The first references to "Northwest guns" appear in the journal of John Long, who traded north of Lake Superior for an independent Montreal merchant. In 1777 he wrote: " I gave…to eight chiefs who were in the band, each a North-West gun, a calico shirt, a scalping knife of the best sort, and an additional quantity of ammunition. These were received with a full yo-hah, or demonstration of joy."
Thousands of trade muskets, know as Northwest Guns, evolved in the 18th century toward uniformity of manufacture and became the extremely light and cheaply made fowler preferred by Indian hunters in northwestern North America. Montreal merchants kept up a stream of orders to English gunsmiths for the lightest, cheapest type of serviceable hunting musket that it was possible to produce.