Nepolese cache brown bess muskets?

Does any one have any experience with these?

and are they worth it for a restoration project or are they best left original?

(about half way down)
Firearms, Replica, Deactivated Antique - SOUTHERN CROSS MILITARIA PTY LTD

(3rd from the top, pretty sure it's the same seller)
FirearmSales.com.au :: Firearms For Sale & Firearms Directory Search Results

I believe the southern cross militaria guy bought them from here but I can't be sure

Military Antiques, Military Collectibles and Militaria British EIC P-1771 Brown Bess Flintlock Parts Set: 1770/80?s Dated Marked Lock IMA-USA.COM

This is mainly for a little fun and a wall hanger. Also i'm Australian so I can't buy a repro for a wall hanger because they need to be secured

He apparently bought his from IMA and.... did nothing to it. What you are getting is just what IMA sells - original barrel and lock and a rough reproduction stock with new (?) brass parts fitted. Since the original barrel and lock are not interchangeable they require a fair amount of work by a fairly knowledgeable/experienced gun stocker. These are technically not "restorations", they are "new" guns using some original parts. Not sure how the law in Oz views these but if you check with the authorities in you area you may find that you can imprt from IMA, if legal, they are happy to ship to other countries and do it all of the time. They can advise you and refer you to the proper authorities.

IMA sells three versions ranging in price from US $695 up to US $1,695. See:

Military Antiques, Military Collectibles and Militaria Untouched Antique Guns IMA-USA.COM

hrm... so considering I have minimal gunsmith experience this is probably a bad and expensive idea.

suppose they do offer all ready made ones

Military Antiques, Military Collectibles and Militaria British EIC P-1771 Brown Bess Flintlock Complete Musket: 1770/80’s Dated Marked Lock IMA-USA.COM

but ill have to check if this is still considered antique, but according to the police website there's no mention of restored weaponry

from the site:

An antique firearm is a firearm manufactured before 1 January 1901 that is either:

- a muzzle loading firearm;
- a cap and ball firearm; or
- a firearm in which an Authorised Officer decides that ammunition is not commercially available.

If a firearm is an antique, it does not need to be registered. For a firearm to be classed as an antique, the cartridge ammunition must be approved by an appointed Authorised Officer as not commercially available in Australia or overseas. If the cartridge ammunition is commercially available here or overseas, the firearm cannot be classed as an Antique Firearm. If the firearm cannot be classed as an Antique Firearm, you will require a Weapons Act licence to possess it and it will need to be registered to that licence.

Wouldn't it qualify, because it was made before 1901 AND is a muzzleloader?


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