Early arrival of trade gun

I just got a call from a former employer who was kind enough to let me use his business for a shipping address, that my North Star West, Early English trade gun has arrived. Considering that I wasn’t expecting it until mid-August or so it’s a pleasant surprise. I ordered it with the long barrel in 20 gauge.
I’ll work on round ball shooting first and put off shot loads until later.
Job responsibilities will prevent me from getting it dirty until this weekend at the earliest, but I will try to post some pictures before then.

 

[stan]

Sounds great looking forward to seeing those pictures.

 

[biliff]

You'll like it. It's a good piece.

 

[PA.1740]

Have one in 28 gauge,you will love it :thumbsup:
Have Fun
Phil

 

[wattlebuster]

Congratulations to you and lookin forward to some pics :thumbsup:

 

Hopefully, these pictures will be some help to someone interested in a North Star West Early English Trade Gun.
First, the buttstock.

A closeup of the lock.

The side plate

The buttstock from above

And the general lines of the entire piece.

This is the bag and horn I had ready for the gun when it arrived. Since it got here a lot quicker than I expected, the bag and horn is all that is ready at this stage of the game.

The gun is heavier than I expected but for throwing big balls downrange that is probably a good thing.
Shooting report in a couple of weeks.

 

[fosters]

Great looking gun! Thanks for posting the pictures. I've been considering one of Matt's Chief's Grade. I can't wait to hear how she shoots. More than jealous.

Fosters

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

I have a North Star West Light Dragoon Carbine that is a fine shooter.

 

[Dausener]

Very nice! :thumbsup:

 

[Rifleman1776]

The gun is heavier than I expected

That is surprising. I would expect it to be feather light. What is the barrel length. The in the white lock isn't to my taste but the rest of it looks just fine and I'm sure it is a quality build. Enjoy.

 

Barrel length is 41 inches. I was kinda expecting feather light too, but the breech is pretty heavy. The last smoothbore I had was built along the lines of a Twig fowler. It was 12 gauge and was feather light. It was also built first and foremost as a shotgun, and the thinner barrel not doubt played a part in the weight difference. The barrel on this gun should easily handle stouter loads than I’ll ever put down the barrel. I wouldn’t have said that of the Twig fowler.
I lean your direction on the lock right at the moment, but hey, this is Indiana. There should be a nice patina on it in no time. Friendship brown isn’t confined to just Friendship ya know.

 

[wattlebuster]

Sharp as a tack. I like it :thumbsup:

 

[TinStar]

Good luck with it!! It's very, very nice!
And I hope it shoots great for ya!
Get er' bloody this fall!

TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!

 

[biliff]

FWIW, my Early English is identical to yours and weighs in at 7.2 lbs. . My standard load is a .010 patch, .600 ball and 70gr. FFFg Goex.

 

[wahkahchimaol.com]

PLEASE tell us how it shoulders and shoots! Thanks.

 

[bnail]

Great piece Randy!:thumbsup:
I've been drooling over "chief's grade" guns for years. mostly caywood, but have also been scouting NSW.

I couldnt help but notice the sideplate inletting. did it come from NSW that way? and was it an issue for ya?

Hopefully, these pictures will be some help to someone interested in a North Star West Early English Trade Gun.
The side plate

. . .

 

Great piece Randy!:thumbsup:
I've been drooling over "chief's grade" guns for years. mostly caywood, but have also been scouting NSW.

I couldnt help but notice the sideplate inletting. did it come from NSW that way? and was it an issue for ya?

Hopefully, these pictures will be some help to someone interested in a North Star West Early English Trade Gun.
The side plate

. . .

It looks worse in the picture than it actually is. As a matter of fact, until you mentioned it, I hadn’t noticed it.
While I can understand why some people would be unhappy about it, I find it a very minor issue that really doesn’t bother me. There are several reasons for this.
First of all, it will be a working gun. After a year or so, when the brass is tarnished and there are a few dings and scratches on the stock, the small mistake on the side plate inletting won’t be something you notice unless you really look for it.
Overall, the inletting is excellent. Down the road, it will be easy to dismiss the small gap around the side plate as the result of removing the side plate at some point in time.
This is after all a trade gun. If it was a rifle where art was intended to be on (at least) an even keel with function I might feel differently.
It comes to the shoulder like nothing else I own, modern or muzzleloading.
The last factor is my personal makeup. I work in the service industry. Prior to my present job with a natural gas company, I was a maintenance supervisor for a large nursing home. Prior to that I made money on the side subcontracting electrical work. You do the best job you can, but sometimes things happen that are beyond your control. Most people understand this. Some don’t. I know how stressful it is when you have to be polite to someone who is being a ”¦.pain, and as a result I go out of my way not to cause that stress in others. Not saying I never have, but you really have to push me.
North Star West guns can accurately be described as semi-custom or semi-production. If I wanted to be sure that I would receive a smoothbore that was 100% perfect in every way I could have spent twice as much and probably (underlined and italicized) got one. As it is, I got a good reliable firearm, made in the US, for a price only slightly higher than an Italian import.

 

[matt denison]

Those sideplates are directly cast from an original. What you see in the photo is a shadow line from the plate not being a consistent thickness. That's what happens when you use original stuff. It's also an endearing quality of a hand made object vs. something stamped out in China.

:v

 

[bnail]

the lines are very striking. I love the french influence, is that a wilson trade gun?
looking forward to your range report! :hatsoff:

 

[JohnTulle]

Sitting Fox Muzzleloaders sells an English trade gun that looks very similar. I like the brass on yours better, esp. the flat serpent. You can really see the French influence in the overall shape of the gun. China wasn't the first to copy stuff.
Might have to make one of these sometime myself.

Enjoy, and thanks for sharing!