Shooting the New Trade Gun

[Nor'Easter]

Thanks for taking the time to post your results. Like your shooting range! Nice little hooch to sit at also.

Always amazed by the accuracy potential of smoothbores. Pretty easy to see why they were the gun of choice for most of the eastern and northern woodlands. Obviously a different game in the old growth hardwood forests, prairies and western mountains. But in mixed forests with evergreens, uplands hunting and waterfowl they really are a super versatile tool. Is yours the 1740 Early English? What made you choose it over his 'Bumford' or Type G?

 

[springfield art]

I love the quirky features of Trade Guns; the flat, nailed butt plate, the serpent, all of it! The idea of it's being desired and used by the Natives.

 

[springfield art]

My Tradey is an old Gostomsky I found at auction. Info about it I found here.

 

[TDM]

Is yours the 1740 Early English? What made you choose it over his 'Bumford' or Type G?

Thanks, yes it’s a 1740-1750’s early English based off originals found in Georgia and S. Carolina. I like the lines and I wanted the early engraved and inletted side plate.

 

[WALT53]

Thanks, yes it’s a 1740-1750’s early English based off originals found in Georgia and S. Carolina. I like the lines and I wanted the early engraved and inletted side plate.

Nice shooting TDM and nice gun your lucky you can still see open sights ,I’ve had to go to peep sights a long time know .

 

[TDM]

Nice shooting TDM and nice gun your lucky you can still see open sights ,I’ve had to go to peep sights a long time know .

Thanks, I really like having the rear sight, but haven’t tried it a 50 yet. That’s usually the limit for my eyes.

 

[Nor'Easter]

I am also fast approaching the "need" of a rear aperture / peep sight.

I have seen photos of probably a dozen or more 15th thru very early 18th century guns, a lot of them smoothbores, with a form of peep sight (most a 1" to 4"+ tube) affixed to the breech.

I don't think I've ever seen a North American artifact that had one. Kind of interesting. I wonder if there would be a market for reproductions?

 

[TDM]

I am also fast approaching the "need" of a rear aperture / peep sight.

I have seen photos of probably a dozen or more 15th thru very early 18th century guns, a lot of them smoothbores, with a form of peep sight (most a 1" to 4"+ tube) affixed to the breech.

I don't think I've ever seen a North American artifact that had one. Kind of interesting. I wonder if there would be a market for reproductions?

Yep, I doubt any peep sights were original but now I’m more interested in still being able to enjoy shooting my guns. I would never be able to have shot that 25 yrd group without the rear sight, right off the bat I was shooting tight groups with it. I’ve seen original rear sights on later trade guns but never on the older ones like mine, but you got to do what works. So I see nothing wrong with using peeps and I’ll do the same if I need too.

 

[WALT53]

Yep, I doubt any peep sights were original but now I’m more interested in still being able to enjoy shooting my guns. I would never be able to have shot that 25 yrd group without the rear sight, right off the bat I was shooting tight groups with it. I’ve seen original rear sights on later trade guns but never on the older ones like mine, but you got to do what works. So I see nothing wrong with using peeps and I’ll do the same if I need too.

You gotta do what ya gotta do and what works for you .

 

[Rob M.]

Yep, I doubt any peep sights were original but now I’m more interested in still being able to enjoy shooting my guns. I would never be able to have shot that 25 yrd group without the rear sight, right off the bat I was shooting tight groups with it. I’ve seen original rear sights on later trade guns but never on the older ones like mine, but you got to do what works. So I see nothing wrong with using peeps and I’ll do the same if I need too.

I went to the Museum of the Fur Trade years ago and when I got there , low and behold my favorite Fusil de Chasse was there ! I couldnt believe it ! It used to be in the Parks Canada Museum for decades . I had my nose to the glass ! Gorgeous gun ! The weirdest thing I noticed about it ...it had a frikken rear sight on it ! It was behind the hammer / cock so I never saw it in the pics over the years . I wish I'd have been able to get a picture of it . It was rough too , you could still see tool marks in the wood , quite surprised ...Ive many N.W. guns with rear sights added ...peep sight time soon for me probably ! LOL..... Need to go back to that museum ....

