Original Item: Only One Available. The Nepalese cache purchase of 2003 is truly the gift that keeps on giving, even after almost 20 years! This is a very interesting Musket that started life as a standard 39" barreled East India Company Flintlock Brown Bess, most likely of the 1771 "Windus Pattern". This was one of many cases where the EIC anticipated the changes that the British Army would take, as in 1796 they switched from the Short Land Pattern Musket to the "India Pattern", with the same 39 inch barrel.

This example has a rounded lock plate that bears a clear EIC "Rampant Lion" marking next to the hammer along with a C / 2 / D proof, indicating British inspection. Close examination of the Lion itself shows that it is definitely British make, as it is correctly engraved and of very high quality, unlike the locally made Lions, which often looks like teddy bears. We cannot easily see the filled holes on the lock plate from the conversion, so it is possible that this musket is transitional from the Model A to Model B.

The barrel also bears clear British markings, and there are two sets of them, one from original manufacture, and one from when it was reproved following percussion conversion. On the left side of the barrel there are the CROWN / GP gunmaker's proof and CROWN / V "viewed" markings from the London gun company proof house. To the left of these there are multiple proofs with a number under the letter D, as well as another CROWN / GP gunmakers proof. There is no EIC marking on the barrel itself, but the side plate has the correct screw in the center, seen almost exclusively on EIC muskets.

What we are offering here is an original EIC "Windus Pattern" Flintlock Brown Bess that was found in Kathmandu, Nepal, which had been converted to percussion sometime in the 1830s and issued into East India Company service. This most probably arrived in Nepal with a Sepoy Mutineer after the Great Rebellion on 1857/58 that tore India apart and was only put down with great help provided by Britain's Nepalese Allies. Nepalese markings can still be seen on the bottom of the trigger guard.

Overall condition of the musket is very nice, especially considering the amount of service it must have seen. It has been carefully restored by our expert antique gunsmiths to look much as it did when it was in service in the early to mid 19th century. The metalwork has a lovely matured patina, and the brass fittings look great. We tested the lock, and it is fully functional, holding at half cock and firing at full. The stock has a lovely color, showing some stress cracks on both sides of the butt stock, but also some lovely figuring to the grain on both sides as well.

The included bayonet is in very nice condition, showing a lovely patina of age, having suffered a past oxidation and pitting, now cleaned away. It is the correct type with a spring over the slot for use with the Brown Bess style bayonet stud on the top of the barrel. It is marked GS and M on the ricasso, while the socket has the EIC Heart logo, next to contractor MEMORY, a known maker of EIC muskets and bayonets. There is a date of 18?? next to the name, and unfortunately we cannot make out the last two digits of the date. It fits great on the front of the barrel, and locks on correctly, though it is a bit loose.

A fantastic British-made EIC Model A percussion converted musket with bayonet, which probably saw long service in the subcontinent during the early 19th century. We do not see these very often at all! Ready to research and display!

Specifications (Musket):-

Year of Manufacture: Converted / Assembled Circa 1840
Caliber: .75"
Cartridge Type: Ball and Powder
Barrel Length: 38 3/4 Inches
Overall Length: 54 1/2 Inches
Action type: Side Action Percussion Lock
Feed System: Muzzle Loading

Specifications (Bayonet):-

Blade Length: 16"
Blade Style: Triangular
Socket Length: 4"
Overall length: 21” 

More on the EIC Percussion Muskets:

Official records tell us that the British East India Company procured or made no Flintlock Muskets after the late 1820s and it appears they were very swift to take advantage of the newest in firearms technology- the percussion ignition system. In 1840 the HEIC began producing the world's very first massed produced percussion muskets one of which later became known as the EIC Model "F".

A brief history of how this model came to being- The shortened 39" barrel Brown Bess musket was first developed and adopted by the EIC in 1771. This was a full 25 years before the Board of Ordnance in London followed suit with a 39" Brown Bess Musket dubbed the "India Pattern" in 1796. This is a testament that private enterprise has seemingly always got things done long before government bureaucrats. In 1839 the British Government officially adopted a converted to percussion Brown Bess musket (P-1796/39) but in the Great Fire of the Tower of London of 1841 over 400,000 of these converted Muskets were destroyed leaving the British Government very short handed. The result, once again, was to copy the current EIC Percussion Musket, the Model "F" and designate it the "Lovell's Pattern of 1842". By that time, the EIC had already developed and refined the .75 bore Percussion musket through six models- A to F.

Models A and B were EIC flintlock muskets converted to percussion. However, the Model F was purpose built percussion issue. This Pattern dispensed with the screw on breech (needed because of the unreliability of the brazed on nipple lumps) as improved technology now permitted the welding of the nipple lump directly to the side of the breech. The nipple lump changes shape to fit what was then called the "new style lock". The lock was of the new percussion type with the mainspring no longer screwed in at its small end but secured under a lip inside the lock plate. The trigger is hung in a box, part of the trigger plate, instead of on a pin in the wood, and the side plate disappeared in favor of the later side nail cups with new Pattern F bayonet catch. These were built or "set up" between 1845 and 1851.

The differences between the various EIC Models are generally minor; Model A and B were Brown Bess flintlock conversions, Model C and D were purpose built percussion muskets but had the "Old Series" side locks with differing trigger guard styles, while the Model E and F both had the "new series" side locks and had either the Hanoverian Catch on the Model E or the EIC bayonet catch on the Model F.

Please See David Harding's stellar work "Smallarms of the East India Company 1600-1856" published in four volumes by Foresight Books in 1997. Specifically, please see Volume 2, pages 97-124 for a mass of information concerning the vary EIC Model muskets.

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.

IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

These antique guns are not sold in "live" condition, and are not tested for the ability to feed or load any type of cartridge. They are sold as collector's items or as "wall hangers" not for use, and we make no guarantees regarding functionality aside from what is stated in the description. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.

Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.