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Middlesex Village Trading - Any good?

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pheenix99

40 Cal
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I saw a couple of Brown Bess's on that sight that are significantly less expensive than a Pedersoli branded equivalent. Does anyone have any input as to their reliability? I'd hate to spend several hundred dollars thinking I'm getting a bargain to end up with something that isn't reliable.
 
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Lots of threads about the India made muskets. They can be just fine but tend to be heavy (teak wood stocks) and are going to be rougher in overall fit and finish. They work very well for many. Some swear by them, others swear at them. Try Loyalist arms...seems to get good reviews.
Loyalist Arms appears to be Canadian. Would I have any trouble ordering a musket from the US?
 
I saw a couple of Brown Bess's on that sight that are significantly less expensive than a Pedersoli branded equivalent. Does anyone have any input as to their reliability? I'd hate to spend several hundred dollars thinking I'm getting a bargain to end up with something that isn't reliable.
Trying to get them to reply to any emails has proven fruitless and a waste of time. I’ve seen many items over the years that I’ve wanted to purchase or had questions about…sent emails, left Phone Messages…Zero, Zilche, Nada.

That pretty much means, that if I have an issue or a problem…there will be NO Customer Support.

I’ll spend my money else where…

In their fine print…I strongly advise you read it…It states that if an Item is Listed as AVAILABLE, that does Not Mean it is in stock and ready to be shipped. What?

I asked for further clarification on that…no reply. In fact I’ve never had any replies to any communications that I’ve left.

Based on all my attempts at reaching anybody…I can only assume that no person exists or is employed by them and that they do not in fact have any products available at all.
 
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Trying to get them to reply to any emails has proven fruitless and a waste of time. I’ve seen many items over the years that I’ve wanted to purchase or had questions about…sent emails, left Phone Messages…Zero, Zilche, Nada.

That pretty much means, that if I have an issue or a problem…there will be NO Customer Support.

I’ll spend my money else where…

In their fine print…I strongly advise you read it…It states that if an Item is Listed as AVAILABLE, that does Not Mean it is in stock and ready to be shipped. What?

I asked for further clarification on that…no reply. In fact I’ve never had any replies to any communications that I’ve left.

Based on all my attempts at reaching anybody…I can only assume that no person exists or is employed by them and that they do not in fact have any products available at all.
I think I'll following someone else's advice and check out Loyalist Arms. They definitely have a handful of big bore toys that I'd love to have
 
Loyalist Arms appears to be Canadian. Would I have any trouble ordering a musket from the US?
I have a Bess carbine from Middlesex. and a double barrel pistol. Both are good shooting and spark good, getting ahold of him any more is a crapshoot anymore. Have a Charlyville and a french dragoon pistol from Loyalist and both are good guns. No problem getting ahold of Loyalist and to get around the import laws they ship the locks separate,so they can drill the touch hole. Go with Loyalist.
 
I have the made in India manufactured for Loyalist Arms Long Land Pattern King's Musket (1st Model Brown Bess). It is heavy, but it has been a good shooting gun.

The Pedersoli Second Model is an acceptable musket, but it is considerably more expensive than a Loyalist Arms Musket.
 
A set of good quality unfinished parts to build a Brown Bess will cost over $1000. You are not going to get a finished gun for substantially less money than that without making some sacrifices.
 
The Made in India stamp would cause me to say hell no. Ever watch one of those videos on YouTube that show these India shops? Not just guns, anything they make. Mostly always holes in the ground, dusty bustling dirty disgusting areas. OSHA would have a field day. Questionable metal sources, most likely from scrapped ships, etc. Nope, not me. I won't buy anything that has Made in India on it. Total junk.
 
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I’m not knocking India Made Guns, I have several and enjoy shooting them. I just have had such a negative experience…well errr, actual zero actual experience, with MiddleSex. I simply wouldn’t do business with them due to zero service and a lack of trust.
 
I think my question has been sufficiently answered.

Now the next question is what makes a Pedersoli Brown Bess worth double the price of one from Loyalist Arms?
 
Loyalist Arms appears to be Canadian. Would I have any trouble ordering a musket from the US?

Not at all! I bought a 1st Land Pattern "Transitional" Bess with bayonet from Loyalist Arms last year, and the service and quality are excellent for an "Indian" firelock. Loyalist Arms ships the product in two pieces to get around those dumb importation laws...the stock and barrel come in one package, and the firelock in another, and you put them together (which you have to do anyway every time you clean the piece). Shipping was easy, and there were no issues. Took about five days from the time my Bess left Halifax until it arrived at my home in Pennsylvania.

Loyalist Arms owner Blair Higgins is a really good guy, and stands behind his products. He doesn't proof the muskets though since the laws vary so much from country to country, but provides instructions for doing so. It's optional, but here is a video showing the "tire" method"

Barrel proofing a replica of an early 1700 Sea Musket from Loyalist Arms.

Be advised that Loyalist Arms has a big backlog on orders, and it could take 6 to 8 months to receive your musket after ordering. But it's worth the wait in my opinion.
 
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