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There are records of payments on March 14 and November 24, 1759, to blacksmiths ". . . for cutting short the arms of the 42nd Regiment, by General Abercrombie's order, June 9, 1758."5 This probably reduced the barrel length to forty-two inches.

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The shorter length made the use of the 1st Model much easier in the woods and forests of North America, where they Black Watch fought....namely the Lake George/Champlain Valleys. Four inches does, indeed, make a big difference when rasslin' one of these beasts around in the woods....I know from experience....a proper 1st model IS a beast! The bayonet lug is simply soft soldered on to begin with, and so was easily removed by applying some heat and resoldered on the shortened musket. It is quite a simple operation and can be done rather quicky (less than half an hour to an experienced 'smith) if the proper saws, files, bit pads, vices, reamers, clamps and solder are available...which they certainly were in the Armorer's chest and wagons (as well as my shop!).

Seamus

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Scott,

OK...here is the answer for the question as to why they didn't remove more than 4 inches.......and it has nothing to do with efficiency of the load. It was done for easier woodland handling.....period.

The top barrel hanger on 1st Model Besses (original and high quality, correctly done, modern-made guns)has a double loop which sandwiches the hanger on the first ramrod pipe, and they are then secured by a single pin. It is a royal pain in the A** to dismount the barrel hanger, remount it, and refit the ramrod pipe, as well as shorten the forestock and rammer. It is a MAJOR operation, and very time consuming.

Therefore, to shorten 4 inches is a cinch! As I said earlier, the bayonet lug was easily unsoldered and resoldered on the shortened barrel. Many of these discarded sections have been excavated on Rogers' Island, in the river at Fort Edward, south of William Henry. This was an operation that could be done in about 15 minutes by a skilled armorer, whereas the other would take about an hour to accomplish.

Hope this answers your question.

Seamus

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Originally posted by Fitz Williams:
If you saw off 4", then you lose the locking tang for the bayonet, plus the bayonet cannot be fitted bacause the stock is too long. So next you must saw off the stock, and then you lose the front thimble for the ramrod. Seems like a lot of trouble for 4". Did they replace the bayonet tang? (retorical question) Did they go to a plug bayonet? Why bother in the first place. I don't doubt Newman, it just makes me wonder.

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Originally posted by SgtMunro:
Pte. Chauncey,
Your other firelock is cut back to a barrel length of 31 inches? Wow, that must be a joy to handle. Kinda like the M-4 Carbine of the 18th century. Do you have a picture of it, next to a standard 2nd model or a yardstick for comparison? If you do, could you e-mail it to me, my address is on my profile.

Your Humble Servant,


Sgt. Duncan Munro
Capt. Graham's Coy
1/42nd Royal Highlanders

"Nemo Me Impune Lacessit"

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Originally posted by Tim Cordell
... "Perhaps the most interesting items taken from this armorer's or smith's site were the cut ends of musket barrels, ranging from 4, 6, and 8 inches in length. It was gratifying to find these artifacts substantiating historical documents which tell us that the rangers cut off 4, 6 then 8 inches of their musket barrels and shortened the stocks to make their arms lighter and easier to handle in the woods". ...

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Like Wolfe in the East, Lord Howe was the soul of the expedition in the North. He was a military Lycurgus, and introduced sweeping reforms. He abolished ornament in dress; caused the hair of his men to be cut short to prevent maladies engendered by wet locks; shortened the muskets to make them bore convenient in tangled woods, and had their barrels painted black to prevent discovery by their glitter; made his men wear leggings, like the Indians, 'to ward off briers and insects, and forbade the carrying of chairs and tables and other useless things. In these reforms his lordship led by his personal example. One day he invited officers to dine with him. He received them cordially in his tent. The ground was covered with bear-skins. For each guest was a log for a seat, such as his lordship occupied. Oily pork and beans were served. He drew a sheath-knife and gave one to each of the officers, and told them to eat. His example was cheerfully followed.

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Originally posted by CT•Ranger

What caliber were these barrel segments? Without knowing the caliber I don't think we can assume these were all from British Long Land Service muskets. I recall it has been theorized by some that the Pronvicials may have been cutting down the barrels of much longer guns they brought with them upon enlistment, as an attempt toward uniformity among the Provincial companies. Remember it was not too uncommon for early 18th century firerams to reach 6 feet in length.

It seems a little odd to me that they would spend the time and effort to cut down British Long Land Service Muskets when there were other Short Land Patterns available at the time. In fact there were at least 3 versions of the Short Land Pattern (with 42" barrels) in use during the F&I War before the Short Land Service (New Pattern) musket, also known as the 2nd Model Brown Bess began production in 1769. These 3 versions of the Short Land Pattern were the Marine and Militia Musket, the Sea Service Musket, and the Short Land Pattern used by dragoons. It seems to me that if 42" barrels were so important to the rangers, then they could have been supplied with one of the 3 Short Land models available at the time. Just some theorizing and opinions of mine.

By the way, the 2nd Model Bess produced by Pedersoli and so popular with reenactors does not date to 1762-3 as many claim. This musket did not begin production until 1769. The reproduction has a lock with the date "Grice 1762", but this date only signifies the date the lock was assembled, not when the musket was put together. In 1764 the practice of putting the lock maker's name and date on the lock was abolished, and thereafter the lock was simply marked with "Tower" or in a few cases "Dublin Castle." So to be more accurate the Pedersoli 2nd Model Bess, more correctly called the Short Land Service (New Pattern), should have a lock simply marked with "Tower."

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