The Underhammer Society

Allan Foundry Late Percussion Sling Hooks Kit

2012-01-11T23:28:00.000-08:00

Here's a little something that, while not strictly underhammer in nature, is rather useful an item which I now include as standard equipment on my 12-bore underhammer Carabine de Chasse dangerous game rifles.

While hunting we would normally have our favorite muzzleloader in hand and at the ready for that moment when the perfect shot presents itself. Once the shot has been taken and the deed been done, suddenly our favorite rifle becomes just so much dead, awkward weight during the ordeal of getting our prize back to camp.

Of course modern rifles wear slings that make the job of toting it and freeing up your hands a piece of cake. Not so with muzzleloading rifles - unless, of course, you hunt with martial arms which normally would have a sling. However, sporting arms of the flint and percussion period usually didn't wear slings and finding attachment hardware is really a challenge if you want it to look at least somewhat right and be functional.

Allan Foundry & Manufacturing (you probably remember them from our Annual Underhammer Action Round-up - now in the Archives) now offers a complete kit to outfit your favorite underhammer rifle or other muzzleloader with sling rings and hooks.

The kits consists of two 3/8" "double wedding band" ramrod ferrules with integral hook rings, two sling hooks and a stock screw with the hook ring. While the photo shows the hooks polished and heat blued, the pieces are sold "as cast" and must be filed, polished and finished (heat-blued hooks look great) before installation.

Obviously, you file the sling hook ring off of one of the two ramrod ferrules. This provides you with two matching ferrules. While intended for half-stock designs where the ferrule can be dovetailed into the rib, the dovetail could act as a tab that could be drilled through in the same manner as any other ferrule would be and the ferrule then pinned into a full-stock rifle as well.

The hooks are cast of spring steel and once you have them "pinched" so that they are a tight fit when slipping into the loops, they will not fall off the gun. The real beauty of these hooks is their quick attachment feature which allows you to carry the rifle without the sling attached while hunting. The sling can be rolled up and carried in your coat pocket. Once you've downed the game, just attach the sling and you can sling the rifle across your back leaving your hands free.

While intended for later percussion sporting rifles, these hooks are also appropriate for cartridge guns all the way up to the early 1900s and in fact look very similar to the old and now rare Winchester sling hooks.

The kit is a real bargain at $34.95 postpaid and is available by sending a check or postal money order to Allan Foundry & Manufacturing, 2784 Highway 23, Brook Park, Minnesota 55007. Allow lots of time for delivery as Pete is usually up to his armpits in alligators in trying to fill orders.

Be sure to tell him that you read about it on The Underhammer Society site.

Cheers!

.

Bump Underhammer Pistol/Knife

2011-12-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

Multi-function gadgets catch my attention when properly done. It seems that we all have a certain fascination with things that emulate the utilitarian efficiency of the famous Swiss Army Knife.

Occasionally someone gets a bright idea to combine an eggbeater with a vacuum cleaner and a ceiling fan and we all wonder, What the hell was he thinking?!” However, once in a while there are some wonderful ideas that come down the pike that combine the right elements in the right form to provide the right function and we instantly recognize them as being ingenius.

The Bump Pistol/Knife is just such an item. Made by Bruce Bump, Master bladesmith with the American BladeSmith Society, these pistol/knives are exquisite pieces of functional art.

Pistol knives are not anything new. They've been around since the earliest days of firearms when cannoneers mounted shorter barrels on a short pike to create " handgones." Mounting a bayonet on the piece seemed logical and so the first pistol/knives were born. That may be an oversimplification of the history and I do apologize to our history buffs if the facts aren't quite sterling, but you get the point.

Be that as it may, rarely do we see pistol/knives constructed with an underhammer lock. Most designs utilize a top-mounted hammer in a boxlock mechanism or the typical sidehammer on a conventional lock. But Bruce must have been afflicted with underhammeritis when he created these beauties.

Once you get past the initial awe of overwhelm, closer study of his lockwork components reveals that Bruce uses a two-piece hammer wherein the “head” of the hammer is a separate piece which appears to be pinned to the body of the hammer. This is a great idea as one can cut the flat hammer body from steel plate and then fashion the hammer head of any size or of most any form you wish. Once it’s to your liking, you simply attach it to the hammer body.

Even after studying these photos for considerable time while putting this feature together, I must admit that I’m still compelled to ogle them for greater detail. Bruce’s execution is flawless. I guess that’s why he is rated as a Master Bladesmith.

Bruce writes, “I have a touch of underhammeritis, too, (I thought so!) and really glad I'm not alone. Most all my information is from a book I found at our local used book store entitled "THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE UNDER-HAMMER GUN" by Herschel C. Logan. I tried my best to use the Cook design with one of my guns. I'm a MasterSmith with the American BladeSmith Society and love knives as well and have made only 10 guns total with 4 using the underhammer firing mechanism although they also house a damascus folding knife blade.”

Wouldn't it be swell if Santa brought each of us one of these!!!

Here is an exploded view of some of the components that comprise Bruce's artistry.

I want to also draw your attention to the other artists who are featured here. That is the photographers, Jim Cooper, of SharpByCoop Photography, www.SharpByCoop.com who was so gracious in allowing us to use his first-class photos for this feature and Eric Eggly of Point Seven Gallery. Without their sharp eye and professional skill with a camera, we couldn't fully appreciate the talent of Bruce Bump. Our thanks to both of these men for sharing their amazing talents with us.

So, dear readers, I bid you all Happy Holidays as I now sign off for this bizarre year of 2011 and leave you with this fond reminder of more simple and innocent days gone by.

Enjoy, but, please be careful or...

you'll shoot your eye out!

Cheers!

