Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders GRRW NW Trade Gun

Don’t you just love them fusil???? 👍👍👍👍👍

.50 caliber? Rifled? What is this, some kind of Back East thing? Out west by any stretch, that is a rifle...turtle front bead don't make it a trade gun does it? To most of us in the west...the twisty wrinkly stuff in the barrel makes it a rifle...the absence of twisty wrinklys is a smoothbore...sold and traded in huge quantities, made by the Barnett Co. and used in the fur trade, 20 pelts per gun. Actually the specifications for the Northwest Trade Gun were quite uniform across the spectrum of trading companies...The Honourable Hudson's Bay Company, 1670 onward, being the largest. It is estimated from old ledgers from Barnett, that for every rifle on the frontier there were 20 smoothbore tradeguns up until the 1790's. 20 ga (.62) was the standard. The .50 cal would have been about a 34 gauge, or 34 balls to the pound. Not useless by any means, but not a hunter/trappers first choice, I'd say.

Charles Hanson tried to buy this one for the museum back in 1975 (couldn't make a deal with family).

A North West gun in 50 caliber smoothbore, an early one often seen in gun shows, new condition apparently unused found in Denver Colorado area seen for several years. Very plain but sturdy walnut stock, antique rust blued barrel and lock, trigger guard stained dark with time, brass dragon and buttplate nailed on like many of the originals. Hanson thought it was built for a woman or a young man.

The family said they would be contacted by collectors several times a year about selling this gun. Last we heard it had gone to Quebec to a new home in the 80's.

Doc White built this reproduction of that gun for Buck Conner. Buck sent it to me to play with and do a write up one. The 50s were a much rarer trade gun, but not unheard of.

As for hunting. Yes! I just dialed in a perfect hunting load and will be hunting mule deer.

I tried 3fg powder today. Results from 80 and 90gr charges. Ignition was dang near instant! I filed down the front sight about .005" today and hope that will put it at least dead on at 50 yards. I still need to try 60 and 70gr charges, but will need to run more balls in the shop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWr2hTwQsA8