Brown Bess Range Report

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FiveStrings

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Yesterday I finally got the opportunity to get to know this new Pedersoli Brown Bess. The good news is that firing this musket, for me, captures everything I already loved about BP shooting, and multiplies the thrill x 100. It really is a splendid firearm, and it's accuracy and ease of use really surpised me. I shot about 25 balls through her altogether (which took a while to do) from a rest at a 50 yard target and was able to shoot groups roughly the size of the palm of my hand (along with a smattering of flinch-fliers, too). A paper target mounted against a backing that already has a big hole in it doesn't stand a chance against the .715 round ball - that target was pretty well shredded!!

I started with a .715 ball, lubed .015 patch, 80 gr Goex ff and a Goex 4f priming charge. AT 50 yards these shots hit consistently low and left of center. At 90 grains FF the POI got a little better, at 100 grains it was hitting dead on. The recoil was just right - satisfying, but nowhere near as punishing as my Trapdoor carbine. It fires fast, too. At least one of the shots was as instantaneous as a centerfire cartridge.

The not-so-good news was that I had a lot of trouble getting flint to spark reliably. Being that I'm a total beginner with flintlocks, I expected I'd have trouble with something, and it was the flints. Lots of misfires where the flint just would not spark the priming. I'm using Tom Fuller 1 1/8 x 1 1/4 English flints I got from TOTW. THey seem awful big, but again, I don't really have anything to compare them to. I tinkered around with the flint situation quite a bit, changing out a couple, and playing around with the angle of the strike (left/right). I also tried using the 2f as primer instead of the 4 f. I can't really say anything I did consistently improved things. One problem could have been that I had the flint set in the jaws wrapped in a small piece of denim. Could be that it just wasn't fitting in the jaws properly like that. When I got home I sacrified an old belt and cut some small leather strips to use. That seems to hold the flint in place more securely and also gives me a little more flexibility making adjustments.

Even with the misfires, it was a great afternoon. I love my Walker, my other cap and ball revolvers, and my Trapdoor, but the big Brown Bess musket really is a "game changer".
 

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If the flints aren't sparking, and the flint has been tightly secured to the jaws and has good contact with the frizzen, then the frizzen is probably needs hardening with case it's (and must be tempered afterwards).
 
COULD be the frizzen isn't properly hardened but unlikely.

A tight flint (I prefer a couple of layers of leather cut in the back so the flint can just touch the screw -- as on some of the pre-fromed lead wraps) is important. The jaws should not be at the bottom of their travel by the screw and I'd wager there was a bit of an issue there... You want to see a little thread left to continue tightening once you are actually DONE tightening it. Then..

Try having the jaws JUST loose enough to ensure as much of the face of the flint is striking the frizzen horizontally (carefully resting the flint edge on the frizzen) and THEN finish the last bit of tightening. Also, depending on WHERE it is first striking the frizzen particularly (maybe too low?), try installing the flint bevel down and see if that doesn't improve your success.

Good shooting -- good luck!
 
Are you wiping the face of the frizzen between shots? Crud on the frizzen will not help the flint produce sparks. Bevel up or down and properly fitting the flint to the cock are importamt also. I use lead sheet to wrap the flint in my Charleville and knapp the edge to a straight line, then set the flint to strike the frizzen with as much contact as possible.

Flintlocks are not easy but experience will make them easier, and faster. If you hear the flint hit and scrape before the boom, the lock needs some attention.
 
Welcome to flintlocks! Other folks covered everything I thought of, from wiping the frizzen to notching the leather holding your flint. 2f will light your musket just fine, no need for finer powder. Fuller flints are very good, but I think you would do well with the 1 inch size with the Pedersoli Bess. Some locks seem to prefer having the flint placed in the jaws with the bevel facing down, and some the opposite way, try it and see if that makes a difference. Above all, enjoy it!
 
THanks to all for the suggestions, the experimentation is definitely part of the fun.

