1696 French Marine Musket Fusil Ordinaire (680)
The 1696 Fusil Ordinaire or common musket first appeared in the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715). The first mention of flintlock fusils in Canada was in 1660 when there was quite a quantity at Fort Saint-Louis in Quebec city, again in 1665 when the Carignan-Sailors Regiment arrived in Canada, and again in 1684 when Governor De La Barre received 500 fusils and two hundred belt pistols for a campaign against the Iriquois. We are calling this musket the Model 1696 as this is the first dateable contract that could be located on them from Tulle, which opened in 1691, but there is an official payment to Tulle in 1694 of 8, 700 Livres for fusils. The 1690’s contracts that have been located for these guns only specified standard muskets with certain barrel lengths so these same guns were already in use for quite a while, previous to the contract dates we have here. Especially when you remember that St. Etienne was the prime contractor before Tulle was in business, and there is a nice 1680’s St. Etienne example in the Naval Museum in Paris that the Tulle patterns follow very closely. According to Mr. Russel Bouchard the Tulle contracts provided in November 1696 for a 45" barrel and in November 1697 for a 44" barrel. There is no mention of stock design or shape in any of the French Contracts from 1691 until 1763, so even this stock design must have been around awhile. Common muskets did not have sling rings or metal nose bands on the stocks. Most 1696 marine muskets did not have the stocks shortened for a socket bayonet and were still using plug bayonets. However, according to Erik Goldstien, the first appearance of Tulle muskets with socket bayonets was in 1694 that were supplied to the Marine Guards at the Port of Brest and there is a November 7 contract of 1697 to Tulle for 250 muskets with socket bayonets. By shortening the tip of the forearm 3” to take the socket bayonet this musket would conform to the 1697 contract. The 1695-96 French muskets have full carving around the tang and lock panels. We have reproduced the carving on our stocks. The barrels are a 44 1/2", octagon to round with wedding bands and available in .69 caliber. The lock plate measures 6 5/16" x 1 1/8". The throw of the cock is 1 13/16". Notice how the stock swells out a little before coming into the butt plate.
| 680 | Set of Lock Castings | $150.00 | |
| 680 AS | Assembled Lock | $495.00 | |
| 680 LP | •Lock Plate | $24.95 | |
| 680 C | •Cock | $24.95 | |
| 680 TJ | •Top Jaw | $18.95 | |
| 680 F | •Frizzen | $24.95 | |
| 680 FS | •Frizzen Spring | $23.95 | |
| 680 T | •Tumbler | $18.95 | |
| 680 B | •Bridle | $18.95 | |
| 680 S | •Sear | $18.95 | |
| 680 SS | •Sear Spring | $19.95 | |
| 680 MS | •Main Spring | $23.95 | |
| 680 TJSX | Top Jaw Screw | $12.95 | |
| 680 LSS | Lock Screw Set | $24.95 | |
| 680 BP | Butt Plate | $39.95 | |
| 680 TG | Trigger Guard | $39.95 | |
| 680 TP | Trigger Plate | $15.95 | |
| 680 TR | Trigger | $12.95 | |
| 680 SP | Side Plate | $18.95 | |
| 680 SLSX | Side Lock Screw (2 Needed) | $6.95 | |
| 680 RT | Rear Thimble | $18.95 | |
| 680 FT | Front Thimble (3 Needed) | $16.95 | |
| 680 BA | Barrel | $375.00 | |
| 680 BRP | Breech Plug | $24.95 | |
| 680 BUL | Barrel Underlug (3 Needed) | $2.95 | |
| 680 TASX | Tang Screw | $4.95 | |
| 680 ST | Stock | $325.00 | |
| 680 RR | Ramrod (Tapered, Iron Tipped) | $39.95 | |
| 680 BAY | Bayonet | $125.00 | |
| 680 PARTS | Parts Set with Set of Lock Castings | $1,150.00 | |
| 680 PARTSAS | Parts Set with Assembled Lock | $1,450.00 |
•Included in a Set of Lock Castings.