New to Me Pedersoli Brown Bess

[tracker17]

I've started to gather the "stuff" that I need for this flintlock.
I have plenty of cleaning gear for centerfire rifles & pistols, nothing for BP.

Can anyone recommend a range rod (for this 41 3/4 inch brl). The longest one that I have is for my Garands, and 12 guage.
Also, what size jag works well in this .75 cal?
The typical size I see around is .50 cal.

Is it easy enough to remove the lock for cleaning?
(yes, I've done searches here; tons of pages to wade through.....)

From what I've read, I plan to start with 0.715 ball with maybe 0.015 patches?

Thanks All!

 

[spudnut]

I just picked up an extra, cheap Hoppes cleaning rod setThat'll get you your reach.Seach online at dixie gun works or the Log Cabin shop or any good muzzleloader shop for a 75 cal jag that will fit on the rod you may want an addaptor for the ram rod too.Watch out with trying to use a bore brush as they can snap off down in the barrel.If you think you need a brush get a tornado brush from one of the shops,It won't break.
Taking the lock off couldnt be easier,Back both screws out a couple turns and tap on the heads lightly to unseat the lock ,then just take the screws out the rest of the way.
Been shooting the bess for many years, let any of us here know what you need.

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

What I like to do for cleaning my long barreled big bore muskets is to use a big diameter wood range rod. I get mine from Flintlocks Inc. The Eders pick out good wood and you can get the proper sized cleaning jag attached. This way you do not have to hunt around for your jag it is part of the rod. I like wood for the big bores
and brass for the smaller bores.
I used to have their card but I can't find it today! If you go to Friendship you can't miss them! A shotgun rod would probably work for this
perhaps 12 gague?
Welcome to the smoothbore forum! I'll bet most of your questions can be found by looking through the back pages of this forum. The Pedersoli Bess
shows up a lot!

:thumbsup:

 

[gjkershul]

Measure your muzzle. Mine was .749 15 years ago. My best load is 80gr. 3f. .735 ball, .010 or .015 patch. Write me back when you want to shoot cartridge.

 

[Swampman]

I've had several of them. I always used a .715 patched ball over 90 grains of 3F Goex. They are good shooters. I used 3F in the pan too.

 

[Tommy Bruce]

Track of the Wolf is another good place to find things. Aside from a range rod you can also get a tow worm to put on your ramrod. When I'm doing reenactments I use it wrapped with tow and it does a decent job of cleaning the barrel. The lock is easy to take off, just unscrew the lock bolts going into the side plate. I think you'll find the Bess dependable and well built. If you want to buy wads for shooting shot, look for 11 gauge stuff. Most of the stuff you'll need you'll probably end up ordering from someone like Track, or Dixie Gunworks or the Log Cabin Shop. Cabela's has some things too. I also use the same roundball load that Mark does but with 2f powder.

 

[Tommy Bruce]

Oh yeah, When I use cartridges I use a .690 ball, which is about the size that the Brits used in them. The reason for such an undersized ball was to compensate for the fowling in the barrel and ease of loading. They didn't aim much when line firing.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Itr is always dangerous to answer a question when the caliber is described with two digits, instead of three. YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY MEASURE the Bore of the barrel of your gun and find out what the actual dimension is, before buying balls, jags, etc. IF the bore is actually .750 it is closer to being a 11 gauge( .751, nominally) than a 12 gauge. Your bore may, however, be smaller.

Circle Fly makes wads, and OS cards for all the gauges so you can pick up those supplies from them directly, or from the other suppliers named. If you go to the MEMBER RESOURCES section at the top of the Index to this forum, then scroll down to "articles, Charts, and Links", click on Links and it will give you a long list of suppliers. Click on their names and that will take you to their websites and catalogs. You can shop on-line. That is the fast way to discover most of the larger suppliers in this business.

You need both the ramrod that comes with the gun, and a " RANGE ROD", or Cleaning rod. We recommend a separate full length, metal rod, made of brass, or stainless steel for this work. It should have a good handle, and jags for all problems. That includes ball pullers, patch pullers, bronze brushes, swabs, and cleaning jags. The cleaning jag will be small in diameter than the loading jag on your ramrod. The reason for this is that you want a soft, light, cotton or linen cleaning patch to slide down the bore, over the crud, and when the jag is pulled backwards, to remove it and the patch from the barrel, the grooves in the jag grab the cleaning patch, and pull the crud OUT OF THE BARREL, rather than pushing it down into the breech. A loading jag can be concave, for loading a RB without marring it, but a cleaning jag will have a flat face, so you can get down to the breechplug to clean it out. The handle on the cleaning or range rod should be stout enough that you can turn a tight fitting patch or brush with it to reverse the direction of the bristles, or the fabric, to help it release from the bore so you can pull it out. There are several suppliers that will make you a Range rod to the length you specify. October Country, and Cain's come to mind. Dixie, too. you also want a muzzle protector on that rod to center the rod in the barrel, and protect the muzzle from the rod rubbing against it as its drawn out of the barrel.

