could you recommend me a good dealer for affordable flintlock muskets?

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lobsterman89

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I'm looking into getting a flintlock smoothbore musket and am wondering where I could get one for strictly hunting purposes, so it doesn't need to be the most shiny, expensive gun out there, I just want it to shoot safely and not be crap from India(heard a lot of bad reviews for them). to specify what I'm looking for, it would be a .62-.75 caliber flintlock smoothbore musket with a barrel shorter then 30", preferably of a lower price range(ex $500) since it doesn't need a perfect outer finish, just used for hunting. but I'm willing to hear you out in your opinions and answers. are there any Canadian companies that offer something like this or are the only good ones $1000+ Pedersolis?
to explain why I want the shorter barrel, it's because I live in a area where there's heavy foliage and rough terrain, so I'd like the gun to be as light and compact as possible, but I like the utility of a smoothbore musket, so it's what I'm looking for.
thanks in advance.
 
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"Crap from India" ;)
 
Love them blunderbusses!!



Smaller caliber but check out the Lyman great plains, even consider a kit if you're ambitious. Italian and good quality. Built one 22 years ago and it's still kicking like new. Price is good.

Poke around that Track of the Wolf some neat stuff there.
 
lobsterman89 said:
well, I'm just going with what I've heard, nice hare.
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Thanks, in all seriousness though, it'll be hard to beat Loyalist Arms pricing for new ones as they have many smoothbore muskets just around or just hovering above your price range friend. They are so close to you & shipping costs could be kept to nearly, or at zero also.
Maybe keep an constant eye on our EE. Might luck into something you like and closer to you on the east coast maybe?

Cheers!
 
Brutus said:
Thanks, in all seriousness though, it'll be hard to beat Loyalist Arms pricing as they have many smoothbore muskets just around or just hovering above your price range friend. They are so close to you & shipping costs could be kept to nearly, or at zero also.
Maybe keep an constant eye on our EE. Might luck into something you like and closer to you on the east coast maybe?

Cheers!
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well, the reason I'm cautious about loyalist and other Indian manufactured gun suppliers is that I've heard of a lot of people need to return their guns due to defects that would effect the gun's ability to fire properly like crudely hardened frizzens/hammers, misaligned frizzen or ####, poor quality barrels, ect. I also don't like the fact that they don't stand behind their guns when you drill the venthole as the only modification, if it blows up, you're out $500+ when it's not your fault the gun's parts are faulty. my opinion of course.
 
lobsterman89 said:
I'm looking into getting a flintlock smoothbore musket and am wondering where I could get one for strictly hunting purposes,...........it doesn't need a perfect outer finish, just used for hunting......are there any Canadian companies that offer something like this or are the only good ones $1000+ Pedersolis?
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Yes, as mentioned Loyalist has pretty well anything your looking for - and some of it may be sourced from India (and Italy), but Blair from LAR guarantee's his product and I've only ever had great results from his shop.

Look at LAR's smooth-bore Baker rifle......pretty sweet, and a little shorter than most, but can still reach-out and touch something when you need to.

BTW, nice Blunder there Brutus! ;)
 
At Accuracy Plus in Peterborough, there is a Pedersoli Trade Gun.
As an accurate reproduction of a trade gun, it leaves quite a bit to be desired. As a useful mid sized smoothbore, it is a pretty good gun. It is in very nice shape. Price is more than the $500 you mentionned, but not all that much more.
w ww.accuracyplus.biz.
 
I think that for the most part, you will find that good dependable smoothbores (trade guns and bess replicas) will be more expensive than rifles. I also think that cheap flintlocks are cheap for a good reason. You could consider buying an inexpensive flint rifle and then buying and fitting a quality lock from TOW. The lock will run around $120 plus shipping etc. I think they may still sell one that is assembled on a rectangular side plate so that you can file the side plate to match the lock shape coming out of the gun, assuming that is possible with respect to the orientation of components

cheers mooncoon
 
add a nother hundred and you can certainly get a smooth bore down south. Likely from a reputed builder, likely sporting a siler lock and other quality components. You probabley wont find a 30 inch barrel though, nothing a hacksaw wont fix. The guys that usually buy these aint exactly spring chickens and there is a pretty quick turnover. Put an ad on gunbroker stating exactly what you want. I ended up with a left hand fusil de chasse in the exact bore size I wanted with the exact LOP I needed for 6bills delivered and had options on other guns. took a couple weeks.

Do a quick search on here there was a nice 54 cal trade gun from a canadian builder up for grabs in and about your budget.
 
