Alden seems to be devolving into a Reductio ad Absurdum where one reduces the argument to absurd extremes and then is critical of those extremes.
The Pedersoli Bess has several faults, the primary one is that it most closely resembles a "Short Land Pattern" Bess, which was used in very small numbers in the American Revolution, and even as an SLP it's wrong... as far as cosmetics go. One only needs the naked eye to see that.
The lock is dated "Grice 1762" while the musket they make wasn't started into mass production until 1769. It should have a round not a flat sideplate unless it's the 1777 version (but the 1777 version never made it to America). These are two glaring mistakes..., easily fixed (the Japanese Bess lock was correctly marked "tower") but Pedersoli ignores complaints.
Middlesex Village Trading Company apparently crossed some "line" by removing something on the main page that says their stuff is of India origins..., but Pedersoli says this about their Bess,
"Veteran of the Seven Years War, it was used also by Wellington during the war in the Iberian Peninsula and at Waterloo. The infantry troops of almost the entire world used it, from the European Nations allied with the English to the Mexican troops, who used it until the last battle with United States on the 13th of September 1847 at Chapultepec.
What is written is "essentially true", but what Pedersoli doesn't tell you is the version that they sell could not have been used during the 7 Years War, NOR was it used by Wellington's troops nor by Mexicans. The Long Land Pattern Bess was used until AFTER the American Revolution, and by the Napoleonic Wars, the India Pattern was used.
Sure the differences may be subtle to some people's eyes, but the differences are real just as the original M-16 of the Vietnam era is different than the M-4 Rifle of today's military.
The Pedersoli Bess are good shooting guns, well assembled, and attractive, although the more recent versions have had some spring problems.
If one does not like the business practices of any company, one should opt not to trade with that company. Of course we assume that all of the parts in the Pedersoli guns come from Italy, when in fact there is nothing to indicate this, just as there is nothing to indicate in the price stickers of our cars how much is made in USA, vs. Canada, or Japan, etc.
LD