MVTC Tulle Fusil de Chasse (w/Pics)

[Dave Markowitz]

I was up at Dixon's yesterday and saw that he had a Middlesex Village Trading Co. Tulle Fusil de Chasse. It handled really nicely and I've been looking for a flintlock ball and shot gun, so I brought it home.

Weight is about 7 or 8 pounds with a good balance. The trigger pull is lighter than my MVTC M1717 musket but still heavy.

I'm thinking I may age or brown the metal a bit to take the shine off.

The bore mics about .62 caliber/20 gauge at the muzzle. I bought some .600 round balls, along with wads and cards for shooting shot, and a 5# bag of mixed #8 and #7.5 shot. I probably won't get to pattern it for awhile.

I was able to get out and shoot it with PRB today. The lock sparks well and ignition is reliable, no flashes in the pan in 19 rounds (all I had time for).

The .600 balls and pillow ticking patches can be thumb started, which is nice. I also tried some shots with an over powder was, and also and over powder wad + cushion wad. Didn't see a difference in POI at 25 yards vs. just a patch. I was using 80 grains of 2Fg Goex.

For patch lube I used mutton tallow from Dixie Gunworks. I wiped with a spit patch after every 3rd or 4th shot so loading wouldn't be too difficult

It's shooting about a foot low. I need to play around with my sight picture (the piece has only a front sight, nothing in the rear) to see if I can raise it. Groups were about 6", mainly due to the heavy trigger pull. I'm sure my follow through could use some improvement, too.

 

[qtrhrs7]

:thumbsup:

 

[Bretwalda]

:applause: Looks GREAT!!! Be sure and post some pictures once you "knock the shine" off from her!!! :rotf: :rotf:

 

[MSW]

great looking gun: congratulations!

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Looks good for the $$, but one thing you may want to address. Don't most inlet at least a 1/32" gap behind the tang so it doesn't split the wood eventually upon recoil?

 

[Mike Brooks]

Looks good for the $$, but one thing you may want to address. Don't most inlet at least a 1/32" gap behind the tang so it doesn't split the wood eventually upon recoil?

That would be the least of my worries. :wink:

 

[tg]

Interesting wedding ring configuration on the barrel, I don't recall seeing one like that, how wide is the "ledge" of wood on each side of the barrel when looking down at the barrel? I think that is the first import gun from the Tulle armory I have seen.

 

[Okwaho]

Looks good for the $$, but one thing you may want to address. Don't most inlet at least a 1/32" gap behind the tang so it doesn't split the wood eventually upon recoil?

That would be the least of my worries. :wink:

I'm with Mike here.The possible gap behind the tang is miniscule compared to the other problems with this gun.I don't know of any Fuzee de chasse or for that matter any marine muskets or trade guns with two sets of wedding rings.I realize that Track offers barrels so configured but I have yet to see any documentation especially on the hunting muskets.The sideplate looks out of place on any Fuzee after Ca.1690's.The hump on the comb in front of the butt piece tang is strange but can be corrected by some judicious wood removal. I think that the removal of about 1/2 of a 5 gal bucket of wood shavings would go a long way towards making this gun look more like a true Fuzee de chasse which was a slim graceful gun.This gun really has too much wood especially in the forestock which should be almost paper thin,the area under the lock and side plate panels,the comb,and other areas. Without actually seeing and handling the gun I can't comment on the width of the butt.In fact I don't know of any really good Fuzee se chasse or Fuzee fin de chasse kits that I can recommend. The only Fuzee de trait kit {so called Types C and D} that I can recommend is the R E Davis Fine Fusil kit.

As Always I welcome any responsible conflicting opinion.
Tom Patton.

 

[grizzly adam]

Dave, I assume you bought this gun because you liked it and wanted it ... and there's not a thing wrong with that.

Unless you were under the impression that you were buying an exact detailed representation of a period arm, you don't have a problem. I've never yet seen the stone tablets from Heaven that demand period correctness of every shooter ... that's all in people's heads, and it only matters if it matters to you.

