Pattern 1695 French Trade Fusil, as traded in New France (Great Lakes)

[Karl]

Has anyone ever heard of the pattern of 1695 French fusil, supplied to New France?  Do you know the specifications, bore size, barrel length, etc.? 

[jm190]

http://www.nramuseum.org/guns/the-galleries/road-to-american-liberty-1700-to-1780/case-4-shot-heard-round-the-world/french-flintlock-fusil.aspx

This circa 1690 fusil (small musket) was moderately expensive to make, but fairly simple to repair.  It was also accurate at close range, and could be loaded quickly and fired in wet weather.  French traders may have used it to help expand their settlements and fur trade along the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, westward into Canada, and to the south along the Mississippi River."     --Dr. William L. Roberts, THE AMERICAN LIBERTY COLLECTION; #10

[smart dog]

Hi,
As a good first step, get a copy of "The Fusil de Tulle in New France 1691-1741" by Russel Bouchard.  It is not expensive and has a lot of those specifiactions.

dave

[Karl]

I read in an academic study that a shipment of trade guns was ordered in 1695, and delivered in 1696.  They had 46" barrels, and that all subsequent orders were to have 44" or 42" barrels as per request of the native users who found them too long.  Beyond that, I could find no pictures of relics, information on bore size, type of wood, etc.

[Craig Wilcox]

I always wonder who the first Europeans were who figured they were "lakes".  Standing on the shores, they look like the ocean, except for being fresh water.  Probably a Frenchman.

[Daryl]

That cock looks to be too short for that lock.
It also appears to me to be a replacement.

[Mike Brooks]

That lock is a conversion. The pan should be unbridled and the cock should be round instead of flat.

[Stonehouse john]

So, knowing that this example shows what the lock is not supposed to look like, can anyone point me toward which currently available lock would come closest to being correct for this piece? 
I have a suspicion I may talk myself into building one of these at some point in the future.

[Mike Brooks]

I didn't look at the link but the gun pictured above isn't a 1690 gun either. Probably a 1710-20 gun. In fact I don't think this lock belongs to this gun at all, it should have a flat lock.
 There isn't anything currently available on the market that will go 1690 French. You'll probably have to go with TRS. It will most likely be unbridled inside and out.
 Also, the standard length for French trade guns was 4 pieds  which is about 53" in that time period. The Indians would have considered  46" pretty short. French trade guns in the 1600's often had barrels at 5 foot. I'll check my sources and get back.

[Clark Badgett]

The side plate looks later era

[Stonehouse john]

Thank you Mike.  Any additional info would be much appreciated.  Thanks also for the clarification about the length, I seem to have mislaid my tape measure marked in pieds!  I expected long but didn't realize they were quite that long.

I took a quick look at the TRS online catalog and found that some categories of items (including french fowler locks) don't seem to include photos.  Hard to tell exactly which is the one you're looking for.  I don't have their printed catalog.  Does anyone know if the printed one includes photos of more items?

Thanks,
John

[Clark Badgett]

IIRC a pied is 12 3/4"

[t.caster]

I built a Stage One 1699-1708 (Type "C") Fusil Fin four years ago. Or, at least I tried. Some of the parts aren't reproduced, so some compromises had to be made. A good or best reference I could find was Kevin Gladysz book "The French Trade Guns in North America" (out of print and very expensive)! I got one on temporary loan! It shows a lot of pics of original excavated parts and some fuzzy pics of complete guns.
The correct barrel would be 20 ga. x 46" or longer, with no wedding bands (Larry Horrigan in Mich. makes these). Larry is considered an expert on French Fusies. This was a 42" barrel since my customer is 5'-3" tall and didn't want to carry a stool around to load it.
I used a Davis French-C lock and brass furniture from TOTW. Larry said I should have used a Tule lock. But the architecture and carving are pretty accurate on this. Used English Walnut for the stock.
I hope this helps some.

[rich pierce]

Handsome gun. That curved lock really worked with the architecture.

[Stonehouse john]

That's a beauty Tom!  Thank you for sharing those photos.  I really like the distinctive early carving details.  Interesting too how the "beavertail" carving behind the tang is checkered so that it bears a stronger resemblance to a real beaver's tail.  Perhaps a subtle reminder to the Native American clientele of the true priorities of the French traders of fusils?

John