I have a loyalist "fusil de chasse", flintlock in 62 cal smooth, now ill say , after shooting my far more valuable flint 62 cal smoothbore, built by a well known maker, with "best parts" and firing my loyalist gun, believe it or not, the loyalist has a faster lock, way better ignition, and as a shotgun, and shoting patch balls, hands down my loyalist gun puts the other to shame, i also have a 16g japanese flintlock smoothbore, also outshoots my "best quality gun", my better quality flinter was purchased at track of the wolf, 50 yrd groups with multiple loads tried, accuracy was 6-9" at best off of sandbags, my loyalist gun with 70gr charge of 2f, and a patch ball from rest grouped 5" and smaller groups, now mind you, the loyalist gun, is not as pretty as the expensive guns, but i would reccomend one to a first time flintlock user, or someone who wants not to spend thousands on a gun, , im actually considering another loyalist gun, perhaps a percussion in 75 caliber, musketoon, you can also buy the loyalist guns in semi finished kit form, for those who want to finish and assemble their own
 
ok, since I seen the reply including the blunderbuss, would this brass barreled blunderbuss be able to shoot steel shot safely? http://www.loyalistarms.freeservers.com/Frenchblunderbuss.html
I know this is a problem when the gun has a choke, but with the flared barrel, you'd think there would be nothing for the steel shot to hit on the way out and thus, not harm the barrel. thinking if I got this blunderbess and used a paper cartridge with the steel shot, the steel shot would never hit the inside of the barrel? I know that brass is softer then steel, but as I said, the steel wouldn't have anywheres to dig into the barrel, so I think this would work. your opinions?
 
HUNTERROD said:
Steel is harder than brass, not advisable, blunderbuss, is a short range weapon, not great for hunting,
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ok, was just wondering that. as for BBs, what about copper plated ones? like these: http://www.airgunwarehouseinc.com/py-p-106.html (just for an example)
would this be a good alternative? since copper is obviously softer then brass. would the plating not be enough to make it safe?
the reason I'm asking is that is that I'm interested in just getting BBs from the store to use as shot loads in this gun if I choose to get it, since the store I go to(walmart :D) carries copperplated bbs too. as for it not being a good hunting gun, the earlier post proves the contrary, even colonists used to use them for hunting. I'm just thinking about it at the moment, but the short barrel is appealing.
 
Using a paper cratridge? or are you wraping the shot charge in cloth? either way, its not designed for steel shot use, blunderbuss's were used as "boarding" weapons on ships, provided large shot pattern at a short range, less than 25 yrds, normally these guns are in huge calibers like 10 gauge and bigger, they need the shot charge that big to be able to hit anything, as the have flared muzzles, the flare muzzle does not spread the shot, the main bore is much smaller than the flare, its still going to be contacted by the projectile, wheteher its shot , or a lead ball, my loyalist arms gun is a steel barrel, however was told by loyalist, "not recommended for steel shot use, lead shot or other "soft" non toxic shot types, like bismuth, or tungsten polymer, steel is for use in shotguns approved for it, the choke in my fusil de chasse from loyalist is tapered choke bore, which means the last 6-8" of barrel is a tapered choke, all their smoothebores use this type of barrel, when you load them,the first bit of barrel is tight, then it gets looser as you reach powder charge, does not affect accuracy at all
 
Copper plated BBs are used in smoothbore BB guns. The BBs are harder than the iron shot used in shotguns. A load of air rifle BBs is a really good way to score a steel shotgun barrel.
There were very few blunderbusses in comparison with other far more common guns.
I suppose that they may have been used for hunting, but blunderbuss hunting would have represented only a tiny fraction of the hunting that was done.
 
If your planning on using bbs from walmart that are copper coated, thats a no no as well, the copper does not protect the bore of a shotgun, what it does in the example of a smoothbore bb gun, the copper jacket makes the "seal" for the air to drive a precisely fit projectile out a smooth bore, n as the steel ball it coats is slightly smaller than the bore dia of the bb gun barrel, it also helps with "steel to steel" contact, in the case of a shotgun,where there would be alot more shot, and not all precisely sitting on bore, they would get bounced off of each wall of the barrel, and riccochet off of each other, being that steel bbs dont have any give like lead shot, if the pattern comes out distorted, it can create a restriction in the barrel, causing the barrel to bulge, ive seen it done, guys using steel shot copper plated loads for ducks in older shotguns, bulge just ahead of the choke, gun then is in need of repair or replacement
 
I agree with david's recommendation, some reading on muzzleloading on these sites will help you out, i will offer you my cell # for calling or text message, imlocated in cape breton, 1 902 623 2279, text is free anytime, calls after 6 pm are fine, as i work a little late, ask for Rod. ive been sh ooting black powder for 18 yrs id be happy to answer questions, or share knowledge in flinter's and muzzleloading in general
 
HUNTERROD said:
Steel is harder than brass, not advisable, blunderbuss, is a short range weapon, not great for hunting,
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I placed my rabbit harvest up for a chuckle. Yes, it's a very short range gun, and a proper fowler would be twice the gun easily IMO.
Have had success because the area I hunt has very thick stands of spruce & poplar. Challenge is something I like. I'm seriously considering using my recurve bow for next deer season. Most likely, one of those trade guns would be money better spent.


Cheers!
 
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