This classic North West Trade Gun has been stocked in maple and very neatly fitted and finished. The traditional styled trade gun hardware in a mixture of brass and iron furniture. This 20 gauge, .62 caliber, smooth bore flint fowling gun is fully qualified for use in the NMLRA North West Trade Gun match, using patched round balls at paper targets, and bird shot at clay birds on the trap range. This unsigned Trade Gun is used, but has been well maintained, with a bright clean bore. Trigger reach is 13-7/8" to fit a larger or taller shooter. Weight is a modest 6.5 pounds.
The 33" barrel is tapered octagon, with a transition to sixteen flats, two wedding bands, and tapered round to the muzzle. The bore is .620" diameter, for our cast lead round ball and patch. We recommend our .595" pure lead round ball, patched with .015" Ox-Yoke patches, lubricated with Ox-Yoke Wonder Lube, for easy loading. We offer 20 gauge (.62 caliber) wads, cards, and shot for wing shooting. This trade gun has no rear sight, allowing it to qualify under NMLRA Trade Gun Match rules. The octagon-to-round barrel is nicely finished to silvery-gray. The finish has worn bright around the breech and in frequently handled areas. A nickel silver blade front sight is soldered 2" behind the muzzle. The straight tang of the breech plug has a single bolt that passes through the stock to engage a brass plate below. Three pins retain the barrel to the forearm.
This North West Trade Gun is reddish brown with a golden undertone with a satin finish. The stock has a few minor handling marks from field use. The furniture is a correct mixture of brass and iron. The traditional style square buttplate, serpent sideplate, and ramrod pipes are all made of brass, while the triggerguard is iron. The buttplate is secured with two screws, one of the various traditional methods used to mount Trade Gun buttplates. The bottom view shows the large iron triggerguard, polished bright, and correctly surface mounted. Two screws retain the rear of the triggerguard, and one in the front. The ramrod pipes are thin brass, with embossed grooves, much like the corrugations in cardboard, to give the pipes maximum strength against crushing or denting in hard use. The pipes allow the 3/8" ramrod to slide smoothly, to serve the barrel. The ramrod is decorated with a barber pole design and is fitted with a brass loading tip with 8-32 threads for loading and cleaning accessories. The brass sideplate is cast in the form of a serpent, a traditional motif for the North West Gun. We believe that this stylized serpent sideplate evolved from the flat sideplates, embossed or engraved to resemble a serpent, found on Queen Anne and later English Sea Service muskets. Two lock bolts retain the sideplate and pass through the stock to engage the lock on the opposite side. The rear is a screw that retains the sideplate to the stock.
The large round faced LOTT flint lock by Davide Pedersoli, has been reshaped and marked to give it a more historical appearance. The plate is accented with a double line border on the plate, cock, top jaw, and frizzen. The tail is stamped 1856 and the Fox in the Circle mark is stamped beneath the pan. The Fox in a Circle trade mark is commonly found on antique trade guns, and this ancient mark was a sign of quality. This lock has a bright finish with a few speckles from use. We strongly recommend our best 7/8" size English knapped flints #FLINT-ENG-7, for best performance in this lock. An essential element for fast ignition, the vent is centered on the pan, correctly positioned above the bottom of the pan, to serve as a window, centered on the heat of the incandescent flash. The single trigger provides a smooth release of the lock.
This used Trade Gun has been well maintained with a bright bore. It will be perfect for your next reenactment or hunting trip. Order it for a ten day visual inspection. You will be delighted. Else if it does not fit you, return it in unfired condition for same-day refund. Postage is your only risk, when you order any one-of-a-kind gun from Track, whether new, used, or antique.
