h&a under hammer

[ramrod 62]

just purchased a hoppins & allen underhammer rifle and know very little about them . believe its 45 cal. don't know twist rate or much of anything.would really like some info. any help would be appricated.

 

[Jim C]

hotoSmile:

 

[hawkeye2]

Not to be smart but there isn't much you need to know about them. They are very simple, basic and reliable. Well balanced and point very well. They usually have great trigger pulls and are real tack drivers with a round ball. I suggest about 50 grains of 3f.

 

[M. De Land]

Mine is a rebarreled H&A underhammer in .45 cal with a GM 1 in 60 twist.It's my go to target rifle.
Originally it was a Buggy rifle .45 cal and I think 1 in 48 twist if I remember right.
I have another new underhammer action I will build into a rifle one day.

 

[kansas_volunteer]

I assembled my H&A underhammer from a kit, back about 1976. As I recall they were only available in .45. The only problem I had with mine is the patch box. A patch box was provided, but no spring or other way to hold the lid closed. It still has the bit of scotch tape I put on it to hold it closed until I could figure out a spring, which I still haven't done. It looks to me like the butt plate spring from a Lee Enfield rifle might work perfectly. I have some of those.

I browned every thing steel on mine with Plum Brown. As an experiment the walnut stock got a potassium permangenate stain, which turned out rather nice.

 

[M. De Land]

Here is a picture of mine,lets see yours and anyone else who wants to show they'res!

 

[hanshi]

Mine's a .45 "Heritage" model I ordered back in the mid 1960s. It has taken deer, bobcats and squirrels and is astonishingly accurate. Many memories are attached to it. The original flat hammer/trigger combo spring died a few years ago and I've tried replacing it with a couple of used ones to no avail. It will still fire, of course, but won't go into half cock without manipulating the trigger. This creates an unsafe condition. I've even thought of taking off the fine barrel and trying to see if building a sidelock rifle with it is possible..

 

[Rifleman1776]

Not to be smart but there isn't much you need to know about them. They are very simple, basic and reliable. Well balanced and point very well. They usually have great trigger pulls and are real tack drivers with a round ball. I suggest about 50 grains of 3f.

My family used several and I sold them. Wat he said on point. Simple and reliable. The originals with Numrich barrels were 1:56" twist.

 

[nwtradegun]

they made several models in 45 cal. from the buggy rifle, short barreled. the heritage a fore stockless target rifle. be advised h and a did not use normal barrel sizes. 45 cal. takes a 433 diameter bal. 36 cal. used a 340 ball if I remember.

 

[M. De Land]

I'm sure that can easily be fixed Hanshi.
I didn't care for or shoot mine very much until necessity pushed me into inventing the brass flash guard seen in the pictures. I was always burning my wrist and once even set my Carhart coat sleeve on fire.
I can shoot it safely in my sleeveless shirt with this flash guard and not get burned any more.

 

[ramrod 62]

mine is the offhand model.fired 10 shots today, sights need some work. only negative thing upon firing was enough blowback to remove fired cap. shot powder loads from 45 grs. 3f to 60 grs. 3f goex. .018 patch hoppes lube cci #11 cap .440 ball. other than blowing off spent caps gun seems to have target potential, but will definitely see some serious hunting time.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Here is one I restocked for a friend.

dave

 

[M. De Land]

Nice, I like it!

 

[Tom Compton]

Percussion guns blowing the cap off indicates to me the nipple flash hole is too large for whatever reason. Nipples are cheap., get a couple.
TC

 

[Gene L]

I've to a .36 "off hand" rifle. I like it, it's simple, accurate, and easy to do a trigger job on.

It's buttugly. I use 20 gr. FFFG, which is fine for the shooting I do. The fore end split and I glued it back together...here's hoping it holds together.

 

[hanshi]

Speaking of fire, I had it at the range once and happened to have a towel in my lap. I fired, looked down and saw the towel flaming. :v:


That H&A might could even use a new hammer and/or trigger. Kinda don't think so, however. Fixing it is beyond me at this point. It really needs a completely different firing system that doesn't rely on just a flat spring.

 

[Rifleman1776]

45 cal. takes a 433 diameter bal.

That is conventional beliefe and I do have same .433s aging on the shelf. But, on the range we used .440s.

 

[Gene L]

Speaking of fire, I had it at the range once and happened to have a towel in my lap. I fired, looked down and saw the towel flaming. :v:


That H&A might could even use a new hammer and/or trigger. Kinda don't think so, however. Fixing it is beyond me at this point. It really needs a completely different firing system that doesn't rely on just a flat spring.

Here's a link where you can get a spring and a hammer. http://www.longrifles-pr.com/underhammer.shtml

 

[F.G. Ford]

Speaking of fire, I had it at the range once and happened to have a towel in my lap. I fired, looked down and saw the towel flaming. :v:


Roasted acorns, perhaps?

 

[Billnpatti]

I built the one that I have. I bought most of the parts from Deer Creek Products in Waldron, Indiana. I bought the barrel from Long Hammock in Florida. It is a .45 cal. and is a dandy rifle. Light, well balanced and accurate. My only problem or complaint is that if I hold it in the normal way for shooting offhand with my supporting hand well forward on the forestock, I have to use an armguard to protect my forearm from the bits of cap that are often blown off and from the occasional sparks or flame that comes out of the nipple if the cap is blown off. I've never had an injury of any significance, just the irritating sting from cap fragments or sparks. The canvas armguard takes care of that. Even with that minor drawback, I still love my underhammer. :thumbsup:

I have changed the way I hold it when shooting offhand. I like to hold my rifles with the elbow of my supporting arm tucked into my side. That places my supporting hand back just behind the hammer and on the front of the triggerguard. My hold is much like when I hold a handgun with a two handed hold. The rifle is light enough that this isn't difficult at all and it keeps my forearm behind any sparks or cap fragments from the nipple.

BTW, mine looks a lot like the one that M.D. posted except his has a longer barrel than mine and I don't have one of his great nipple guards that he made.