New Google Picture Format

2011-11-17T20:49:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

Thank you for your interest in The Underhammer Society.

In the past few years that I have been writing and publishing this blog the format as provided by Google and Blogger has remained the same in regard to viewing the pictures featured with each post. In the past you could click on the photo and it would enlarge in a separate window for closer viewing. To return to the text you would simply click the Back arrow at the upper left corner of your screen.

Unfortunately Google has now decided to change the format in which pictures are presented. And, oh by the way, they didn't bother to notify me of this change. So now when you click on the photo you will be rewarded with the enlarged view, but you must click the WHITE X in the upper right corner of the screen to return to the text.

If you click the Back arrow as you did in the past you may be taken on a wild trip outside of this blog and you will have to find your way back again. This has happened to several of our readers who became frustrated when they were kicked out after having enjoyed the enhanced version of some of the photos.

If by some chance you do click the Back arrow and are taken somewhere else, your computer might allow you to come back if your click the Forward arrow in the upper left of your screen - at least if does so with Firefox.

As you read some of the older posts you will be reminded of the OLD WAY to return to the text. Please disregard those instructions and follow the new instructions posted above. There are just so many references to the old method that I can't go back and edit them all. Sorry, but that's the way it is.

Other than for that glitch, I hope you are enjoying this blog. Please stay tuned as I have new material on the way. Lately I've been up to my armpits in alligators and just have not had the time to focus on the blog. So those of you who need your underhammer fix for the month will have to hang on just a little bit longer.

I know it's going to be tough, but I'll leave you in the capable care of our official underhammer society nurse who may help you find comfort during the wait.

Cheers!

RJ Renner

PS:

While we're all here, let's practice the new way of enlarging the pics and returning to the text.

Please click on the photo of Nurse Bambi to enlarge her to her full potential. Now, notice in the upper right corner of the black picture-viewing screen there is a WHITE X. Just click on the X and you will be returned to the text.

See how simple that was?! Nothing to it.

Now let's see if you can remember to do that all the time as you revisit some of the those older posts, which BTW, you can get to the archives by going to the bottom of the page where on the right side there is a link to Older Posts. Click it and enjoy.

Yes, we're finished now and you can go back and enlarge Nurse Bambi and tell her all about your underhammeritis symptoms. If you're not sure if you have underhammeritis, there is a feature further down the page where Nurse Bambi is shown full size. You don't even need to click on her for full enjoyment.

I know you'll be just fine until I get the next story posted.

Cheers!

PPS: Also a reminder that if you have an underhammer story or photos of your underhammer project, or a link to an interesting underhammer arm, I would happy to share them with our readers. Just drop me a line at:
underhammers@safe-mail.net and we can discuss it.

Forsyth Rifling - Forgotten Magic

2011-09-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s about time again for my annual plug for Forsyth rifling. For those of you who are new to this blog, with your continued reading you will learn that I am a devout prophet of the Forsyth system of rifling gun barrels, having proven its advantages in the course of building over 200 Forsyth rifles of various calibres.

Lately there seems to be a bunch more hub-bub about Forsyth rifling as muzzleloaders everywhere begin to discover the truth about big-bore round balls and their superiority over other projectiles for taking down big game - dead - with one clean shot.

There’s also a lot of misunderstanding as to what Forsyth rifling is, does, and how it works. For those of you who are not yet familiar with the brainchild of Lieut. James Forsyth and wishing to learn more, just send me an e-mail request - underhammers@safe-mail.net - and I will be very happy to e-mail to you a pdf version of his wonderful book, The Sporting Rifle and Its Projectiles.

Lest I steal his thunder and your enjoyment of his book, let me just touch on the subject of his rifling methods.

Hey, slow down!

In a nutshell Forsyth rifling features very narrow lands and wide, shallow grooves cut at a very slow pitch of 1 turn in 100 to 144 inches – the exact twist being the result of considering certain other factors. There are some barrel makers who offer slower twist rifling, but slow twist alone does not a Forsyth barrel make.

In coming to an understanding of this concept one simple truth must be clearly understood - that is the round ball, being a perfect geometric form, requires very little spin to stabilize its flight. And, the larger the diameter of that round ball even less spin is required. While a 48-inch twist works in .36 or .45 calibre, it limits the full potential of a larger round ball. Again, the larger the ball, the slower the spin needed to keep it on a straight path. However, there are certain limitations with Forsyth rifling, too.

Clicking on the photo will enlarge it for a closeup view of the rifling.
Clicking the Back arrow will return you to the text.

To really appreciate the significance of our re-discovery of Forsyth’s research it must be understood that he postulated those wonderful concepts about the optimum rifling for muzzleloading hunting rifles way back in the mid-1800’s. Yes, it’s been around that long. Unfortunately, the first edition of his book was printed in 1863 in England and by the time his revolutionary concepts made it across the pond and to the far flung game fields of the world, cartridges had made their debut and no one cared much anymore about muzzleloading performance. His work and his book were lost in history.

The fact is that Forsyth had overcome all of our modern day objections and complaints about muzzleloading rifles over 150 years ago!

Forsyth is for hunters

It should be understood that the advantages of Forsyth rifling are intended for the big game hunter in the field where shooting over unknown distances may be the norm. We burn lots of powder in our big bore hunting rifles which is not an objective of the competitive muzzleloading crowd.

Could you accurately guesstimate the range of this deer within 10 yards?

A mistake of a mere 10 yards at this distance with most muzzleloaders
can mean mortally wounding and losing the animal.

Because of the very slow twist that is used in properly made Forsyth barrels, there is very little fouling of the bore – hence, easy reloading and clean up. And, by virtue of those very narrow lands, loading a proper-sized ball and patch is easily accomplished with thumb pressure alone; then seated on the powder with an easy stroke of the loading rod. In my own experience, a ball that is .020" smaller than the bore diameter, wrapped in a Wonder Lubed patch of .010" - .012" and using a Wonder Wad over the powder provides the best results.

