Massachusetts Militia Gun Barrel

[silky]

Afternoon,

I'm planning a Massachusetts militia musket for my next build, something that may have been carried in the early months of the Revolution.   My vision is a locally purpose-built militia musket using parts, new and recycled, on hand.  My questions for the experts are:

Have you seen, or are you aware of, such muskets using swamped octagon-to-round fowler barrels, with the flared muzzles?  My guess is this would preclude the use of a socket bayonet, but maybe that wasn't a show-stopper since many regulations required *either* a bayonet, sword, or tomahawk?  Being that my build will be purpose-built to militia use, my plan is to end the forestock a few inches short of the muzzle, coinciding with the beginning of that flare.  Or is the only purpose of that architecture to leave room for a bayonet!?

In the references I have gathered, the use of an octagon-to-round barrel is not uncommon, but I cannot see in the pictures if any of them are flared at the muzzle end, and the text doesn't mention it.

Any thoughts on the subject are much appreciated.  By the way, below are the books I have so far; please feel free to add on with others that may be helpful.

Thanks!

- Tom

"Battle Weapons of the American Revolution" by George C. Neumann
"Muskets of the Revolution" by Bill Ahearn
"The New England Gun" by Merrill Lindsay
"Flintlock Fowlers" by Tom Grinslade
"The Brown Bess" by Erik Goldstein and Stuart Mowbray

[rich pierce]

Washington complained that the guns militia were bringing with them were awful and some were not reliably functioning. A lot depends on how you want to present and what your fellow reenactors accept. All sorts of old barrels were used for what we call “New England fowlers”, some of which saw militia duty.

[silky]

Yeah, all the "bleed-over" and multiple-purposing of firearms during that time and place is the reason I'm trying to start and stay specific with a gun built for military service, rather than a fowler that was pressed into it.  If I can source a military barrel for the build it's a slam dunk; just don't want to push the limits of plausibility right off the bat.

I'm not a reenactor... I just like building flintlocks.

- Tom

[rich pierce]

There’s not much in stock right now except the Colerain 44” octagon to round smoothbore barrels with the flare at the muzzle. A friend with a lathe could fix that flare in a hour. Maybe post a Want to Buy Brown Bess or similar barrel.

[bluenoser]

A search for "Militia" in Antique Gun Collecting will bring up some originals, which might be helpful in selecting components and architecture.  My militia musket, which I believe to be circa 1790s,  can be found at https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=73098.0.  All of the components, with the exception of the barrel, have been identified - hopefully correctly.  I believe the barrel likely came from a Dutch fowling piece or militia musket dating to the first quarter of the 18th century, but have yet to find an exact match.
I think a barrel profile matching that of a Dutch, French or English fowling piece, militia musket or military musket pre-dating approximately 1778 would be appropriate for a Rev War piece.  The Bess profile would likely be the easiest to find.
As I recall, the specification laid out by the Continental Congress at the beginning of the conflict called for a .75 cal. bore.  The later Militia Act (1790s?) specified a .69 cal. bore.  I may be way off here and someone who actually knows what they are talking about will likely jump in.
This will be a really interesting project.  Please keep us informed.

[silky]

There’s not much in stock right now except the Colerain 44” octagon to round smoothbore barrels with the flare at the muzzle. A friend with a lathe could fix that flare in a hour. Maybe post a Want to Buy Brown Bess or similar barrel.

Perfectly timed advice: I am purchasing an octagon-to-round fowler barrel from Robert Hoyt and, per your suggestion, asked him about turning down the flared muzzle so it's straight.  He said he will.  Thanks!

[silky]

A search for "Militia" in Antique Gun Collecting will bring up some originals, which might be helpful in selecting components and architecture.  My militia musket, which I believe to be circa 1790s,  can be found at https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=73098.0.  All of the components, with the exception of the barrel, have been identified - hopefully correctly.  I believe the barrel likely came from a Dutch fowling piece or militia musket dating to the first quarter of the 18th century, but have yet to find an exact match.
I think a barrel profile matching that of a Dutch, French or English fowling piece, militia musket or military musket pre-dating approximately 1778 would be appropriate for a Rev War piece.  The Bess profile would likely be the easiest to find.
As I recall, the specification laid out by the Continental Congress at the beginning of the conflict called for a .75 cal. bore.  The later Militia Act (1790s?) specified a .69 cal. bore.  I may be way off here and someone who actually knows what they are talking about will likely jump in.
This will be a really interesting project.  Please keep us informed.

Thanks for the link -- what a cool musket!  I took a quick look at it just now and will sit down and read through the thread in detail a little later, and download the pics for references for future projects.

My plan is to use this Samuel Barrett musket as my baseline: https://www.johnjhayeshistoricalcollectibles.com/store/rev-war-committee-of-safety-musket-samuel-barrett/

The Brown Bess influence is apparent, but I think he prettied it up a bit, particularly with that slight curvature on the bottom of the buttstock that is very New England and reflects the style of a guy who built civilian guns in that region.  Right now, the plan is:
- trigger guard and ramrod pipes from a 1742 Long Land Bess
- wood tapered ramrod
- sheet brass homemade butt plate
- the O/R .68 caliber fowler barrel previously mentioned
- leaning toward an Early Ketland lock because that's what I have on hand; might modify the plate a bit
- stocked in a slab of American Cherry

I'm open to suggestions, advice, thoughts, etc.  Plausible creativity is what attracts me to building these "parts" guns -- plenty of room for letting the imagination to take over without getting something outlandish.

- Tom

[bluenoser]

The Committee of Safety put out a call to gunsmiths to produce arms and provided certain specifications for those arms.  I would suggest researching those specifications and do not recall if they are referenced in the thread.  I recall the specifications including an iron ramrod and a ramrod retainer, which could be a leaf spring riveted to the inside of the entry pipe.  That's what mine has.
There is quite a lot of valuable information for the builder in those specifications.

[bluenoser]

A good discussion here:
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=44486.0

[JV Puleo]

The later Militia Act (1790s?) specified a .69 cal. bore.  I may be way off here and someone who actually knows what they are talking about will likely jump in.
This will be a really interesting project.  Please keep us informed.

The Militia Act of 1792 did not actually specify caliber. It did say that muskets must "accept" a ball of 16 to the pound which would be .69 but, of course, a larger bore would also accept such a bullet. This stipulation was also delayed. I forget the exact date but it was in the future...so in 1792 just about anything was acceptable.

An appropriate "military" gun of the period you are aiming at would probably feature a number of earlier French parts taken from arms captured and brought home during the French War or much earlier British parts...

I haven't a clue as to what is available today ready made as far as locks are concerned but it should be quite large and likely have rounded faces on the lockplate and cock. Probably 90% of the so-called "Rev War assembled muskets" are really later, post the first Militia Act.

[rich pierce]

Big early locks for militia guns are hard to come by. The early Ketland by Chambers is a good available choice among assembled locks available.