Differences Between a Fowler and a Fusil?

[N.Y. Yankee]

Please tell me what you know about this.

 

[Grenadier1758]

From a purely technical aspect, a fowler is a person who hunts fowl, and a fusil is a smooth bored firearm. Lets get past this bit of foolery as the term fowler as the name used for a smooth bored fowling gun is accepted and in common use.

Since your question is about a smooth bored firearm that is often referred to as a fowler compared to a smooth bored fusil, really not much as both are smooth bored. The fowling gun has stock design and barrel design to favor the shooting of shot and will be lighter in weight for ease of handling even with a long barrel of 40 or more inches in length. Both will be cylinder bore. The architecture will tend to favor the shooting of ball and may have more of sturdier architecture. The uses of both will overlap as some fowling guns have been called fusils (fuzees). Both are fully capable of shooting shot at fowl (or squirrels and rabbits or other small game) or being loaded with a round ball for larger game such as deer, bear or home defense. There is a lot of cross purpose in the two references. Advertisements abound for a neat fuzee intended for hunting small game.

For most the difference is the local use of the terms and who is talking. The wealthy land owner may have a fowling gun while a small farmer might refer to the same firearm as a fusil. This is much like ordering pancakes but being told that the restaurant only serves hot cakes.

 

[Bushfire]

I think colloquially a fowler i.e. a fowling piece often refers to an English styled smoothbore.

A fusil is still a smoothbore and still a fowling piece but is specifically a French gun.

My "fowler" 20G trade gun is English styled, my fusil de chasse is likewise a 20G smoothy but french design.

I am no expert on guns, but the stock is the most telling difference of the two to a lay person. Fusils tend to have much more of a drop in the comb, english guns typically have a much straighter comb.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I love the architecture of both these firearms.

The Fusil de Chase is a very light maneuverable firearm. The locks are usually quite sizable, offering consistent reliable ignition. I’ve taken Quail, Pheasants, & Doves with my Fusil…along with Rabbits & Squirrels.

Fowlers have a very different architecture, but again they are light and maneuverable, along the same lines as the French Fusils.

I have my personal preferences, but would never shy away from either of them.

Which ever one you select, you will be very happy with…

 

[rich pierce]

Both terms cover a lot of ground with some overlap. Grenadier pretty much covered it. But consider that guns called fowlers and guns called fusils spanned centuries, countries, and many styles. So making a generalization about how either “category” looked and handled is impossible. If you look through Flintlock Fowlers by Grinslade you’ll see that colonial fowlers here ranged from .50 to .80 caliber, 5 to 16 pounds, barrels 38-60” long, we’re made from 1700-1830 in the flintlock ignition system, and broadly fell into these categories: New England fowlers, Hudson Valley fowlers, British style fowlers, club-butt fowlers, Kentucky fowlers, and “other”.

Never use or trust catalogues of sellers as your primary source of information.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

From an 18th century standpoint.....A fowling piece CAN have a bore that has the muzzle end relieved or/and the breech end "roughened" in early attempts to control shot patterns. It was made with the purpose of shooting shot at fowl. A fuzee will always be cylinder bore as the intent is to use a single ball projectile much of the time. Some fuzees made with the intent of ball exclusively had heavier walls. The hardware and design shapes can be same or similar. Larger, heavier fowling pieces are used as duck guns/waterfowling guns. There were also lighter fowling pieces intended for partridge and the like (comparable to what we call here an upland type gun). A Carolina/G trade gun is a light fuzee. Both the fowling piece and fuzee saw use in war/military/militia and some fuzees were made for that use.

 

[hanshi]

Outside of nitpicking I don't consider them any different from one another. Sometimes we all get too caught up semantics.

 

[Grenadier1758]

In the period, the smooth bored gun used for hunting birds was probably called a fusil or fuzee and I recall seeing in the reproduction ads that fusils were available.