If extreme accuracy is required you can increase the ball diameter, or better yet, the patch thickness, as a thicker patch holds more lube. However, the tighter the fit of the ball and patch in the bore, the more difficulty you'll encounter in seating the ball into the muzzle. For me, I'm rather lazy and I like to keep things simple and would sacrifice an inch of accuracy at 100 yards for the convenience of loading a quick follow up shot without any extra gadgets - like a short starter. But that's just me.

The question frequently comes up as to how small a ball will still work. In my own experience in building and testing Forsyth rifles of various large calibers, I have determined that the smallest diameter ball that will still provide the advantages of Forsyth rifling is .58 calibre. At 270 grains, the round ball has just enough weight and mass to travel straight and true at high velocity with as little spin as 1 turn in 100 inches of rifling twist.

Now, some will argue that you don’t need extreme velocity - translate as “power” - for hunting most game when using a large round ball. And while that is true in many cases, it is not extreme power that we are seeking. Bullet drop is a function of time. So, the quicker we get the ball to the target, the less time gravity has to act upon it. The advantage of high velocity that we are seeking is a flat trajectory. Extreme knockdown power is just an incidental benefit.

The bullet path on the chart above illustrates that the .62 Faeton with
Genuine Forsyth Rifling shoots very flat to 120 yards.

Many muzzleloading rifles produce such curved trajectories due to the limitations on velocity based upon their faster rifling twist that any shot much beyond 80 yards requires very accurate range estimation and proper holdover if you are going to deliver that small diameter ball into the vitals of a game animal. Not so critical with a properly loaded Forsyth rifle. With some typical muzzleloaders a miscalculation of 15 yards out there past the 75-yard mark can mean the difference between delicious venison chops and a long and grueling search for a wounded animal.

There are those of the in-line crowd who claim that their sub-caliber high velocity bullets shoot pretty flat to 200 yards. While that may be true, remember that with each foot of distance their bullet travels from the muzzle, the more energy they are losing. That is the same energy needed for the proper expansion of their elongated bullet. Ipso facto, the further from the muzzle their bullet gets the less its potential to expand.

Not so with a big round ball. Yes, the further the round ball gets from the muzzle the more velocity it loses, too. However, the big difference is that the big round ball will always be at least its own diameter regardless of distance from the muzzle. Bottom line is that my big round ball starts out larger than their elongated bullet can even hope to expand to under ideal conditions. This is definitely a case where less in NOT more.

When hunting bigger game the greater energy that results from the higher velocity of our big round ball really puts big game down like it was struck by the hammer of Thor. If you’ve never hunted with a big round ball pushed at high velocity, you just can’t imagine the effectiveness.

It’s also important to understand that the effectiveness of that one shot is the result of shooting for bone. Many smaller-caliber hunters realize that the balls or bullets they shoot don’t have the mass and weight to break big and heavy structural bones and have been taught to shoot soft tissue instead. But, the fact is that shooting the shoulder will generally put the animal down on the spot and allow you time to reload a coup-de-grace for the final dispatch - if even needed. And, shooting the shoulder with a big round ball does not destroy a lot of meat as is believed based upon the same shot taken with a high intensity centre-fire rifle. Besides, who of you is so destitute that you can’t sacrifice a few pounds of meat for the sake of a clean and humane kill? Think about it.

The reason for such effectiveness is that the large ball not only transmits tremendous shock by virtue of its large frontal surface, but also breaks the large bones of the shoulder joint into secondary missiles which then penetrate the heart and lungs. This, by the way, is the same shot one should take at dangerous game - the idea being to immediately disable the animal rendering it less likely to get to you before you can reload.

BTW, another little known advantage of Forsyth barrels is that they will shoot hard lead balls with the same fine accuracy as dead-soft lead. That’s right. Because of that slow twist, we don’t need a hammer-tight fit of ball and patch in the bore to the point where the weave of the patch imprints into the ball.

When you are up against bigger and tougher game, balls cast of wheel weights work well in breaking big bones. I have even shot straight linotype balls with great accuracy. However, it is always better to use a temper of lead that will still allow expansion in game. After all, we want every advantage we can muster when it comes to quickly and humanely dispatching the animal.

Are you really going to eat that?

The idea of that one shot kill - dead in its tracks - is very important if you plan to serve that animal at the table. There is nothing worse (in my humble opinion) than adrenaline-soaked meat. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found any German venison gravy or French sauce recipe that will effectively mask a seriously funked piece of venison.

When I was a boy I had the good fortune of growing up on my grandparent’s cattle ranch. At an early age I learned that when you are getting a steer or hog ready for butchering, you don’t run it around the corral and get it all heated up before plugging it. If it did get spooked and panicky, you walked away and came back later when it was calm again and then did the deed.

The same applies to game. If you don’t use enough force to put the animal down dead with that first shot, and it takes off into the next zip code, you won’t want to eat it - if you manage to recover it.

Hal Sharon - Pioneer of modern Forsyth rifling

My first introduction to Forsyth rifling was from that grand old man of muzzleloading, Mr. Hal Sharon. Some of you old timers will remember Sharon Rifle Barrel Company of Kalispell, Montana. I met Hal and his lovely bride, Annie, at an NRA Show back in the mid 1980s. He became my mentor in this muzzleloading game and I miss him greatly.

He shared then with me the fact that he had been experimenting over the past 20 years with a forgotten type of rifling that made muzzleloading rifles safely shoot like a magnum. He didn’t explain it in detail until 10 years later in 1995 when I told him that I was starting Pacific Rifle Company to build custom underhammer rifles.