Don't let critical comments about the gun's appearance rob you of the joy of playing with your new purchase. You can always learn more about detailed period correctness in the future, if that even interests you at all. If it doesn't, shoot on, brother, and have lots of fun doing it.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I've never yet seen the stone tablets from Heaven that demand period correctness of every shooter

Oh they exist alright. Mosses actually brought them down from Mt. Sinai with the 10 commandments....I've seen photos of them as a matter of fact. Tom Patton was there as an eye witness. :wink:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I actually have the stone tablets! Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but I do. Unfortunately, at the moment they're on loan to MVTC. I'm hoping to scare them back unto the straight and narrow and get them to start producing accurate copies of the guns they claim to be replicating and not overweight cartoon representations of said firelocks. Eight pound fusils de chasse indeed. For shame!!! :nono:

Sadly, production of "replicas" at MVTC has slowed recently as several workers have been struck by lightning and two were consumed by a burning bush. The rest of the crew are hiding under their benches and refuse to come out even for coffee breaks. I just hope my tablets are O.K. as I paid good money for them at Walmart last year. Dan :v

 

[Dave Markowitz]

100% authenticity was not something I was looking for. I've been shooting muzzleloaders since the 1970s. Rather, I was looking for a shooter that's generally representative of the type. IMO I got that.

I guess some people who aren't happy with a gun that's not 100% PC can't resist the urge to jump all over one that fails to meet their standard of purity. So much for manners.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I guess some people who aren't happy with a gun that's not 100% PC can't resist the urge to jump all over one that fails to meet their standard of purity. So much for manners.

Don't worry about it, some of here are real apes at times. :haha: I hope you enjoy your gun. :v

 

[pichou]

Lightning is more likely to strike the impious than the enthusiastic, FWIW. :nono:

The specialist tends to be myopic. Don't get me started on trade knives, for example... :rotf: :shocked2: :redface:

Don't worry about it until all the nay sayers are sleeping under hand-stitched linen or hemp tents... hand woven, that is. Birch bark and cattail mats would be acceptable too. :v

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

100% authenticity was not something I was looking for. I've been shooting muzzleloaders since the 1970s. Rather, I was looking for a shooter that's generally representative of the type. IMO I got that.

I guess some people who aren't happy with a gun that's not 100% PC can't resist the urge to jump all over one that fails to meet their standard of purity. So much for manners.

Well Dave, you do have a gun that is generally representative of the type in a vague sort of way. Hopefully it will be a shooter as well.

You are right that some--in fact many of us--wouldn't be happy with such a gun. We wouldn't jump all over it though. In fact we wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole--especially given the prices asked for them these days. I'm a bit surprised that a man with your 30+ years of muzzleloading experience would settle for one, but to each his own.

Anyhoo, glad you're posting here and I hope that the gun works out well for you. Avoid any and all burning bushes though as we would like to hear from you again.


P.S. Dave? You didn't really expect good manners from us did you? :wink:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Lightning is more likely to strike the impious than the enthusiastic, FWIW. :nono:

The specialist tends to be myopic. Don't get me started on trade knives, for example... :rotf: :shocked2: :redface:

Don't worry about it until all the nay sayers are sleeping under hand-stitched linen or hemp tents... hand woven, that is. Birch bark and cattail mats would be acceptable too. :v

Hey! As as a somewhat myopic but enthusiastically impious naysayer, I resemble that remark! :rotf:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Actually ,Dave, the fact that you picked the gun up at Dixon's is reassuring from a safety perspective.

Slim the stock down some and knock back the shine and the gun wouldn't be bad at all. I don't know why the Indians go to all the work of putting a high polish on every gun they make but they do. Darkening the teak stock would be a good idea too. The basic lines are fairly attractive, just too thick for this type of gun. The springs appear to be forged rather than cast, and if properly tempered should last well.

The only thing you really need to do though is get rid of that shine so it doesn't cause glare when you shoot. The rest is just to make it more correct and if that really isn't a concern, you'll be set. :thumbsup:

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Dixon's has been selling guns from MVTC for 2 or 3 years and hasn't had any serious issues. I overheard Greg Dixon speaking to another customer about them, and if I heard correctly, the only problem was a soft frizzen on one gun, which MVTC remedied.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Sometimes the springs need re-tempering too, but that isn't a big deal. If you are getting sparks and the lock doesn't eat flints you're good.

 

[tg]

"I guess some people who aren't happy with a gun that's not 100% PC can't resist the urge to jump all over one that fails to meet their standard of purity. So much for manners."

I had a couple of question about the gun, as I had not seen one before, I left my comments at that, however if one posts pics of a gun sometimes folks will react with honest appraisals of the gun from a historical viewpoint, I don't know that that is lacking in manners. very few look for 100% accuracy in the guns but there is a wide range in the definition of what is close.