Revolutionary War era Brown Bess restoration project

NHBandit

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Current restoration project. East India Company Brown Bess musket circa 1779 or so. From the huge stash of antique guns found in an abandoned palace in Nepal by Christian Cranmer from International Military Antiques. There is a very cool video on youtube detailing how he came into having these. 55,000 antique weapons total. I put it here because although this particular one never saw action in the Revolutionary War it is identical to the one that was carried by my 7th generation grandfather, Seth Brooks who fought at the Battle of Lexington & Concord and throughout the Revolution. I have also posted a picture of his Brown Bess he used later in the war as well as another that was used by his friend Samuel Fararr. Both of them are still in my family. Seth Brooks musket was converted to percussion in the 1800s and used for hunting for many years. 1779 Brown Bess' Seth Brooks and Samuel Farrar.JPG barrel & stock as recieved.JPG Barrel as recieved and new stock.JPG barrel almost clean.JPG reciept & damaged lock.JPG View attachment 1708361 original wood-3.JPG finished lock ready to install.JPG back of lock hammer cocked.JPG
 

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devldog

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NHBandit, nice pics of the old muskets and the personal Family History that goes along with those two muskets. Thanks for sharing.
 

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NHBandit

NHBandit

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Looks great! All you had was the barrel to begin with?
I thought the pics told the story but this is what's included in the "kit". Barrel still attached to the remains of the wood stock but the stocks were broken off at the wrist. The story is that scappers in Nepal broke into the palace where they were stored and broke them to salvage the Brass bits. Butt plate, trigger guard, etc. What you get (for the low low price of $700, is the barrel still in the stock, the complete lock assembly in a separate bag, new reproduction stock with ramrod pipes installed, buttplate and trigger guard. It also comes with a small bag of screws and sling swivels. Everything to rebuild it. However they are not for someone who has never taken on this kind of project and there WILL be parts that are damaged, rusty, and require the ability to hand make replacements since you don't just go to Cabelas and buy parts for a 240 year old musket... As an update to the comment about needing to put a flint in it's jaws, I fired it for the first time in over 200 years on the 4th of July and I still have all my fingers.
 

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A2coins

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Excellent job on some great relics wow
 

XLV

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You might want to check out ....Track of the wolf .....that company might have the stuff you need to fire that rifle ...Good Luck
 

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