Hal asked what calibers I would offer and I told him that I wanted to provide “big-bore” hunting calibres, such as .50 and .54 to my customers. He then told me to find a copy of Forsyth’s book, The Sporting Rifle and Its Projectiles and to study it before I made my decision about calibres. Hall suggested that I start with .62 calibre and go up from there!

After reading the book I was both stunned and excited at what I had learned! It violated all the conformant wisdom that I had acquired up to that point about muzzleloading rifles. Could it really be so? I mean, seriously, if this was such a good idea, how come the mainstream gun manufacturers and muzzleloading barrel makers weren’t offering guns and barrels that would provide such amazing performance?

Hall insisted that Forsyth rifling really did work and he had proven it himself many times. So, based upon his assurance, I decided that my prototype rifle would have a Forsyth barrel. Problem was, Hal was no longer making barrels and the barrel makers that I contacted responded as though I was totally whacked.

One prominent barrel maker of the time told me flat out that he knew such a concept was nonsense and he wouldn’t waste his time making barrels that he knew wouldn’t work. While another well-known maker claimed that he was aware of Forsyth rifling; however he railed at me saying, “you don’t need 200 grains of powder to kill game with a .62 calibre rifle”, adding that “80 grains of powder in a .62 will kill anything on this continent.”

He wouldn’t fill my order, either.

Thankfully, I was informed about a new barrel maker in Missouri who might be willing to work with me. I called Bill Moody and explained the concept and after a bit of thought he immediately tracked down a copy of Forsyth’s book and started studying this seemingly crazy notion.

I told him that I wanted a .620" bore, .630" across the grooves, 8 lands at 1:5 ratio with a twist of 144 inches.
After a bit of collaboration on the specs, he agreed to make a prototype barrel for me. My resulting Zephyr performed EXACTLY as Forsyth and Hal said it would – flat shooting, hard hitting, yet mild of recoil, easy loading, easy cleaning, and accurate!

Due to the very slow twist of a properly made Forsyth barrel, there is very little fouling of the bore – hence, easy clean up. And because of the very narrow lands, loading a proper-size ball and patch is easily accomplished with thumb pressure alone; then seated on the powder with an easy stroke of the loading rod. No short starter or any other gadgets needed.

No magic, just simple science and good engineering. Eventually we quickened the twist to 1:104" to accommodate less than full power loads with greater accuracy and went on to successfully make underhammer Forsyth rifles of .58, (24-bore), .62, (20-bore), .72 (12-bore) and .82 (8-bore) which covered the full spectrum of hunting needs for anything on the planet. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Zephyr was the first production rifle in history to offer Genuine Forsyth Rifling as a standard feature.

Today, there are more Forsyth rifles in the form of the Zephyr, and now, the new Faeton,
than any other rifles in the world.

How about a Forsyth shot gun?

As a little side line, another handy feature of Forsyth rifled barrels is that you CAN shoot shot from them. The extremely slow twist does not seem to adversely affect the pattern too much and delivers about cylinder-bore patterns out to 20-25 yards. However, load that shot into a turkey ranger wad with a tuned droge as made by Stuart Emery and you can deliver a pretty tight pattern waaay beyond what anyone would believe possible from a rifled bore.

Yes, it does look somewhat obscene, but it works like a charm!

Of course you’re not going to use your Forsyth rifle as your primary shotgun – unless, of course, you do set it up for turkey hunting with the turkey ranger wads and the droge. But, while on the hunt it will put a fool hen into the camp stewpot while you’re out after bigger game. (see my PS below for more info on the wads.)

Now back to the story…

Unfortunately, after 12 years of supplying me, one day Mr. Moody just locked the door of his shop and went fishing never to make barrels again. I was in a real pickle.

Since then I have worked with another company who has produced several Forsyth barrels to my specs for my new Faetons. Unfortunately, they are too busy making normal barrels and don’t have time to fuss with a few Forsyth barrels for cantankerous old crackpots like me.

Rice Barrel Company to the rescue!

A bit over a year ago I was discussing my dilemma with Jason Schneider of Rice Barrel Company, www.ricebarrels.com, and sent him a copy of Forsyth’s book. While he was interested and intrigued by the concept, he explained his production schedule did not allow him time to venture off in a new direction. However, he did continue thinking about it.

In a recent conversation with Jason, he informed me that Rice Barrel Company will soon be producing a limited run of Forsyth barrels. The new tube will be .62 calibre with the following specs:

Internal

Bore:……………...... .621"

Groove to groove...... ..631" - .633"

8 grooves @ 5:1 ratio

Twist 1:104”

External

Swamped barrel:

31" long

Breech ................1 1/8"

waist.................... .890”

Muzzle..................1.020”

Tapered barrel

Length ................32" - 34"

Breech ...............1 1/8"

Muzzle................1"

The cost of these high quality barrels is estimated at $250.00 - $275.00 plus an additional $20 or so for shipping and handling. Believe me, that's a bargain.

If you are considering building a true Forsyth rifle, I know you won’t go wrong with a Rice Forsyth Barrel. While the Forsyth tube is not yet listed on their website you can place your order directly with Jason by calling him at: (828) 628-3627 or e-mailing him at: blackpowder@ricebarrels.com.

This will be a one-time run for now and the expected delivery is sometime in January of 2012, so don’t wait and think about it too long before you get in line.

BTW, tell Jason that you learned about it from The Underhammer Society.

Cheers!

