Pedersoli Indian Trade Musket questions

[pacanis]

I just took possession of this gun I bought from Dixie.
The description said it came with a brass front sight, but it appears to be an iron sight and is painted brown like the rest of the barrel. Which was a pretty shoddy job. No big deal as I planned to strip it anyway. But could there be brass under that sight's paint?

Is have the wrong sight or is this how they come now and Dixie's description is wrong? I'm guessing there are more than a few of these in member's hands as I ran into some posts talking about modifying and inletting the serpent side plate thing.

Also, I've never seen a hex to round barrel done quite like this one. It almost looks like it has a twist in it and has two wedding bands/rings... is that normal?

Just want to clear up a few things before doing any work to it. Dixie's smith is out til next week.

I think it will make a great gun. I can't believe how perfect it fits me. The sight picture is spot on.

Here is the weird way it goes from hex to round. Not like my other fowler, that's for sure. You can also see the paint job. My BB carbine was done much better.

Seems like decent wood. Supposedly American walnut. But I want to darken it. Right now it looks like every other Pedersoli I have.

 

[64Springer]

A magnet won't stick to a brass front sight.

 

[pacanis]

I knew that

 

[pacanis]

Right on. It's non-magnetic.

They probably painted right over it to save time.

 

[DuncNZ]

Is that finish on the barrel some sort of preservative ?

 

[pacanis]

I guess it's a preservative.
It's Pedersoli's "brown barrel". Not to be confused with a barrel that is actually "browned".

I'm not sure who came up with this, but it would have been better off blued so you can French gray it without removing the brown finish first. The brown paint looks horrible.

But it is a brown barrel...

 

[TreeMan]

That’s a brown powder coating on the barrel. It’s not paint. Good luck getting it off easily. I have one too. The finish on mine is uniform and definitely now splotchy like yours. I’d send that back unless the pics are deceiving.

 

[DuncNZ]

The Hex appears to twist because it is tapered . The two sets of wedding rings are normal barrel decorations . Don't forget this is a Trade Gun not a fowler and these guns were made to shoot , ball , buck and ball , buck or bird shot , more usually ball .

 

[Tacitus]

I have two of the Pedersoli trade guns, brass front sight on both.

 

[FlinterNick]

I’ve seen a couple of these guns.

The one flaw that pedersoli needs to get right on this gun and it’s brown bess is the thimbles are inlet way too shallow and pinned to low. Too much pressure in the wrong direction and those thimbles will break the stock.

The finish on the barrel is a chemical coloring finish, not easy to put on and not easy to remove.

Some octagon to round barrels without wedding bands have flats that fade into the round section.

A lot of Dutch and french muskets were made that way.

 

[pacanis]

Thanks for all the information guys.

 

[Nuthatch]

Looks like mine. I had to file the front sight WAY down to barely a nub before it would hit POA though. Probably just an issue of how I like to hold the gun & stick my cheek on it so that the flat of the barrel near my eye comes almost to the bottom of the front sight. Fun gun, though. Certainly got people scratching their heads when I showed up at a trap range with it.

 

[pacanis]

I'll be interested to see how mine shoots. I don't think I've ever owned a shotgun/smoothie where the pitch was perfect.

Well, that took about an hour.

And look what I found underneath all that paint.
A brass sight!

It's basically a gray barrel now, but I'm going to cold blue it and rub it down anyway.
Or maybe I'll brown it and rub it down...
Either way that factory finish is gone. Or at least covered in furniture

 

[pacanis]

Actually, I think I won't do a dang thing more to the barrel.

But I'd still like to change the finish on the stock.

 

[FlinterNick]

Actually, I think I won't do a dang thing more to the barrel.
View attachment 203006


But I'd still like to change the finish on the stock.

Make sure you scrape of the finish and not sand it, I’ve seen so many oversanded Pedersoli’s.

 

[pacanis]

I just noticed supporting members can't edit their posts or title after a bit of time passes . That's different

But anyway, I took the metal off the wood earlier today... dang those wood screws are torqued in... and why do I need like six different blades for the screws? I've stopped putting them away. Seems like I always need a different bit for an Italian shooter. So I decided what the heck and had at her.
She's drying right now after knocking the shine off it, staining with a dark stain, letting it sit a while then rubbing her down.

So tomorrow we shall see what we shall see.
I'm hoping it doesn't contrast the gray barrel too much, but I know it will. Still, I did not want that Pedersoli light tan stock on it.
So we'll just call it a four beer stock

 

[Dave Markowitz]

The metal came out great. Looking forward to seeing the finished gun.

 

[pacanis]

The metal came out great. Looking forward to seeing the finished gun.

Thanks, Dave

 

[Notchy Bob]

Actually, I think I won't do a dang thing more to the barrel.
View attachment 203006

But I'd still like to change the finish on the stock.

That barrel looks fine to me.

I have read that some of the later Northwest guns had browned barrels, but most were originally blued. I think it's your gun, though, and you ought to finish it as you like. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the stock!

Notchy Bob

 

[DuncNZ]

Charles Hanson's book Trade Gun Sketch Book says that on the early pre 1777 guns the barrels were usually browned and that in 1780 the Hudson Bay Company directors ordered that all barrels were to be browned .
Using cold blue then a rub down with ordinary bleach then carding back with steel wool can produce a nice aged effect , I'd try it on a hidden part of the barrel first as different steels react differently to the same chemicals,
I like it the way it is , I wonder at Pedersoli using such a bad finish in the first place .