Pedersoli An IX chronograph fun

[Matt85]

It's sunny out today, so I took my Lab Radar chronograph out to the yard and fired various loads across it. The gun is a Pedersoli An IX and the powders used were Shuetzen 3F and Goex 1F. The balls used were TOTW .678" (with pre-lubed 0.01" patches) and hand cast .65". This wasn't the most scientific test as I did not fire a bunch of each load over the chrono, so take it as a rough example. I started with 3F powder in order to test loads recommended by other users here. These were not cartridges, but hand weighed loads with the priming charge applied separately (a cartridge would take an additional 10gr for priming for my pistol).

1. 30gr 3f: patched .678" ball: 285fps.
2. 30gr 3f: unpatched .65" ball: 253fps.
3. 50gr 1f: unpatched .65": 382fps.
4. 60gr 1f: unpatched .65": 440fps.
5. 70gr 1f: unpatched .65": 517fps.
6. 80gr 1f: unpatched .65": 597fps.
7. 90gr 1f: unpatched .65": 617fps.

Note: The first four loads bounced off the soggy old 1" pine table that I had stapled my targets to. So, I stopped shooting at it for safety reasons.

My own (probably unpopular) opinion is that 3F is not a good powder for this pistol. Powder leaking out the flash hole was a real problem and it took a couple tries to get the first two loads right. I may try 2F in the future, but I typically use 1F in my paper cartridges. The purpose of the 90gr load was to see what would happen if I loaded one of my 100gr musket cartridges in the pistol.

Also, for anyone curious about the effects of firing heavy loads. The only "damage" to my pistol from the heavier loads was that the small gap between the breech and the wood, was closed up. This gap should never have been there and Pedersoli should be ashamed of their poor inletting (among other fitment issues with this pistol!).

Edit: I just did a little more shooting, but this time with Shuetzen 2F powder. The 2f powder did leak out the flash hole a little but not as bad as I feared. I tried 60 and 70 grains of 2f which gave 420fps and 476fps. Then I tried 70gr (again) and 75gr of Goex 1F and it gave 509fps and 534fps. Strange how the 1f is producing higher velocities.

 

[Matt85]

Sort of a surprise that more people didn't find this interesting (My interests are strange). Guess these military smoothbore flintlocks don't draw the same attention as their rifled counterparts.

Accuracy with the 70gr load was about 3-4" at 10 yards and when the gun is clean, it shoots pretty close to point of aim when you use the sight lined up with the breech. With the 80gr load, or when the barrel started getting heavily fouled, the guns POI shifted to the right a fair bit. I'll stick with the 70gr load and make up some 80gr cartridges for the next shoot (70gr for the ball and 10gr for the pan). To avoid the POI shift, I will try cleaning the barrel with a wet patch every 5 shots.

 

[Dutch7]

Pictures always help sell the story on this page, I found it interesting that the balls were bouncing off the wooden table! How large is the flash hole that 2F leaked out?

 

[Matt85]

The flash hole measures about 0.087". The FFg powder did leak a little but I think you could still use it if you were careful when loading. However, Fg powder also seems to provide higher velocities, So Fg powder may just be the best for this gun.

I'll need to see if I can dig up my old camera... I'm not much of a tech junkie outside of guns. You can see the progressively deeper dents in the old table as the powder load increased. I did shoot at it again later with the 70gr Fg load and that blew through the table. I was a bit shocked at just how much powder it took to get the ball moving. I had originally planned on using a 50-60gr load in the gun but after this test I will stick around 70gr.

 

[Matt85]

I found it! Please keep in mind, this camera is 8 years old and I'm no master at taking pictures.

The pistol:


The flash hole:


The old table I shoot at:


The lighter loads that failed to make it through the table:

 

[fireman1]

Thanks for posting this. I really need one of these.......like really need it!

 

[Matt85]

I found a couple of the ricochets in the yard... not far from where I was standing when I shot them ! Not sure how badly it would hurt to get hit by a 400gr ricochet, but I'd rather not find out!

 

[NorthFork]

@Matt85

I don't know what the service load was for this pistol but....

even at 285 fps you DON'T want hit with an over 1 ounce ball. Does not matter if it bounced back after hitting damp wood (very elastic and resilient material). Once you hit 60 or so grains of powder that ball would punch clear through the opposing human target. There is velocity to be considered and there is mass to be considered. This pistols load has mass covered and then some.

