Pedersoli Brown Bess

[Gettysburg63]

Pedersoli makes a Brown Bess was wondering how the craftsmanship is. Also would like to know if this is pretty accurate to an orig.

 

[Eljay]

The craftsmanship is very good and it's a pleasure to shoot. Historical accuracy... I'm sure people will chime in with details, but they apparently modeled it after an original that was a bit of a mixmaster. There are bits from different periods, etc.

 

[pargent]

+1 Good quality and very reliable , more generic to be usable across the 1776-1815 time frame for history displays , compliant with world champ regs, to be as close as possible to the shortland pattern but still lend it self to modern manufacture. And some say built in features to ID them to prevent them being passed off as the real deal at auctions , love mine can't speak to highly of it and my friends who own one feel the same . :thumbsup:

 

[Wes/Tex]

In a nutshell, it's the best 'production' Bess out there. Yes, it's got some cosmetic problems and mixes some features from the entire production. Still, it's being used by groups who re-enact AWI through Napoleonic periods and fits the part, even if a bit at odds with historical construction. Nearly all the custom versions are LLP and pre-date the Pedersoli version. For a shooter, it's right up there with all the other smoothbore muskets currently being made.

 

[anj4de]

Hi

When you think about bying one, try finding a used one from the 80ties or so...they show better workmanship than those made today. All in all a nice gun, 2nd model short land pattern...so ok for Napolionics but questionable for Rev War.

cheers
Uwe

 

[Rifleman1776]

Good replies all. Mine is no longer used because of personal physical limitations. But, I have had it since the 1970's. It is hung high on the wall in front of me. I can look at it and be reminded of the important role it played in our AWI. Want one? Get one. You won't be dissapointed.

 

[Alden]

They are a beautiful, working, investment. I have Bess' from four different makers and the Pedersoli (I have one factory-finished and one spare in kit form) is at least as good as any of the others and significantly better than one oversized India-made LLP.

Enjoy. And don't forget the bayonet!

 

[sumoj275]

I have not held one, but from what I have heard and read the Pedersoli is the one that I will be going with when that the time comes for me to get one.

 

[nwtradegun]

I have one of Dixie gun works 75 cal. trade muskets. its a reworked the brn bess. 30 inch barrel. I put it in the same class as some of the custom smooth bores I have owned.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Pedersoli makes a Brown Bess was wondering how the craftsmanship is.

The craftsmanship tends to be very good. There are occasional problems with locks, but the majority come from the factory ready to shoot.

Also would like to know if this is pretty accurate to an orig.

NOPE. The parts are similar but as for an original Short Land Pattern Bess..., it's a mishmash of parts. Although there is a myth this was intentional, it probably was due to their getting hold of what they were told was an "original" bess, but what actually was cobbled together from different versions.

PLUS they made the mistake of assuming that as the Short Land Pattern was approved in 1769, that by 1775 the British Army was fully outfitted with that type of bess. In fact the Short Land Pattern Bess saw very little use in North America. They could have as easily chosen a '56 Long Land Pattern Bess to replicate.

LD

 

[Alden]

They could have as easily chosen a '56 Long Land Pattern Bess to replicate.
LD

And don't we wish they had (if only to avoid the nah-nah-nah-nah-nah's). What's taking them so long to step up anyway, I mean other than the cult following their "2nd Model" Bess has as the backbone of pre-US-Civil-War reenacting and others globally?

Could it be there's also not enough interest in The Seven Years' War (a personal favorite of mine along with the War of Spanish Succession) but they can tool up for the Waadtlander!?

Welcome India...

 

[pargent]

There are some of us that feel the Pedersoli is a copy of the circa 1760 Light Infantry Musket that was issued in a couple of patterns just before the wider issue of the Short Land Patterns , these were withdrawn and replaced by the SLP as they were a stronger musket to issue to the troops .Pedersoli has then most likely measured and copied one of these that was misslabled as a SLP in a collection somewhere . These were not in wide spread use in North America at all .

 

[ghostdncr]

I love mine. It's a very well-built arm and is surprisingly easy to carry and point, considering its size. No problems here and I will strongly recommend pursuing one if you're leaning toward the Pedersoli. They are quite a leap forward from the Indian guns I've seen. If forced to render a complaint, the engraving on my lock is rather shaky. The quality of engraving may vary considerably from gun to gun, but it was certainly not a deal breaker at the price I paid.