PS: Turkey Ranger Wads - Since first publishing this post I have had several inquiries regarding the turkey ranger wads mentioned above and where they can be purchased. The technical name is: DST-20 wad and they are available from Ballistic Products - www.ballisticproducts.com/CSD-20ga-Steel-wad-UNslit-250_bag/productinfo/0207020/

Ballistic Products also offers several shotgun slugs that should also work well with Forsyth rifled barrels. I put the bug in their ear to send me some and I'll report back to you my results if their PTB agree to the scheme.

If you contact Ballistic Products be sure to tell them that you read about it on The Underhammer Society site.

H & C DANIELS BREECHLOADING UNDERHAMMER RIFLE

2011-08-31T17:21:00.000-07:00

H & C Daniels Breechloading Underhammer Rifle

Thanks to our friend, Terry, from down under in Oz for pointing us to this very rare underhammer rifle. This is about as rare as they get, folks. Clicking on the photos will enlarge them for detailed viewing. Clicking the Back button will return you to the text.

The rifle is for sale and featured by Collectors Firearms of Houston, Texas www.collectorsfirearms.com who were so gracious to allow us to share this rifle with our readers. If you are interested in this rarity, you can call them, toll free at (877) 214-9327. Be sure to tell them that you saw it on The Underhammer Society page.

The Daniels is certainly a very rare prototype underhammer rifle. Obviously, it is a breachloading design and was manufactured by C.B. Allen for the patent holder, H&C Daniels of Chester, Connecticut.

The top of the receiver is equipped with a hinged trapdoor with a removable steel cartridge that is fitted with a percussion nipple. The cartridge would be loaded with the nipple pointed downward into a corresponding hole in the bottom of the chamber where it could be struck by the upward swinging hammer. It appears that the wedge-shaped projection on the bottom of the door would force the cartridge into tight union with the bore thereby providing a better gas seal of the chamber.

Armed with several loaded cartridges at the ready, the owner of the Daniels rifle would be a rather formidable opponent.

The top of the trapdoor is marked "H & C DANIELS / PATENT / CHESTER / CONN" and at the breech with an eagle over "C.B. Allen" in the center.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get any other information regarding caliber and condition of the bore. However, if you are a serious contender for this fine piece of firearms curiosa, you can call for the details.

Photos copyright by Collectors Firearms

Thanks, again, Terry, as this is definitely a rare find.

Cheers!

.

Salvador Dali Underhammers?

2011-08-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

As one who considers himself an artistic sort, I really appreciate others who can skillfully color outside of the lines, too. Robert Worthington is just such an artist. When he discovered the joys of making underhammers he jumped in with both feet and never looked back!

Bob has agreed to share some of his underhammer work with us through the following photos. You will instantly recognize his flare for uniqueness in design.

Clicking on the photos below will provide a closer look at Bob's work. Clicking the Back arrow will return you to the text.

Here's Bob's story:

I've been shooting and building muzzle loaders for a while, and started making underhammer pistols about 5 years ago. I had put together a kit for my son a few years before, and was intrigued by the simplicity and speed of ignition. There were some aspects of that particular piece I didn't like, however, and when I came across the Billinghurst action offered by Muzzle Loader Builder's Supply, www.muzzleloaderbuilderssupply.com (as seen below with my improvements) I decided to try one myself.

Using the hammer, trigger, trigger bar, and mainspring, I fabricated my own breech collar and turned it into a pistol using a standard threaded breech plug. I've made a bunch of these now, from .32 to .50, with barrels from 8" to 12", and have also made a .40 schuetzen rifle with an Ed Rayl barrel using this action.

I'm now working on another schuetzen, using the Allan Foundry action; a .36 with a 38" Isaac Haines-style barrel from Green Mountain. This is my personal rifle, with a fixed palm rest to accomodate my messed up shoulder, and cheek piece on both sides so I can shoot when my right eye gives me trouble.

I call the rifle, "Salvador Dali gets a day job as a gunmaker," or "Flash Gordon enters the 19th century." I'm also working on a "target model" pistol, with adjustable sights and trigger.

One of Bob's underhammer pistols.

Yeah, I shoot 'em all, including cartridges, but the underhammer is the real deal!

~ Bob Worthington

Bob also does an expert job of inlaying silver wire, mother of pearl and other semi-precious materials as part of the embellishment of his work. More photos of Bob's work can be seen at www.greyhavenarms.com.

I must also compliment Bob for choosing to utilize a half-cock safety notch when setting up the hammer and

trigger of his firearms.

Thanks, Bob, for giving us a glimpse into your world.

Keep up the great work.

All photos copyrighted by Robert Worthington

If you have an underhammer project or story that you would like to share with us, please feel free to contact me at: underhammers@safe-mail.net and we can discuss it.

Cheers!

Roger

.

Underhammeritis - living with the affliction.

2011-06-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

In over thirty years of building underhammer guns I have come to notice that there seems to be two kinds of people when it comes to underhammer arms. Those who instantly recognize and embrace the logic and simplicity of the mechanism and those others who view it - may comment that it is interesting - but, ultimately, go back to their “ traditional” flint or conventional caplock guns. But, that’s okay as it takes all kinds to make a horse race.

However, those who do get it really seem to get it. It’s as if a veil has been lifted from their eyes. Some of them that I have known have actually abandoned their other flint and caplock rifles in favor of a fine, custom-made underhammer. They are the ones that I like to say are truly afflicted with “underhammeritis.”

Over the years of writing this blog, you have heard me mention underhammeritis occasionally and some have asked for more information about it and how they might recognize the symptoms. Here is what my research has revealed about this strange malady.

UNDERHAMMERITIS - A fairly common condition in its milder forms that seems to develop among muzzleloading shooters. It is believed by some to be a mental affliction in which the sufferer of said malady is deluded and sincerely believes that there is great merit in simplified percussion firearms actions having as a major element of their design a bottom-mounted, upward-swinging hammer.

