did use fine power for priming. I know from practical experience that fine powder ignites much more easily than coarse powder when using slowmatch.

Good luck with your new baby!

Slowmatch Forever!
Teleoceras

 

[oldarmy]

Thanks for the information.
I will bring some 4ffff along.
Have some .60 RB that I made and plenty of shot.
What would be a good starting load?

 

[Teleoceras]

oldarmy:

Thanks for the information.
I will bring some 4ffff along.
Have some .60 RB that I made and plenty of shot.
What would be a good starting load?

With my .62, I started at 65g FFg and went up in 5 grain increments. What kind of slowmatch are you using? I use hemp which burns a little faster, but also hotter than cotton. I was lucky to have a nice stash of the stuff from an old macrame that my Mom did in the 70's.

I'm guessing that this is your first Matchlock? Good luck with her!

Slowmatch Forever!
Teleoceras

 

[oldarmy]

I built one with a RS lock, but it didn't come out well at all.
Took it apart and I am selling the lock, pan and barrel.
It came with a little hemp rope. I have a lot of 1/2" 100% cotton rope that I treated with potassium nitrate. That's what I will be using.
Is there a good source for Hemp rope?
Thanks for the starting load data.
Going to shoot it tomorrow. :grin:

 

[bioprof]

I was able to buy some hemp rope from the craft section of Walmart or you could grow your own (just kidding) . :grin:

Seriously though, ditch weed is pretty common around where I live on public areas, but you could get in trouble for harvesting it. "Yes officer, I was picking weed, but only for the fiber to make rope." :nono:

 

[oldarmy]

Thanks,
The whole hemp issue is just stupid.. It's not marijuana. We all know it,but try to convince the government of that. :surrender:
I shot it today, used the cotton rope that I had.
No problems whatever.
In fact, you get faster ignition with match then with flint. :hmm:
It was dead on at 30yrs with both RB and 1-1/4 oz bird shot. using 65 grains of 2ff and nulB prime.
I was scaring the metal plate at 100.. Not bad for the first time out and no rear sight.
Think I will keep her :grin:

 

[bioprof]

Congratulations. It sounds like your new matchlock works as well as it looks. They are fun to shoot.

The only problem that I've had is that I had trouble using mine when the wind was blowing 30-40 mph. It was blowing the primer out of the pan before I could get it ignited. I probably should have made the pan a little deeper when I made mine.

 

[arquebus]

In fact, you get faster ignition with match then with flint

Yes, that's been my experience as well. I should have my original Japanese matchlock ready for the range in a few weeks.

 

[rafterob]

The whole hemp issue is just stupid.. It's not marijuana. We all know it,but try to convince the government of that

We just need to elect a president that actually inhaled :rotf: Ahhh-"Ditchweed" brings me back to my youth in SoDak. The most I ever got out of smoking it was a headache. The fable is that Hobos threw their seeds out along the tracks to assure a future supply.I have come accross it in rail yards in the cities.

 

[ChrisPer]

Re fine priming powder, when in history did the major producers start corning powder and delivering it at screened sizes like the F system?

Reason I ask is that historically when matchlocks STARTED to be used it was serpentine powder, ie just a physical mixture of the ground ingredients, and fines would be just what came out of the barrel last, I think...

 

[bingo1952]

15th century IIRC. A little later for artillery. It took a while for casting techniques to be able to handle the additional power of corned powder.