Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Opinions/Experience with Pedersoli’s Indian Trade Gun?

DGW still has ‘em in stock, I already have four flintlock longarms, including a 20ga smoothbore, so this is an itch rather than a need, but I’ve always liked the concept and in the future they might not be available.

Indian Trade Musket

No experience, but I can vouch for the overall quality of the Jager model i just put together. Not quite in the same league as a Kibler kit or any other of the higher end kits that I’ve seen first hand though. Biggest complaint I’ve heard of and read about on some of the pedersoli guns is lock quality.
I think a trade musket would be fun and versatile.
Curious, what do you mean by “in the future they may not be available.” Just the supply issue going on or am I missing something regarding pedersoli imports?

Thanks
Ben

Pedersoli makes good stuff, excellent really, based on two I’ve owned. I don’t think you can do any better for the money when it comes to traditional arms.

Pedersoli guns can be ordered directly from the IFG, but it may take some months to make it here. IIRC, I waited four months for my Cook underhammer.

They are not an accurate copy of any original gun. The price is almost as much as a custom gun and their locks are inconstant to poor quality.
Their percussion guns are better.

Prairie dog shooter, I would agree, in part.
The reports of soft frizzens/bad lock geometry/etc seem to be out there. Percussion not an issue. And as you stated, for many of the Pedersolis youre starting to approach the price point of a premier US made kit, but I wouldn’t say you’re quite to the point of a completed custom one off gun, at least that I’m aware of. Maybe some Pedersoli models, are high, like the target guns or double rifles, but good luck finding one cheaper.
I believe this is where the Pedersolis shine. They offer a wide variety of models that appeal to a large demographic of black powder and muzzleloader shooters. Both here in the US and for sure abroad.
They may not be exact copies of an original piece out of a book, but in my opinion that doesn’t take anything away from the value or positive features they do possess.
They’re a representation of what we now perceive to be “historically correct” based on a sort of “averaging” of a large number of original examples.
This whole concept is something that has been particularly interesting to me lately. There are some very respected and talented gun builders out there that shy away from producing exact copies of originals.
Anyways,
Didn’t mean to derail the conversation. I think the Pedersoli guns fall into a needed niche in the muzzleloader market, and do a good job making a variety of rifles and shotguns for shooters to enjoy. I would expect the trade musket to be a fine gun you could do a lot with. Yea, you could spend a bit more and have a nicer gun in all aspects; no question. That’s up to the buyer and his/her priorities.
One thing I will say is Pedersoli doesn’t do themselves any favors by keeping all the jibberish rollmarks and serial numbers upon the exposed barrel flats! I do find that quite annoying.
Birdwatcher, if you wind up getting one of the trade muskets Id definitely be interested in a review!

Ben

If you must have a production gun, the Pedersoli is probably your best option. Your odds of getting a good one are much better with percussion locks than their flintlocks. I will not pay their prices for a flintlock of that questionable quality.

I must be better connected than most, or just more fortunate. I have a North Star West Chief's Grade gun that is a much better quality gun and it was $100 less than the price of the Pedersoli trade gun. I also have a custom built Hawken which is a correct copy, with the best quality custom parts and a beautiful piece of wood. It cost me the same money as the Pedersoli version of a Hawken. I just can not see paying the price for a production gun when I can purchase a correctly built gun for the same price or even a couple of hundred dollars more.

Perhaps I'm just still pissed over the Pedersoli Charles Moore percussion pistol I bought which needed repairs out of the box before I could even shoot it. For the prices they want, I expect better quality and quality control. In my experience production guns are a crapshoot. Not worth the chances when quality custom guns are in the same price range.

It's your money, get what you want. For my money, I will wait a while and pay a little bit more for a quality custom gun. Life is too short to compromise on reliability in single shot flintlocks.

I already have a Pedersoli Brown Bess bought used but pristine, made from a kit by a guy who was good at it, slimmer/lighter than factory-built. No problems at all with sparking although for all I known the guy could have hardened the frizzen too.

Among reenactors down here the Pedersoli Bess is highly regarded though its the wrong pattern for the 2nd Texas Rev.

My first 20ga fowler I had TVM build was a disappointment, I didn’t know enough to know that the “straight taper” barrels they used were essentially bull barrels, so I ended up with a 9+lb “fowler”

Lemons and lemonade, I had a Smith dovetail in a rear sight and called it a “smooth rifle”. I did know enough to have a round-faced Chambers Colonial Virginia lock put on it when it was built so it does sparks well.

But I still don’t have a lightweight, handy fowler.

Look into the early English fowlers.

I have no inside knowledge, I’ve just seen a number of firearms I always took for granted go out of production over the years is all.

Covid shutdowns in Italy, a declining traditional muzzleloader customer base, and now a chronic shortage of black powder. No powder production in the US yet, the last foreign black powder I had was Polish, dunno what production is like over there at present.

I was pretty hot to get a TVM, but the pics on their site revealed some pretty cobby fit and finish. My Mortimer was very nice, and my Cook pistol is a gem, very finely made, as it should be for the price.

I had occasion to visit TVM, the Colonial Virginia lock I ordered was larger than the usual one (L&R ?) they put on their “fowlers” it and it arrived poorly inlet, with about a 2 mm gap between the pan and the barrel, guaranteed to ignite power in the lock mechanism. Shoulda never left the shop like that.

On my next drive to NY State I stopped in at their place in Corinth to have it properly inlet. They used a production line of three or four guys and I think the different-sized lock upset the routine. It seemed apparent they used the heavy untapered smoothbore barrels on their “fowlers” for speed and ease of routing out the barrel channel in the stock.

On the topic of the Corinth school of gunsmithing, I actually have a plain, no frills Jack Garner longrifle; .45 cal, 44’ barrel, small Siler lock, single trigger, single lock bolt, no side plate, no nosecap but everything put together and inlet well.

It’s my Alamo rifle when I volunteer there, I present is as a representative no-frills trade rifle as a regular guy might own.

Thanks for the info guys. Neat stuff.
I’m sure it’s been covered in other posts, but can’t help but mention the much anticipated and almost rumor like “Kibler Fowler” that is supposedly in the works…..
Could be cool

I appreciate the input.

Second Texas Rev is about the easiest reenacting around on account of so many different people and firearm styles were out here.

At the Alamo itself the India Pattern Brown Bess was the prevalent firearm on both sides, these being Brit flintlock from the Napoleonic Wars twenty years earlier.

There were long rifles, poor boy fowlers and rifles, double barrel shotguns, plains rifles, Hall’s carbines, all of these in flintlock and percussion. That being said, an early English fowler would be a bit of a stretch. The appeal of the trade muskets is they are contemporary all through the first decades of the 19th Century.

Oh, I was thinking in terms of shootability alone, not Texas Revolution time period. Excuse me.