Fudd Friday: Pedersoli Baker Rifle

If your childhood was anything like mine, you were subjected to the women of the family watching the 6-VHS-tape version of Pride & Prejudice repeatedly. And while the allure of that show always escaped me, it turns out there is an equivalent for me: Sharpe. Watching hours of Sean Bean wielding a Baker Rifle through the Napoleonic Wars is enough to make anyone want their own. Pedersoli has now made that possible!

Fudd Friday @ TFB:

• Fudd Friday: The Smoking Gun & The Continental Tobacco Co.
• Fudd Friday: Blunderbusses, Pilgrims, and How Art Rewrote History
• Fudd Friday: Does Fitz Equal Fudd?
• Fudd Friday: Converting Mil-Surps - Once Necessity, Now Blasphemy
• Fudd Friday: Rifle Cartridges in Revolvers - Why Keep Making Them? 

The Baker Rifle

When armies moved from swords and bows to firearms, flintlock muskets were the standard individual weapon. These smoothbore guns were not very accurate. The common impression of this era is of massed formations of troops firing volleys into the opposing line. And while that was certainly a thing that happened, there was more to the story.

“Rifleman” used to be a specific description of a battlefield role rather than a general term for an infantryman as it is applied today. They were also called skirmishers or scouts in some contexts, and those descriptions also allude to the way these units fought. Unlike regular troops who did march and shoot in ranks, riflemen were more mobile and used more concealment. These troops moved faster than standard infantry and engaged at longer ranges with more precision thanks to their rifles. Regardless of country, most riflemen of the day dressed in more muted colors. Rather than the bright colors seen in line infantry, green and other natural colors were more common.

The British began experimenting with rifle-armed troops in the early 1800s. They had faced riflemen in the American Revolution and employed Hessian mercenary riflemen in that conflict as well. These troops needed a standardized rifle to use, and Ezekiel Baker’s rifle was selected. These Baker Rifles have a .625” bore diameter (roughly the same as a 20-gauge shotgun slug). If you want more detail about the Baker rifle and its military use, check out this article. Also, the British Muzzleloaders channel on Youtube has an excellent series of videos on the Baker. Forgotten Weapons has a briefer overview of the rifle too.

The Sharpe Connection

Sharpe follows the soldiering exploits of a commoner elevated to the officer ranks during the Napoleonic Wars. He leads a band of “Chosen Men” (the special operations types of their day) from a unit of riflemen through sieges, ambushes, pitched battles, interpersonal challenges between noblemen and commoners, and an array of women lined up to romance Sharpe. The TV series is based on a series of novels by Bernard Cornwell.

This is historical fiction, blending fact and storytelling. Real characters make appearances, and Sharpe and his men participate in battles that the 95th Rifles actually took part in. Other parts of the story are more contrived. But the use of the rifles is fairly accurate. The men spend a lot of time loading, and closing the distance to wield bayonets and swords is a common feature of combat.

Pedersoli Brings It Back

Enthusiasts who want to “Sharpe Larp” have been very short on options. The choices were an original rifle, which is now a very expensive piece of history, a high-end build, or a cheap and possibly unrifled foreign gun. But now there’s another option. Pedersoli’s model does not have an official MSRP as of writing, but it is rumored to be in the $2,000 ballpark.

Pedersoli’s version has the 1:120 barrel twist of the original (not a typo) and fires .625” projectiles. It has a 30-inch barrel and weighs in at nine pounds. It even has the bayonet mount as seen on the original. The Cap and Ball YouTube channel has a preproduction model in hand and has a good first look if you want to see it in action. It also includes some discussion of bullet diameters, patches, and powder charges.

From the manufacturer:

“As so often happens, the introduction of a new product, linked to the re-enactment panorama, is the consequence of the continuous process of interaction with enthusiasts around the world. Davide Pedersoli must thank its followers for the countless requests that have led, after a long period, to the introduction of this fantastic model. It was the 1798, when, answering to the need to equip the British Army with a rifled bore gun, the gunsmith Ezekier Baker introduced the Baker rifle of the same name, later developed in six different versions, remaining in service from 1800 to 1837. Our version reproduces the 1805 model, recognized worldwide for its precision qualities, historically documented and illustrated by the story of the sharpshooter Thomas Plunkett, rifleman of the first battalion of the 95th regiment, who, on January 3, 1809, in Cacabellos, Spain, during the Corunna retreat, was able to deadly wound the French General Auguste-Marie-Francois Colbert, shooting with his Baker rifle at a distance of approximately 300 yards. The PMG quality barrel, equipping our rifle reproduction, features the adjustable rear sight and the bayonet lug. The stock, made of walnut, is embellished with brass fittings while the lock, whose mechanics are made from solid steel worked with CNC machines, is finished with an old silver treatment.”

Thanks for joining us for this instalment of Fudd Friday.