1840 Brunswick Musket

[LURCHWV@BJS]

  Has anyone bought one of those Napalese Brunswick Muskets.  I've been contimplating buying one,  was wondering if anyone has?
http://atlantacutlery.com    Antique Military


                                           Rich

[JTR]

Rich,
A friend of mine that like Britt guns bought a similar one that had come out a Napalese cave or some such of place.
He said it had some wood rot and arrived with all the original dust and cob webs in place. He dusted it off, repaired the wood rot, put a bit of linseed on the wood, and says he's quite pleased with it. Says he doesn't intend to try to shoot it though.
John

[TPH]

I've been following these imports from Nepal quite a bit, interesting. The best place for good, accurate information from people that know what they are talking about is on the British Militaria Forums at:

http://britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/

Check the British Flint and Percussion Arms Forum for information on the the muzzleloaders. Helpful people with some interesting ideas and most of them are shooting them after removing a LOT more than dust and cobwebs. (Imagine an arsenal in Nepal where bats and other animals have been living for a LONG time....) Many report the guns being in surprisingly good condition, some are not so lucky. Keep in mind that they were not made in England so they are not exactly like the guns used by the British military.

[TPH]

Maybe this one belongs "Over the Back Fence"?

[LURCHWV@BJS]

I'm sorry,  This is  the  Antque Gun Collecting forum,  And I am thinking about purchasing a 150+ yr old gun, I thought I could find info here. I take the forum for what it say's


        Rich

[Curt J]

Right you are, Rich.

[TPH]

I'm sorry,  This is  the  Antque Gun Collecting forum,  And I am thinking about purchasing a 150+ yr old gun, I thought I could find info here. I take the forum for what it say's


        Rich

Oookay, didn't mean to offend, I simply thought it was off topic for the American Longrifle Forum but apparently not, I do appologize. If I had thought it was completely inappropriate I would not have answered with what I thought would be helpful information.

Curt, do you have any information to help Rich with his question or do you just feel that my behavior was inappropriate? 

[Curt J]

And I didn't mean to offend you TPH, but this particular forum has never been limited to just longrifles.  We have had threads here on shotguns, muskets, and all sorts of European arms. As long as they were at least muzzle-loading, no one has objected.  If we are going to limit it to longrifles, we will need to change its name.

[TPH]

Thank you Curt and you are, of course, correct, I guess I was having a bad day. I should have let it go with the first post and left out the second, that would be a decision for the Moderators, none of my business. I am a fan of military firearms of the pre-1855 era and should have been happy with their mention.

Rich, I hope you get one of the Nepalese Brunswicks and that a search on the recommended site gives you some of the information that you need to make the decision. I've been tempted over and over but with one kid in college and another heading there in the Spring I have to watch the cash flow.

[doug]

     I have one of the nepalese P53 Enfields; bit of a mixed blessing.  Superficially it is an exact copy of the british gun.  The rifling is considerably deeper than the british rifling and the one drawback is that the last 10" or so of the bore is a few thousands smaller than the muzzle portion.  I doubt that I could get it to shoot mini balls but it does seem to shoot patched roundball after a fashion.  Hard to say how accurate the gun is in absolute terms, between my eyes and the military sights.
     The bore is good (smooth), the wood and the lock needs some repairs and I recrowned the muzzle but overall, delivered into Canada, it cost the importing owner about $400 and me 5 or 10 hours of repairs.  By comparison I recently bought a british P53 for $1100.
     I formerly owned a british Brunswick rifle in good condition but never got particularly good accuracy out of it using patched belted balls.  The rifling grooves in that rifle were quite different in width for some strange reason.  I also currently owned a two groove rifle by Lancaster which is very accurate with a patched belted ball

cheers Doug

[LURCHWV@BJS]

TPH
    I'm not offended, I have entertained the thought of owning one of these antique firearm and was hoping to find one for less than $390.  This seem like the most likely place to find the info.   I have come to trust any and all opinions of the men and women that grace this website.

     Rich

[TPH]

Rich, glad to hear it. They do have a couple including bayonets for under $400 and those prices are pretty reasonable. There is a lot of work to be done but in the end they will climb in value when the supply dries up. Also, you might consider that there is a market for the bayonets so if you have no desire to keep the bayonet you could sell it and get the price well below what you would like to pay. If you have had the time and inclination to look at the site I recommended there are a number of threads on the restoration of these guns that show very fine results. Also a lot of information on the history of the Nepalese guns and the British arms that they copied. I really feel that they are a good investment. (Just wish I had a few extra bucks to put into a couple but.... )