North West Trade Gun, .54 caliber rifled, 41-1/2" octagon-to-round barrel, additional 20 gauge smoothbore barrel, maple, brass and iron, used, by Danny Caywood
Stocked in maple, this North West Trade gun has a deep cherry red tone. Fitted with a correct mix of brass and steel hardware, this .54 caliber rifle has a 41-1/2" octagon-to-round barrel. This gun also includes a 20 gauge, .62 caliber, smoothbore barrel. Hand finished from parts by Danny Caywood. The barrel is finished a dark silvery-gray, to match the flintlock, and triggerguard. As is proper on such a gun brass furniture has been mixed in, the buttplate, sideplate and ramrod pipes are all brass. Weighing in at 8.1 pounds the gun has a trigger reach of 14", and is properly set up for today's larger sized shooter.
The 41-1/2" barrel is tapered octagon-to-round, with two wedding bands. The 54 caliber rifled barrel has six deep grooves in a slow twist for a patched round ball. The barrel has a deep blue finish that appears to be in good condition with a small amount of wear from use. A sitting fox mark can be found above the breech, on the top flat, along with LONDON marked a few inches forward. Internally the bore is bright and clean, well maintained it is ready to shoot. The gun includes an additional 20 gauge barrel, the bore is .620" diameter, allowing a .595" 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 barrel has no rear sight, thus it qualifies for the NMLRA Trade Gun Match rules, shooting both round balls at paper targets, and shot at clay birds. The top flat of the barrel is marked with a Sitting Fox in a Circle, inspection mark, and stamped LONDON, which was a historic mark of quality even though most Trade Guns were manufactured in Birmingham, England.
Used, in excellent condition, the maple stock is oil varnished, and polished to a pleasant sheen. The flint lock and barrel are rust blued to a traditional blue black finish with just a hint of patina. The barrel and stock have only a few tiny handling marks, from normal use and cleaning. The dark stained maple stock has a small amount of randomly spaced wide stripe figure. The surface mounted steel triggerguard, made with beaver tail finials, often found on English made North West Trade Guns. The tang screw is correctly installed in the nearly unique style of the North West Trade Gun, upside down, entering the tang from below. The ramrod is fitted with jagged tip with female 10-32 threads for additional loading and cleaning accessories. Three lock bolts screws retain the serpent sideplate, with the rear screw a wood screw. Screw slots are neatly fitted with the slots aligned. blued. The sideplate is neatly inlet , and the deeply cut image of the serpent stands just above the side panel.
The Caywood flint lock is finished to a dark blue. The round faced lock plate has cast in engraving, with a fox in a circle stamp below the pan. This lock is similar to flint locks found on higher grade English fowlers. We recommend our Behind the pan the vent hole has been directly drilled into the barrel and is externally coned, giving the priming flash a quick path to the main charge. The single trigger provides a smooth release of the lock.
In well maintained condition this is good quality North West Trade Gun with both a .54 caliber rifled barrel and a 20 gauge smoothbore barrel. It would be a fine addition to any black powder shooting collection. 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.
