So what’s the difference...

[Tb54]

So what’s the difference between a trade rifle and a muzzleloading rifle? I understand the difference between a rifle and a musket I think... the rifle has rifling and the musket is a smoothbore, but what’s the difference then between a smoothbore musket and a Fowler?

 

[Musketeer]

As to the second question, in general: a musket is a military arm, so it's overbuilt and heavy for durability, while a fowler is a sporting gun, so lighter weight and good balance (for swinging at small moving targets) are more important.

 

[LawrenceA]

Hi mate
That is akin to what is the difference between a dog and a mammal?
A trade rifle is a type of Muzzleloading Rifle.
AS the name suggests it was for trade with the natives.
Basically it is the mass produced item built to a price.
Like Mc'Donalds or Chevrolet

 

[Britsmoothy]

A trade rifle would be built for pure function with iron parts and sans any fancy inlays of more precious metals.

 

[cositrike]

A trade rifle would be built for pure function with iron parts and sans any fancy inlays of more precious metals.

Unless it was a chiefs grade of course.

 

[Grenadier1758]

As @LawrenceA stated, all trade rifles are muzzle loaders, but not all muzzle loaders are trade rifles. As @Britsmoothy Lawrence A and @cositrike have stated, the trade rifle is built to be a functional affordable rifle to be sold at the lowest price point. The trade rifles are a rifle built according to the speculation that it would sell. Other muzzle loaders are more or less custom or semi-custom firearms intended for sale at a higher price to a more affluent customer.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

So what’s the difference between a trade rifle and a muzzleloading rifle? I understand the difference between a rifle and a musket I think... the rifle has rifling and the musket is a smoothbore, but what’s the difference then between a smoothbore musket and a Fowler?

Except there are rifled muskets...
I suppose one could use a a smooth bore musket loaded with shot to defend against an invading force of lawn geese.

 

[Sun City]

A fowler is a SHOTGUN!!

 

[tenngun]

So what’s the difference between a trade rifle and a muzzleloading rifle? I understand the difference between a rifle and a musket I think... the rifle has rifling and the musket is a smoothbore, but what’s the difference then between a smoothbore musket and a Fowler?

Ah, none
From 1791-1821 the federal government wanted to control Indian trade and tried to stymie independent trade. It set up ‘factories’ across the frontier, ie trading post. The government contracted with rifle smiths to make an inexpensive rifle in general American pattern to trade with the indians. Many of these got in to the hands of frontiersman as they were solid and cheap. It was done to counter British trade as they were supplying smooth bores.
After 1821 private companies took over Indian trade and they bought from the same suppliers. American Fur and Rocky Mountain Fur put the same contract rifles in to the hands of their employees that they were selling to Indians, although they also offered smoothbore copies of English guns.
Musket started out as a big two man gun that was used something like SAW, guarding the flanks of the military formations. They were half artillery half shoulder gun. And could be used at much longer range then shoulder guns.
They shrunk in size to the muskets of the late seventeenth through the eighteenth century.
Then in the middle of the nineteenth they got rifled, ended as a gun name with breechloaders.
Today if one says musket we are referring specifically to big bore long shoulder weapons made to take a bayonet and stand up to hand to hand fighting, mostly flintlock.
Back in the day the name was used at times for the smooth bores made for trade or the guns carried about ships for self defense, or the guns made for militia men requirements.
Fusils, light musket, Fowling piece, musketoon, carbine are all the same gun with minor stylistic changes.
Today if you call a fusil or a Fowling gun a musket it means your a newbie, when you use the ‘right name’ it shows your an initiate.

 

[hanshi]

It really comes down to "denotation" vs "connotation". "Musket" denotes a military smoothbore. But "connotation" begs the question, when does a smoothbore become a musket and vice versa. Early militia often carried their personal weapons and these were guns used to protect and feed families. But they were also used in battle. So where is the line drawn. Well, it can depend on how specific you want to be or need to be. Mechanically there is no difference between a musket and a civilian owned smoothbore - also called a fowler, shotgun, fusil, etc. They were both smoothbore flintlocks. The civilian smoothbores were often less "heavy duty" than a military musket, but not always. Military muskets were designed to accept a bayonet, civilian guns rarely; although it was easy to alter that. So again, muskets and civilian smoothbores are basically the same gun often with some modification which identified one from the other. Unless I need to be specific I often use the term "musket" when referring to my smoothbore.

A trade gun and trade rifle are the terms normally used to define solid but bare bones, working type guns for the Indian trade as well as affordable weapons for those without the means or desire to get a more costly arm. So in a real sense there is much subjectivity found in the discussion of this subject.

 

[rusty]

Trade rifles had brass parts, single trigger mostly plain wood stocks mostly four-piece patch boxes built for the Indian trade, and rocky mountaineers they were working guns.