Pedersoli Indian Trade Musket
Davide Pedersoli & C. S.r.l. · Rifle · In Production
Also known as: Pedersoli Indian Trade Rifle, Pedersoli Trade Musket S.282, Northwest Trade Gun
Overview
The Pedersoli Indian Trade Musket is a 20-gauge smoothbore flintlock muzzleloader built by Italian black-powder specialist Davide Pedersoli. A faithful reproduction of the trade guns supplied by fur-trading companies to North American frontiersmen and Native peoples between roughly 1760 and 1830, it pairs a 36-inch blued octagonal smoothbore barrel with a traditional flintlock lock, brass furniture, a brass blade front sight, satin-finished American walnut stock and a wooden ramrod. Being smoothbore it can fire a patched round ball or a charge of shot.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3290 g (116.1 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1320 mm (51.97") |
| Barrel Length | 921 mm (36.26") |
| Action Type | Muzzleloader |
| Firing Mechanism | Flintlock |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 1 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Barrel Rifling | None |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued Octagonal Barrel, Polished Lock, Brass Furniture, Satin-Finished American Walnut Stock |
Calibers
- 20 Gauge · primary — also known as 20GA, 20 Bore, .62 caliber smoothbore
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Muzzle-Loaded
- Safety mechanisms: Half-Cock Notch
- Features: Smoothbore Barrel, Octagonal Barrel, Brass Furniture, Brass Blade Front Sight, Wooden Ramrod, American Walnut Stock, Uses 5/8-Inch Flints
Production
Current-production reproduction of an 18th/19th-century smoothbore trade gun
Origin
Country of origin: Italy
Notes
Factory model code S.282 (also cataloged as FR3170). Barrel length is listed as 36 to 36-1/4 inches depending on source; overall length about 52 inches; weight about 7.25 lb (3.3 kg). Designed to use 5/8-inch (0.625 in) gun flints.
Background
Trade guns like this were among the most important commodities of the North American fur trade: lightweight, inexpensive smoothbore flintlocks that trading companies bartered to Native nations and frontier hunters, often recognizable by their oversized brass serpent-shaped sideplate.