There is considerable debate over the causes of this strange condition as some cases seem to start out slowly with only a mild fascination with underhammer arms, which, with more exposure to them, advances in varying degrees of speed.

While in other reported cases, the afflicted seems to be overwhelmed with fascination after just one exposure to a well-designed and crafted underhammer firearm. The final stages of full-blown underhammeritis seem to be complete obsession and there is no known cure. One can only live with the affliction and hope for the best.

In my own experience I am familiar with some extreme cases in which the afflicted shooter completely abandoned - and in one case actually sold – all the other firearms in their collections in favor of their custom-built underhammer rifle.

Granted, that is extreme and it is rare. Nevertheless, it must be realized that such a degree of affliction with underhammeritis is a possibility under certain ideal conditions.

So, what is it about these supposedly unconventional firearms that get those of us who are afflicted so excited? I guess it’s the same appreciation for simplicity that causes us to marvel at Henry’s Model T. So simple and yet so wonderfully functional.

It was the tremendously distracting flash of the typical flinchlock, as seen above, which lead to the original development of the underhammer mechanism in 1750s Europe. Consider that you are supposed to be focusing on sight alignment, trigger squeeze and controlled breathing at this exact moment. Yeah, right. BTW, clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them for closer viewing. Clicking the Back arrow will return you to the text.

Probably more than any other feature, it is that simplicity of design - despite a variety of underhammer mechanisms – that captures our imagination. When you think about it, there has been more diversity of development in underhammer mechanisms than virtually any other muzzleloading firearms design.

All the flint and cap lock mechanisms found on the rifles and smoothbores that are considered to be “traditional” are based on the same design that came over on the boat. Yes, the variations of stock designs may have been inspired on this side of the pond, but the basic sidelock technology is European-based and changed very little in 300 years. The caplock underhammer action, on the other hand, is American-born and bred and is truly as traditionally American as a lever action rifle.

There seems to be some unfounded belief that there is certain nobleness in the complexity of the typical side hammer lock. Many marvel at the mechanical advancements that mark the evolution from the match lock to the finest English caplocks of the late percussion period.

Yes, granted, prior to the introduction of the percussion pill (pill lock) and shortly thereafter, the percussion cap, that complex, antiquated flintlock mechanism was a necessary evil of gun design. But, once Ruggles was granted a patent for his underhammer design in 1826, it’s this scribe’s opinion that the typical gunlock of the time should have become history.

However, that didn't happen and we’re not likely to change the mind of most of those traditionalists so let’s move along.

It’s obvious that one of the major advantages of the underhammer system is its ambidextrous design, being equally well-suited for both left and right-hand shooting. However, there are other advantages that are not immediately apparent to those who have never shot an underhammer or studied the concept.

Our modern traditional rifle was born in the antiquity of arms design and development being the result of an evolutionary process that began with the crossbow. Consider that the typical muzzleloading gun design begins with a long piece of wood into which a channel is cut which will securely hold the barrel. Then more wood is removed to accommodate a complex lockplate and its protuberances. Yet more wood is removed from this frail arrangement to accept a trigger mechanism. And let’s not forget all the screws that hold this Rube Goldberg contraption together.

It can readily be deduced that the result is a stock that is weakest at that most important point of where all the major components intersect. And, all that fuss to do nothing more than simply ignite blackpowder.

Both types of actions do the same thing, that is, ignite blackpowder. Which one makes more sense?

Most underhammer actions, on the other hand, employ some type of “receiver” which acts to contain the hammer and trigger in their proper relation to each other and the nipple and to which the buttstock is mounted. This not only simplifies the design, but the construction, too. In a good underhammer design the result is a rifle with less of a tendency to break at the critical point where all the action takes place.

If one thinks one does not really require a long forearm, then there is considerably less work involved in finishing such a rifle, although, personally, I believe that a forearm of half-stock design is not only functional, but aesthetically pleasing as well.

Looking at the typical flint or caplock action it is immediately apparent that the hammer protrudes significantly above the top of the rifle, as seen above. This is necessary to allow quick and easy cocking of the mechanism. Aesthetically, the hammer or the flintcock is wonderful eye candy that us artistic types are always fiddling with to create something with even greater eye appeal. However, that upward protruding hammer provides Murphy (of Murphy’s Law fame) with untold opportunities to screw up your weekend – and perhaps your life.

Accordingly, if the rifle should by chance fall from your grasp or from leaning against the tree while you answered the call of Nature, Murphy’s Law dictates that it should land on the hammer and either fire the gun or break the hammer, or both.

With the hammer mounted below the barrel, however, the geometry of the stock places the hammer in a very secure and protected location as a rifle almost never would fall and hit the trigger area directly due to the angle of the belly of the buttstock and the length of the barrel. That is, unless, you’ve got some huge hammer that hangs way down below your trigger guard when the hammer is at half cock.

Also consider that the bottom-mounted hammer provides a clear, unobstructed view of both the sights and the target - no hammer protruding into your sight picture. Placing the hammer below the barrel also provides much greater protection to the shooter’s face from cap shrapnel. Be that as it may, many shooters of underhammer guns frequently complain about the cap shrapnel that peppers the wrist and forearm of their left hand – assuming a right-handed shooter – which causes them to flinch. That is so unfortunate because it’s a problem that could have been easily remedied by fitting the rifle with a musket nipple and using musket caps.

I have been a devotee of this simple solution for about 30 years and it still amazes me that shooters will whine back at me that musket caps are so expensive. They’ll buy and burn expensive Swiss powder, but they can’t afford musket caps. Go figure.