 

[Ike Godsey]

There are some of us that feel the Pedersoli is a copy of the circa 1760 Light Infantry Musket that was issued in a couple of patterns just before the wider issue of the Short Land Patterns , these were withdrawn and replaced by the SLP as they were a stronger musket to issue to the troops .Pedersoli has then most likely measured and copied one of these that was misslabled as a SLP in a collection somewhere . These were not in wide spread use in North America at all .

well as much as i know from personal researching, there have been so many different makers of "BESS" around in the old days, may it be issued muskets, may it be "colonels muskets" may it be repaired, cut down and re-issued muskets, reshaped stoks, re-shaped lock panels etc. etc. etc. that no one really could say that the BESS made by Pedersoli is not for the FIW eara.

fact is, that some of the highland regiments serving in the colonies cut their LLP muskets down for about 4 inches doe to worn out muzzles.
Anthony D. Darling wrote in "Historical Arms Series No. 33" "Weapons of the Highlang Regiments 1740-1780" at page 10:

...It had become customary to cut back from 46 to 42 inches those barrels which had worn thin at the muzzle. The 42nd, or Royal Highland Regiment, had cut down the barrles of it muskets to 42 inches in 1759 while serving in North America. ...

so why not carrying a 42" musket? because of the not-banana shaped lock?

look at these pics:

and compare the batteries in the pics - see the difference?

see that there is no carving around the banana shaped lock in the first pic, even thought the musket stillgit its wooden rammer, so might be considered beeing from the 1740s?

so who can say this is correct and this is incorrect?

to me a Brown Bess made by Pedersoli is a VERY good choise :v

ike

 

[MacRob46]

Ike..you are correct. It is an excellent choice. I traded for a new one back in the 80s but did not like the finish on the stock or the lacquer on the barrel. So, I stripped it down and at the same time installed a Long Land Pattern butt plate and side plate from Kit Ravenshear. Put a darker, reddish-brown stain on the stock and a hand-rubbed oil finish. The idea was to make it look like a Long Land Pattern which had been cut down at the end of the F&I war. The lock, of course, is not correct and I have the steel ramrod (did not change the thimbles) but the over all effect is pretty good. Over the years it it has picked up a little rust here and there and the stock is marked up from being carried and used a lot. I have never had problems with the lock and it shoots well although I have mostly fired it with blank charges. I have an original bayonet for it made by John Gill but it is for a later pattern Bess and fits loosely on the Pedersoli. I think the workmanship, fit and finish is pretty good, about what one should expect from a military piece. I acquired it through a series of trades so I have very little in it and today's prices are much higher than the 80s but it is still a good value.

 

[Rifleman1776]

There are some of us that feel the Pedersoli is a copy of the circa 1760 Light Infantry Musket that was issued in a couple of patterns just before the wider issue of the Short Land Patterns , these were withdrawn and replaced by the SLP as they were a stronger musket to issue to the troops .Pedersoli has then most likely measured and copied one of these that was misslabled as a SLP in a collection somewhere . These were not in wide spread use in North America at all .

At the time I was building my Navy Arms/Pedersoli BB kit the NRA came to Inidanapolis, not far from where we lived. At the convention was a display by Brown Bess collectors. With their help I looked at what they had and listened to the explanations of what made one differ from another. It was simply mind overload. Like some here these men were dedicated to absolute exactness in historical detail. To my mind, the Ped. BB is an excellent historical representation of the BB and not to be sneered at by anyone. It is a symbol, to me, of something that helped the Patriots bring freedom to America. And, for the record, as is my Rev. period flint rifle.
No one needs to be embarrassed to carry a Ped. built BB.

 

[pargent]

Ike there were set patterns and a paper trail that would fill a huge library , which is why after decades of research is how we can say what
patterns started out like ,who they were issued to ,and what changes or repairs were made to them during their service life , what is harder is the repairs and mods made once they were sold out of service ,lost or captured . The British musket would have to be the most easily reshearched and IDed musket getting around to-day , and this also includes all the Trade and civilian made guns in the same time frame . This is why when somebody displays a gem they just found the experts can review it very quickly .

 

[Ike Godsey]

Ike there were set patterns and a paper trail that would fill a huge library , which is why after decades of research is how we can say what
patterns started out like ,who they were issued to ,and what changes or repairs were made to them during their service life , what is harder is the repairs and mods made once they were sold out of service ,lost or captured . The British musket would have to be the most easily reshearched and IDed musket getting around to-day , and this also includes all the Trade and civilian made guns in the same time frame . This is why when somebody displays a gem they just found the experts can review it very quickly .

and your point is?
from the time the "Brown Bess" was first introduced, to the time of its last production, i bet that millions of those muskets been produced. and you tell me you guys can tell on each musket what is correct and what is not? :hmm:

i do believe you - as long as this is for "Kings Muskets" but i also think this stopps when it comes to issued "Colonels Muskets" that have been sold from any of the "aside" gun makers in england. who can tell each and every change in this kind of muskets? remember, we're talkig about a time that is more than 250 years ago.
if you can tell all the points on each musket that might be incorrect, i :hatsoff: for that.

no harms. :surrender:

ike

 

[pargent]

There are some in this game who can , that is their job . :thumbsup:

 

[Ike Godsey]

There are some in this game who can , that is their job . :thumbsup:

you did not get my point.
my point is that NOBODY of us has been there in those days.

i can agree on the fact that there a some specialists that could tell how a musket from period XYZ should look like.

not less not more. :nono:

ike