Please don't hesitate to ask questions before you spend money on anything. We have all been there, and some of us were foolish enough not to ask, and we have spent lots of money on stuff that we didn't need, or won't work. Its part of the learning curve, but it doesn't have to be. All you have to do is ask. :hatsoff:

 

[Swampman]

I usually just split a fiber wad and put 1/2 under the shot and 1/2 over the shot. The old Dixie Hair Curler mold works great for .715 balls.

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

Make your life easy. Go to Track of the Wolf using this link for most everything for a .75 cal flintlock.
Link

 

[Grenadier1758]

You will need to use 11 gauge components if you want to load shot. Precisely measure your bore to be sure, but all Pedersoli Short Land Pattern (Brown Bess) that I have seen were 11 gauge. Your patched 0.715 ball will work fine since there is no rifling to take up the extra patch.

You can use the 10 gauge swabs to clean the gun. You may need two shotgun cleaning kits to get enough length in the rod. Lots of vendors offer the correct length rod and proper cleaning accessories. I like the rods from October Country.

 

[J.D.]

As others have mentioned, the Ped bess is an 11ga. The bore on mine mics .748, so the bore diameters do vary a few thousandths of an inch, but 11 ga wads fit the bore well.

Shot loads, in my gun, pattern most consistently with a charge of 70 gr FFg, a single .135 or .250 card wad, 105 gr equivalent load of #5 shot, by volume, and an 1/8 inch thick slice of fiber wad to securely hold the shot in place. I have had shot charges leak past the thin over shot cards.

I have used .730 balls with a thin patch, but they load hard, and are more difficult to load and shoot than they are worth. A ball cast of hard lead in a .715 moul mics .718. That .718 ball patched with .018 patching has won its share of smoothbore matches, as well as taking several deer.

IMHO, the Brit military used the .680 or .690 ball, depending on the source, to fit the smallest bore diameter they expected to encounter. Acceptable bore diameters, for Brit military, in the 18th century varied from .700- .800, so ammunition was issued to shoot in the smaller bores, with an additional allowance for windage.

Onc can shoot small .690 balls in their guns if they want to, but unless patched with thick patching, accuracy won't be acceptable for most folks.

 

[tracker17]

Hey,

Thank you all for the information.
I still need to mic the bore at the muzzle.
I have the calipers, just haven't had a chance yet. I'll let you know if I have questions.

 

[tracker17]

Bore is 0.745 confirmed with several measurements with digital calipers.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Use J.D.'s advice for ball size, and patching in your gun, and you won't go wrong.

J.D. and Tracker 17: You can use the next size larger OS card, and use two of them to hold your shot in the bore. Just poke an off-center hole in the cards with an awl, to let the air out, and to let air beyond the muzzle to separate the cards so they fall quickly out of the line of fire. You want to protect the edges of any wad or card, as that is what seals the gases and prevents blow-by. So, keep those holes back from the edge, but not centered either. That way you can load two of them together where the holes don't line up to help that card separation as soon as they leave the muzzle. The holes will also prevent " dieseling" and turning those all-important edges.

In this .745" diameter bore, I think a standard 11 gauge OS card, which measures .760" in diameter should be sufficient to hold the shot load in the barrel. Just use two of the OS cards, to increase the amount of friction from the contact of the edges to the bore. Think of the second card as a kind of " lock washer".

 

[Swampman]

If you try 90 grains of 3F, you'll never go back.

 

[paulvallandigham]

If the bore is sealed properly, with a good OP wad, you should be able to get good groups at 50 yds with only 80 grains of FFg powder.

 

[10 gauge]

I have a Pedersoli Brownbess with a .745 bore also.
I recommend a .715 RB for patched or paper cartridge load.
I make my paper cartridges with 90grs of GOEX FFF BP which makes, 10 grs for the pan and 80 grs for the bore.
My shot load is made with 11ga wads from circle fly wad co. I also use 80grs of FFF BP and 1 1/4oz of lead shot or 24 pellets of #4buck for coyotes. :wink: