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  1. S

    Indian made bess

    I don’t know, keeping weapons serviceable was a major concern, especially with such a shortage of them. I’d imagine some NCo saw what the privates had concocted and quickly corrected their idea haha It’d be effective in a cannon or swivel piece though I think
  2. S

    Indian made bess

    That’s quite possible, come to think of it. Don Troiani’s book mentioned in his book Soldiers of the American Revolution (a darn good one) that they were .69 caliber, excavated at Fort Ticonderoga. He also says that most of the specimens found haven’t been fired.
  3. S

    Indian made bess

    Ive made up cartridges with buck and ball for the range before. Four to six #6 shot, .715 ball and 80 grains of 2F in a historically correct cartridge. I think I put the buckshot on the end closest to the powder, then ball on top of that. (It all goes down at once in a cartridge. It was a...
  4. S

    Got a Deal on a Charleville

    Nice! When I got my Brown Bess it was sort of a toss-up, and they seemed to come up for sale more often than the Charleville. I’ve been checking with Ackerman arms and Lodgewood Manufacturing on occasion. I believe the Charleville is slightly lighter than a Bess isn’t it?
  5. S

    Is a vent liner OK for a Bessie?

    Made a post earlier about mine having some problems. Next month I’m meeting with a guy to drill the touch hole out a little bigger. It’s tiny. Is it a newer Pedersoli Bess? My thinking is that since it’s not cones inside, it needs to be a little bigger for reliable ignition
  6. S

    Sight picture, Brown Bess

    Haha our coffee’s kinda muddy. Efficient that way. Pretty gross but it gets us moving. I’m getting the touchole drilled out, or the fort Director is at least overseeing me do this. He’s probably got a micrometer. If not the blacksmith will. If I brought it to Fr Fred, my fellows would have...
  7. S

    Sight picture, Brown Bess

    Yeah, pretty sure I can find someone with some. I’ve tried .690, .715, .725, and .735. The .725 and .735 were way too difficult to load for my liking so I settled on .715.
  8. S

    Sight picture, Brown Bess

    I was using 80gr 2F and 1 1/8 #7 shot. Also tried same amount of #4. I found it shot high, but last time I took it out I was having some problems with ignition, either a fizzbang or flash in the pan. It was my first time using cards and wads, and the only time I’ve had that many problems with...
  9. S

    Sight picture, Brown Bess

    I was using 80gr 2F and 1 1/8 #7 shot. Also tried same amount of #4. I found it shot high, but last time I took it out I was having some problems with ignition, either a fizzbang or flash in the pan. It was my first time using cards and wads, and the only time I’ve had that many problems with...
  10. S

    Sight picture, Brown Bess

    I found the .735 to be really difficult to load with a paper cartridge, even when the cartridge was made of thin newsprint. I have not tried wads, cards, and ball though. I want to say the bore was a hair under .75. Maybe I should even try .725. What I’d really like to improve is the shot...
  11. S

    A Very Basic pouch

    Smiling Fox Forge has a lot of good period buckles too. Not sure if Najecki is doing business regularly these days Great work on the bag!
  12. S

    What is the significance of the heart?

    Ive always wondered about this too. It shows up on regimental uniforms and even shirts (the reinforcement on the bottom of a bosom slit for instance)
  13. S

    Sight picture, Brown Bess

    Thanks a bunch everyone. When the ground dries out a little it’s the first one I’m taking out. I took some notes. Figure I’ll do my best to ignore the bayonet lug. I grew up as a rifle shooter, so don’t have any good shotgun habits ingrained. You guys did well in explaining a few of them . I’d...
  14. S

    Sight picture, Brown Bess

    Hello all, Been hemming and hawing over getting a hunting smoothbore, but I have a Bess. Seems to me what I really need to do is get proficient with it. A friend of mine swears up and down that Brown Besses generally shoot high, so you should aim underneath the target. I kind of know what...
  15. S

    Period leather dye

    I did experiment with walnuts. It’s tricky, because it dyes better if it’s hot. Hot water and leather don’t mix though. I was also afraid of having it rub off everywhere Thanks for sharing those links. I’d found them on a search but couldn’t remember exactly what I’d typed in
  16. S

    Period leather dye

    *Jim Mullins that is.. Today I’ll take some emory cloth to the bayonet. It’s not etched incredibly deeply. On the flat side it’s only streaked. The buckle in the strap, the locket, and the tip only got tarnished. It polished right up with some 0000 steel wool. Putting some tallow on the...
  17. S

    Period leather dye

    Kim Mullins - I believe that’s his name - is well spoken of in my company. He’d gone out with them a time or two. My cartridge box came to me via my company - based on one of the soft pouches, 19 holes, and a good leather strap. I had previously had one with 21 holes with a hemp webbing strap...
  18. S

    Period leather dye

    Final report - it looks fantastic. I liked it with mink oil tallow, rubbed it in, took some lexol to the underside, and then black-balled the whole thing and buffed it. It’s blacker than my soul now. Really couldn’t be happier Appreciate everyone’s references and experiences. Probably saved me...
  19. S

    Period leather dye

    I got word back from the head Military artificer. The tanning bed process would’ve given it a russet color pretty close to what we see today, with perhaps less pink. Vinegaroon was by and large the cheapest, easiest way to blacken leather. It turns a bluish black until an oil is applied...
  20. S

    Period leather dye

    I thought about blackball, too. It would have been available at Pitt - settlers were using hog tallow and spot to blcken their home manufactured leather. This reminds me that I have another reference to check as well. It’s a chapter in another book (The Monongalia Story) about earliest tanneries...
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