 

[Nor'Easter]

Various styles of rear sights, even on smoothbores definitely have historical precedence. In fact, I am certain I've seen at least one dug artifact of a smoothbore with a rear sight - and I don't believe it was a Type G / Carolina gun.

I actually think it was a Dutch gun. There was no way to tell if it was made that way or installed later.

 

[TDM]

I’m finally getting around to polishing the bore and cutting a dove tail for a rear sight on the Trade Gun. I’ve sworn off ever using a patched jag again and will use only a shotgun swab from now on, but I still wanted to clean the bore up a bit and see for sure what my jag had been hitting. Always figured it had to be something with the vent liner, even though I’d removed the breech previously and found nothing. Well, as you’ll be able to see in the last 2 photos, I found the culprit. The first of the 3 makers marks was punched deep and deep enough to slightly bulge the inside. Ran the patched jag and sure enough that’s where I was hitting the resistance that had been bugging me. You can’t feel it but the light and shadow show it plainly. Now onto cutting the dove tail, a very shallow one.

 

[TDM]

Successfully got the barrel dovetailed and the rear sight mounted. I used the same sight that I had epoxied on, took a good whack to knock it off, probably would have out lasted me! I believe the sight was an old SMR sight that I cut down. I filed in a front foot, cleaned it, and re-Jax Blacked it. Rigged up a file guide on the barrel and found an appropriate mill file with the right thickness for the sight base. Took one of my new, small triangular files and sanded down a safe side. Took my time and made the cuts. Then took some diluted Jax black and re-blended the area. Sight went it tightly, almost too tight, but it will work. I’ll have to file down the front sight a fair amount but I’ve got plenty to work with. Looking forward to sighting it in and trying a bunch of new (to me) load combinations.

 

[TDM]

Here’s a couple of photos with it back together. The new sight is unobtrusive and it should be big help.

 

[barracudadave67]

Nice work TDM, and a VERY NICE Gun. I love it.

Dave

 

[TDM]

Nice work TDM, and a VERY NICE Gun. I love it.

Dave

Thank you much Dave.

 

[Mike in FL]

This has me wondering if the Fowler J. Kibler will introduce will have a rear sight, or at least be offered as an extra. I am guessing he won't because his kits are so authentic. We may have to co cult TDM on how to fit one.

 

[TDM]

This has me wondering if the Fowler J. Kibler will introduce will have a rear sight, or at least be offered as an extra. I am guessing he won't because his kits are so authentic. We may have to co cult TDM on how to fit one.

Jim’s Fowler will not have rear sights. The originals didn’t and I know he doesn’t want to encourage folks to shoot RBs out of them. I added the rear sight to mine to aid with shooting RBs. If I shot the gun regularly and learned the proper sight picture I wouldn’t really need the rear sight, but I’ll go a couple of months not shooting this one and always forget!

 

[Mike in FL]

Jim’s Fowler will not have rear sights. The originals didn’t and I know he doesn’t want to encourage folks to shoot RBs out of them. I added the rear sight to mine to aid with shooting RBs. If I shot the gun regularly and learned the proper sight picture I wouldn’t really need the rear sight, but I’ll go a couple of months not shooting this one and always forget!

You reckon it will be octagon to round? Don't know how on earth one might add a sight to a round smooth bore. And why would Jim not encourage RBs? Never had one before, but do you think it might not have been done "back then"? I'm thinking now I might have been a bit hasty to have it on my list. I have never ever fired a smoothy.

 

[TDM]

You reckon it will be octagon to round? Don't know how on earth one might add a sight to a round smooth bore. And why would Jim not encourage RBs? Never had one before, but do you think it might not have been done "back then"? I'm thinking now I might have been a bit hasty to have it on my list. I have never ever fired a smoothy.

To the best of my knowledge Fowlers were not traditionally used with anything but shot. Bird shot, swan shot, maybe buck shot. The barrels were thin for easy, quick handling. Not for round balls. But again, I’m no authority on the subject. But I have heard and read Jim state that he hoped folks would stay with shot. But he still has to make the barrels heavier than originals because people are bound to put RBs in them. Not sure about his barrel shape, we’ll know pretty soon. If you dovetail a round barrel it better be a thick walled one. Just not traditionally done. Fowlers and Trade Guns are both smoothbores but different animals.