Few shooters realize that #11 percussion caps are designed to be frangible. That is, they’re intended to come apart like a grenade when detonated. That feature is most desirable in a revolver where the spent cap can fall free of the revolving cylinder as the hammer is cocked for the next shot. They’re also small and easily fumbled and lost while capping the rifle. (Learn a lesson from military arms - use musket caps.) While essential to the continued functioning of the cap and ball revolver, frangible caps are a pain in the bu… well, actually, they’re a pain in the wrist when spit by most underhammer arms.

Another solution to the cap spitting problem is to design your rifle to utilize a nipple pocket, as seen above, in which the nipple is completely enclosed, or as much so, by the hammer skirt and the nipple pocket. A nipple skirt can also be helpful. The nipple pocket is a feature of more advanced design underhammers of the past, such as the Billinghurst, Churchill and contemporary designs such as the Faeton.

In all fairness, I must say that the Allan Foundry Underhammer Action also provides great protection from cap spitting. BTW, if you take a look at our Underhammer Action Round-up feature of last year, you can read more about the Allan Underhammer Action and why I give it high marks.

If you hunt with an underhammer you will readily recognize that the bottom mounted hammer also provides superior protection over the typical side-hammer percussion when it comes to protecting the percussion cap from inclement weather as well as being inadvertently flicked off the nipple by passing through brush.

And speaking of moving through brush… Of worse consequence is having the typical side-mounted hammer pushed back from the half-cock into the full-cock position as you’re passing through brush. Been there, done that and had the gun go off unexpectedly. Luckily no one was injured, but Murphy had a grand time with me that day.

While I’m sure that other underhammer shooters might be able to add to the list of advantages of the underhammer rifle, those are the basics.

If you’re considering an underhammer just one bit of advice – buy the best quality you can afford. Many shooters begin a new venture looking for a bargain gun just in case they don’t like that type of shooting. However, that is not a fair manner of testing a new concept and creating your opinion. Bargain basement guns generally provide bargain basement results. I have talked with shooters who had at a time shot a low-end underhammer and they were underwhelmed. However, after letting them shoot a well-designed and crafted underhammer, they were truly impressed. One even placed an order for one of my Faeton rifles right there at the range.

By going cheap, you’re only cheating yourself out of what could be a new love affair with underhammers. Or, as some would insist, another outbreak of underhammeritis.

In closing let me remind you that there is no known cure for underhammeritis, there is only treatment which consists of more shooting with your favorite underhammer.

No one said that treatment would be easy, but it’s better than the alternative - that being suffering from underhammeritis and not having an underhammer at all.

Now that would be bad.

Cheers!

Underhammer Identity - Making Your Mark

2011-04-23T19:45:00.001-07:00

Over the past few years of writing The Underhammer Society blog, I have received a number of photos from you readers asking for help in identifying some sort of unusual or unique underhammer firearm. It is so unfortunate that those inspired makers of old did not take the time to mark their work.

Today we see the same situation – underhammer (and other) makers who don’t mark their work. The simple rule should be that if your idea is worthy of the expense of money and labor to make it, it’s certainly worth marking it as yours.

However, doing so in a professional looking manner is generally not considered an easy task. Many of us have seen otherwise beautiful custom-made muzzleloading arms that were marked with poorly aligned lettering stamps or worse yet, marked with a “signature” on the top flat of the barrel that appeared to have been engraved by a dull screwdriver being driven by a 5 lb. sledge. The mark became a witch’s wart on the nose of a bathing beauty.

For years I have used an electro-acid etching system that does provide a very crisp and professional looking trademark. This is an industry standard metal marking process in which a stencil is used along with an electrolyte solution and a marking pad that is connected to a low voltage power source to deep etch metal parts. My marking results can be seen below.

We’ve all seen the results of this process as trademarks on such things as knives, firearms, feeler gauges, drill bits, milling cutters, saw blades, ball bearing races, carbide cutters and thousands of other types of metal tools, parts or instruments.

The problem with most pro-grade systems is that they can set you back up to a $1000. I bought rather used pro-grade equipment way back in ’96 and it cost me over $500 then - definitely out of range for the hobby builder and even some full time professional gunmakers.

The ETCH-O-MATIC comes complete with all you need to achieve professional marking results

Well, I’ve got some good news! Produced by Martronics Corporation, the ETCH-O-MATIC™ is a nifty, professional-grade, compact etching device that provides perfect marking, is quick and simple to use and costs less than $100 to get started.

No, that’s not a typo – it is less than $100. In fact, right now it's only about 80 bucks.

I could go into all the gory details of how the electro-etch process works, but the folks at Martronics had the good marketing sense to include several videos right on their website: http://www.etch-o-matic.com/eom.htm that clearly demonstrate just how quick and simple it is to use their system. Click on the link and take a look for yourself.

The ETCH-O-MATIC™ can be used for marking most any kind of metal including carbon and stainless steels, aluminum, brass, copper, bronze and carbide. It will even mark through black oxide on steel. Several types of marks can be obtained in addition to the simple black mark including the deep etch, a black deep etch and a frosty etch.

We have all seen the ETCH-O-MATIC marks on knives, tools and instruments of all kinds.

In the regular mode, a crisp black mark is left on the metal surface. For those who will be applying their own blue, brown or plating finish over the metal, there is a deep-etch adapter which will provide a mark with depth and will be readily recognized once you’ve finished the metal with your preferred finishing process.

Martronics’ ETCH-O-MATIC™ starter kit contains the ETCH-O-MATIC™ marker with the standard size marking head of ⁷/₈" x 1³/₄", an electrical cord, ground plate, 2 oz. electrolyte solution in a plastic bottle, 10 special stencils, a neutralizer, deep etching adapter clip and complete instructions. Very simple and thorough instructions, I might add.

