Montana Muzzleloaders

[TeutonicHeathen]

I am looking for muzzleloading history in Montana and the guns most popular there. The North West Trade gun is the only one I an think of. Any other history or muzzleloading info to do in Montana would be greatly appriciated. Besides my family my 2 loves are black powder and montana!

 

[matt denison]

Montana was Blackfoot country. As such there wasn't much or any white man presence until Bridger and a few others ventured forth in the 1820's. No muzzleloading history before then and of course just after the Northwest gun and some trade rifles including some Penn. long rifles came the breech loading era. The muzzleloading window of use was really quite small, maybe only 30 or 40 years between discovery of this great piece of the world and the advent and use of the Springfield trapdoor and the Sharps' and Rolling blocks.

Speaking of Bridger, he brought Henry trade rifles into the west along with AMF and some others. I s'pose there were some Lymans, Tryons, who knows how many random Penn. rifles made their way here.

 

[matt denison]

I s'pose there were some Lymans, :redface:

That should be Leman, not Lyman. For some reason I couldn't edit it. :hmm:

 

[Claude Mathis]

That should be Leman, not Lyman. For some reason I couldn't edit it. :hmm:

You have 15 minutes to edit or delete a post.

 

[Zonie]

Seems to me I've read the Blackfoot did quite a bit of trading with the Canadian traders and the Hudson's Bay Company.

At the time, some suspected the HBC was behind the Blackfoot's attacks on the American trappers that ventured into their territory.

If all this reading is true, I would have thought that British trade guns would have made their way into the area.

 

[matt denison]

Seems to me I've read the Blackfoot did quite a bit of trading with the Canadian traders and the Hudson's Bay Company.

At the time, some suspected the HBC was behind the Blackfoot's attacks on the American trappers that ventured into their territory.

If all this reading is true, I would have thought that British trade guns would have made their way into the area.

Right-o el Zonie. They were Northwest guns. Exactly what the OP was asking about. I guess what I was getting at is that there is a lot less muzzleloading history here in Montana than in the Colonies and otherwise areas east of the Big Muddy Mississippie. Other than Lewis and Clark wandering through in 03-06 (which many say is the cause of animosity between the Blackfeet and White') there wasn't much happening here until Bridger got up the guts to trap, American Fur built Fort Union, heck, Manual Lisa was run out of the country, pretty tough to make a living here with or without guns. Read Andrew Garcia's "Tough Trip Through Paradise" for a pretty good idea how tough it was even in the 1850's. Garcia was a trader and, incidentally, was peddling needle guns to the Natives along the Muscleshell River. So there is another bit of Montana/muzzleloader history I guess....

 

[jbricejr]

I believe that Garcia's story period in Tough Trip Through Paradise was around 1877 rather than in the 1850s, right after Chief Joseph went through.