Opinions on Middlesex Trading

[don1836]

I'm curious about others' experience with Middlesex's smoothbores as well as their customer service. Good or bad. Would you recommend them? or not?

 

[gjkershul]

I saw one of their products for the first time at a shoot last Sunday.
A mountain man type had one of their double barrel smoothbore flintlock pistols. It looked ok-hansom- but had 20lb triggers according to the owner.
He was going to work on the triggers.
I did not ask about the price.

 

[XXX]

Pretty much a one man operation. I think he runs the business out of his house in Charlestown, NH. I bought one of those .52 Scottish Murdock pistols from him at a re-enactment years ago. Seems nice enough. I have no complaints with his products, I realise most of the stuff he sells is from India, but where else are you going to find a working reproduction of something like a Murdock? I have had no reason to engage for customer service.

 

[Bob Riegl]

:hmm: Well I have had no opinions on the service provided, that is the best part of dealing with them. As for the guns they import and sell---that's a huge crapshoot IMHO. I have a repro of a Germanic Pistol Matchlock---this gun has extremely poor workmanship and fit of parts---the barrel is questionable at best. Outside of proofing the barrel myself, I do not shoot it by hand and it sits mostly in the cabinet waiting for a buyer, I don't really trust the gun itself.This has prevented me from buying a blunderbuss from them. :shake:

 

[Frank/Pa]

:hmm: Well I have had no opinions on the service provided, that is the best part of dealing with them. As for the guns they import and sell---that's a huge crapshoot IMHO. I have a repro of a Germanic Pistol Matchlock---this gun has extremely poor workmanship and fit of parts---the barrel is questionable at best. Outside of proofing the barrel myself, I do not shoot it by hand and it sits mostly in the cabinet waiting for a buyer, I don't really trust the gun itself.This has prevented me from buying a blunderbuss from them. :shake:

I hope you are selling it as a wall hanger only.

 

[cable]

i have bought a few items from them and they have worked fine, and been reasonable for the price; the folks....Wendy and Peter Plunkett are as kind, friendly, gentle nice souls to talk with and deal with as i have ever met. that is just my experience but i find them, especially Wendy, just extremely nice folks.

 

[Musketeer]

Ditto (to cable's experience). :thumbsup:

 

[chuckpa]

I have four of their guns and they all work well and Peter is a delight to work with. I really enjoy shooting the New England Fowler.

 

[bnail]

I'm curious about others' experience with Middlesex's smoothbores as well as their customer service. Good or bad. Would you recommend them? or not?

I've not owned any personally, but I have friends who have. they're Crude and clunky. the first model bess my buddy has is reliable though, and the customer service is aparently good.
however. . . I do not trust the manufacturer, and Plunkett's refusal to divulge this info just screams shyster to me. Before you buy, talk to the folks. ask about spare parts, replacement parts, burst barrels, etc.
As far as I'm concerned, Middlesex is a prop house for reenactors needing cheap muskets.

 

[mr.fudd]

I bought a 1756 Brown Bess from them recently. The quality of the gun is mediocre at best, but it is functional and the price is about half what a Pedersoli would cost and maybe 1/4 of a custom build. You don't get what you don't pay for. I researched these fairly thoroughly beforehand and got about what I expected and MVT seemed like a decent company to buy from.

If you buy from them, bear in mind that these are made in small Indian shops where western standards of manufacturing just don't exist, but these guns have a bit of a track record now and they don't appear to be unsafe.

Expect crude inletting, an overly shiny finish and triggers from hell.

 

[dodgecity]

I've only bought one piece from them (a ship's carbine). They are reenactors, and extremely nice folks as well, and, when I bought mine, a year or so ago, their policy was a complete money back guarantee, so long as you returned the piece unfired. I don't know if that policy has changed since then or not, but, I would ask. Mine came with an abominable trigger pull and a stock of some non descript Indian wood. On the plus side, metal finish was good and inletting was acceptable. I lightened the trigger pull, reshaped and refinished the stock to my liking, and proofed it for my own peace of mind. I have had a lot of fun with mine, but, don't consider it a serious hunting arm. On the other hand, given the price, and, assuming you are able and willing to rework it, their military offerings would make an affordable place to start for reenacting. Each lock is hand crafted and so, if you need to replace a part, you will have to fit it. Incidentally, the frizzen on mine produces a shower of sparks that is truly impressive.

 

[Rod Lassey]

No problems with customer service, they sent my pistol out very quickly.

Think of them more like a kit----I purchased a Ketland pistol from them. When I received it, I was initially disappointed--the finish was poor, and the trigger and frizzen springs were horrendously strong, resulting in a very tough trigger pull and an appetite for flints. However, I could see that there was room to improve. I stripped the stock, thinned it down, and refinished it. The springs I heated to draw the temper down a bit. I used a bit of crocus cloth to take off the mirror finish of the lockplate.

Now I have something that looks right and works well. By the way, I've examined the breechplug and barrel (plug is steel, and barrel is brass), and have no reason to doubt their safety.

All in all, not bad--the parts to build a similar pistol would have run about the same. Just expect to do a bit of work on whatever you get.

