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Another Trade Gun finished

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I didn't build this one but bought it about a month ago and have been rebuilding it on and off . I really like how it turned out . Just put it back together today . A couple small things left to do but its pretty much done .
 

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Things I did to rebuild it ..... I've done SO much to it but you really wouldn't know it by the casual glance or even more . I sanded off the horrible amateur carvings on both sides of the butt stock , sanded off the scallops on the ramrod channel , all barrel lugs were drilled wrong and pins bad , one lug had fallen off so I made new Bartel tennons , soldered them on , filled old pin holes and redrilled pin holes , made new RR pipes , inlet them , plugged old holes , redrill pipe holes , reamed out forearm RR hole from 1/4" dia. , made new hand tapered ramrod , cut butt stock end off , cut to proper LOP , reworked it then , new nails made and attached reworked buttplate tonbutt stock , fixed trigger pin hole and redrilled it , replaced sear and reworked wood in lock mortice so lock would work , took out gaps at tang and breech of barrel , filled tang screw hole with hardwood dowel then redrilled tang / TG hole , welded up tag then redrilled and tapped it , new tang screw , re carved tang and mortice carvings , sanded stock and refinished it ... Proof tested barrel and redrilled TH
 
Things I did to rebuild it ..... I've done SO much to it but you really wouldn't know it by the casual glance or even more . I sanded off the horrible amateur carvings on both sides of the butt stock , sanded off the scallops on the ramrod channel , all barrel lugs were drilled wrong and pins bad , one lug had fallen off so I made new Bartel tennons , soldered them on , filled old pin holes and redrilled pin holes , made new RR pipes , inlet them , plugged old holes , redrill pipe holes , reamed out forearm RR hole from 1/4" dia. , made new hand tapered ramrod , cut butt stock end off , cut to proper LOP , reworked it then , new nails made and attached reworked buttplate tonbutt stock , fixed trigger pin hole and redrilled it , replaced sear and reworked wood in lock mortice so lock would work , took out gaps at tang and breech of barrel , filled tang screw hole with hardwood dowel then redrilled tang / TG hole , welded up tag then redrilled and tapped it , new tang screw , re carved tang and mortice carvings , sanded stock and refinished it ... Proof tested barrel and redrilled TH
Very nice sir I like the finish on the stock 👍
 
Thank you gentlemen. Funny thing ...at the beginning when I picked it up I thought ...not much to fix it up....LOL !! D.A. me !! Lordy ! The more I tore into it the more I found wrong . Just what I needed ! More gun work ! Oh well ...I got her done . She won't last long on the selling block , she looks and handles very nicely ...and 6 pds.
 
Excellent job. I like the looks of a trade gun except for the trigger guard that looks like a big D handle to carry the gun with. Do trade guns all have that big of a trigger guard?
 
Excellent job. I like the looks of a trade gun except for the trigger guard that looks like a big D handle to carry the gun with. Do trade guns all have that big of a trigger guard?
This is actually the small bow trigger guard , pre 1780 on this gun . The large bow trigger guard , post 1780, is much larger ... I'll find a pic . I just finished a late one too
 

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This is actually the small bow trigger guard , pre 1780 on this gun . The large bow trigger guard , post 1780, is much larger ... I'll find a pic . I just finished a late one too
I wonder what the purpose was having a big trigger guard. Wished I had the money to buy it. It is a nice one...
 
I wonder what the purpose was having a big trigger guard. Wished I had the money to buy it. It is a nice one...
There are a few theories . In 1740 the HBCo wrote that trigger guards were to be made bigger so one could use two fingers to pull the trigger , hard trigger pull . In approximately 1780 the guards were made even bigger but HBCo records were destroyed in fire around that date so no official reason . A couple different surmises but I kinda stick with the whole mitten theory . Large enough so you could pull the trigger with a mitton on . It was an arctic gun so it makes sense but ...who knows . Its does get damn cold in northern Canada though !
 
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There are a few theories . In 1740 the HBCo wrote that trigger guards were to be made bigger so one could use two fingers to pull the trigger , hard trigger pull . In approximately 1780 the guards were made even bigger but HBCo records were destroyed in fire around that date so no official reason . A couple different surmises but I kinda stick with the whole mitten theory . Large enough so you could pull the trigger with a mitton on . It was an arctic gun so it makes sense but ...who knows . Its does get damn cold in northern Canada though !
That make sense, big trigger guard for the mitten. Thanks you for the info.
 
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