Preliminary Baker Review/Range Report

[Walkabout]

Well, I ignored the angel on my shoulder and ordered the Baker Cavalry shotgun from Midway. It came in two days. Good show.
First , The stock is nice, with very pleasing figure on the buttstock. I was very pleased with the general appearance of the piece. The ramrod was an absolute bear to remove, but I finally got it out and rubbed it with olive oil and then kinda worked till it started to loosen up. It's still pretty tight and the finish on the rod is worn off where it was held in place. Not so good.
The range trip was a mixed bag I guess. The trigger was very stiff and the hammer sequence wasn't exactly consistent. I also had two misfires which I can't account for. I was using P Pyrodex.
I don't have any 20 gauge wads yet, so I used cleaning patches as wads. It shot OK, this was more of a test fire and I wasn't doing any serious patterning.
I got it back home and started getting ready to clean it. The take down wedge was another bugger to get loose and I actually slightly marred the wood next to the wedge plate. Not good. Then when putting the barrel back in the stock, I had to maintain tension on the barrel and stock while forcefully pounding the wedge back into place. The one word I would use to describe this gun is TIGHT.
I'm ordering wads and other accessories for some more serious patterning and round ball testing and hopefully it will break in and loosen up a bit. I'm also thinking about paper cartridges, scabbards, and civil war type pouches, etc. Should be interesting. Any feedback from other Baker owners are welcomed. Thanks

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

 

[Darkgael]

I do not own a Baker cavalry. I do own an older SXS 12 gauge that was shortened to 14 inches. It is a hoot to shoot and, when kept to sensible distances (under 25 yards…..less is better) it gives a useful pattern. I have not hunted with it yet (Had some mobility issues) but i expect that it will be useful in the Huckleberries and in and around the autumn olives.
i can see it useful walking field edges for careless rabbits.
i also have a flintlock blunderbuss, also 14 inches, in 20 gauge. Same fun and fast to the shoulder.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

Got a "Yellow Bird Gun" I made from a couple of T/C New Englanders and a T/C Grey Hawk. It is named for a character in some stories I wrote who uses a similar gun. It has interchangeable barrels in .54 (9"), 12 Ga. (12") and .50 (12"). Uses a shortened New Englander stock with an ebony nose cap. A longer than average short starter serves as the ramrod. I generally shoot about 30 grains of powder in all the barrels regardless of load. More than that produces more recoil than I like and is mostly wasted because of the short barrel.

A half-ounce of #7 1/2 shot will pattern well at thirty yards with enough power to penetrate both sides of a steel can. I've only tried using it on "pests"... which were all dispatched. The shotgun barrel has no bead on it as of yet. Perhaps some day. It will shoot a patched round ball into the center of a milk jug at thirty yards... if I do my part, which is difficult without any sights.

The .54 barrel was the first one I made, and has a shotgun bead front sight with a primitive forged wrought iron "U" notch sight JB Welded to the barrel. This sight is not adjustable except by varying the charge weight. It will shoot about a 7" group at 30 yards.

After these experiments, I acquired a T/C Grey Hawk with a synthetic stock. Took all the stainless steel hardware off of the synthetic stock and replaced the blued parts on the walnut New Englander barrel. Had a gunsmith install a Remington rear sight assembly and a Williams front bead sight and ramp. The much better sighting system on this barrel makes fifty yard shots feasible and I can generally hit a milk jug at that range, though I usually shoot 30 yard targets.

Ramrod/short starter is a hickory shaft cut from one of the New Englanders sacrificed for this project and fitted into a piece of ebony that I roughed up a bit. The starter knob is a T/C range rod end if memory serves.

While this gun serves most of my short-barreled needs, I am considering a Pedersoli Baker shotgun and/or a MK III Kodiak. That second shot idea appeals to me.

 

[Bad Karma]

Got a "Yellow Bird Gun" I made from a couple of T/C New Englanders and a T/C Grey Hawk. It is named for a character in some stories I wrote who uses a similar gun. It has interchangeable barrels in .54 (9"), 12 Ga. (12") and .50 (12"). Uses a shortened New Englander stock with an ebony nose cap. A longer than average short starter serves as the ramrod. I generally shoot about 30 grains of powder in all the barrels regardless of load. More than that produces more recoil than I like and is mostly wasted because of the short barrel.

A half-ounce of #7 1/2 shot will pattern well at thirty yards with enough power to penetrate both sides of a steel can. I've only tried using it on "pests"... which were all dispatched. The shotgun barrel has no bead on it as of yet. Perhaps some day. It will shoot a patched round ball into the center of a milk jug at thirty yards... if I do my part, which is difficult without any sights.

The .54 barrel was the first one I made, and has a shotgun bead front sight with a primitive forged wrought iron "U" notch sight JB Welded to the barrel. This sight is not adjustable except by varying the charge weight. It will shoot about a 7" group at 30 yards.

After these experiments, I acquired a T/C Grey Hawk with a synthetic stock. Took all the stainless steel hardware off of the synthetic stock and replaced the blued parts on the walnut New Englander barrel. Had a gunsmith install a Remington rear sight assembly and a Williams front bead sight and ramp. The much better sighting system on this barrel makes fifty yard shots feasible and I can generally hit a milk jug at that range, though I usually shoot 30 yard targets.

Ramrod/short starter is a hickory shaft cut from one of the New Englanders sacrificed for this project and fitted into a piece of ebony that I roughed up a bit. The starter knob is a T/C range rod end if memory serves.

While this gun serves most of my short-barreled needs, I am considering a Pedersoli Baker shotgun and/or a MK III Kodiak. That second shot idea appeals to me.
View attachment 197134

That is just cool! What a great little backpacking rifle. I might have left a bit more barrel, maybe say 16-18“ or so but that’s just all kinda cool! My great Uncle had something like that for killing steers and hogs for butchering, his was a 45 caliber. I haven’t seen it in years, one of the boys had it last I recall, but it may have been a trapdoor chopped that way.