 

[Matt85]

@Matt85

I don't know what the service load was for this pistol but....

even at 285 fps you DON'T want hit with an over 1 ounce ball. Does not matter if it bounced back after hitting damp wood (very elastic and resilient material). Once you hit 60 or so grains of powder that ball would punch clear through the opposing human target. There is velocity to be considered and there is mass to be considered. This pistols load has mass covered and then some.

I've been pretty happy with a 65-70gr load of Goex Fg under a bare ball with this pistol. I heard somewhere that the expected service velocity for these pistols was around 600fps. But I found my gun seems to like around 500fps which is fine by me.

I will have to test is on some gel at some point.

 

[Matt85]

Did some playing around with a patched ball combo today. I used 65gr of Goex Fg, a 15g nitro card, a 0.01" oiled patch, and a .676" ball. Velocity was 580fps and accuracy was quite good except the POI was about 4" to the left at 11 yards. I had started with a 60gr load but accuracy wasn't any better than the unpatched ball.

Here is the last group of the day, the first shot was the high one (which I may have pulled). Point of aim was the red dot on the right side of the target (seen just in front of the frizzen of the pistol)

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

When/where did you buy this pistol?

Is it reliable, would you buy it again?

 

[Matt85]

When/where did you buy this pistol?

Is it reliable, would you buy it again?

1. Bought the gun early this year.
2. Dixie Gun Works (FH0890 Pedersoli French "AN IX" Military Pistol)
3. Yes, it is very reliable and surprisingly gentle on flints.
4. Yes, I would buy it again.

The gun does have some issues, mostly with its inletting. Aside from "not great" inletting, it has a steel pan that is painted "brass". The "brass" paint will flake off with use and it makes the gun somewhat ugly. The poor inletting is the biggest problem as the barrel will move around under recoil resulting in a shifting POI and the screw hole in the tang has slowly been slightly elongated (from the barrel moving backwards under recoil). However, my barrel has pretty well settled against the wood now, so it's shooting better and there has been no more deforming.

With those problems in mind, it's a fantastic pistol for its price. A similar pistol of higher quality will easily double or triple in price. Not too many 69 caliber pistols floating around and it's a ton of fun to shoot! If I knew what I know now, I would have had the barrel bedded before shooting it as much as I have.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

1. Bought the gun early this year.
2. Dixie Gun Works (FH0890 Pedersoli French "AN IX" Military Pistol)
3. Yes, it is very reliable and surprisingly gentle on flints.
4. Yes, I would buy it again.

The gun does have some issues, mostly with its inletting. Aside from "not great" inletting, it has a steel pan that is painted "brass". The "brass" paint will flake off with use and it makes the gun somewhat ugly. The poor inletting is the biggest problem as the barrel will move around under recoil resulting in a shifting POI and the screw hole in the tang has slowly been slightly elongated (from the barrel moving backwards under recoil). However, my barrel has pretty well settled against the wood now, so it's shooting better and there has been no more deforming.

With those problems in mind, it's a fantastic pistol for its price. A similar pistol of higher quality will easily double or triple in price. Not too many 69 caliber pistols floating around and it's a ton of fun to shoot! If I knew what I know now, I would have had the barrel bedded before shooting it as much as I have.

That seems high considering the issues. Pedersoli guns have nearly doubled in cost in the past 10 years or so.

 

[Matt85]

That seems high considering the issues. Pedersoli guns have nearly doubled in cost in the past 10 years or so.

agreed, but you won't find a similar gun anywhere near that price. The Rifle Shoppe has kits that are around $700 but then you need to build them.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

agreed, but you won't find a similar gun anywhere near that price. The Rifle Shoppe has kits that are around $700 but then you need to build them.

Thanks. I just bought a Gendarmie one NIB for $525. I got a very good deal on it.

 

[fireman1]

Thanks. I just bought a Gendarmie one NIB for $525. I got a very good deal on it.

View attachment 215465
View attachment 215466

Just looking at that makes my hand hurt!

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Just looking at that makes my hand hurt!

These were designed for close in use by policemen and officers. It’s approx .60 caliber so a bit less recoil. We’ll see!

 

[fireman1]

These were designed for close in use by policemen and officers. It’s approx .60 caliber so a bit less recoil. We’ll see!

Start a thread when you shoot it. I'm curious.

Rich

 

[Matt85]

Thanks. I just bought a Gendarmie one NIB for $525. I got a very good deal on it.

That is a good price! I thought about picking one of these up... I certainly would if I found one for $525!

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

That is a good price! I thought about picking one of these up... I certainly would if I found one for $525!

I understand it is the military police variant of the larger guns. It shipped today and I’m very excited to get it.