As opposed to "dry-firing" a percussion or center-fire firearm, here it would seem that I could probably work with these flint adjustments and a bit of priming powder in the pan out in the backyard to find a reliable flint setting without harming the action, right? It might sacrifice a flint or two, but shouldn't pose any harm to the gun......?
 
First thing I thought of was how are you holding the flint in the hammer. I see you were doing it wrong. Denim? Oh well, that's why you ask here.

If you can find a .50 lead ball out there somewhere, smash it flat with a hammer. Smack it flat enough so that you can cut it with a pair of regular scissors. Then cut a rectangle out and use that to wrap the flint. After a shot or two, tighten the hammer screw down again, and it should stay put and you should get a good spark.

That spark caused is the flint digging into, and scraping a micro-layer of metal off the frizzen. The spark is actually the red hot metal from the reaction of it being pulled away from the frizzen by the flint. :what: Wrap it with something soft and it will not dig in.

2F or 4F powder won't make much difference, it is the way you hold that flint in the hammer.

The Doc is out now. :cool:
 
Who's the old guy knapping a flint and MISSING it with his shiny new anachronistic hammer? LOL. Does he shoot that well too!?
 
Try wrapping with lead instead of leather, just hammer out a musket ball and trim it to the right size. I found my lock sparks way better with lead than it does with leather when I have it set up as a flintlock. Your mileage may vary of course. For hardening you can heat it up in a coal forge until it won't stick to a magnet, then drop it in 60 degree water. The carbon from the coal in the forge gets trapped in the steel's pores. That's how I harden my traditional firesteels, and they spark plenty hot. You might want to heat it up to about 500 degrees to make it tougher, that would help keep it from breaking.

~Levi
 
I usually carry several alcohol swabs that come in a little foil packets to wipe the frizzen face and bottom of the flint after firing. People new to flintlocks just can't help puting a greasy thumb on the face of the frizzen. Also, powder residue will build up on the face as well as the flint. The alcohol swab removes traces of grease and oil and evaporates fast. Pedersoli makes a good lock--probably not a problem with it.
 
Wrapping in denim is right out. :D

Try wrapping with lead instead of leather, just hammer out a musket ball and trim it to the right size.
Click to expand...

This is the traditional method for military muskets, and seems to work very well. Be sure to cut a an opening in the back of the lead wrapping to allow the back of the flint to rest against the jaw-screw.

Also, IF the shape of the flint is such that it's striking the face of the frizzen at a 90 degree angle, then it needs to be slightly adjusted. It should be slightly angled downward, so, take a thin piece of the lead that you trimmed off, and place it under the flint where the flint meets the jaw screw. This raises the back end just a tad, and adjusts your angle..., and then when you screw down the top jaw tight, that tiny bit of extra lead will "stick" to the main bit while changing the angle, so you should have no worries...., well no worries beyond the natural ones that come with a flintlock.

LD
 
khwi, y were u sparking a flint above a table with blackpowder spread out on it? khwi? OMG, KWHI, are you alright!?

Glad u made it out OK.
 
A lead wrap, huh? All right, I got a lead ball or two I can sacrifice for the cause. I'll hammer one of these puppies out and see what happens. I'm also gonna remember about keeping the frizzen and flint clean as i go.

Don't laugh too hard about the denim!! Like so many other things we get ourselves in to, "it seemed like a good idea at the time"!!!
 
Hocka Louis said:
khwi, y were u sparking a flint above a table with blackpowder spread out on it?
Click to expand...
???

Powder?

Sure looks like a design on a towel or a piece of carpet to me.
 
I am glad this was posted because I just bought a replica Brown Bess to use as a demo at Appleseed. I know nothing about flint locks except what I have been reading. I have no flints, no powder, no tools, no musket balls, just a musket.

I am not intending to get into reenacting but I would like to shoot it and get some of the accouterments for show and tell.

If you were just getting into doing this what would you get and where would you get it i.e., best source?
 
Mac66 - depends where you're at. If you are in Ohio, go to the Log Cabin Shop in Lodi. If in TN, you've got Dixie Gun Works. If in Indiana, go to Friendship when they have their national match.
 
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