Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 1067 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.08 kg
- Introduced
- Not recorded
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket is a modern reproduction of the British Short Land Pattern ('Second Model') Brown Bess, a .75 caliber smoothbore flintlock muzzleloading musket. Built by Davide Pedersoli in Italy and sold by Dixie Gun Works, it copies the musket made in England by Grice in 1762, with a 42-inch bright-finished round barrel, a one-piece American walnut fullstock, brass furniture, and a steel-stud front sight that doubles as a bayonet lug. It is loaded from the muzzle with loose black powder and a patched round ball.
The original Second Model, or Short Land Pattern, Brown Bess was the standard infantry musket of the British Army during the American Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. Pedersoli's reproduction faithfully copies a 1762 lock signed by the London contractor Grice, making it a popular choice for re-enactors, living-history shooters, and collectors.
Manufactured by Davide Pedersoli & C. (Italy) and distributed under the Dixie Gun Works catalog (FR0810; kit FR0825). Lockplate is border line-engraved 'Grice 1762' on the tail with a crown and 'GR' cipher ahead of the hammer. Typical load is 70 grains of FFg black powder behind a patched .735-inch round ball; the flintlock uses 1-inch flints.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Dixie Gun Works, Inc.
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- Italy
- Status
- In production
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 1067 mm
- Overall length
- 1480 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.08 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Muzzleloader
- Firing mechanism
- Flintlock
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 1
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Walnut
- Finish
- Bright
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 305 m/s
- Effective range
- 90 m
- Maximum range
- 180 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
Brass furniture- One piece walnut fullstock
Bayonet lug front sight- Line engraved lockplate
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 | 4.08 kg | 3.50 kg | Heavier than about 70% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,557 rifles | 1480 mm | 1080 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,659 rifles | 1067 mm | 584 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,611 rifles | 1 | 5 | Holds fewer rounds than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket
How much does the Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket weigh?
The Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket weighs 4.08 kg (9.00 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket?
The Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket is chambered in .75 Caliber Musket Ball.
How many rounds does the Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket hold?
The Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket holds 1 rounds.
How long is the Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket?
The Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket is 1480 mm (58.3 in) long overall, with a 1067 mm (42.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket?
The Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket is made by Dixie Gun Works, Inc. (United States).
How does the Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket operate?
The Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess 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.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
82%
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/dixie-2nd-model-brown-bess-musket' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "dixie-2nd-model-brown-bess-musket", "name": "Dixie 2nd Model Brown Bess Musket", "manufacturer": { "id": "dixie-gun-works", "name": "Dixie Gun Works, Inc.", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1954, "website": "https://www.dixiegunworks.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": "active", "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": false, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-07-19 22:59:14", "updatedAt": "2026-07-19 22:59:14", "version": "bc1d9239bb8f5b6d1b79e9ed73c63d7916601cc9e072a52881aad6ed6f10c69d" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "IT", "year_introduced": null, "barrel_length_mm": 1067, "weight_empty_g": 4082, "action_type": "muzzleloader"}