Canoe gun.

bpd303 said:

I have never "built" a gun either from scratch or kit, however I have assembled a few from scrounged, bartered, begged and various avenues for acquiring the parts I wanted.
Here is the Buggy rifle (canoe gun), I assembled years ago. It is a sweet shooting rifle. <AMR> Stock, back action lock, 15 1/2 in Green Mountain barrel, forged steel ram rod & sling swivels. I have a total of $200 in it.
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ghunter said:

My friend Tamara was considering the blanket gun or canoe gun and I advised against using a Brown Bess (BB) to make a blanket gun.

The most important point is that it would NOT be historically correct. I am sure that Tamara would not be happy with a gun at any events she attended unless it was historically correct.

At that time in history, the quality of a BB would be of a high quality gun and nobody would want to ruin that kind of weapon. Again, being of high quality, no one would have to shorten the barrel to correct any shooting flaws from a poor quality gun.

Shooting a blanket gun is done with the arm stretched forward as opposed to the tradition butt to shoulder position. Cutting down a BB would make for a much heavier blanket gun and even for me that weight stretched out would quickly become uncomfortable. This would of course be a bigger problem for Tamara.

Historically, a Native with a BB would be very rare. BB’s were given out to some upper status Natives (Chief or Sub-Chief) to help solidify their loyalty to the British and the loyalty of their followers during the War of 1812. Some might have acquired a BB by picking one up from a dead British infantry soldier on the battlefield. However, after the battles, those BB’s tended to be quickly confiscated by the British if the stocks were so engraved with the “B arrow O” British Ordinance mark. In some cases, trade guns would be offered in exchange for the BB. Otherwise, the only guns the Natives typically got were through trade and they were a style called the Northwest Trade Gun (NWTG).



NWTG were made literally to be given away. They were cheaply made and as we say today – no frills. They were basic grade smooth bore and differed from military grade without the same fit and finish.

Shooting quality also sucked. They were intentionally smaller cal. so that any captured stocks of military balls (75 cal.) could not be used. They also had no provision for a bayonet.



The calibre of the NWTG’s were a much smaller bore than the 75 cal. of the BB. NWTG’s tended to be smaller and lighter (less cost to transport for the trader) and tended to be about the 60 cal. range. (Mine is 68 cal.) Some did go as low as 50 cal. and some as high as 68 cal. Having his choice in a trade, a Native would opt for the higher cal. believing he got more power and distance, rather than a lower cal.

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tenngun said:

A blanket gun is different than a canoe gun. A blanket gun is made from a full sized gun hacked off to be a pistol. We only know of one historical context for these
A canoe gun is just a sawn off full size gun. It’s made to be shouldered and fired normally.
We know historic examples of cut back guns although a purpose made canoe gun is a modern concept

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Coinneach said:

Consider Pecatonica River for an affordable kit.

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ghunter said:

My friend Tamara was considering the blanket gun or canoe gun and I advised against using a Brown Bess (BB) to make a blanket gun.

The most important point is that it would NOT be historically correct. I am sure that Tamara would not be happy with a gun at any events she attended unless it was historically correct.

At that time in history, the quality of a BB would be of a high quality gun and nobody would want to ruin that kind of weapon. Again, being of high quality, no one would have to shorten the barrel to correct any shooting flaws from a poor quality gun.

Shooting a blanket gun is done with the arm stretched forward as opposed to the tradition butt to shoulder position. Cutting down a BB would make for a much heavier blanket gun and even for me that weight stretched out would quickly become uncomfortable. This would of course be a bigger problem for Tamara.

Historically, a Native with a BB would be very rare. BB’s were given out to some upper status Natives (Chief or Sub-Chief) to help solidify their loyalty to the British and the loyalty of their followers during the War of 1812. Some might have acquired a BB by picking one up from a dead British infantry soldier on the battlefield. However, after the battles, those BB’s tended to be quickly confiscated by the British if the stocks were so engraved with the “B arrow O” British Ordinance mark. In some cases, trade guns would be offered in exchange for the BB. Otherwise, the only guns the Natives typically got were through trade and they were a style called the Northwest Trade Gun (NWTG).



NWTG were made literally to be given away. They were cheaply made and as we say today – no frills. They were basic grade smooth bore and differed from military grade without the same fit and finish.

Shooting quality also sucked. They were intentionally smaller cal. so that any captured stocks of military balls (75 cal.) could not be used. They also had no provision for a bayonet.



The calibre of the NWTG’s were a much smaller bore than the 75 cal. of the BB. NWTG’s tended to be smaller and lighter (less cost to transport for the trader) and tended to be about the 60 cal. range. (Mine is 68 cal.) Some did go as low as 50 cal. and some as high as 68 cal. Having his choice in a trade, a Native would opt for the higher cal. believing he got more power and distance, rather than a lower cal.

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Clark Badgett said:

There is so much wrong with this posting, I don’t even know where to start.

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andy52 said:

Other than I didn't say anything about being historically correct in my OP.

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mikesto44 said:

Andy52 is just looking for a trade gun or kit So why not just stick to what he wants and help him find one..?

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