Good to see you, Inder!
I have found a "Loyalist Arms" located in Arkansas, USA and another in Nova Scotia, Canada. I didn't find an Indian website for "Loyalist Arms." I don't know whether the USA or Canadian companies make their own products or whether they are imported from India, or a mix of both, as what I'd seen doesn't give much detail regarding those questions. Here are some links you might care to review:
https://www.n-ssa.net/vbforum/showthrea ... ed-version
https://www.northwestfirearms.com/threa ... ns.350610/
https://www.n-ssa.net/vbforum/showthrea ... ed-version
There are other sites that address this, as well, but none really get to the point of what specific arm or armory in India was involved.
The big issue as far as I can tell would be how the barrel is made. If it is from seamed tubing, I would think it would be very unsafe.
Jr. wrote: ↑Tue Jun 07, 2022 7:59 pm
These are locally made and filled with round balls (not necessarily lead) for projectile.
Cycle Ball-Bearings are commonly used.
Sharp projectiles are also used, which are small and not completely round.
Barrell is Smooth-Bore.
I'm presuming one would have a convenient source of the proper sized ball bearings to use as projectiles. Generally, one uses a ball slightly undersized and patches it with cotton textile that is ~ 0.010" thick to fit the bore snugly. This prevents the ball from falling out of the barrel when the gun is tipped, provides a gas seal between the bore and ball, and, if the barrel is rifled, grips the rifling to impart rotation.
Finding a bullet mould that would allow casting of lead projectiles, especially spheres, can't be too hard. I don't know whether importation of a spherical mould would be possible, but if so, spherical moulds are widely available in many diameters and custom moulds can be cut in nearly any diameter one could wish. If they were shipped simply as a mould, rather than a bullet mould, perhaps they may come through customs without eliciting unwanted attention.
Jr. wrote: ↑Tue Jun 07, 2022 7:59 pm
A fuse/cap is used to ignite the powder, once the trigger is squeezed.
There is sufficient time lapse between pressing the trigger and discharge.
More like a long hang-fire.
I'm making an assumption here that matchlock or flintlock muskets are what's being referred to here.
A good flintlock properly primed with 4fg powder and with a clean touch hole and a good flint should fire pretty quickly, although, of course, it won't have the "lock time" of a centerfire metallic cartridge in this regard. People used flintlock shotguns in the old days pretty commonly, and in this use, lock time when shooting at a moving target would be of critical concern. My point is, hangfires shouldn't or needn't be an issue if everything is right.
Matchlocks would not be significantly different, as long as a proper match was used.
Jr. wrote: ↑Tue Jun 07, 2022 7:59 pm
When fired, specially at night, the spark from both ends is enough to blind you momentarily.
This is the typical behavior of any black powder firearm: burning residue and even powder does come flying out of the barrel when the gun is fired, no matter what kind of gun we are talking about.
I've thought about getting a matchlock, myself, but haven't ever followed through with it. Buying the ones I've seen for sale is as expensive as buying any other kind of gun, generally. The ones I've considered were usually copies of Japanese muskets, which were quite trim. As they were used into fairly recent times in Japan, they had a considerable degree of refinement. Of course, if equipped with a rifled barrel, they should provide the range and accuracy of any other muzzle loading black powder weapon. One drawback to matchlock weapons for hunting is that the smell of the burning match could spook game, but this wouldn't be an issue in India. Likewise, even the flash of a flintlock could be detrimental.