Navy Arms Brown Bess

[wolffeone]

I have a Navy Arms 2nd model Brown Bess that was manufactured in the mid-70's, I believe in Japan. Its been on my wall since then, never been fired. The lock says "Grice 1762". According to the Navy Arms catalog it is a limited edition, faithfully copied from an original, built for the bi-centennial. How true is this statement? Any info will be greatly appreciated.... Thanks

 

[PRM]

The early Dixie Gun Works Brown Bess was a Japanese made gun (I think the maker was Miroku) - same era as your gun. From some of the material I read, they also made some guns for Navy Arms. I had one, that I cut down to a short version. The gun was one of the best fowlers and all around flintlocks that I ever owned. I sold it a couple of years back and it did not take long before I was searching for another one. Settled for the Pedersoli Brown Bess Carbine. You got a great shooter - take it off the wall.

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

I have a Navy Arms 2nd model Brown Bess that was manufactured in the mid-70's, I believe in Japan. Its been on my wall since then, never been fired. The lock says "Grice 1762". According to the Navy Arms catalog it is a limited edition, faithfully copied from an original, built for the bi-centennial. How true is this statement? Any info will be greatly appreciated.... Thanks

The "Grice 1762" lockplate marking says it all. What you have is the Italian made version (Pedersoli) from Navy Arms. It is a good musket and will serve you well. The Japanese Brown Bess, also very good, has a "Tower" marked lock.

 

[PRM]

The "Grice 1762" lockplate marking says it all. What you have is the Italian made version (Pedersoli) from Navy Arms. It is a good musket and will serve you well. The Japanese Brown Bess, also very good, has a "Tower" marked lock.

Va.Manuf.06

You are correct - my old Dixie was marked Tower

 

[J.D.]

The "Grice 1762" lockplate marking says it all. What you have is the Italian made version (Pedersoli) from Navy Arms. It is a good musket and will serve you well.

IMHO, the old Pedersoli Bess' were higher quality than newer ones. The biggest drawback to the older Ped bess' is that the frizzens are lightly case hardened and will wear through the case relatively quickly. However, that is a minor problem that can be fixed rather inexpensively, once the case is worn through.

IMHO, 80-90 gr FFG black powder, a .0715 ball and .018 thick patch should get her shooting right smartly.

I would, however, scrub any remaining preservative out of the bore with a soft bristle bore brush and a good solvent prior to shooting. There may also be some rust in the bore. If so scrub it out with a generous application of light oil on a "green scrubbie" pad.

Have fun,
J.D.

 

[bebloomster]

I've no complaints at all about the Pedersoli Brown Bess.... I absolutely love mine. A .715 round ball with 80 to 90gr FFFg is reasonably comfortable and be right on target out to around 60 yards. Takes a while to get used to no rear sight but is well worth the effort.

 

[Many Klatch]

File a reference slot in the middle of the tang and one in the top of the bayonet lug. That will help on the horizontal hold. My Pedesoli Bess will cloverleaf at 25 yards and hit big gongs at 100 yards more often than not.

Many Klatch

 

[Coastey]

I also have a '70's era (1974) Brown Bess wall hanger. It was distributed by the "British American Bicentennial Group Ltd" and is supposed to be an exact replica of the short land muskets used by the Twenty-third Regiment of Foot, Royal Welch Fusiliers. It does come with loading and firing instructions. I just couldn't figure out who manufactured it. Since the lock does have "GRICE 1762" on it, can I assume it's a Pedersoli?

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

With the "Grice" lock, yes you can. I bought mine from Navy Arms as a kit in 1973 for $135. They were the only game in town at that time and with the Bicentennial coming up they sold them by the truckload - good shooters.

 

[Okwaho]

We bought our son one of those old Pedersoli Besses in 1986 for $269.00. He still has it although we finally had to replace the frizzen a couple of years ago.Kit Ravenshear changed it back to a Long Land Pattern several years ago and it's still in use.
Tom Patton

 

[Coastey]

Great!!! Now that I can assume my musket was made by Pedersoli, I'm going to take that Brown Bess off the wall and bring it to the range next time I shoot black powder.

 

[Many Klatch]

Be prepared for lots of curious bystanders. The Bess puts on quite a show. She also spits pretty bad. My Bess will burn people 15 feet to the right of me when I shoot. My Bess now has a pan cover, whatever you call them, to keep the blast confined.

Many Klatch

 

[bebloomster]

I had a flash guard on my Bess until I used it for the first time. It was one of those steel versions with the "GR" logo on it. Real easy to attach, just remove the frizzen screw, position the flash guard and replace the screw. Granted it keeps you from spraying anyone to your right, which is a good thing. The problem was that it directed a goodly portion of the flash downward... my white sling was quickly becoming black where it attaches to the triggerguard. I tried bending the guard inward to close the gap between it and the pan but after a shot or two it was bent back out again no doubt caused by the gas jet coming from the vent. These were full-on live rounds, not bunny fart "show and tell" blanks. 715 round ball with 85gr FFFg. For the time being I have no intention of putting that flash guard back on. Your experience may vary.

 

[thewho66]

Bunny fart loads :rotf: :haha: never heard that before.

 

[Many Klatch]

Yeah, I know what you mean, after I put my guard on I wound up setting my sling on fire. I had a linen sling made of multiple folded layers of linen sewn into a sling. I had used it for many years. One day at a match with Grizz I smelled smoke. Darned if the blast hadn't set my linen sling afire. I now have a leather sling.

If you are standing shoulder to shoulder with a regiment in volley fire even bunny fart loads would hurt.

Many Klatch