A stock profile like a French Fowler?
Long Ears,
Contrary to other opinions, your list is spot on, except for maybe the lock and steel hardware. Given the time period you portray, more than 80% of the men involved in the Rocky Mtn fur trade were French or Iroquois confederation displaced west after the F&I and Indian Wars. There were very few Anglos. They brought their guns with them and most were French guns.
Baldersdash! You want real info here's some and yes all can be verified via the sites you listed as well as other resources, both online and in books:
1) While it's true the majority of those in the western fur trade were of French, Creole, or mixed blood/Indian heritage, including members of several displaced tribes such as the Iroquois, Shawnee, and Delaware, it was the Anglo British who controlled the upper Missouri (and Great Lakes) fur trade after the Seven Years War and up until the Treaty of 1818. In fact L & C met British traders at the Mandan and Hidatsa villages when they first arrived in 1803. Thus it was British goods and not French goods, including guns and rifles, that pre-dominated in the western fur trade during the era in question and not the French. Those are well doumented facts. While there MAY have been some French guns used and/or traded, based on our current knowledge base they were not common at all since most of the supplies during this era, came from England with some from American made goods. Major suppliers to the west during this period were based in Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Kaskaskia, with satellites in St Louis.
2) On the return of L & C in 1806 they met two Anglo American trappers, Forest Hancock and Joseph Dickson, who were headed to the Yellowstone River. Famed explorer/mtn man, John Colter joined them at that point. On his return down river in 1807, he again returned up river with the first fairly large American based fur trade expedition of about 50 men, led by Manuel Lisa where he established the first American trading post, Ft Raymond on the Big Horn River. Lisa went back down river in 1808 and returned in 1809 with a much larger expedetion of about 350 men - according to American hunter, Thomas James
http://user.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/html/james/jamesint.html half were American Anglo with the balance being Half French/Creole from St Louis and Kaskaskia, the French/Creole being mostly boatmen and camp keepers while the Anglos were the hunters and trappers. This second expedtion was under the control of the Missouri Fur Company, whose directors included Pierre Choteau, William Clark, and Alexander Henry. James noted regarding supplies for the Americans:
"We Americans were all private adventurers, each on his own hook, and were led into the enterprise by the promises of the company, who agreed to subsist us to the trapping grounds, we helping to navigate the boats, and on our arrival there they were to
furnish us each with a rifle and sufficient ammunition, six good beaver traps and also four men of their hired French, to be under our individual commands for a period of three years. By the terms of the contract each of us was to divide one-fourth of the profits of our joint labor with the four men thus to be appointed to us."
3) In 1811 two American expeditions went up river: the second Mo Fur Company expedition led by Alexander Henry and J. J. Astor's Pacific (later American) Fur Company's first expedtion, led by William Price Hunt. Three American trapper's, Hoback, Reznor, and Robinson, members of the Henry expedition were some of the first trappers to work the western Wyoming, Eastern Idaho area. While returning to the Bighorn, they met and guided Astor's expedition which was the first to enter what is now southern Idaho via the Snake River. Their intention was to find a land passage to meet up with Astor's west coast expedtion which went by sea and set up a post at what is now Astoria, Oregon. Astor was going into competition with the Brits who had been exploring what was later to be the Oregon Territory by 1807. The first such expedtion was led by David Thompson of the North West Company. The WPH Expedition made it on foot to Astoria after having lost their canoes and most of their supplies on rapids of the Snake River in southern Idaho. A mid-20th Century archeological search found the site of the wreck and gun relics were retrieved - NW guns and Pa/Ky rifles. Hoback, Reznor, and Robinson, left the WPH expedition near Henry's Fort in eastern Idaho and were found destitue in the summer of 1812, by the east bound Astorian expediton led by Robert Stuart. He resupplied them and the three continued to trap there until 1813 when they were killed by Indians. Edward Robinson was 66 years old at the time - he had lost his hair to Indians as a young man in Kentucky and his life to Indians in the west.
4) By 1813 American companies were driven out of the western fur trade due to the War of 1812. The Brits and their Indian allies chased them out of the area and kept them out until after the war ended and effectively kept them out for several years after until the Treaty of 1818.
Anyway those are the major fur trapping expeditions that explored the area during the period prior to the 1822 and later. The facts are that the Brits and Americans, including many "Anglos" were there during the period and the majority of the fur trade supplies, even during the war, were of British manufacture with some American made supplies - but the Indians being traded with, for a long time (well into the 1830's) preferred Britsh made firearms of all types over all others, in particular the NW guns,.
As for references as TOF noted there are period journals and one 1809 trade list for the period available here:
Journals -
http://user.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/mmarch.htmlIncluded are the journals of James as noted above, John Bradbury, Wilson Price Hunt, Irving's Astoria, Menard, Ross, and Tomas.
