Dave Markowitz
Member
I've had this musket for a couple of years but finally got around to taking some pictures of it today. This is a replica French M1717 musket bought at Dixon's in Kempton, PA, and imported from India by Middlesex Village Tradiing Company.
It's difficult to get a good full length shot of the musket because it is so long.
Trigger guard:
The lock has an interesting vertical bridle securing the frizzen spring:
It came with a socket bayonet which is not in the pictures.
The .69 caliber smoothbore barrel is 46" long. The top of the barrel has a flat running most of the length, providing something of a sighting plane.
The owner of MVTC checks the locks and makes sure the frizzen is properly hardened before he sends them out. The lock sparks well, the touchole is positioned properly just above the level of pan, and ignition is reliable and quick.
So far I've only shot it at 25 yards with a patched .662 roundball, getting an ~6" group. Considering that the only sight is the bayonet lug and that the trigger is very heavy, I'm not complaining. I think with some load development and a trigger job it could be more accurate.
I've read in several places that the M1717 did not see service in North America. However, this morning I ran across this article, reprinted from The American Rifleman, which includes a picture of a musket (musket #3) made by a Colonial gunsmith incorporating salvaged French parts, including a M1717 lock. So it seems to me that some of them made it to North America, though probably not many. Perhaps the lock or French musket came as part of as French aid to the Americans, or possibly it was captured during the F&I War.
It's difficult to get a good full length shot of the musket because it is so long.
Trigger guard:
The lock has an interesting vertical bridle securing the frizzen spring:
It came with a socket bayonet which is not in the pictures.
The .69 caliber smoothbore barrel is 46" long. The top of the barrel has a flat running most of the length, providing something of a sighting plane.
The owner of MVTC checks the locks and makes sure the frizzen is properly hardened before he sends them out. The lock sparks well, the touchole is positioned properly just above the level of pan, and ignition is reliable and quick.
So far I've only shot it at 25 yards with a patched .662 roundball, getting an ~6" group. Considering that the only sight is the bayonet lug and that the trigger is very heavy, I'm not complaining. I think with some load development and a trigger job it could be more accurate.
I've read in several places that the M1717 did not see service in North America. However, this morning I ran across this article, reprinted from The American Rifleman, which includes a picture of a musket (musket #3) made by a Colonial gunsmith incorporating salvaged French parts, including a M1717 lock. So it seems to me that some of them made it to North America, though probably not many. Perhaps the lock or French musket came as part of as French aid to the Americans, or possibly it was captured during the F&I War.