These guns are very controversial in the Muzzleloading Community....
A while back I decided to buy an Middlesex Village Trading Co. gun to see what all the fuss was about. I wasn't interested in acquiring a HC/PC gun for re-enactment. What I was interested in was a low cost alternative gun that would give good service.
From day one, I was impressed with the guns accuracy and reliability. However, it lacked some things that many would consider necessary for a modern gun. The lockwork, while well made, has a horrible trigger pull and was gritty. In all honesty, I already have about 3-4 hrs of labor in getting it smoothed out. It's now time to get a reasonable trigger pull weight...
What I (and most others) can't get past is the laquered finish with a wash of color... This is done to hide the obvious use of Teak. I spent the better part of a week's spare time...stripping the gun and redoing the finish to look like walnut.
The front sight looked like a lug from a AC/DC welding attachment. It was useless and caused the gun to shoot extremely low. Taking a good 1/4" off it's height, thinning it, and round filing it's base gave it a great sight picture..
Finally, the ramrod itself is wimpy. It is fashioned like many military rods with a taper to the end. My plan is to rebore the channel and make up a new rod for the gun. Heading into the machine shop over the weekend to see if that can't be accomplished.
Been a fun Summer project.......
Before
After
