New "toys" arrived!

[DutchmanDick]

Well, I got my blunderbuss and howdah pistol from Middlesex today. WOO HOO!!! :grin:

Looks like I can use the same flints in the blunderbuss as I do in my NWTG, though some of them need to be "trimmed back" a bit so they don't touch the frizzen when it's half-cocked. Sparks really nicely. The wooden ramrod is a bit thin with a big brass tip, but I suppose if all you're doing is stuffing down wadding and buckshot you don't need a massive ramrod. My only real objection is the comb is rather square and sharp at the end. I may have to fix that one day, but it will likely mean stripping the entire stock and refinishing it. The muzzle bell has machine marks inside, but I can live with that in this sort of gun. Trigger pull is a bit mushy, but not at all heavy, and half-cock is secure. I never realized just how SMALL these guns were. Cute...like a baby rattlesnake!

The howdah can best be described as...MASSIVE. I doubt I'll be shooting this one one-handed except with light charges. I didn't pop any caps, but I pulled the triggers with a thumb on the hammer spur, and both triggers seem to have a reasonable amount of let-off. Finish is decent, and even the engraving is (to me, at least) aesthetically pleasing. The barrels are 9", not 7-1/2" like I had thought originally. The bead "sight" is slightly off-kilter (leans a bit), but for the ranges it was meant to be used at I think the problem is a negligible one. all hardware, with the exception of the brass butt-cap, trigger guard, and trigger plate, are steel. Nipples are square-shouldered like a musket nipple. They are WAY too big for #11 caps, but musket caps are a rather loose fit (they can, however, be pinched down so they stay on). No idea what thread they are but I will probably replace them with either true musket cap nipples or #11 sized nipples.

Can't post pics right now. Computer isn't reading my camera's media card, for some reason. Will post them when I get the problem solved.

 

[wattlebuster]

Congrats to you cant wait to see the pics :thumbsup:

 

[DutchmanDick]

Got a nice, quick reply from Pete at MVTCo concerning the nipple size on my new howdah:

Hello,


They are for musket caps. That is how original nipples are shaped. It is tapered so the caps will still go on after it starts to mushroom. The idea of a short, straight sided nipple that is exactly the length of a cap is a modern idea. In the old days, they used the nipple until it mushroomed to the point that it was too wide, then dressed down the sides and kept on using it.


The threads are 5/16-24, which is a standard size. The only thing to be careful of is that aftermarket nipples might be short stubby ones and might change the angle the hammer hits the cap at. It will still go off, but might spit cap shards and sparks rearwards.


Another thing you can do is file the stock nipples a little thinner at the tip so you can fit #11 caps on them.


Me, I just use musket caps.


Thanks,


Pete

 

[hoochiepapa]

Happy days!!
Can't wait to see the pics. Let us know how things shoot.

 

[DutchmanDick]

Congrats to you cant wait to see the pics :thumbsup:

Ask, and ye shall receive...

 

[John Wasmuth]

Realy nice! :thumbsup:

 

[ny griz]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Good luck and enjoy.Griz

 

[BillinOregon]

Rich: That 'Buss really is petite, isn't it? But I'll bet it does a man's work. Can't wait for the range report.

 

[DutchmanDick]

What's really nice is, when I ordered the guns I asked for the largest bore size they had on hand for the blunderbuss. I was told that that would be .688. When I read the invoice that came with the guns, they had crossed out the .688 and wrote in .691. So it looks like they found me a true .69 caliber!

Interesting to note, I was watching the classic Disney movie "Treasure Island" (1950) this evening. Near the beginning of the film, when Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livsey arrive at the inn to chase off the pirates, the Squire is armed with a small blunderbuss - roughly the same length as mine, by the looks of it.

 

[DutchmanDick]

Took my howdah pistol to my parents' place over the holidays (there wasn't room for the blunderbuss in my suitacase, unfortunately, and I don't have the buckshot mold I ordered yet anyways).

Used a .600 RB from a Rapine bag mold, a bore-buttered pillow ticking patch, and about 55 grains of KIK FFg (I say "about", as I was using my antique powder flask with an unmarked, 3-position spout, and at the highest setting the spout's contents, poured into my adjustable measure set at 60 grains, comes about halfway between the 50 and 60 grain mark). Recoil was not at all unpleasant - I think the weight helps keep it down. Made a satisfying "BOOM!!!" and a lot of smoke, as expected. I ended up having to do some minor gunsmithing on the RH lock, as it had a tendency to get caught at half-cock on the way down. The sear nose was improperly shaped, and I also had to dress the burrs off the half-cock notch. Seems to work fine now.

My targets were a couple of small pumpkins, about 6"-7" across, that my mom had grown this fall from some seeds someone had given her only to find that they had apparently gotten cross-pollinated with a spaghetti squash and made lousy eating or cooking pumpkins. My technique must have been off, since I only "winged" each pumpkin once, high and off to one side at about 15 feet, rather than hitting dead center, plowing a deep groove but not much else (I was SO hoping for an exploded target!). I'm not used to shooting round balls from guns without rear sights.

When I took the barrels off for cleaning, I found that the hand-made nipples are REALLY old-fashioned. They have a large opening at the bottom rather than the pinhole found in modern nipples, which would explain why, when I cocked the hammers to place the caps, there were powder grains in the nipples. Good thing the hammers were down, or I'd have lost a part of the charge. I found a similar, original nipple on my Gurkha-made P-1853 Enfield I got from IMA a few years ago.

Unfortunately, I had to cut my shooting short after about 6 shots, as the weather was in the teens and my numb fingers began fumbling both loading components and gun alike. Come warmer weather, I want to set up an actual target and see where I'm hitting. By then I should also have my buckshot mold, so I can see how it patterns.