Rod

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. nov 5 / 19:50

my original interest in their products was the long blunderbuss.. after surfing around i found many other sources from different mfg (non-indian) so do some homework.

my next interest in their products was for resale and this is what i got after several days of "your message is in our queue and will be answered in the order received...":

MIDDLESEX VILLAGE TRADING CO
WHOLESALE PRICE LIST/JULY 2008

Muskets
As distributors, we expect you to be able to service our products, but given the “black magic” of a flintlock, if there is any doubt, please feel free to send repairs to us. Contact us first, so we will know what to expect. Please see our retail price list and website for our other policies.

English Muskets
Long Land “Ranger” Carbine $445
Long Land Pattern/1st Model Brown Bess $445
New Land Pattern/3rd Model Brown Bess/East India Co. $375
Ship’s Carbine $375
Baker Rifle $375
3-Band Enfield Rifle-Musket $299
English Civil War Matchlock $445
English Lock Fishtail Musket $445
Early Commercial Trade Musket $445

French Muskets
French Army Musket/1717 Fusil au Roi $445
1777 French Army Musket/1777 “Charleville” $415

American Muskets
“Cookson” New England Fowler $445
1816 U.S. Springfield Musket $445
Steel-barreled Dutch Blunderbuss $370
Brass-barreled Dutch Blunderbuss-(15” or 18”) $370
Doglock Blunderbuss-(15” or 18”) $370

Pistols
All-steel Scottish “Murdoch” Pistol $219
Scottish “Royal Highland Regiment” Pistol $249
English Heavy Dragoon Pistol $239
Elliot Light Dragoon Pistol $249
Double Barrel Caplock Pistol $299
Double Barrel Flintlock Pistol $349
Ketland Trade Pistol $249
English Sea Service Pistol-1756-pattern $249
English Doglock Horse Pistol $249
Germanic Dragoon Pistol $249
Matchlock Pistol $249
1773 French Cavalry Pistol $249 ­­

Gun Accessories
Spring Vise $15
18th Century Musket Tool $25
Common Screwdriver $8
Nipple Wrench $8
Brass Gun Hooks $6/pair
Adjustable Brass Powder Measure $18
Belt Clips for Pistols $15
Whisk and Pick $6
Baker Sword Bayonet $59
------------------------------

as you can see, there is very little wiggle room between wholesale and retail which says to me that it would be better to find his source rather than pay a premium to deal with them.

there is a video on youtube of someone shooting the double flint and a blunderbuss.. they work well on tape and look beautiful - at a distance.... always at a distance.

if i had the $$ i would probably go for someone elses blunderbuss (kits and custom are available at competative prices).. i just don't feel comfortable with asian quality.. rule #1 in economics: things are cheaper for two reasons (1) lower profit margins, (2) cheaper inputs like labor and materials.. considering that these are shipped half way around the world, i would imagine both factors are in play.

all that and i've never even touched one.. take my advice with two grains of salt.

~daniel~

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

I have one of their Early Commercial Trade Muskets. Think of MVTC's guns as a kit needing to be built. The lock inletting is rough. As others have stated, spring tension is horrendous. I thinned my springs down and they work fine. The metal comes so highly polished it almost appears to be nickle-plated or stainless steel. I aged all the metal with either boiling bleach or mustard depending on the part. I also stripped and did some work on the stock before putting it through an aging process and refinishing it.

I also have sent out the frizzen to be rehardened (they'll do it for free) and the gun looks and works fine now but it took some work. As for safety, many look down on any India-made gun but MVTC's are plenty safe IMHO.

Lastly, the folks at MVTC are friendly but I advise only dealing with them over the phone, as they're real slow about answering (or not) any email sent.

 

[David Teague]

I have 3 custom flinters and one of the MTC doglock blunderbusses.

It sparks better than any of my custom guns. I have no qualms about doing my own action jobs.

I dulled the shiny finish, and stripped the shiny goop off the stock. I like the way it looks now.

I do shoot it live fire and have no qualms about it's safety. Ive shot it buck & ball, buck, and patched rb.

Cheers,

DT

 

[Musketeer]

Glad to hear you're pleased with the doglock blunderbuss, David. One thing I noticed (and liked) in the pics (and Pete mentions it, as well) is how beefy that thing looks. Does it give the same impression in the "flesh?" :hmm:

 

[michaelsbagley]

I don't own one of their doglock blunderbusses, but a few friends of mine have one, and I have handled and fired both of them.

They are as beefy as the image looks, perhaps even more so. As has been noted in many of the previous posts, the trigger pull on them is heavy to the point of discomfort. Outside of needing trigger pulls adjusted, and imperfect inletting and finish, they are a decent deal for the money, and their flaws are fixable with the correct tools and some elbow grease.

 

[Musketeer]

They are as beefy as the image looks, perhaps even more so.

Thank you, sir. :thumbsup: I love the beefy wrist area on the stock and the big, flat, squared-off buttplate. I think these do a lot to lend it that heavy duty appearance, but often pics can be deceiving, so I appreciate the confirmation. :v

 

[nightwolf1974]

well, after seeing the stuff firsthand, ( i live only 10 miles from them ), i was interested until i learned about thier unproofed barrels.

if you want something you're not actually going to fire, you can't beat the prices on hefty wall hangers.

i don't fell comfortable putting powder down the barrel and sparking it off. neither does any of the local gunshop owners that live near him.

that's my opinion, for what's it worth

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

Just so you are aware...it's my understanding that none of the common production guns are proofed. That includes Lyman, TC, CVA, Traditions, etc.