pedersoli brown bess

[berickson]

just scooped a deal on a pedersoli brown bess with a possibles bag , round ball mould & minie ball mould.
why the minie ball i don't know. i could pour some with wheel weights for elephants or something.
it's a 75 cal.
looking forward to making smoke this weekend.
i'm hoping a 3/4" punch will get me some card wads for shot, i'll see tonight. if not i'll try something else.
very nice gun - 206 model - whatever that's supposed to emulate. no bayonet mount so it has nice balance - officers model??
should be fun tho. it's in unfired condition. i want to see what the critter can do with RBs at 50 yards.

 

[Rebel]

Congrats on the Bess. So, how much did it set ya back, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

Yes, inquiring minds want to know

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

BTW, never heard of a .75 caliber Minie. That must be quite a chunk of lead!

 

[Halftail]

never heard of a .75 caliber Minie.

I haven't either but I'll bet his shoulder will know all about them. :crackup:

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

Yep, I bet that would get your attention!

 

[berickson]

finally checked the minie mould ... 575213 lyman - 58 calibre.
thank g-d. the round balls are big enuff. couldn't weigh them but 11 to the pound would put them around 1 1/2 oz.
that sounds painful enuff for this old fella! :shocking:
oh yeah ... almost forgot ... $ 595 + GST (7%) for the lot.
can't wait for the weekend.
got a 3/4" punch for card wads. seems like it'll work ok. maybe a bit of slack on the edges but it's the biggest punch available. ran off a bunch tonight.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

The Bess's weight soaks up a lot of recoil. You can shoot one with full loads all day long and not be bothered. You'll find it's like eating potato chips--it's hard to stop.

 

[Rebel]

Sounds like ya got a heck of a deal on it. If after the weekend ya should decide ya don't like it, i bet there are some fellas here that would be willing to take it off yer hands. :winking:

 

[big bore 75]

Just for your infomation fella's during the late Civil War, and importation of weapons there were .75 cal muskets and there have been .72 cal mini's found along with .72 ca round balls, and yes the .72 mini's are a gigantic hunk of lead.

 

[sherpadoug]

Isn't a mini from a smoothbore going to have really crappy accuracy? It will probably tumble end over end in flight!
Maybe if you were being close-assaulted by elephants... :youcrazy:

 

[berickson]

elephants??
nah- gophers - they're really big in alberta, and if you're not careful they'll swarm you. shot loads might be better for when a hunting pack forms up.
and then there's the dreaded rocky mountain ridge backed vole. terrible critters. better pray if you run into a scouting pack of those evil critters.
wolves move out of the area when they move in cuz they know the deer population's going down.

 

[Rat]

Yes a minnie will tumble from a smoothbore, but them old timers didn't always hesitate to take the rifling machine to a smoothbore. As minnie rifling is very shallow, a couple hundred years of rust will kind of erase that history on some guns...if any survive.

I saw a '63 Remington (original) that the owner insisted was a smooth bore. But with some bright light and a magnifying glass I was able to just barely discern some traces of the rifling.

ff:

Enjoy the Bess, she's a fine lady. Mine shoots GREAT with roundball.

Rat

 

[berickson]

well i had it out today. worked with 80&90 grains. shot dead on at 25 yards then swooped down and right at 50. but that was using the bayonet lug as a sight which i understand isn't the thing to do ( from this board). very muzzle heavy but it handled pretty easily. it's another "zen" gun like my trade gun. instinctive shooting.
very slow lock but it showers sparks down good on the pan.
i lent it to a friend of mine to play with. i already have 2 "zen" guns i'm learning- my trade gun and my double 12 ga flinter. it's too cool a gun to sit in a closet. definitely not a "plinker".
he'll look after it and figure it out and have some fun with it. i won't have time this summer. look out gooses come fall.

 

[Mad Irish Jack]

Hornhead,
If you're not using a bayonet on that Bess, you can dress up that front lug into a decent sight. Go to a hobby shop that handles railroad model supplies. Get the smallest size and length of brass round or square stock that you might need to create a front sight look. It's about the cost of a blade sight and you'll find other uses for the leftover.
Find the front center on the lug. File a small round groove or a 'V' into the lug. Cut the brass stock to fit 1/16 to 1/8 inch longer than the length of the lug. Silver solder it into place and dress it off. The round, and square mounted as a diamond, make a nice sight picture.
When I shot my Bess, I had to fire just as the lug went flush. Fired to soon, and I went high; To late. I was low. After I added the round stock half- moon to the lug top, I practiced laying the half-moon sight picture on the top of the breach area; Learned my anchor and sight picture. And She was a deadly piece of weaponry. :m2c: :results: Just suggestions on how to creat a better sight picture. Oh, Yeah. I used a bayonet. I had to heat it and creat a raised area to allow for it to be mounted over the added piece on the lug :thumbsup:.

 

[berickson]

MIJ
thanks for the info on the sight. i don't think i'll fiddle with it too much. if it doen't work the way it is i'll flog it and look for a fowler (already have a trade gun)
was out with sluice sunday and he wasn't having any trouble keeping it minute of deer accurate at 40-50 yards.
not bad for his first day shooting it.
also throws a good shot pattern (80gr-2F, 1 5/8 shot)
cool old gun, but we'll have to get better flints. i've never had much luck with cut flints. i always have to flip them every 5 shots.
... i've got it ... scope it! :shocking:
that'll drive the in line people crazy. (prob the PC people too) ::