Milsurp After Hours

joseyclosey wrote:Just the very thing for a range day with the Frenchies Duncan.

Have you shaved your tash off btw?

Joe

Heaven forbid Joe..............it's like me mate, getting old and white

It arrived today. Barrel is Blued and not finished Brown as ordered and is scratched in various places. Currently waiting for a reply from them .................

Not a good start Duncan. Hope it's sorted quickly.

Joe

SO, having had a chance to look at the weapon carefully here are the observations........
1) Barrel is Blued and not Browned as ordered. ( All Bakers had Browned Barrels) 2) Barrel is scratched in various places. 3) The front lock retaining nail has sheered after trying to remove it - it has been ground out to allow the cleaning rod to fit in the stock! 4) Although the barrel is stamped with Birmingham proof marks I did not get a Certificate with the gun.
5) The lock is very tight and the sear needs a great amount of effort to release the hammer.

Send it back ASAP!!

Derbyshire Arms Ltd seems to be limited in more ways than one. What Italian or Spanish company actually made it? Or...... could it be from Khyber Pass or maybe......China?

It is Indian made...... Here is the sales pitch I received from Derbyshire Arms when I made my initial enquiry.
"All of standard range muskets are made to our exacting standards and specifications, they are currently made in India by a relation (by marriage) of the owner of Derbyshire Arms ltd, who happens also to be the gunsmith of the company - Gary Bate.
The muskets arrive with us 'in the white' and they are completely stripped down to their individual components and rebuilt. The stocks are oiled and waxed by hand, the barrels on the Baker's are browned ( the same as the originals), in house. The frizzens are hardened in a local laboratory in cyanide as standard - this gives them a 'life' of approximately 3 - 4 years depending on usage.
Proofing is done at the Birmingham proof house for black powder, shot and ball.
Both the Baker and the Brunswick are 20g smoothbore (.62 calibre). The Brunswick doesn't fire the original girdled bullet."

Their website says "Popular Muskets, Pistols and Carbines

"Our popular muskets, carbines and Pistols are manufactured by Master Craftsmen on our behalf to our specifications and exacting standards.

On arrival we strip them back and hand finish them in or workshop, the stocks are oiled and waxed to ensure they enjoy a long life and are waterproof,
the furniture is cleaned and buffed.

The frizzens on our flintlocks are hardened at a heat treatment laboratory in cyanide, giving them a life of 2 - 3 years, depending on usage.

Live firers are proofed at the Birmingham Proof House for black powder, shot and ball and bear their mark."


I have requested a full refund and am waiting for their reply. If it is negative I shall be contacting the local Trading Standards Officer.

Well....hope you aren't holding your breath. But ... maybe..... they will refund your money.

I know they have picked up my message from Facebook and in case they get awkward about it I have the address of their local Trading Standards Office.
We shall see....................

Stick it to 'em, Duncan.
I have an Indian made 'Highland' rams horn butted all steel pistol that is very well made indeed and I've seen some excellent repro Brown Besses from India also, but I've seen a lot of crap as well, I suspect though that a lot of it is never meant to be fired, at least not by the makers.

On a lighter note, I was at a 'REDUCED PRICE BOOK SALE' today and a couple of very well presented books met my eye, superb photos.
"The Illustrated History of Rifles" by one Rupert Mathews.

Quite by chance I opened it at The Baker Rifle and there was a lovely picture of an American Plains rifle, half stocked etc.
The text informed one that the Baker was the blah, blah of the British army and that it had rectangular rifling.

Decided not to invest in a copy!!