Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket)
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 1067 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.80 kg
- Introduced
- 1722
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Brown Bess is the common name for the British Land Pattern Musket, a family of .75 caliber flintlock smoothbore muskets that served as the standard British infantry firearm from 1722 to the 1830s. Produced under the British Board of Ordnance at the Tower of London and by contractors, it appeared in Long Land, Short Land, India and New Land patterns. The Brown Bess fired a roughly one-ounce lead ball at low velocity and, being smoothbore, was effective only at short range, relying on massed volley fire by ranked infantry.
The nickname 'Brown Bess' is thought to derive from the brown walnut stock and the russet-browned finish of the barrel; it became a generic term of affection among British soldiers, with 'to hug Brown Bess' meaning to serve as an infantryman.
Specifications listed are for the Short Land Pattern; barrel and overall length vary by pattern (Long Land 46 in barrel, India Pattern 39 in). Muzzle velocity figures for period smoothbores are approximate.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- British Board of Ordnance
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1722 to 1860
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 1067 mm
- Overall length
- 1490 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.80 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Muzzleloader
- Firing mechanism
- Flintlock
- Trigger
- Single stage
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Russet brown
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 305 m/s
- Effective range
- 46 m
- Maximum range
- 274 m
- Rate of fire
- 3 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Smoothbore barrel
Muzzle loaded
Brass furniture
Socket bayonet lug
Ramrod
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,612 rifles | 4.80 kg | 3.50 kg | Heavier than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,557 rifles | 1490 mm | 1080 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,659 rifles | 1067 mm | 584 mm | Longer than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket)
How much does the Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket) weigh?
The Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket) weighs 4.80 kg (10.58 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket)?
The Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket) is chambered in .75 Caliber Musket Ball.
How long is the Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket)?
The Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket) is 1490 mm (58.7 in) long overall, with a 1067 mm (42.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket)?
The Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket) is made by British Board of Ordnance (United Kingdom).
When was the Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket) introduced?
The Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket) was introduced in 1722 and discontinued in 1860.
How does the Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket) operate?
The Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket) uses a muzzleloader action, and its firing mechanism is flintlock.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- British Army
- 1722
- Continental Army / United States
- United States
Provenance
Confidence in this record
72%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/brown-bess' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "brown-bess", "name": "Brown Bess (British Land Pattern Musket)", "manufacturer": { "id": "british-board-of-ordnance", "name": "British Board of Ordnance", "countryCode": "GB", "foundedYear": 1683, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "6bd8faa077b0d13d543808d807ebfa163e82342621ee2d9b6be2c2f94fcae323" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "GB", "year_introduced": 1722, "barrel_length_mm": 1067, "weight_empty_g": 4800, "action_type": "muzzleloader"}