Recreation of a Northern Plains Native Brown Bess

[Second-rate Marksman]

My latest acquisition:

I recently picked up a recreation of a Native-owned Brown Bess, modified to reflect the style of a Northern Plains Native American trade musket. The fore-end has been wrapped in rawhide and adorned with brass tacks, giving it an authentic look reminiscent of the fur trade era.

The base musket is a .75 caliber Brown Bess produced by Lyman of Middlefield, Connecticut, during the 1970s, with markings indicating it was part of the U.S. Bicentennial (April 1, 1975 – July 4, 1976). It has been thoughtfully modified into a trade gun, including a shortened barrel now measuring 30 1/2”, bringing the overall length to 46 1/2”. As you can see, it’s been fitted with a rear sight. I could do without the “Made in Japan” stamped on the tang, but it’s fortunately hardly noticeable beneath the browned finish. The faux repair also makes removal of the barrel impossible, so I’ll probably just seal the channel between the stock and barrel with some Johnson’s paste wax and not worry about it.

I’m excited to have this piece in my collection!

[rollingb]

Cool smoothie!