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Crow#21957

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Which be the fanciest and still be PC.
I've got a fusil dechasse but the but plate is not as fancy as I thought it would be. I'm pretty stuck on fancy maple but will probably go walnut for this. I want a 62 cal smoothbore that would have been made for the officers or well to do colonists. Brass furniture and fancy side plate.
 
Which be the fanciest and still be PC.
I've got a fusil dechasse but the but plate is not as fancy as I thought it would be. I'm pretty stuck on fancy maple but will probably go walnut for this. I want a 62 cal smoothbore that would have been made for the officers or well to do colonists. Brass furniture and fancy side plate.

Then you’re after a Fusil De Fin
 
Don't forget the fusil de trait, the most common French gun in North America. These were traded to the indians. These looked much like a fusil fin but of lesser quality.
They were mounted in brass or iron. Barrels were generally around 53 inches long and were octagon fading to round with a sighting plane down the full length of the barrel.
 
Could someone explain the difference between De Fin and De Chasse?
Fusil simply means "gun". Fin means a gun of a finer quality, with engraved side plate, trigger guard, and butt plate. De chasse means for hunting, probably as opposed to military use. They were all smooth bore guns. Today, fusil means rifle and "de chasse" means shotgun or smoothbore. So modern terminology is one thing and 18th century terminology is another. As is true in many cases. The best kit is the Rifle Shoppe "Early French Officer's Fusil" which is a fusil fin de chasse. An even better option is a custom made gun with a custom barrel of the proper length and weight.
 
Fusil simply means "gun". Fin means a gun of a finer quality, with engraved side plate, trigger guard, and butt plate. De chasse means for hunting, probably as opposed to military use. They were all smooth bore guns. Today, fusil means rifle and "de chasse" means shotgun or smoothbore. So modern terminology is one thing and 18th century terminology is another. As is true in many cases. The best kit is the Rifle Shoppe "Early French Officer's Fusil" which is a fusil fin de chasse. An even better option is a custom made gun with a custom barrel of the proper length and weight.
Interesting lesson. Thank you.
 
Fusi Fin, but NOT maple! It would only be maple if broken and then REstocked here. Walnut or a fruit wood only and a barrel of 44” and as TRIM and LIGHT as possible … if it weighs > ~7-pounds, it was not built correctly. The oct breech area should also be fully tapered.
There's nothing wrong with questing for the perfect original specimen, it should be remembered however when we are discussing these types of items is that the perfect specimen doesn't exist if made prior to the industrial revolution most were made under contract to cottage industry, small shops usually with just a few laborers working with hand tools under poor lighting conditions and with crude measuring instruments.
The steals and iron used was usually reclaimed, there was no quality control over stock and furniture materials, even the screws were made one at a time and not one thread matching.
No two guns were exactly alike and none of the parts were interchangeable, in the originals barrels varied in length from 39" to 45" on average, lengths of pull varied as much as 1-1/4".
Just as an aside I've had four custom made French mod. D Fusil de Chasse made especially for me, each by a different maker, they are all similar, but not exactly alike, on the other hand I have two semi custom Center Mark French Fusil de Chasse fowlers made by the same maker in the same shop with the same tooling, one is stocked in Walnut the other in dark Curly Maple, except for the finish on the wood both guns are as close to identical as they can be, and the parts are interchangeable.
I would suggest that we think before we criticize someone else's gear or dress, while it may make one sound like an expert, is it really worth the cost of hurting someone's feelings, especially someone new to the sport, I don't think it is.
 
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Hi,
Forget the French gun. If you want a finely made and fitting gun that would be what a prosperous colonial would own, make an English fowler, an American version of an English fowler, or a Pennsylvania-made Germanic fowler.

dave
Thanks Dave, I had a custom made New England English Fowler made by Ed Parry from CT, He did some incise carving on the stock and engraved the lock and butt plate, all of the furniture was done in sterling silver, and has a silver thumb piece, it is a work of gun makers art, but I had it made in 12ga. and couldn't get used to it, I sold it to a good friend of mine..
I did some period trekking and reenacting, a little small game and upland bird hunting, and shoot area muzzle loading line shoots and woods walks, really not a good environment for a fancy smoothbore, I got my hands on a French Fusil de Chasse by Center Mark and it fit me perfectly, and being of French Canadian ethnicity it fits my persona to a tee, I like it so much that when another one came up locally I bought it also.
So, thanks again for the suggestion my friend, but I'm good, I couldn't be happier with my French Fusils, they're exactly what I need, and all I want.
 
Which be the fanciest and still be PC.
I've got a fusil dechasse but the but plate is not as fancy as I thought it would be. I'm pretty stuck on fancy maple but will probably go walnut for this. I want a 62 cal smoothbore that would have been made for the officers or well to do colonists. Brass furniture and fancy side plate.
I'm with Mr Person
For a very fine gun of the period,
An English fowling piece with a Spanish made barrel. These Spanish made barrels were sometimes inlaid with gold.

Speaking very generally of the period, the French did not have the quality or the quantity. There is documentation of French Allied Indians, preferring English Guns.
It is also interesting there were some English makers that the Indians would refuse. The American Indians were very demanding customers.
 
The French were perfectly capable of turning out fancy firearms as the example below shows, in fact quite a few were way to gaudy for my taste.

I have handled a friends very fancy original English fowler, he had an exact reproduction of it made as well, and it is a joy I must admit but it is also a little to much for tramping through the woods. Tripping and falling down with it is not an option.

Personally I have never found a fowler that fit me better or handled and was a joy to carry as my French Caywood, It was but together and finished by a master at the craft and is my ideal.

All that being said, the best fowler is the one that fits you..... Yes you can argue that in the English colonies it should be English but in northern New York, any where along the Saint Laurence, Great Lakes, Ohio and Mississippi and Missouri drainages a French gun would be more common.

But after the F&I war captured guns would have been had by civilians on both sides.

As long as you are not participating in a military reenacting group, get what you like, develop a story and be happy.

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There is immense variation in several of the categories mentioned. A “tulle” on this forum seems to mean a plain iron mounted fusil de chasse. English exports ranged from extremely plain and cheap trade guns to nice fowling pieces. Colonial guns ran the same gamut. Picking a category is not how I’d approach acquiring a “fancy” gun. There must be some style or era that appeals, if there is interest in guns of the period. Without studying originals - books, museums, and so on - I guess most just rely on forums and what sellers are offering.
 
I feel that you should get and use whatever makes you happy. If you are not into reenacting you only have to make yourself happy. I have taken the parts from my early VA fowler and reinstalling them in a Tulle stock. I prefer the looks of the Tulle. At my age and physical condition the only reenacting I do is to impersonate a real live human being!
 
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