The Indian Connection: Replica Muskets From Canada

I'm always looking for something to write about, often wondering if the topics I choose are relevant to other shooters. Since this post is a real response to a real inquiry, I feel that there will be at least one person who might be interested in what I have to write. 

Hello Trigger,

I checked out your website and it looks pretty interesting. I would like to try flintlock muzzle loading. I already own a percussion black powder rifle (an 1863 Springfield) so I'm familiar with powder charges and accoutrements but I do have some questions, if you care to respond.

Firstly, could you recommend a good source for a musket? Beginner quality I expect. I am kinda taken with an 1766 Charleville rifled musket. Access Heritage sells one that doesn't break the bank but I am unsure of their quality. The looks are great but I wonder if they make a good target rifle.

Also, could you recommend a local black powder gunsmith? I've had no luck. I live in Novato, Marin county.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Signed, Curious George  


Dear Curious:


Trigger here. I'm going to CC this reply to some other club members to see if they agree with my advice.

First, I don't recommend any flint musket as a beginning flintlock. The Pedersoli Charleville is a very well made gun, but also quite expensive. Also, muskets of this era weren't rifled, so you're basically shooting a shotgun loaded with a single round ball. Even worse, smoothbore muskets do not have rear sights, so accurate shooting is a far greater challenge. In the case of the Brown Bess, the front sight is the bayonet lug. On the Charleville, I think it's an integral part of the barrel band.

I do not recommend the inexpensive Indian reproductions imported through Canada. They are basically hand made in India and crudely finished. I purchased a Brown Bess India Pattern (short barrel) as a lark from an American importer who carried the same products as Access Heritage, but I would never use it for any serious shooting. 

I read the  Access Heritage description for the 1766 Charleville and am including this direct quote:

:...As with all our other flintlock black powder muzzleloaders, the vent is not drilled (read details below) so we can ship easily to your door throughout North America and to Europe and the UK..."

You will need to drill the flash hole yourself or the musket cannot be made to fire. They are not firearms, and therefore exempt from ownership restrictions. This is why they can be sent anywhere in the world. They are fine for parades and demonstrations of the Manual of Arms. When required to go "bang", the vents must be drilled. They normally fire "blanks" consisting of a charge of black powder and a wad of paper towel to hold it in place. They may, or may not, hold up to the pressures of a real lead round ball, as the barrels are not proof-fired before leaving the factory.

I would recommend that you purchase a Lyman Great Plains Rifle* in .50 caliber. It is well made from quality materials, and most important, is a reliable "sparker", which is to say that the frizzen, the most important part of the lock, is made from hardened high carbon steel. It is a part that can be easily replaced, and when the face gets "chewed up", as frizzens always do, they can be re-finished with a sanding drum in a drill press. Unlike case hardening, the Lyman frizzen is hard all the way through, not just on the outside.

I don't know of any local gunsmiths working on black powder guns, but there are specialized "locksmiths" who will adjust a temperamental flintlock. I'm going out on a limb when I say that if you purchase a Lyman, you're pretty much assured that it will function properly. Also, don't get a kit, because fitting the barrel to the tang can be a little tricky unless you're really good with a file and have a bottle of Dykem handy.

Incidentally, your 1863 Springfield would NOT be allowed for two reasons. First, the 58 caliber exceeds the Club's maximum caliber of .54. This rule is to minimize premature destruction of our steel targets. Second, black powder competitions like ours stipulate that weapons (I used this word in a historical context) must be of a muzzle-loading design made prior to 1838.

Hope I didn't come off as a Party Pooper. Get a Lyman. You won't be disappointed. Check Track of the Wolf.

*I didn't realize that the Lyman (rifles) are now sold through Pedersoli, and have raised their prices considerably. I stand by everything I said, but I haven't been keeping up with the prices. I bought mine 20 years ago and paid $329.00. Oh well, that's inflation for you.


Trigger
Sonoma Valley Muzzle Loaders

Yes, I own an India Pattern Brown Bess that I purchased from Middlesex Village Trading Company in New Hampshire. MVTC drills the flash hole for you, making their muskets ready to shoot right out of the box. This is important because no reputable gunsmith would want to take responsibility for "activating" a replica that may, or may not, be safe to fire. The drilling process isn't difficult for somebody who owns a drill press, a clamping block, and a 1/16" twist drill. I believe my "Bess" came with a bayonet, since I have one, and doubt that I would have paid extra for it.  I have a pattern to make a proper leather bayonet frog for it, but never actually made one. 

I also bought a cartridge box from Dixie Gun Works, which was essentially a block of wood in a leather case. It was drilled for the smaller 69 caliber ammunition of the French Charleville musket, so I made a replacement block and drilled some.750" holes to accommodate bigger (.720") round balls for the Bess. I even rolled my own paper cartridges using the authentic English string-binding construction (see photo). By using the paper cartridges it was relatively easy to get 3 or 4 shots off in a minute, but the bore fouled quickly, and the loading became more difficult with each shot. I had to run a 12 gauge bristle brush down the bore every five shots just to knock the crud loose.

There a many things I dislike about the musket. First, the steel barrel, which seems sturdy enough, appears to have a bore that is wider at the breech than at the muzzle, based on the varying levels of resistance my moist cleaning patches encountered. Imagine trying to clean a shotgun with a super-tight full choke from the muzzle. Second, the buffed finish doesn't look right - It's too shiny to pass as  authentic. And lastly, the overall wood to metal fit can be charitably described as "only adequate". But I paid only $425.00 for it in a year when a Pedersoli Brown Bess was going for about $800.00.

I mentioned the frizzen, the part of the lock that provides the steel from which those red-hot steel shavings (sparks) are made. Historically, they were made of mild, low carbon steel which cannot be effectively hardened, The parts were subsequently case-hardened, a process that cooked a thin layer of carbon into the frizzen and when quenched, created a microscopically thin outer layer of carbon-rich, hardened steel. When the surface hardening wears out, it can be case hardened again. although a better but less attractive approach is to attach a thin piece of spring steel or bandsaw blade (overshoe) to the surface using silver solder. I'm told that this is an authentic repair, but I never liked the results. Pedersoli frizzens, along with those of the Lyman and other modern Italian manufacturers, are made of high carbon steel, heat treated to be hard al the way through, yet ductile enough to not shatter. I even went so far as to buy a Pedersoli Brown Bess replacement frizzen to install on my Indian imposter, but I lost interest in the project shortly after its purchase.

I admit that playing with my Bess was fun, but not something I care to spend time doing today. When shooting for fun, you accept these little foibles as part of the game. But when shooting for points, the last thing you want is to worry about is getting only a flash in the pan, or worse, no ignition at all, when you pull the trigger.

More Flintlock Follies follow.