North Star West trade guns

[hja4941]

Hello, I recently came across the North Star West site. I am interested in purchasing my first smooth bore and was wondering if anyone has experience with their products.

I would apreciate any first hand knowledge.

 

[tg]

I have owned a couple of their guns and think they are probably the best buy for the buck around in that type of gun, if I were to buy another NW gun or early English it would be from them, good service and good folks to work with.

 

[flattail]

Really nice smoothbores. I traded into a NSW English trade gun, fixed the initial attempt to assemble the kit, and now have something to be proud of. The mainspring on the lock was not as strong as I would like, so I called Matt about it. He took time to make sure the problem was the mainspring before selling me a replacement. Now, I get a shower of sparks with a sharp flint. I can highly recommend these nice folks. :thumbsup:
Ed

 

[rabjr]

I had a NSW Early English smoothie I played with for a while but ended up trading it off. I have nothing bad to say about it and dealing with Matt was a pleasure. :thumbsup:

 

[hja4941]

Thank you all for the responses. Now I'll see if you can compare them to TVM. Once again sorry for muddying the waters, but it's a large investment for me.

 

[Le Grand]

Muddying, You're comparing apples to oranges. Both North Star West and TVM are excellent outfits to deal with and they both make very good guns. The real difference between them is their guns, so you get to make your choice depending on what style of smoothbore you want. If you decide to go with the Fowler, send your $$$ to TVM. If you prefer the trade gun, such as the Northwest gun, Chief's grade, or Early English, then NSW should receive your check. Both of those companies have outstanding reputations for their products and customer service, so the best answer you can get is to buy one of each.

 

[rabjr]

Muddying, You're comparing apples to oranges. Both North Star West and TVM are excellent outfits to deal with and they both make very good guns. The real difference between them is their guns, so you get to make your choice depending on what style of smoothbore you want. If you decide to go with the Fowler, send your $$$ to TVM. If you prefer the trade gun, such as the Northwest gun, Chief's grade, or Early English, then NSW should receive your check. Both of those companies have outstanding reputations for their products and customer service, so the best answer you can get is to buy one of each.

:thumbsup:

 

[Dausener]

so the best answer you can get is to buy one of each.

I like the way you think. :applause:

 

[Golfswithwolves]

Mr. hja- I have had good service from my NSW trade gun. I had one small issue which the NSW owner told me step-by-step how to correct over the phone, otherwise no problems. Comparing my gun to the ones on display in the Chadron Museum of the Fur Trade, I think it's pretty authentic in its design and build. My gun always seems to fire reliably and I am very pleased with it. One turkey to its credit!

 

[hja4941]

OK I'm not sure I know what the difference is between the fowler and trade gun; both seem very similar to me. Unfortunately all of my experience has been with small caliber ( 45 to 54) long rifles.

 

[Le Grand]

Muddying, Read the descriptions of the smoothbores by both TVM and NSW. They'll tell you what their guns represent historically. In a basic nutshell, the TVM Fowler represents an American smoothbore from our country's post-colonial times. We can say the TVM gun is a generalization of a fowler from the 1790s or so. It can be made to represent an earlier gun with the selection of an earlier style of lock. That's an easy "fix" but it will increase the cost very slightly. The guns from North Star West are more specific in the historical sense. They are copies of guns that were imported and traded during the fur trade. The Chief's Grade is a copy of guns made for the English Board of Ordnance that were given to Indians in Canada during the War of 1812, so those Indians would fight for the English if the Americans invaded Canadian territories. The Northwest gun (my favorite) by NSW is a close copy of a Northwest gun by Barnett and those were sold by several of the fur companies before, during, and after the rendezvous period (1825 through 1840). That's a very rough look at the history represented by those guns and, like I said, the descriptions from TVM and NSW will tell you more. In addition, because the history of the guns might not be in your immediate interest, you will probably find that the NSW Northwest gun is a lighter weighing piece than the TVM Fowler. NSW generally has trimmer or thinner barrels. If you want the smoothbore for upland hunting, where you'll be carrying it quite a bit, the weight can be a factor for your decision. Also, with NSW you have a greater list of options to pick from that include the style of the gun, the length of the barrel, and the gauge or bore size that you'd like to get. So, while you are asking that are the differences, let us ask you what features are you looking for?

 

[hja4941]

Well I'd say you covered it. My interest was more in a light wieght hunting peice for both small game and deer and hog with prb. So if I understood you right the NSW seems to fit that bill.

Once again thanks for all the great info.

 

[Le Grand]

Muddying, Yes, I'm sure a Northwest gun from North Star West will fill all of the gaps for small game hunting plus some deer and hog hunting too. You wouldn't be the first to do those things with a NW gun and you can throw in some bear and buffalo hunting too, just to round off the corners. Just be sure to get a lot of practice in shooting your gun before you really try to depend on it. Now you get to decide on what you want for gauge and barrel length as well as stock length. Remember that with either a NSW or TVM gun, you'll be getting it built just for you. And, as an added note about those two makers, the TVM Fowler is the better buy for the $$$ but NSW can probably deliver the gun to you just a bit quicker.

 

[tg]

I would definatel;y go with a NW gun, they sem to almost have a universal fit and few find them unhandy to shoot, as for bore size historicaly the NW gun would have likley been .58 in bore but for todays hunting with ball and shot the .62 is a better choice and overall I do think the edge in quality would go to NSW,from handling several of both and owning two of the NSW products. I would go with the 41" barrel for the best advantage in sight plane, this length is not a problem in brush or cover if you move at a reasonable pace,The early English or Chiefs gun are also good choices if you are interested in a different look, I had a Chiefs gun and a NW gun from NSW and they were both top notch performers, good luck with your choice and enjoy the journey

 

[hanshi]

The most noticeable difference between the NSW and TVM - IMHO - is the shape of the stock. Some like one or the other and some like both. I have the TVM but have never fired a NWTG so can't comment past the stock difference.

 

[hja4941]

My main concern was for the quality of the NSW and TVM. Since both seem to be of comparable quality, I will probably go with the NSW, for that very reason. I like the stock shape better.

 

[jeep44]

I recently finished building a NSW Trade gun kit. This was the first 'real' kit I built (I put together a few CVA Mountain rifle kits, which basically amounted to some sanding and finishing), so I was worried about how difficult this would be. I went very slowly and carefully, and I think the best help I got was from a tutorial on kit building on this forum-it gave me a lot of tips on how to approach each step of the way. I had a few problems that I was able to fix, and some things I would do differently on the next one I build, but I'm pleased with how this gun came out. I'm especially pleased with the NSW lock, because I feel that it is the most important part of a flintlock gun-it sparks well, and my ignition is almost instantaneous. I specified a 36" barrel on mine, and .58 cal (because I have a number of other .58s). Here's a pic:

 

[charliek]

I can only echo the positive comments about North Star West products and service. I have a Chiefs Gun set of parts. The wood is outstanding, nice grain and as solid as some maple I've dealt with. The lock engraving is well done. More importantly the lock sparks up a storm but the springs don't feel like they have come from '60s pickup. Matt was helpful, timely and accurate to work with. The earlier "apples to oranges" point applies. If a NW gun is what you are after NSW will fill the bill. :grin:

 

[Cheyenne]

Both good companies..both make good guns...in a light, hard hitting hunting gun, I'd give the edge to NSW and the NWTG. :thumbsup:

 

[hanshi]

Great job IMHO.