Trade lists:
http://user.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/bizrecs.html Astoria Inventory and the Records of Mo Fur are available
Now to the original question re; firearms of the period and place in question:
First decision would be how HC/PC documented you want to be? If the answer is well documented then the following is my observations based on the currently known historical record for that period and place. NOTE: note the period you are interested in is very short - compromising the years 1806-1813 inclusive.
As Rich noted above, at this time most American "Anglos" and many Indians, especially those from the east, were adamantly users of rifles, most looked down their noses at smoothbores and considered them useful only for running buffalo. So the IMO first decision to be made should be based on who you are representing - Anglo, Indian, or mixed blood or a mix of those types. For the Anglos a rifle is by far the most well documented, if Indian or mixed blood - rifle or smoothbores are well documented.
We are thinking along these lines:
1) 36" Oct to Rnd Barrel - a bit on the short side for the period for most firearms, American made rifles or smoothbore, of the period except for English sporting rifles, which were available via the Brits and some American traders and they often had shorter barrels. The Model 1803 HF did have a short 33" barrel but were not legally available to the public until May 1825. For civilian rifles and NW guns, 42-46" were by far the most common lengths with some 38" lengths recorded, including the Indian contract rifles of 1807 which are described as following by Trench Coxe of the US Gov't Purveyors office in a letter to makers Jacob Dickert and Henry DeHuff:
"They are to be common, plain rifles, substantially made. The barrel to be three feet two inches in length.....The calibre such as to fit balls of half an ounce weight (.54" caliber)....The barrel to be preferred round (instead of eight square) from the tailpipe or lowere thimble to the muzzle. (i.e. Oct to rnd).
Major makers of Indian contract rifles from 1806 to 1812 were Deringer, Dickert, Gonter, Goetz, and Gumpf.
While some rifles, both American and English, had Oct/Rnd Barrels most by far were swamped, even the half-stocked English rifles.
2) 58 - 62 Cal. - well documented for English SP rifles. smoothbore NW Guns, and fowlers of the period but large for American rifles which were most often 50-54 caliber.
3) Smooth bore - see note above re: your choice of representation
4) With sights - both rifles and smoothbores are documented with sights
5) Chambers Late Ketland Lock - a good, well documented style of the period whether NW gun or American made rifle. On English SP rifles also good but a waterproof pan style may be more appropriate.
6) White lightning liner - While some guns of the period are recorded as having liners, by far the majority did not - they were either straight drilled or inside coned.
7) Single trigger - well documented on all types of the period, although many American rifles did use double set triggers
Steel furniture - By far the most common fittings were of brass, whether smoothbore or American made rifle. The only well documented steel/iron fittings of the period would have been found on English SP rifles or Southern made American rifles of the period.
9) Sling Button and front sling loop - They can be documented for some types of the period but not well. Yes Miller does show them being used, but Miller's prints are way late (1837) to be used as documentation for just about anything for the 1806-1813 period/
10) A stock profile like a French Fowler - not even close for the guns, whether smooth bore or rifle of the period. Dependent on other choices a Lancaster style, NW gun style, early So Mtn style like the Jos Bogle rifle, r English trade or Sporting rifle style would be the most appropriate.
As for the Hawken (although similar to an English rifle in many respects) or Leman the style, they are too late for this period - both not really being developed until the mid-1830's. The 1792/95 is also a good style for the period, but it was a military and not a civilian firearm
My best suggestions dependent on your choice of documented representations would be:
1) Smoothbore - an early Barnett style NW gun, in 58 or 62, which is VERY well documented for the time and place. Based on your "desires" this would seem to be the easiest, most logical choice.
2) Rifle - A Penna rifle of the period as made by Dickert, Deringer, or others would be the most likely used, Stocked in maple, with a 38-42" swamped barrel in 54 (58 would be possible but not common, with brass fittings.
The Indian contract rifle as described would be a good second choice and if you're set on steel iron fittings then either a half-stock English sporting rifle or the So Mtn ala Bogle would be the only well documented choices of the period.
Now if you are not really interested in being well documented for the period and just want a user gun that sorta kinda looks period (nothing wrong with either approach except when presenting one's self to the public in an educational scenario, then IMO the documented approach is the correct one) then ignore what I've posted and go with your original choices except IMO the French fowler stock style - that's just not right LOL!
FWIW - since the late 1960's I've traveled over much of the old western mtn man trails on horseback from So Canada to No Mexico and from the Plains to the West Coast - through short grass prairies, sage brush flats, pinyon/juniper country, and the thick forest and brush of the Rockies and Cascades. I've carried at times a late Sam Hawken style with a 34" barrel , a NW gun and a Jake Hawken rifle with a 36" barrel, but most often a full-stock flinter, either Hawken or Penna style, with a 42" barrel - in my experience the main thing is to just go out and use them and pretty soon even the longer barrels will become an extension of one's self. I've carried them slung at times, but most often across the pommel either by hand or with one of the simple horn loops illustrated in the Museum of the Fur Trades Mt man Sketchbook I .
Anyway there's some historical info and my opinion... take the latter as you will...........
