Restocking & Improving a Miroku Brown Bess

[anticus]

Has anyone completed a restocking project on the Japanese Bess ?  I've read some discussions here regarding the inaccuracies this and the Italian gun have, especially the stock.
I'd like to have my Miroku restocked and worked to be as close to a Second Model as possible. Here's a photo of my firelock:


Of course the butt plate will need replacement to fit the new wood as well as the typical "flat bottom " trigger guard.
Comments , ideas ?  Skilled hands interested in the project ?

Thanks,

John

[thecapgunkid]

Track Of The Wolf

[smart dog]

Hi,
The link below goes to a long detailed tutorial I wrote on another forum for reworking a Pedersoli Brown Bess to make it closer to an historically correct pattern 1769.  It is quite detailed and much is relevant to the Miroku Bess: 
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/new-reworking-a-pedersoli-brown-bess.107405/

I will be using parts salvaged from one to make a pattern 1759 marine and militia musket when I get my current queue of work mostly finished. You have to ditch the trigger guard at least and then you could rework the stock as I show in the tutorial. To really get it right, you have to ditch the stock, which is too straight and butt plate, which is too small.  The good news is I believe the Miroku barrel and lock are very good. I treat the lock almost as if it was an unfinished kit.  The cast parts are excellent but they need fitting and polishing. For my marine musket, I ditched the lockplate to get rid of the stamped markings and replaced it with a marine musket lockplate from the Rifle Shoppe. I am keeping all the other lock parts, which are very good. The other parts on the musket are fine but need some refining to look more authentic. 

dave     

[anticus]

Dave,

Your tutorial inspired me to have my musket redone. Looking forward to seeing your 1759 !
For whomever takes this on, here's the scope of what I want:
To replace the stock, doing a proper job i.e. drop, pull (13"-14") and buttstock dimensions, means working from a blank and either making a new buttplate from scratch or using a RS part..
Same on the trigger guard. I'd also want proper sling swivels installed. I don't have a problem with the lock markings, but if they could be improved, so much the better.
I like the darker finish on the wood.
Basically, the finished smokepole would be as close to a proper 2nd Model Bess as possible.
This gun will be a shooter, first and foremost.

regards,

John

[satwel]

Dave,
Thank you for posting the link to your detailed tutorial on reworking the Pedersoli Bess. Much appreciated. I too have a Miroku Bess that I will be restocking from a blank in the near future. Your well written and illustrated tutorial will prove invaluable.

Cheers,
Satwel

 

[Mike Brooks]

Doesn't Dunlap sell replacement stocks for these?

[anticus]

Mike,
I went to their site, but the only Bess stocks I found listed were for the Italian Grice, inletted for the factory parts.
They do make a version with improved drop, but it still has the shortcomings of the factory wood, i.e. buttplate too short, etc.
If they sell Japanese Bess wood, I couldn't find it,  but if it's cut for the factory parts it would have the same problems dimensionally as the Italian version.

John

[redheart]

I installed the Track of the Wolf  Bess trigger guard on mine and it sure improved the appearance.
I realized it had other dimensional problems ,so I just sold it and used the money to buy a Pedersoli.

[satwel]

Doesn't Dunlap sell replacement stocks for these?

The first thing I did after I acquired the Miroku Bess was call Dunlap to ask if their Pedersoli replacement stock would fit the Miroku parts. They told me no.

[anticus]

Which is why I need someone to create a proper stock from a blank. None of the factory wood is right.
The semi carved stock from Track of the Wolf is for a Long Land with the early banana lock.
I don't have the skill or the tools to tackle the stock work myself.

John

[bnail]

Doesn't Dunlap sell replacement stocks for these?

Mike,
I need a replqcement stock for a bicentenial era pedersoli bess. You have a link for dunlap (or at contact info)

[anticus]

This will take you to their Military Stocks page:

http://dunlapwoodcrafts.com/military-stocks

John

[satwel]

Which is why I need someone to create a proper stock from a blank. None of the factory wood is right.
The semi carved stock from Track of the Wolf is for a Long Land with the early banana lock.
I don't have the skill or the tools to tackle the stock work myself.

John

The nice thing about starting from a blank is the buttstock can be shaped to the proper dimensions. When I was at Dixon's fair this summer, I purchased a Short Land Pattern butt plate from Reaves Goehring's daughter. (It is stamped #20 if you want to order your own)  Original Short Land Pattern buttplates are both taller and wider than Miroku and Pedersoli repros. I also ordered the full sized SLP plan drawing from TOTW which should allow me to create a more authentic stock.

[Gunnermike]

Knob Mountain Muzzleloading shows a Bess stock on this page:  http://www.knobmountainmuzzleloading.com/Fredstockspage2.html

The specs are - 2-1/4" drop; 13" LOP; butt 5-1/4" x 2-1/4".  Probably best to call about the barrel inlet etc. to see if it meets your needs.



Good luck,  Mike

[anticus]

Thanks !

[satwel]

anticus,

Gunstocks Plus also lists a Brown Bess stock in their oversize section:

https://gunstocksplus.com/precarved-stocks/

[anticus]

Nice find ! Thanks.

[fahnenschmied]

Its quite easy to bend the existing trigger guard to proper shape.  The front of the first rammer pipe needs to be coned out too - a new stock and buttplate, cant do without that.
 

[anticus]

Thanks everyone for your responses. There is a wellspring of knowledge and skill here (which is why I came ) and I'm grateful for your sharing.
But here is the bottom line: I have some knowledge of the history and use of the Bess-I did some F&I re-enacting back in the 80's-but I don't have the skills to make my Bess a truly righteous firelock. I'm looking for someone who does and is interested in undertaking the project.

[anticus]

Still want to have this project accomplished.  Know anyone capable and interested in doing the work ?  I'm not a builder.

[Daryl]

Are any of the parts even suitable for this project? Lock, barrel or any of the furniture?

[anticus]

See smartdogs post. The lock and barrel certainly are.