Shooting the Indian Bess

[ozark57]

I fired the Bess today,after some very minor tweeking of the lock. I used a craytex wheel on a Dremel to smooth and polish the frizzen where it contacts the spring which made a big difference in smoothness of operation. Before doing this the frizzen would not flip all the way forward when struck by the cock.
Ignition is fast and sure, with no misfires and I have 20-some shots on the flint without knapping so far. I think these guns will are a very good choice for re-enactors or for just good PC shooters. At the asking price of $435.00 from Track of the Wolf, they are a bargain. No buyers regret here!
I will be working on the lock and trigger to get trigger pull down to a lower level, but aside from that,I'm just shootin' her! :thumbsup:

 

[jchochole]

What type of Bess did you have again? You mentioned $435 from TOW, I am not familiar with them selling Indian Besses...can you please give details.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[colmoultrie]

Congrats! Is the wood on yours close enough to an original for you? If you decide to take down the wood, please post details, as that's also going to be a project for me this summer.

 

[piteruu]

What with accuracy?

 

[ozark57]

What type of Bess did you have again? You mentioned $435 from TOW, I am not familiar with them selling Indian Besses...can you please give details.

Thanks,
Jim

Go to TOTW website and look under guns. You will find the Bess there. They are imported from India and do not have the vent drilled and have not been proof tested. You can read my post on proofing he gun if you scroll down a bit.
The guns are hand assembled and need a little tweeking to make right, but are an excellent value.
As far as accuracy is concerned, I am just starting to experiment with loads. Shot about 4" yesterday at 25 yards, but the trigger pull is over 10 pounds ( I'll fix that). I shot 80gr. of ffg behind a .715 PRB.
The finish on the stock is acceptable to me, and I will leave it alone for now. Some re-enactors will refinish as it is not exactly faithfull to the original.