Brown Bess Flintlock Musket with Bayonet, England 1722

Description of the Product

Brown Bess (Land Pattern Musket) is probably the most famous flintlock musket ever made. This British musket was one of the most common and most used weapons during the 18th and 19th centuries, as the British Empire ruled and fought in its colonies and for the colonies across the globe using the Brown Bess for over a hundred years. The Brown Bess is one of the most important weapons in the world because it was the first modern firearm and affected all weapons designed since then.

Brown Bess was the standard weapon of the British Army infantry in the American Revolutionary War (1765-1791) where this gun was used on both sides. Brown Bess was the British standard weapon also in the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, where, however, Napoleon’s leadership genius most often prevailed. However, with their Brown Besses the Coalition eventually managed to overthrow Napoleon in the famous Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Brown Bess was the British Army infantry standard musket from 1722 to 1838, during which time several versions of the weapon were made with minor modifications and improvements. Because switching from one weapon to another doesn’t happen overnight, Brown Besses were still in use in the 1850s.

Because Sweden-Finland was an ally of England in the war against Napoleon, and England feared losing an ally of the Baltic Sea in the war against Russia, England delivered, among other munitions, a large number of Brown Bess muskets to Finland during the Finnish War of 1808-1809.

Before Brown Bess, armies were equipped with random weapons as each officer and regiment selected and acquired their own weapons. One army could have dozens of different rifle calibers in use, making it painfully difficult to procure and transport suitable ammunition and spare parts to battlefields. Brown Bess was the first weapon to standardize the arms of the entire army, creating order and revolutionizing military logistics. Today this is obvious, thanks to Brown Bess, but it wasn't obvious at the start of 18th Century.

When loading a flintlock gun, black powder from a gunpowder horn was first poured into the barrel or a ready-made powder cartridge wrapped in paper was inserted into the barrel. A bullet, typically a ball cast from lead, was pushed after the powder. The bullet was pushed to the bottom of the barrel with a long ramrod, which made the charge a tight package at the back of the barrel. When the trigger was pulled, the hammer swung forward and the flint attached to the jaws struck the frizzen. The sparks generated by the impact ignited the ignition powder in the pan. This “flash in the pan”, in turn, burned to the barrel side of the gun along a small channel, igniting the actual gunpowder charge which propelled the bullet to its target.

The Brown Bess musket had a long, heavy and smooth .75 caliber barrel, meaning the gun fired large 19mm diameter lead bullets. A properly trained infantry soldier was able to load and fire three shots per minute. A properly trained shooter was able to hit a human-sized target from a distance of 40-60m and a large enemy front from a distance of 100m. At longer distances the accuracy was more hit-or-miss, as the orbit of the bullet was random over longer distances. Brown Bess was known for its sturdy and durable construction and the reliability of the flintlock. Brown Bess was so reliable that British troops and veterans refused newer, more advanced, designs in the 19th Century and rather kept on using their old and reliable Bessies.

Muskets were not used in war in the same manner as rifles are today, but instead soldiers marched in lines and all fired a large cluster of lead rain at the same time. There were typically two or three consecutive lines, allowing one line to shoot while the others loaded their muskets. Also, bayonets were not the last line of defense used only in an emergency, but an essential and important part of combat tactics. With the bayonet, the musket formed an effective and reasonably long and usable spear, and after the shots had been fired, the lines typically attacked in a melee quickly. On a battlefield, about a third of the victims fell to the stab and not the bullet.

• This gun is an exact replica of the original. The replica matches the original in size and weight. The mechanisms of the weapon are working. The weapon can be cocked and dry fired like a real one. The ramrod is not detachable. The bayonet can be removed and reattached. Due to the materials used, the mechanisms cannot withstand continuous cocking and firing for long periods.
• Genuine wood and cast metal has been used to make this replica weapon. Zamac differs from steel in many respects, so the structure of the gun does not withstand pressure, it cannot be used to fire bullets, nor can it be converted to a functional weapon by any means.
• Replica guns such as this do not require permits in Finland, nor in many other countries. However, since the gun looks real, it should not be carried in public.
•  A replica gun is perfect for historical re-enactment, on a theater stage, in film productions, for collectors of historical memorabilia, and as decoration.
• Length: 190 cm
• Weight: 3,47 kg
• Manufacturer: Denix, Spain.

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