Hi, im new to all this black powder stuff.The question i have is..... i bought a brown bess, pistol today, and im not sure who makes it.The box says replica antique pistol, and on the barrel it say japan,69 cal.Anyone have an idea, about this gun??? Thanks
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New guy here! I have a question
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I haven't found any pistols called Brown Bess in my old catalogs. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it just means I haven't found anything yet.
The term Brown Bess is usually assoicated with the British Smooth Bore Musket which was used in the Revolutionary War.
The pistols which were used at the same time are sometimes called Tower or Dragoon Pistols. I haven't heard of them being called Brown Bess pistols.
This doesn't mean your gun is not a "Brown Bess Pistol". Many of the importers of black powder guns have been very creative over the years when it comes to the guns name.
Is there anything at all marked on the gun or box besides the caliber and Made in Japan? Little symbols? Dates?
Any information at all would be helpful.
A company called Miroku in Japan has made some nice muzzleloading guns, but without knowing that they made your gun, it is difficult to know if it is a real gun or a decorator which was never meant to be fired.
The term Brown Bess is usually assoicated with the British Smooth Bore Musket which was used in the Revolutionary War.
The pistols which were used at the same time are sometimes called Tower or Dragoon Pistols. I haven't heard of them being called Brown Bess pistols.
This doesn't mean your gun is not a "Brown Bess Pistol". Many of the importers of black powder guns have been very creative over the years when it comes to the guns name.
Is there anything at all marked on the gun or box besides the caliber and Made in Japan? Little symbols? Dates?
Any information at all would be helpful.
A company called Miroku in Japan has made some nice muzzleloading guns, but without knowing that they made your gun, it is difficult to know if it is a real gun or a decorator which was never meant to be fired.
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Nightwind is being have fun, uhm,,haha,,how's that nightwind? good enough? heehehee,,haha
keep checking in,,folks are looking
IBM?? Were there any blue chips in the box? ::
Sorry, I couldn't find anything dealing with handguns and IBM in the same breath.
This isn't too uncommon though. In the last 30+ years I've been messing with muzzleloaders, there have been hundreds of places which imported muzzleloaders. Most of them are gone now with CVA, Traditions and Lyman being about all that's left.
If you intend to shoot your pistol, I would recommend taking it to a good local gunsmith for his opnion. :front:
Sorry, I couldn't find anything dealing with handguns and IBM in the same breath.
This isn't too uncommon though. In the last 30+ years I've been messing with muzzleloaders, there have been hundreds of places which imported muzzleloaders. Most of them are gone now with CVA, Traditions and Lyman being about all that's left.
If you intend to shoot your pistol, I would recommend taking it to a good local gunsmith for his opnion. :front:
arcticap
54 Cal.
Krowbar, In the process of doing a little research for you about this particular pistol by poking around some web search pages, I came up with a couple interesting tidbits.
One is that the Japanese have a very serious tradition of world championship competition shooting of black powder firearms and are very dedicated to it. That would indicate the possibility that your pistol could be a shooter, and I stress the word "could".
On the other hand, I came across this ad for a pair of replica Tower pistols that clearly indicate that they are non firing replicas, which your pistol "could" be as well.
Here is a copy & paste of the description:
------------------------------------------------------------
533 - PAIR OF TOWER TYPE PISTOLS
A pair of non firing Japanese replicas of the Tower pistol. 9" Blued barrel, the locks marked Crown GR. Brass furniture with good woodwork complete with ramrods. Working examples but non firing. V.G.C.
------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the copy & paste of the URL from the seach page that contains this ad, scroll down on the left once there (page 21) to 533, "home" is at the bottom:
Page Twenty One [New Window]
A pair of non firing Japanese replicas of the Tower pistol. ... 27" Barrel, ordnance & maker marked. Metal has most original blue, excellent original ...
http://www.guns.co.nz/auction.p21.html
Maybe you can ask this seller additional identification questions if the description of your pistol is a close enough match to these replicas to warrant concern, although they are in New Zealand. I can only add that whenever I search the German black powder gun auctions, there are frequently replica flintlock pistols listed, and replica over there seems to usually indicate "non firing" or "display". I wish I could tell you more but you have the pistol and my search was limited.
eace:
One is that the Japanese have a very serious tradition of world championship competition shooting of black powder firearms and are very dedicated to it. That would indicate the possibility that your pistol could be a shooter, and I stress the word "could".
On the other hand, I came across this ad for a pair of replica Tower pistols that clearly indicate that they are non firing replicas, which your pistol "could" be as well.
