pedersoli pennsylvania rifle

[Thorman]

What time period would the Pedersoli Pennsylvania rifle fall into if any? Thanks.

 

[LRB]

21st c. At the price they have risen to, for a little more money, you could buy a "In the white" correct rifle from Tip Curtis, and a few others. You only have to sand and finish to have a rifle of much superior quality, reliability, and correctness.

 

[ebiggs1]

And probably a lock with the hammer cock positioned in the middel of the frizzen!

 

[rabjr]

What time period would the Pedersoli Pennsylvania rifle fall into if any? Thanks.

The problem with these type of questions about a commercially made gun, is the asker usually dosan't like the answers.

 

[Thorman]

I have thick skin. I have noticed a few people refering to them on this Forum, and I do like how they look. I would also like to be a little close (as far as my budget will let me) to PC (F&I and REV War) as I can get. But budget comes first. Any helpful hints? Thanks.

 

[rabjr]

I have thick skin. I have noticed a few people refering to them on this Forum, and I do like how they look. I would also like to be a little close (as far as my budget will let me) to PC (F&I and REV War) as I can get. But budget comes first. Any helpful hints? Thanks.

I would definately listen to Wick, call Tip and tell him what your looking for. Check out the price on an "in the white" gun for that period. :v

 

[ebiggs1]

With budget in mind, if you can get the Cabela's Blue Ridge on sale, like I did, for $500, it is a pretty darn good deal. It has a few problems but it shoots well enough for you to experience that type rifle. Add a few little tweaks you can do yourself and it's OK.
Believe me I understand budget. You must do what you must do. Don't let others belittle you.

 

[Thorman]

Thanks. I'll take a look at.

 

[LRB]

I would not belittle you. One of my shooting partners has one, but these guns have a breech system, and often a poor lock, that very often gives ignition problems. Flintlocks can be problem enough for those who haven't shot them, and poor ignition just makes it worse. If the lock were better, and the breech was normal, I'd say a good starter gun, but I have reworked enough of them to still advise a "In the White gun. Sand it, finish it, go shoot it. Down the road, you might re-do it to be even nicer.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Budget is important to many getting started as well as some old timers. :hmm: Myself I was hoping to get a 45 T.C. patriot pistol since I had shot one years ago and liked it. But when I considered the price ($450) I decided to take the pistol barrel I have had for 19 years, the piece of walnut I have beeh saving for tenty five years and some miscellanous parts and make up a close enough( for me )copy. But most people just getting started find a factory gun the simplist way to go. Once they get addicted to the black powder smoke then they can mortage the house to pay for their addictions.

 

[BrownBear]

I've got a Pedersoli Frontier flinter in 50 cal, and much that you hear is in line with my experience. The lock took some fiddling, (relaxing the springs) but now it works fine. The breech has a skinny little interior "patent" section that needs special attention in cleaning.

Would I pay $500 or more for one, much less factory new price? No. But I got mine with a bunch of spare flints and balls plus two molds for $250. I'd buy all I could find for that.

Trouble is, when you say "budget", you can go downhill fast in quality as the price drops below Pedersoli prices. I've had more than my share of problems with Traditions and sworn them off completely. The Lyman GPR is in the $500 realm, and in my experience it's a lot of gun for the money and functions very well. But I doubt it would pass historical muster for lots of folks here.

Going with an in-the-white gun from Curtis or TVM as suggested here doesn't double the cost by any means, but does push you well over the $500 line. No great skills or tools required to finish an in-the-white gun, and in the end you'll have a whole lot more gun for the extra money.

 

[hanshi]

Oooookay! I'll play devil's advocate-which is not particularly easy to do in this case.

I had one of the "Cub" rifles which is simply the short version of the Pennsylvania/Kentucky. It was accurate and with it I took many deer-all one shot kills. Mine was a flintlock but it wasn't long before I got a percussion lock. Why? Well, the flint lock is small, has bad geometry and is not reliable (I did say it wasn't easy). Most of the deer I took was with the cap lock installed and most of the shooting, too.

Now I did take deer with the flint lock installed and the longest kill I've ever made was with the flint. It was a gamble, though. I suppose the lock would have improved a great deal with a full tuning but hey, it shouldn't need that. Other than the lock the rifle was very good quality. The price was a lot lower then, too. These production flint locks are simply a manure shoot.

At their current price a custom/semi custom won't be that much more. If a good deal is available, well, it might be the smart move. I've never had experience with the Blue Ridge (aka Frontier) but they do have a much larger flint lock on them. Also others often report favorably on them, but unless (again) you come across a deal, I'd keep looking.

 

[Maestro]

The Pedersoli and other production guns definitely serve a purpose, but... if you're interested in historical accuracy (as you said you were), I agree with those that have suggested an "in-the-white" or used custom (or even a semi-custom) gun. I think you'll be happier with it over time - even if you have to wait a little to pull more funds together. I believe custom guns will always hold their value better as well. That's just my 2 pence.

 

[rabjr]

to PC (F&I and REV War) as I can get.

I think most have over looked that comment. Thats why I agree with looking into an "in the white gun". It wouldn't hurt to ask and he just might end up with a gun that meets his thoughts.

 

[John Wasmuth]

Skip a couple of house payments and dont buy groceries for a couple months. That way you can get a custom deal, easy enough in these times.

 

[J.D.]

The time period for the Ped Frontier rifle...late 1970s-early 1990s.

While I understand someone having to watch the budget, for a little more, you can get a MUCH better value in something from Tip Curtis, as mentioned above. Depending on your skills with hand tools, a Chambers kit might work for you too, although the kit would be more expensive than the Ped.

When it comes to ML guns, inexpensive is generally poor to middlin' quality. IMHO, Peds guns are over priced, middling quality.

Check out Jim Parker's work. He may have something you can afford.
http://www.parkerfirearms.com/main.html

IMHO, I sometimes gotta eliminate fast food, or even slow food, i.e. eating out, from the budget for a few weeks to afford travel expenses to some of the better shows or to get the parts I need to build something nice for myself.

IMHO, delaying gratification by making some small sacrifice to get a better piece only makes one appreciate the longrifle, custom knife, or whatever that much more. That better piece makes for a real nice heirloom to pass down to the family, when the time comes too.

God bless

 

[rabjr]

In all seriousness it don't take much to save 20 bucks here and there, before you know it you'll have 100 bucks. I bet if you looked real hard, you'll find one or two things you can live without and sell. You'll be surprised what you can sell and save in 6 months or a year if you really put a mind to it. If you really want a gun of that period you'd like, a good gunsmith would have about a 2 year waiting list if you went and had a custom one built. Something from Tip Curtis "in the white" would be sooner and cheaper than having a fully custom gun built.

You don't need to ruin your credit to get what you want.

 

[Zonie]

My answer to the question. "
What time period would the Pedersoli Pennsylvania rifle fall into if any?" is, the early 1800's.
The relatively narrow butt plate and the low "rail" on the trigger guard leads me to say this.

Yes, I realize these guns don't match any builder or school and they have some strange mixes of styles and the "semi-buckhorn" adjustable rear sight wouldn't be seen on a rifle until the mid to late 1800's.
The lack of a patchbox makes the gun somewhat unusual for a rifle made during the flintlock period.

 

[jaw69]

I agree slim the wood along the barrel stain it darker and drill a tallow hole and you have a pretty good poor boy with a different trigger garud

 

[cowpoke1955]

Wonder why nobody made an after market drop-in stock for the Pedersolis that would give them a more historic look? :hmm: :hmm: