Pedersoli Brown Bess tune-up

[dmjung]

I bought a previously owned Pedersoli Brown Bess a couple of weeks ago. As near as I can tell it has never been shot. (Decided I'd like to start shooting rather than waiting to finish my kit--plus I've always wanted a Brown Bess.) So I'm in the process of cleaning it up and getting it ready for the range.

I pulled the lock and rebuilt it to the best of my newbie skills. I don't think the back of the lock-plate had a flat surface anywhere, but it's flat now and all the bearing surfaces have been smoothed and polished. I also replaced the mainspring.

I removed the barrel for cleanup as it had some oil/stain/gunk/rust build-up here and there. I'd like to pull the plug, but haven't managed to get it loose yet. Looks like the bore was liberally coated with grease...hopefully done a long time ago and not recently to hide something.

Looks like maybe the underlugs for the pins should be elongated horizontally.

So, any thoughts on other things I should be looking for?

--David

 

[M Kuhn]

I have a block of steel about an inch thick and 6 inches by six inches square and I took the frizzen spring off my Bess and put the 6x6 steel plate on the bottom of the stove and put the frizzen spring on top of it and cooked it at about 500 degrees for two hours then shut the stove off and let it cool down slowly. I then polished the tension arm on the frizzen with a polishing stone and put it all back together.
I then worked the frizzen open and closed about 600 times to polish the spring surface and I also balanced the frizzen open halfway compressing the spring when it was stored for awhile.
I make sure and oil the frizzen screw pivot every time I clean it to make the frizzen open as easy as possible.
It's still a stiff frizzen spring but not nearly as bad as it was and it sparks way better and doesn't eat flints like it used to.

 

[skywarp]

I'm about to undertake a similar project. Could you give a few more details on what exactly you did with your lock? And where the heck did you get a replacement mainspring?

Mine came with a broken one and it took three months to get a replacement from DGW -- and I don't trust it.

 

[dmjung]

Well, I finally made it to the range with the Brown Bess. After shooting pistols for I awhile, decided I better get the Bess broke in and see if I really like shooting flintlocks. Fired it once in the pistol bays for a function test. The eye is drawn to the bayonet lug so shot really low at 50', but on the paper. Note to self, ignore the lug. Ignition was pretty much instantaneous as far as I could tell. I'm kind of jazzed though...I like it.

Then took it over to the 100 yard range and set up a couple of big man-sized targets next to each other so I'd have something large to aim for. I should have gone and bought a lottery ticket instead.

1st Shot

2nd Shot

I figured I was pushing my luck at this point since I wasn't really expecting to even hit the backboard so called it a day. I LIKE IT.

--David

 

[hawk]

spine hits! .....that would leave a mark :thumbsup:

next time should we expect a tight group of three ?

nice shootin' :thumbsup:

 

[dmjung]

next time should we expect a tight group of three ?

The next time I probably won't even be on the paper. I have no idea how anyone managed to shoot a Brown Bess acurately, but I guess the massed fire thing meant it wasn't particularly important. :wink:

Horizontal aiming isn't a problem, but a vertical hold will take some experience I guess. I'll use the bench and support to see if I can figure it out.