Northwest Trade gun

I am looking for a Northwest trade gun for my 15 year old son. He wants one for shooting at our gun club and for hunting. Who sells completed versions and/or nearly finished kits? I would like an either finished gun or one in the white.

Thanks,
Mark C. Foster

Northern Rifleman sells Pedersoli kits but the cost is nearly what you'd pay for a fully completed trade gun from several reasonably priced reputable builders. The cost for the Pedersoli kit is $775 and it's 90% complete. For that same price you might consider an already built piece.

I offer this site only as an example of prices and not an endoresment of his work.
[url] http://www.earlyrusticarms.com/pricesanddescriptions.htm[/url]

Dan

Here are a couple of other places to check out:
[url] http://www.northstarwest.com/[/url]
I have never bought anything here, but he has an excellent reputation.
[url] http://www.sittingfoxmuzzleloaders.com/intro.html[/url]
I bought my french fusil trade gun here and I am very happy with it.

Uncle, For the most authentic Northwest Gun, complete with appropriate markings as well as the most options for barrel length and bore size, go with North Star West. Le Grand

I don't think you could do much better than the North starr "in the white" NW gun, a .58 bore would be more like the originals but most chose the .62 I have had two guns from this company and both were superb and the owner will yak on the phone if you have any questions and offer excellant service.

Hello from GE.

Nice smoothie. how much did they want for it?

There have been some realy good ideas put out here.

I am leaning tword Sitting Fox.

Keep the ideas comming!

Thanks,
Mark C. Foster

He is a good guy to talk to. And not too far from you either.

You cannot do any better than Matt at North Star West. His guns are all taken from originals. His service is excellent. For a "production" gun you are really getting a semi-custom built.

I cannot recommend them too highly.

Kootenai
NW Montana

i will not run another mans product down but my first northstarr was a joke well mabey not a joke because i never laughed, lets say unless they have improved in the last 10yrs id stay away from there products when i bought mine all there work was done by independent builders i thought they were built in a factory but that was not the case. :shocked2: how ever i have seen some fine guns produced by them

Yes, nice looking smoothie, I would love to see some pics of the sideplate, and buttplate finial please. Which particular gun of theirs is this>

Chris

I picked up a North Star West Trade Gun kit from Dixie Gun Works when I was visiting Union City on business this week. I made this decision after researching the gun for some time and looking at kits from various sources and a half dozen completed guns made from various kits in Dixie's used and antique arms racks.

First thing I noticed is the North Star West stock is the most accurate to the real thing. Its a walnut stock--as were the originals. There are no known surviving specimens in maple or any other wood. Some other kits give you the option of Walnut for a significant coast upgrade--but they all come with maple wood as standard. The NSW kit also comes with a stock with a length of pull of 15"--obviously you will want to cut this down some but its nice to have the option. Lastly, the lines seem very close to the originals I have studied. Most of the kits have way too much wood in the wrist and forend...which is really no big deal if you understand this and can use a rasp. Still...no reason to put that much timber on there if you are going to go to the trouble to use a stock duplicator in the first place. Its not as fully inlet as other kits. For example the lock mortise is only about 75% done. But the HARD work is done and this allows you to focus on the fine fitting of parts. Some of the kits I've assembled from other makers often suffer from being "over-inletted" meaning a close fit is impossible because the stock duplicator cut the mortises too big. No problem here...and its a nicely figured piece of walnut free of knots too!

Next, the lock is a super copy and VERY nicely made reproduction. Nobody else offers a direct copy of an original Trade Lock. The lock comes with outline engravings and the correct sitting fox logo that came on original Barnett English trade guns. NSW locks are custom cast for them and assembled and tuned in house. They temper their own springs and harden their own[url] fizzens...again[/url], I was VERY impressed with the lock. The thing I really like about it is it comes ready to go--no rough finish to polish--and more importantly the lock looks like an authentic handmade 18th century flintlock--not a cookie cutter precision casting with a bead blasted finish like you get with L&R or Siler, or Davis--and that's not a dig on their superb locks either. I can't say enough good things about the NSW lock.

Matt gets his barrel blanks from Longhammock barrels and contours and breeches them in house. The countours are taken directly from a Barnett gun. Most everyone else uses a generic "fowler" barrel which, while not a bad choice, lacks the unique countors of the original Trade Gun[url] barrels...again[/url], Matt's barrels are as good as it gets. Also his barrels are marked with the sitting fox logo and "LONDON" which again, is correct for this type of gun.

Every part is correct. I can't wait to get this gun together... Its one of the best, most period correct gun kits I've ever seen.

Shelby, I enjoyed your post very much and would add only that a great number of British made guns both the Northwest guns and the Carolina{Type G}guns were also made from Beech which was cheaper than walnut.These guns really should be made of English walnut but such wood would be price prohibitive and so American walnut will suffice.I hate to see maple and especially curly maple being used unless one uses plain maple to intentionally create a restocked gun affect.
Tom Patton

My buddy has one of Curlys last guns and I have to say it comes up to your shoulder so nice you could cry.I recently handled a Pedersoli Northwest gun and was impressed with it's feel also,My bud let me shoot it off hand at a clanger at 25 and smacked it just fine,another piece I'd love to add to my collection...mark

I can personaly recommend Matts products from NSW. His whole service is excellant from pre sales advice through the quality of product he produces and the after sales service is a credit to him.

It's great to see there is some intrest in a hisorically correct copy of the good old North West gun. I've always liked those things. 27 years ago when I first got into this , every "trade gun" match that you shot in, it was always against NW trade guns, most of them were from Curly G back then. It was a rare occurance to see any one using a Fowling piece in those days. Old Alleghany arms hadn't even come out with their De Chasse gun at that time.....boy those were the days of my mis guided youth..... :haha:

How about building a Trade gun from pretty much scratch. I have a barrel that I picked up from Numrich i believe for about $25 delivered. It is about a 20 ga I would guess without actually measuring and I'd guess about 26" long. I have the Trade gun scetch book by Charles Hanson which I got for under 10 bucks! It has the plans for a youth model trade gun that this barrel will work out fine for. I have flats on the barrel almost completed, the barrel had plenty of "meat" on the breech end to file down per the book. I also have the first set of wedding rings almost completed. I used a pipe cutter and some tape to score the wedding bang rings - worked really well. I need to find a small lock of a "close" proper shape, the book suggests a old dixie lock and shows how to shape it correctly but I would like a newer type. Anyone got one?? I also need a chunk of walnut, anyone know where I can get a simple piece of walnut without breaking the bank? I think there is a small (one man shop)local sawmill but I have to find him. I've already shaped a trigger out of a flat piece of steel. The book is pretty neat and this project doesnt look that difficult. The only thing that I am concerned about is the shape of the stock, the contours in the sketch book don't make much sense to me. I think I need to see one! I would like to try to make this for under $150 jsut see if I can do it. The lock is the key as i believe I think I can find a chunk of walnut for under $25. Everything else will be made from scratch using material in my shop. Except, I might buy a turtle sight just because I think the youth in question will like it! Kurt/IL