Trade gun or fowler?

[Lonegun1894]

Ok, all of you have me convinced that I "need" a 42" barrelled .62 smoothy, but I like the lines of both Fowlers and Trade guns. The use would be mainly for hunting, with some target use thrown in, but focusing on the hunting. Which would you all choose and why? I am not looking for anything very fancy, just a fairly plain working gun, but dont know enough about the differences, advantages, and disadvantages between these two to make an educated choice. Any and all responses are appreciated as most of you have a lot more experience with smoothbores than I do, so dont hold back and educate me a bit if y'all would please. Thanks.

 

[rabjr]

It's really a preferance thing and you'll have to decide what you really want. The only one I've had experiance with was a North Star West Early English trade gun .62 I bought and I have nothing bad to say about it, was a fun gun. Actually kinda wish I still had it but I have another more custom gun in the works to take its place.

Which ever you decide prepare for loads of fun. :thumbsup:

 

[hanshi]

I've never fired a trade gun but sure would like to have one. My favorite, though, is an Early American fowler from TVM(uzzleloading). Mine has a 38" barrel (for portability). I like the trade guns from NSW and the EA fowlers from TVM. My TVM is a joy to shoot.

 

[DanChamberlain]

Only flinter I own is a trade. I like it. Carries light.

Dan

 

[rich pierce]

Trade gun and fowling piece are definitions that cover several centuries, multiple nations, and many styles. In many cases original trade guns made by the same shops that made fowling pieces for export (Wilson for example), were just more cheaply made, using cheaper locks, barrels, wood and furniture. English trade guns tended to be very light weight, maybe a half pound lighter than a fowling piece with a barrel of similar length.

 

[tg]

I think in general one will fimnd the fowlers/hunting guns and trade to be quite common seepatd by the degree of quality and apperance, as mentioned before the trade guns of the early 18th century were closly $ Brown Bess, the best military gun in the world, the high art guns from France and the lowlands in the 17thg and 18th centuries were much like the trade guns of the time if stripped of all the niceties, this is not a 100% accurate,it plays pretty close I blieve, I think you could have a common fowler/hunting gun of the time and a trade gun ofd thetime and theywouldbe quite similar in appearance te trdaegus may have been scaled dow a bore in size as an equalizer so to speak so the NDn guns wereof a smaller bore thn a military one (advantage thinking of the time) anyhow that is basical what I come up with based on lots of posts from other forums and my own reading, let your choice be guided by as much primary references possible and as little modern mindset as pssible as well.

 

[Lonegun1894]

Thank you all for your input. So far, the main difference I'd noticed looking as various photos was that the fowler seems somewhat more refined with slightly more flowing lines and a more contoured buttplate, while the trade gun seems more utilitarian with a flat buttplate. I had assumed that both would weigh about the same, but it's interesting that the trade gun would be a bit lighter as I kind of expected it to be the opposite, but only slightly. Shows how much I know. Any other advice? I almost forgot, since the buttplate on tradeguns seems like a fairly flat piece of brass, do those of you that have them find the perceived recoil affected, or am I overthinking it?

 

[tg]

The weight difference with todays barrels may not be much of an issue, the choice of bore size and profile are the main points to determine this, some styles are less friendly to some shooters if you can gain access to a club you may be able to shoot a few different types, most find the NW gun comfortable same for the English/American fowler some do not like the extreme stock shape on some of the French guns but not all French guns have this architecture feature, check out some books or some online catalouges to see what is there but do be carefull with accepting anything the vendors tell you blindly, if you are getting into a persona/reenactment another level of study will be in order recoil is not much of an issue with the typical loads used in these guns unless you find a style/gun that does not work for/fit you well, take your time and get in a position to make educated choices and you will be fine, enjoy the journey.BTW some vendors use a 41" barrel on their guns which most feel is adequate :grin:

 

[Mike Brooks]

The weight difference with todays barrels may not be much of an issue

tg is right. ready made barrels in todays market are used for both trade guns and fowling guns. Only way to make either gun right is to get a custom barrel.

