Shooting the Brown Bess on New Year's Day, Period Correct

SPM

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Me on the Bess, my little brother on the camera....

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Damn what a smoke pole. Great pic
 
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I will have a lot more once he gets done processing them. We spent about 2 and a half hours taking pictures.....and he has a good eye for photography.

Once I have more, I'll share more.
 
Love black powder. What a great picture!
 
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Nice rifle, love the way your bother caught the action in the picture.
 
Gotta ask, was there a musket ball on top of that powder or was it a reenactor round?

I love shooting my 1842 Macon. It took some work, but it's put 5 balls inside a playing card at 25yds. Smoothies are a load of black powder fun!
 
Gotta ask, was there a musket ball on top of that powder or was it a reenactor round?

I love shooting my 1842 Macon. It took some work, but it's put 5 balls inside a playing card at 25yds. Smoothies are a load of black powder fun!

All the cartridges I had hand rolled had .69 cal ball, though for these pictures I was pinching the ball and not putting them down the barrel.

First, we were moving around my uncle’s property a lot with my brother looking for the backgrounds he liked- which meant we weren’t always in the best place for sending lead down range.

Second, there were some shots we took where my brother was standing in front of me, albeit offset by an angle, but he was still down range.....so powder only for all these shots. I’m in the process of rolling new cartridges with the ball from these. Just waiting for more faux-colonial newsprint.
 
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All the cartridges I had hand rolled had .69 cal ball, though for these pictures I was pinching the ball and not putting them down the barrel.

First, we were moving around my uncle’s property a lot with my brother looking for the backgrounds he liked- which meant we weren’t always in the best place for sending lead down range.

Second, there were some shots we took where my brother was standing in front of me, albeit offset by an angle, but he was still down range.....so powder only for all these shots. I’m in the process of rolling new cartridges with the ball from these. Just waiting for more faux-colonial newsprint.

Very cool. For folks who think Civil War reenacting is expensive, just look at the cost for Rev War. The uniforms are works of art. Part of my family history, a couple ancestors fought in the Continental Army. One was a genuine badass- Peter Francisco. Sadly, most history books in the state of Virginia don't even mention him even though he was a hero at Guilford Courthouse. Couple that with the fact that he was about 6'6" back then and known to be extremely strong and it makes for some interesting reading. Another one is a direct ancestor and had roots in clan Rose in Scotland.

Some other sorta tech questions. Who made your Bess?
 
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Too Cool. Love black powder, but will admit have never shot a flintlock or a smoothbore besides a shotgun.
 
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Very cool. For folks who think Civil War reenacting is expensive, just look at the cost for Rev War. The uniforms are works of art. Part of my family history, a couple ancestors fought in the Continental Army. One was a genuine badass- Peter Francisco. Sadly, most history books in the state of Virginia don't even mention him even though he was a hero at Guilford Courthouse. Couple that with the fact that he was about 6'6" back then and known to be extremely strong and it makes for some interesting reading. Another one is a direct ancestor and had roots in clan Rose in Scotland.

Some other sorta tech questions. Who made your Bess?

It's a Miroku from Japan that was made for the Bicentennial. It belonged to a gentleman named Harvey Paclet of Chealsea, Massachusetts, who grew up in a colonial-era house. I bought it from his nephew through Facebook - and given that I teach for Project Appleseed, it seemed that Divine Providence winked on a local sale in Massachusetts not working out and it finding it's way to me....which may make sense when you read the pedigree of the musket.

I'll just share the history he wrote on it rather than type it all out on my phone:

“The musket was bought in Framingham Mass in 1976. A group of friends thought it would be cool to participate in the bicentennial celebration. We discovered that the town of Chelsea had Minuteman unit. One of our men was a knowledgeable historian. We applied to the Minuteman Council and proved we qualified as an original Minuteman unit. We marched over the "Rude Bridge that arched the flood." President Gerald Ford and many dignitaries were present. We also participated in reenactments and other parades. I have pictures of these events that I would be proud to share.

Harvey



To elaborate a bit more, he carried the musket in many reenactments parades in the Greater Boston areas. As he relates above, he also carried it in the 1976 events in Lexington and Concord as part of that great event. So the musket has a pedigree to it. He was excited to know that it will continue to be used to honor a period of history he loves.

So the very battle we talk about at every Appleseed, he and the musket celebrated at the Bicentennial before I was born. So for me, the cool factor is just through the roof.

In fact, I shared the above picture with him via a private message on FB, and he seems overjoyed about it.

Some.of his pictures from 1976:

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With your ancestors, would you be interested in joining the Sons of the American Revolution? You qualify, and we'd be happy to have you.
 
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Very nice! I’ve shot a flintlock once and it was fun ... but that slight lag between the flash pan ignition and the actual charge ... and I flinched so bad when the pan charge ignited I was way of the mark. Percussion smokes aren’t quite as bad holding any musket/smoothbore offhand is a job! Very nice!
 
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Very nice! I’ve shot a flintlock once and it was fun ... but that slight lag between the flash pan ignition and the actual charge ... and I flinched so bad when the pan charge ignited I was way of the mark. Percussion smokes aren’t quite as bad holding any musket/smoothbore offhand is a job! Very nice!
And that is just one of the reasons if you can shoot black powder well, modern stuff is way easier. All modern stuff does is allow you to miss faster and allows shooters with so so skill to shoot better. Basically, it diminishes the skill of the Indian by going tech on the arrow.
 
I know we did more shooting than what's in the pictures, and a lot of them are just my pretty mug wearing silk stockings, but I'm just floored at my brother's sheer talent and felt I'd share that.

Besides, there's still a Brown Bess Short Land Pattern in every picture. :D
 
Great pics. Your brother definately has talent. Where is the mill located?
 
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Great pics. Your brother definately has talent. Where is the mill located?

Kerr Mill, circa 1823. The water wheel was frozen solid, as was a significant part of the creek. The inside is full of lots of old Mill equipment. It's a pretty awesome place.....been going there since I was a kid.

It's located at Sloan Park, off Highway 150 between Salisbury and Mooresville.

https://www.rowancountync.gov/469/Sloan-Park
 
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FLASH SUPPRESSOR!!!!:p

Why ruin the Shock and Awe from a full regimental volley followed by a loud Huzzah and a charge with cold steel.:D
 
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Outstanding photos!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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