Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

Turkey Guns & Shooting => Turkey Guns => Topic started by: shaman on January 12, 2022, 04:23:52 AM

Title: Brown Bess
Post by: shaman on January 12, 2022, 04:23:52 AM
 I am close to pulling the trigger on a Pedersoli Brown Bess. I'm getting a good price as it is unfired new/old stock. My goal is to shoot it a bit and then set to work, get the bugs worked out and then set to work taking a deer and a turkey in the same year.

So far I've located a .735 mold from Pedersoli USA. I also have a line on some flints. I figure Track of the Wolf is going to have the rest.

This is my first flinter, but I've been shooting a .54 percussion Hawken for almost 40 years.

What goes in a Brown Bess possibles bag?

How does one take a turkey with one?
Title: Re: Brown Bess
Post by: Tom007 on January 12, 2022, 07:14:39 AM
Good luck with your new set up. Can’t wait to see pics with that baby next to a wrinkled old gobbler head…..
Title: Re: Brown Bess
Post by: crow on January 12, 2022, 02:50:35 PM
for your flints I would get the grey English flints, call Dixons muzzleloading shop in Kempton Pa or track of the wolf for what size

you'll need a vent pic to clean touch hole, a "straightened "paper clip work good.
  " "     "  " something to Knapp the flint to resharpen it, I use a 12 penny nail with point filed off to go against the flint, the handle on a short starter works as a hammer to tap on the nail.

another difference is the powder, pyrodex and the substitutes don't perform well in a flintlock.
for guns with a bigger lock like yours I use 3f in the pan instead of 4f, 3f in the pan will be faster on damp days.

if the gun is cyl bore and not screw in chokes you going to be limited to about 30yds for head/neck shots , and that will take a lot of experimenting & patterning to get to 30yds, some open guns can get a little farther.

usually less powder and more shot will get a tighter pattern in a open choke gun, I would start with about 30 grains more of hard antimony #6 shot than whatever powder charge you start with for tighter center core patterns.
*** THIS is for VOLUMNE  measure and not a weighed shot and powder charge.  chilled shot is not the best for tight patterns.
 The age old standard of "equal shot for equal powder" by volume will probably not get you the best center core patterns

if you google "tight center core patterns in a muzzleloader" you will get all the info you need for what wads and other ideas . a lot of what you'll read is for tight patterns for squirrels, but it applies to turkeys

also google "Skychief wad sequence" this is a reverse wad sequence from what is considered normal.
It will only tighten patterns in an open choke gun. I tried this in an old Black powder sxs and it did work in the open choke barrel, did not work in the barrel with choke. Which the guy points out, and he was right.

my best turkey patterns were with using oxyoke or comparable thin wool felt wads as an overshot wad. Noticeably better patterns better than the thin (cereal box thin) over shot card patterns.


Title: Re: Brown Bess
Post by: shaman on January 14, 2022, 07:23:58 AM
10-4 on all of that! 
I'm going to pick up the ML this weekend as long as the snow lets me.