 

[Lonegun1894]

Mike,
Its going to be a while before i can get the money for this no matter what I do, but it would be nice to get this sooner than later, so I will probably go with a factory barrel for this gun to save some money where I can. Especially if going with a custom made barrel would only save me about half a pound as has been said. I wish I could afford a museum quality piece, but that will have to wait til I either have a better paying job or the skills to build the kind of guns some of you do. :hatsoff: In the meantime, I will have to settle for something close, but not quite 100% correct--that still beats a modern.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

If more than one bore size is available with the same outside dimensions go forth larger bore.

 

[smoothy]

I believe a fowler would give you more options on what you want your gun to look like. The trade gun has more of a set pattern. You can make a fowler as elegant or utilitarian as you like. As you can guess, I opted for the fowler, 62 caliber, 41 inch barrel, cherry stock, New England style, iron furniture.

 

[rabjr]

Yeah, I would highly recommend getting Grinslade's book on Fowlers before choosing.

 

[tg]

Rich put a pretty good take on it, many times the difference twixt a fowler and trade gun is very small, some early 18th century French trade guns look like the high art guns except for the completely chisled/engraved/carved barrel/furniture and wood, some study would be a good idea to seperate the two as much as possible and maybe find just what catches your eye the most.You will find several folks here with a great depth of knowledge about both of these gun "types" to draw from, make use of this fine gift as it is made available to you.

 

[Lonegun1894]

While I agree that it's much easier to load down a bigger bore than load up a smaller one, seems like most here seem to have settled on a .62 as most practical. Am I misunderstanding this? It also seems more practical with a round ball than a bigger bore would be, especially since the big game around here is deer and hogs. I do thank you for the reminder about the biggest bore in the same size barrel being lightest.

I also am starting to lean towards a fowler. I can't quite explain it, but it just seems like the fowler is more contoured and has fewer sharp edges--especially around the buttplate. thank you all for your help. Is there anything else I should keep in mind that anyone would like to add?

 

[Lonegun1894]

Leave it to Swampy and TG to come up with a way to make people work and like it. Thank you both also. Your posts arrived while I was typing mine. Good suggestions are being made by everyone and it will all pay off. Thank you all. :hatsoff:

 

[majg1234]

I've got a "carolina" fowler as one of my flinters,I've realy enjoyed fooling with it though the "tree rats"don't like it @ all :rotf:it is awsome with round ball!!! I find it very easy to carry and just a joy to shoot...still struggling with a good turkey loading but have another weekend to sort it out

 

[Joel/Calgary]

While I agree that it's much easier to load down a bigger bore than load up a smaller one, seems like most here seem to have settled on a .62 as most practical. Am I misunderstanding this? It also seems more practical with a round ball than a bigger bore would be, especially since the big game around here is deer and hogs. I do thank you for the reminder about the biggest bore in the same size barrel being lightest.

There are those of us who are fond of the 1-ounce bore - .66" or 16ga - as the best all-around caliber for shot, and still comfortable with ball.

Regards,
Joel

 

[Capt. Jas.]

While I agree that it's much easier to load down a bigger bore than load up a smaller one, seems like most here seem to have settled on a .62 as most practical. Am I misunderstanding this? It also seems more practical with a round ball than a bigger bore would be, especially since the big game around here is deer and hogs. I do thank you for the reminder about the biggest bore in the same size barrel being lightest.

There are those of us who are fond of the 1-ounce bore - .66" or 16ga - as the best all-around caliber for shot, and still comfortable with ball.

Regards,
Joel

I will agree with Lonegun that anything .62 and smaller is more popular today because shooting shot is more of a novelty and added feature for most. The majority of "fowlers" being used today see far more rifle loads of patched round balls.

Joel, I will also agree with you in that I settle in on a 14-16 bore as my "all purpose" wonder gun.

 

[Mike Brooks]

What kind of trade gun? English, French, dutch?
What kind of fowling gun? English french dutch german? What time period. Lots of variation in these choices.