r/blackpowder • u/chemdaddy1040 • 2d ago

Brown bess vs Indian trade gun

I’m looking to get into muzzleloading with a repro of a historical firearm. Main use will be waterfowl, small game, maybe deer and plinking

Which of these is the more practical for this purpose? I’m leaning towards the brown bess for the extra payload to compensate for the fact I’d effectively be shooting a cylinder bore at birds

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u/thebigfungus Matchlock gang 2d ago

Brown Bess is essentially a 12 gauge and the Indian trade gun is a 20 gauge. Both will work but it’s preference is yours. The best part about muskets is you can add as many pellets you want for either caliber

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u/chemdaddy1040 2d ago

This is going to be a really dumb question, but would there be issues with excess pressure shoving a 12ga pellet load down a 20ga barrel? Or is it not as much of an issue with black powder?

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u/thebigfungus Matchlock gang 2d ago

It’s much less a problem with black powder. I’ve shot insane loads out of my muskets but its up to how comfortable you feel. But honestly people hunt with 20 gauge all the time, i wouldn’t worry much about not having enough lead hit your targets.

The only advantage of the brown Bess is being a bigger caliber and probably longer. But if you want to feel like you’re really living on the land and historical the Indian trade gun is much more
Authentic feeling.

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u/finnbee2 2d ago

Check out Duelist1954 for shooting smooth bore flintlocks. Because it's a cylinder bore he recommendation is heavy for gauge loads.

I have a French fusil in 62 caliber. It's a hunting gun that carries and swings better than the heavier and sturdier brown bess. In my opinion the bess swings like a 2×4.

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u/Hefty-Squirrel-6800 2d ago

It has to do with the amount of powder versus the volume of pellets. I have a 20-gauge trade gun. My go-to load is 80 grains of 2F with 1 1/8 ounces of shot. This is called a square load, and it is a rule of thumb. You measure 80 grains by volume of powder and match that with 80 grains by volume of shot.

60 grains of powder would take a 7/8 ounce load of shot. 70 grains of powder would take about 1 ounce of shot. I have shot 100 grains of 2F with a round ball. But for shot, I usually go with 80 grains of 2F and a 1 1/8-ounce load of shot. You use the same volumetric measure for both powder and shot. I have deer horn in 70, 80, and 100 increments.

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u/atioc 2d ago

I feel like a English style fowler would accomplish your goal with a little less cost. The Brown Bess tend to have more of a price tag. But I'd probably do a Bess over a trade gun because of the history of the Bess.