Let's not overwork this terminology as there is mostly the difference in the name.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Fusil is simply French for "gun". It originally meant a flintlock gun used by "fusiliers" rather than the matchlock "musket" used by "musketeers". Fusiliers used fusils to guard artillery and powder magazines because the flintlocks were much safer around the powder than matchlocks with their burning match cord. The term in French just means gun and specifically, flintlock gun. "Fusil de chasse" simply means "gun for the chase" or "hunting gun". "Fusil fin" means "fine gun". To the English, fusil usually meant a light weight military gun carried by officers and NCOs and as such was interchangeable with the term "carbine". As Feltwad corrected us, to the English, a fowler was a large smooth bored gun with very long barrel used to shoot waterfowl on the water. They referred to light smooth bored guns used to hunt upland birds not as "fowlers" but as "sporting guns". However, we Americans refer to all smooth bored muzzle loading guns used to hunt birds of any sort, as "fowlers". Of course, our "fowlers" can also be used with patched round ball to hunt large game, something not available to the average British hunter in the 18th century.

dave

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Of course, our "fowlers" can also be used with patched round ball to hunt large game, something not available to the average British hunter in the 18th century.

dave

Something not available to the average British hunter within the United Kingdoms, in the 18th century. ALL British subjects of British descent in North America hunting deer of any sort, in the 18th century were "British hunters".

GOD SAVE THE KING!

LD

 

[Grenadier1758]

The hunters in the British colonies were British unless they were Scots, Welsh, Dutch, German or ...

 

[FlinterNick]

Aside from the French history that define the term fusil, the terminologies hold different meanings in Spanish, British, French, Dutch, American and German gun culture. The actual arms themselves are very similar in scale, weight and design. To me a Fowler can take on many forms from every light and slender to beefy and heavy. Hudson Valley Fowlers were often much larger and took on more of the Dutch features, later American Fowlers tended to be lighter and slender. A Tulle Fusil would be very similar with many french features such as iron furniture and a Roman nose butt stock.

In general though, fusil vs. fowler, folks on this forum will all give you different answers as some people see subtle differences as integral.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

The hunters in the British colonies were British unless they were Scots, Welsh, Dutch, German or ...

Scotsmen or Welshmen were British..., just not English.
"British" in the 18th century meant any subject of The Crown of the United Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Wales.
After 1801 it was The United Kingdoms of Great Britain (Scotland, England, Wales) and Ireland
So if you were a descendant from the UK, in a British colony, you were still British. IF you were born in a British colony, from descendants of the UK, again, you were British

LD

 

[Bushfire]

Scotsmen or Welshmen were British..., just not English.
"British" in the 18th century meant any subject of The Crown of the United Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Wales.
After 1801 it was The United Kingdoms of Great Britain (Scotland, England, Wales) and Ireland
So if you were a descendant from the UK, in a British colony, you were still British. IF you were born in a British colony, from descendants of the UK, again, you were British

LD

I sure am glad we aussies were never british!

 

[Brokennock]

Please tell me what you know about this.

Wow! A good little question that gets asked now and then, and rarely gets answered well,,,,, but you hit the timing right on this one regarding who was online to answer.
I've never seen this question answered so lean, no fat here, great answers from; @Grenadier1758 , @Capt. Jas. , @dave_person , and @rich pierce

Thanks fellas.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

I think the biggest difference between Fusil and Fowler is the stock design, with the Fusil haveing the French style "roman nose" and the fowler having straighter(less drop) English style, Otherwise, only length of barrel and lock style made any real difference(IMHO)

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I sure am glad we aussies were never british!

New South Wales was a British Colony..., penal... but British.

LD

 

[springfield art]

I love the architecture of both these firearms.

View attachment 153710
The Fusil de Chase is a very light maneuverable firearm. The locks are usually quite sizable, offering consistent reliable ignition. I’ve taken Quail, Pheasants, & Doves with my Fusil…along with Rabbits & Squirrels.

View attachment 153711
Fowlers have a very different architecture, but again they are light and maneuverable, along the same lines as the French Fusils.

I have my personal preferences, but would never shy away from either of them.

Which ever one you select, you will be very happy with…

Good information! I always thought of a Fusil as, like, an Officer's gun, a military piece. But a Fowler strictly as a hunting gun. Interesting thread! Thanks.

 

[mushka]

I don't give a hoot who is British or English, but I am with Hanshi. both guns are the same to me.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I have both of them…I’ve used both of them for years in the field, and though they can be used to serve the same purpose…they are definitely NOT the same.

Completely different architecture, completely different feel, completely different geometry and swing characteristics….

Yeah no, not the same.