Here is a copy & paste of the description:
------------------------------------------------------------
533 - PAIR OF TOWER TYPE PISTOLS
A pair of non firing Japanese replicas of the Tower pistol. 9" Blued barrel, the locks marked Crown GR. Brass furniture with good woodwork complete with ramrods. Working examples but non firing. V.G.C.
------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the copy & paste of the URL from the seach page that contains this ad, scroll down on the left once there (page 21) to 533, "home" is at the bottom:
Page Twenty One [New Window]
A pair of non firing Japanese replicas of the Tower pistol. ... 27" Barrel, ordnance & maker marked. Metal has most original blue, excellent original ...
http://www.guns.co.nz/auction.p21.html
Maybe you can ask this seller additional identification questions if the description of your pistol is a close enough match to these replicas to warrant concern, although they are in New Zealand. I can only add that whenever I search the German black powder gun auctions, there are frequently replica flintlock pistols listed, and replica over there seems to usually indicate "non firing" or "display". I wish I could tell you more but you have the pistol and my search was limited.
eace:
Choctaw
40 Cal.
Could you post some pictures of your mystery piece?
OK, I've been erasing this bit of thought from my last two posts but here goes:
Your pistol would use .680 (or smaller) dia balls patched with a thin cloth patch. It should be cotton and not more than .010 thick.
In the Dixie Gunworks Catalog, the only thing they offer is a .600 or a .680 dia ball. Speer and Hornedy doesn't list anything above a .570 dia ball.
Because your gun is a flintlock, it will need Real Black Powder, both in the pan for the sparks to ignite, and in the barrel for the main charge. The new imitation black powders like Pyrodex or 777 will not work well (if at all).
Dixie Gunworks lists the powder charge at 35 grains of FFFg but the FFg would work fine and produce slightly lower chamber pressures.
Because your gun is a unknown, I would suggest something more in the 20-25 grain load for the first shots.
The fact that your gun has a touch hole in the side of the barrel is a good sign. Most decorators do not have this.
Find a magnet and test the barrel and the breech plug at the back of the barrel to see if they are magnetic. If the breech plug isn't obvious, the tang which projects from the back of the barrel is a part of it. Test it too. If they are magnetic, this is great.
The Cock (now called a hammer) needs to have a flint in it, and the flint should be sharp. If your gun has this, great. If not, you will have to buy one. It should be about as wide as the frizzen (the L shaped movable thing the flint will hit to make the sparks). The flint should be held in the Cocks jaws with a piece of leather wrapped around the top, the back, and the bottom of it to protect if from the jaws.
If you have this, bring the cock to "full cock", close the frizzen so it covers the pan and pull the trigger. (note: aim the gun at something which you don't care about. Even though you know it's unloaded, never take a chanch that it might fire.)
If the flint produces a bunch of sparks while it knocks the frizzen open, you have a working gun.
Let us know what you find.
Your pistol would use .680 (or smaller) dia balls patched with a thin cloth patch. It should be cotton and not more than .010 thick.
In the Dixie Gunworks Catalog, the only thing they offer is a .600 or a .680 dia ball. Speer and Hornedy doesn't list anything above a .570 dia ball.
Because your gun is a flintlock, it will need Real Black Powder, both in the pan for the sparks to ignite, and in the barrel for the main charge. The new imitation black powders like Pyrodex or 777 will not work well (if at all).
Dixie Gunworks lists the powder charge at 35 grains of FFFg but the FFg would work fine and produce slightly lower chamber pressures.
Because your gun is a unknown, I would suggest something more in the 20-25 grain load for the first shots.
The fact that your gun has a touch hole in the side of the barrel is a good sign. Most decorators do not have this.
Find a magnet and test the barrel and the breech plug at the back of the barrel to see if they are magnetic. If the breech plug isn't obvious, the tang which projects from the back of the barrel is a part of it. Test it too. If they are magnetic, this is great.
The Cock (now called a hammer) needs to have a flint in it, and the flint should be sharp. If your gun has this, great. If not, you will have to buy one. It should be about as wide as the frizzen (the L shaped movable thing the flint will hit to make the sparks). The flint should be held in the Cocks jaws with a piece of leather wrapped around the top, the back, and the bottom of it to protect if from the jaws.
If you have this, bring the cock to "full cock", close the frizzen so it covers the pan and pull the trigger. (note: aim the gun at something which you don't care about. Even though you know it's unloaded, never take a chanch that it might fire.)
If the flint produces a bunch of sparks while it knocks the frizzen open, you have a working gun.
Let us know what you find.
