Newbie Brown Bess Questions

[M38]

I getting my first flintlock, a long land Bess from Middelsex Village. I've been having a great time researching the Brown Bess, but have a couple questions. What size ball & patch should I get for it? Which black powder make & granulation?

 

[Agricola]

Is it 75 Calibre? If so, I have been using .715 balls with various patches. The fact that the musket is a smoothbore, and has no rear sight, kind of limits its accuracy and fiddling with patches of different thickness won't have that great an effect on your shooting. Having said this, I do try to us a pretty tight patch when hunting, but have also been adding some buckshot to the load and I like that better. As for brand of powder and granulation, I use Goex FFg in both barrell and flashpan with good success. :results:

 

[Grenadier1758]

The barrel size on the Long Land Pattern muskets can vary quite a bit. My Loyalist Arms Bess is a 0.77" diameter barrel and others are smaller. I have been using a 0.715" diameter ball and 0.017" thick cotton drill cloth. The 0.735" ball also loads fairly easily. You will need to make your choice after you get the gun in your hands and make your own determination.

I do recommend real black powder such as GOEX, Scheutzen or Wano.

 

[musketman]

I do recommend real black powder such as GOEX, Scheutzen or Wano.

Agreed, flintlocks tend to light hard with synthetic powders like pyrodex or 777...

Shoot (aim) the bess like you would a shotgun and you'll do fine...

 

[Rebel]

I've heard that some of those India made Bess barrel vary from .72-.77 cal. You may wind up needing a ball from .690-.750. My Pedersoli Bess carbine is a .75 cal, but i can still use a .690 rd. ball with a thick denim patch. But i use an over powder wad with a fiber cushion wad glued to it then lubed, between the ball and the powder. This seems to help with accuracy. I would suggest Goex or Swiss powder. Goex is a lot cheaper than Swiss and works fine, but i hear that the Swiss you use less and there is less fouling. Good luck with your Bess.

 

[LFord]

I have the same musket and a .715 ball with .010 patch seem to fit well. As far as powder goes ffg works well for both the main and prime.

 

[rschissler]

How many grains for the main charge?

 

[Grenadier1758]

I use about 80 to 90 grains of ffg.

 

[LFord]

I used 80 grains of 2f the first time I had it out. That load had enough punch to go through 4 inches of pine and then bury itself into a tree behind the target.

 

[musketman]

I used 80 grains of 2f the first time I had it out. That load had enough punch to go through 4 inches of pine and then bury itself into a tree behind the target.

Yep, there's nothing quite like 535 grains of lead smashing through wood...

 

[Redleg130th]

I have been making paper cartriges with .735 ball that I cast myself.

Someone had a diagram of a paper cartridge with dimensions - I remember varying slightly but they work great. If someone has that can they repost it?

To fire, rip the top of the cartridge off, prime the pan, dump the powder in the barrel, dump the ball in the barrel, stuff the paper in the barrel, and ram it.

I much preffer this to futzing about with patches and measures. I am sure it is not as accurate though.

 

[M38]

I have been making paper cartriges with .735 ball that I cast myself.

Someone had a diagram of a paper cartridge with dimensions - I remember varying slightly but they work great. If someone has that can they repost it?

To fire, rip the top of the cartridge off, prime the pan, dump the powder in the barrel, dump the ball in the barrel, stuff the paper in the barrel, and ram it.

I much preffer this to futzing about with patches and measures. I am sure it is not as accurate though.

I would like to try using a paper cartridge to get a feel for what the soldiers of the time used. Accuracy won't be real important at first, since I know I will be flinching
from the fire in the pan. About a year or so ago two F&I and Rev War reenactors broght their Besses to the range and one of them let me shoot his. They warned me about flinching and tried hard not to, but when I saw that flash out of the corner of my eye I about tore my head of my neck yanking it away lol. It was great talking to them and I was tickeled pink to have fulfilled a childhood dream by shooting a Bess.

 

[musketman]

I would like to try using a paper cartridge to get a feel for what the soldiers of the time used.

A simple paper cartridge can be made as follows...

 

[riarcher]

Redleg130th-
If you'd like your accuacy back with the cartridge to equal that of the patched ball, you maybe interested in some "experiments" I've been working on for hunting.

Take your patching material (dry) and dip them into some melted Bee's wax and squeezy out most of the excess. and let cool.
Heat up your balls (old toaster oven is nice). Using a "loading block" place your patch over a hole, add a small ball of bee's wax in the center and load with the hot ball (trim flush) and let cool. If your patching material is soft and flexible (well washed) this will stick to the ball quite nicely. Balls have got to be hot enough to melt the wax and stick.
Now roll the ball in a cartridge like Musketman showed (I prefer slightly coned myself). Before you fold over on top of the ball you may want to add something to keep the fouling soft (so far, I've not found a need) and dip into the still molten wax to hold closed.
Flip upright, add powder, fold (as MM showed)and a drop of wax will hold until use.
To load, do as others mentioned.

I'm still experimenting with this idea. So far, it shows good promise. Soon I'll be working on either a thinner patch (allow for paper?) or adding some olive oil to the wax to allow for easier loading (compression) or searing of the paper away from the ball on loading. As mentioned, still experimenting. It sure is faster, and really lightens the bag. 1/2 doz. of these set in a balsa blocked leather cartridge pouch would keep me set for any day's hunt. :m2c:

 

[musketman]

Flip upright, add powder, fold (as MM showed)and a drop of wax will hold until use.

Safety tip:
A word of caution for anyone that has never done this before...

Use something other than a lit candle to place a drop of wax on the paper containg a charge of black powder...

You can use something like a hot butter knife to transport a drop of molten wax...

 

[Wes/Tex]

Another take on cartridge making I learned years ago. Fellow used two different ball sizes, the first were .010" under bore size, the others .020" under bore size.This is purely for paper patching military style. The paper tubes were rolled up with a ball in the end and tied up with string above and below the ball. The whole ball end of the paper was dipped in a combo of lube/beeswax mix. It tries quickly and the powder is inot the bottom end and the bottom folded up.

Load the first round with the larger ball by inserting the ball end into the muzzle and tearing off the remaining paper. The following rounds are the smaller ball cartridges loaded by dumping the powder down the bore and inserting the whole paper cartridge with the ball end up, using the paper as wadding. It might be used with more varied ball sizes, the original loads were with .760" and .750" balls in an original Bess. The system works pretty well, good enough to take moose and other big game. Good luck. :hatsoff: