laststandonzombieisland

Today we think that we have the market cornered on updating, accessorizing, and otherwise personalizing our ARs, Glocks, 1911s and the like. But, in thinking we are the first clever people to figure this stuff out, we are sorely mistaken as the First Nations and Native American and indigenous peoples took traditional Western made guns and adapted them to their own specific needs and preferences.

From the time the British and French first arrived in what was then termed the New World, fur agents and military officers began to earn Native harvested animal pelts and strategic alliances with what were called Trade Muskets (or Fusil de Chasse for the French) going back to about 1660 or so. These guns were basic grade smoothbore flintlocks and doglocks that differed from military-grade arms of the time in the respect that they did not have the same fit and finish, were often a smaller caliber (so they could not use captured stocks of military ball in time of war), and had no provision to fit a bayonet. In short, since they were made to literally be given away, they were as cheap and no-frills as possible.

As young warriors and sportsmen of any culture are known to do with personal weapons, these muskets soon took on a life of their own. Often, their very long (30 inch plus) barrels were cut down to both make them easier to carry through the wilderness and along river travel and to turn surplus metal into tools and instruments. Ramrods likewise soon went the way of the dodo bird on many Native trade muskets and are rarely encountered. To enhance, reinforce and decorate the wooden furniture that often swelled and cracked in field conditions, tacks were applied, as were leather wraps.

These firearms are often called blanket guns or canoe guns, the first primarily dealing with Native peoples West of the Mississippi along the Great Plains in the late 19th century, and the latter with those East of the Mississippi in earlier periods.

And the mods ranged from practical

…to artistic

Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk