What Do You See Here?

The description is as follows:

X-ray of a Brown Bess musket recovered by LAMP archaeologists from an American Revolutionary War era shipwreck lost in December 1782. It is believed to be a 1769 Short Land Pattern and is loaded with buck & ball

What do you see?

Gunpowder, Then and Now. Paper Cartridges.

After posting my video on how I make paper cartridges for my fusil, I got this message:

"The British Military load for the brown bess was 125g of powder with an extra 40 grains for the pan for a total of 165g per cartridge. the powder from the original cartridge I saw was course like 1f, Ive fired this combo from a repro french 1727 and it shoots well using the 1f as the priming powder, the only draw back is it burns slow in the pan so you have to watch your follow through".

Gunpowder now is not the same as gunpowder 300 years ago. I personally would not be loading 125 grains in any hand held gun. Whether or not it is proofed for such a load is not the point, the point is that there is no need for such a high load as this with modern gunpowder.
1Fg is cannon grade gunpowder, and I have no idea what it was doing in an original 18th century Brown Bess cartridge, unless (a) it was a mistake, or (b) they had run out of the regular gunpowder. Either way, just because it was done, does not mean that you should do it!
For those of you not familier with modern gunpowder/Black Powder, 1FG is a large grained gunpowder made for cannons. 2Fg is generally for any caliber over .45 but can be used in smaller calibers. 3Fg is for .45 caliber & smaller, but can be used in larger calibers with a load adjustment, i.e. the smaller the grains of powder, the higher the internal pressure. So if you are using a recommended load of 2Fg, DO NOT use the same load when using 3Fg. Use less. 4Fg is made these days as a priming powder. 4Fg is a very fine grain gunpowder and should NEVER be used as a main charge. You may also find it interesting to know that 300 years ago there were no priming horns made or used for hand held guns/rifles. The same gunpowder used as a main charge, was also used to prime the pan of the flintlock.
1Fg being a large grained gunpowder used only in cannons, would be very slow to burn if used for priming. I really can't see the British army and navy using 1Fg gunpowder as a standard in the Brown Bess. 

Long Land pattern Brown Bess.

Paper cartridges made for smoothbore muzzle-loading guns.

Battlefield Britain 1746.

Britain's Brown Bess. Link to an Article.

http://www.rifleshootermag.com/2010/09/23/featured_rifles_bess_092407/

My thanks to http://illinoisrangersblog.blogspot.com/ for this link.

To Clean the Brass of your Arms. A Link.

John Lambtons 68th Foot

http://lambtons.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/to-clean-the-brass-of-your-arms/

The Brown Bess.

This video found at: http://flintlockandtomahawk.blogspot.com/2011/02/brown-bess-flintlock-musket-national.html

Rob Roy Chase Scene 1953.

The Brown Bess Musket.

The Brown Bess musket must be one of the strongest and most reliable arms ever made. At .75 calibre it does a lot of damage, and there is little chance of ever losing any game. This musket will take anything from buffalo to rabbits, it will shoot buck & ball, or buckshot, or birdshot, making it very versatile. The lock of course can also be used to make fire.

The long land patter Brown Bess came into use in 1722 I believe and remained in use with the British army right into the 19th century.

The short land pattern Brown Bess appeard about 1740.

The Brown Bess musket was used by civilians as well as military, and the woodland Indians captured many of them for their own use. Some of the long land pattern muskets had their barrels cut short by some Indians and white colonials.

BROWN BESS INFO.

Furniture (fittings) Brass


Caliber of bore .75 (.75 inch)


Caliber of projectile .71 (.71 inch)


Projectile One ounce lead ball


Theoretical maximum range 250 yards


Effective maximum range (100 round volley) 150 - 200 yards


Effective maximum range (Single round) 100 - 150 yards


Favored range Less than 100 yards


Weight 9lbs 11 oz


Optimum effect at 30 yards Will penetrate 3/8" of iron or 5 inches of oak


Rate of fire (Optimum) 4 - 5 rounds per minute


Rate of fire (actual) 2 - 3 rounds per minute


 
In the above video it shows the use of a paper cartridge, which the military and the militia favoured because it made loading faster. However, if you do use a paper cartridge yourself, DO NOT prime the pan first as shown in this video. Use your powder horn to prime the pan after the arm has been loaded.

Gun Slings.

Military firearms often came with a sling for carrying the arm on one shoulder, but civilian arms rarely came with a carry sling. The sling I use on my fusil is simply a long length of leather tie, with the ends tied together. Loops are easily formed at each end which are slipped over the gun stock. The weight of the fusil tightens the sling, but the sling is easily removed to be carried in a pocket or belt pouch.

A Middlesex Village Brown Bess with sling attached.

The sling attached to my fusil.

http://www.middlesexvillagetrading.com/KRB2.shtml