British · Rifle
Mackinaw Trade Gun
Muzzleloader · .60 Caliber Rifle Ball · introduced 1775
Also known as North West Gun, Northwest Trade Gun, Hudson's Bay fuke
About the Mackinaw Trade Gun
The Mackinaw Trade Gun is a smoothbore flintlock trade musket, one of the most widely distributed firearms of the North American fur trade from the late 18th through the 19th century. Also known regionally as the North West Gun, the Hudson's Bay fuke, or the Mackinaw gun, it was a light, inexpensive full-stocked smoothbore of roughly .60 caliber (about 20 gauge) that could fire a single round ball or a charge of shot loaded from the muzzle. Its long octagon-to-round barrel, brass serpent (dragon) side plate, sitting-fox lock stamp, and oversized bow-shaped trigger guard sized for mittened hands made it instantly recognizable across the continent.
Called 'the real gun that won the West,' the Northwest/Mackinaw trade gun armed voyageurs, mountain men, and Native nations alike. By the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, tribes along the upper Missouri were described as almost universally armed with these smoothbores.
Mackinaw Trade Gun specifications
General
- Type
- Rifle
- Action
- Muzzleloader
- Firing mechanism
- Flintlock
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Calibres
- .60 Caliber Rifle Ball
- Magazine capacity
- 1 rounds
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 1067 mm (42.0 in)
- Overall length
- 1473 mm (58.0 in)
- Weight (empty)
- 2.70 kg (5.95 lb)
Barrel
- Rifling
- Smoothbore
Materials
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Walnut
- Finish
- browned
Performance
- Muzzle velocity (typical)
- 350 m/s (1148 fps)
- Muzzle energy (typical)
- 1100 J (811 ft·lb)
- Effective range
- 70 m
History
- Introduced
- 1775
- Discontinued
- 1876
- Production status
- Out of production
- Country of origin
- GB
Features
- Smoothbore barrel
- Octagon to round barrel
- Brass serpent side plate
- Sitting fox lock stamp
- Oversized bow trigger guard
- Brass furniture
- Full length wood stock
Safety
- Half cock notch
Barrel lengths varied widely (roughly 30 to 48 inches); the 42-inch barrel with a 58-inch overall length was the common full-length pattern. Bore diameter ranged from about .55 to .66 caliber, with archaeological finds suggesting a .57-.58 ball was most commonly loaded. Birmingham-made guns were stamped 'London' because Indigenous buyers refused unmarked Birmingham arms.