But, if that wasn’t enough, they also offer free technical help. Yes, you can actually call and talk with one of their live-person technical people who can help you get the optimum results from your ETCH-O-MATIC.

Martroncis claims that each kit will make approximately 1,000 marks before refill supplies are needed. Doing the quick math, you can see that each of your professional looking trademarks cost but pennies to apply and lends a look of professionalism that puts your work into the category of the big guys.

The ETCH-O-MATIC Starter Kit includes 10 sheets of a special stencil material which can be placed into an ordinary typewriter to make some quick stencils that will provide a good, legible mark. However, for the very best marking quality I recommend using their Dura-Film Stencils.

Martronics also offers a stencil making system that will allow you to make your own high-quality stencils from your own artwork on your home computer. If you’re interested, more information on their Stencil Maker Kit is available on their website.

For those of you who may not use very many stencils, Martronics will even make stencils for you – at a very reasonable price - if you send them your artwork. Talk about a full service company - I really like the way these people think.

Take a look at the website: http://www.etch-o-matic.com/eom.htm and see if you don’t agree that this is the best way to achieve a professional looking trademark on your fine firearms, or putting a good identifying mark on your tools and other valuable metal items as well.

So, that’s the story for the press and I’m sure you all now feel warm and fuzzy about it.

However, the real question on my mind is, “Will this eighty-dollar wonder work as well as my really pricey “professional” marking system?” We shall see.

I prepared a piece of flat bar steel by cleaning and lightly polishing the surface. I have to say that the folks at Martronics also provided us with a sample of their stencil material for comparison to the high priced “professional” stencils that I have been using for almost 20 years.

While Martronics indicates that you can hold the stencil in place, I have found that if you really want a crisp mark, its best to use some scotch or masking tape to secure the stencil to the work surface. This will also help assure that your alignment and position is correct before you start.

Clicking on the photo will provide a close up view, then click the Back button to return to the text.

The top mark in the photo above is the regular black etch while the bottom mark is the result of the deep etching process. Both were produced from the same blue Dura Film Stencil seen above the sample.

While we’re here I must admit that the quality of their stencil is first rate. I was really impressed with the durability of it and can see that you could easily get dozens of crisp, clear etchings from each stencil. The really good news is the price for their stencil making service. The company that I used in the past recently quoted their minimum charge is now over $70. Then there are graphics charges and plate charges, etc, etc…

That’s a lot of money for a small sheet of stencils. Especially if you only mark a few guns per year.

The folks at Martronics quoted $19.60 to make a 4” X 5” sheet – and that even includes the one-time $10.00 plate charge! If you plan and lay out your artwork carefully you can get quite a few stencils from that one sheet, They also offer larger formats all the way up to 8” X 11” if you need it, the price of which is only $54.50!

Now, back to the test.

I taped the stencil in place on the steel sample, plugged in the unit and wet the marking head pad with the included electrolyte solution according to the directions. Then I attached the ground wire to the steel sample plate and touched the ETCH-O-MATIC pad to the steel. Holding the unit on the steel for about 5 seconds produced the crisp black mark you see in the photo.

Martronics claims that their basic unit is also capable of deep etching which is necessary when you are planning to blue or brown or plate the finished metal.

For the deep etch, Martronics includes another special alligator clip that provides the DC current needed for the deep etch process. I simply connected that to the metal plate then attached the regular ground clip to it.

BTW, stencils can get “plugged” with the steel oxides that are created during the etching process, so it’s a good idea to keep the stencil clean with a bit of electrolyte or even soap and water between etchings.

To achieve the deep etch, it took about three applications of about 6 – 7 seconds each and the mark looks perfect. Just like I (used to) get from the high priced gadget with its cords and clips and plugs.

This Martronics ETCH-O-MATIC is just dirt simple and the results are certainly “professional” quality.

Check out their website: http://www.etch-o-matic.com/eom.htm because I believe you will find the ETCH-O-MATIC to be a most valuable addition to your shop for marking more than just your firearms.

Cheers!

.

An underhammer punt gun???

2011-04-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

Clicking the pics will enlarge them for closeup viewing. Clicking the Back button will return you to the text.

Over the past few years we have seen some interesting underhammer firearms that our readers have shared with us. However, this one surely takes the prize in the curiosa category.

It is a punt gun, and while punt guns are rather scarce these days, an underhammer punt gun is a real prize – if you collect really big shotguns, that is.

The owner of this monster bore, Jim Marsh, does collect really big shotguns and relates,

“This punt gun is from the 1870s and was said to be used for many years at an old Shooting Club (Duck Hunting Club). It weights about 100 pounds, is 6ft., 4 inches long and has a bore size of 1-1/2 inches. Also the gun has a rubber mount painted gray as seen in the picture below.

The gun does not have any markings on it at all – nothing. I am an antique shotgun collector of big-bore shotgun and punt guns and anything about old time duck hunting. Although I have had this gun for many years, I have never found out anything about it. I hope The Underhammer Society readers can help identify it.”

Regards,

Jim Marsh

For those of you who are not familiar with punt guns, here’s a bit more info below from Wikipedia that will help in understanding these monster shotguns.

A punt gun is a type of extremely large shotgun used in the 19th and early 20th centuries for shooting large numbers of waterfowl for commercial harvesting operations and private sport. Punt guns were usually custom-designed and so varied widely, but could have bore diameters exceeding 2 inches (51 mm) and fire over a pound (0.5 kilos) of shot at a time.^[1]

A single shot could kill over 50 waterfowl resting on the water's surface. They were too big to hold and the recoil so large that they were mounted directly on the punts used for hunting, hence their name. Hunters would maneuver their punts quietly into line and range of the flock using poles or oars to avoid startling them.

Generally the gun was fixed to the punt; thus the hunter would maneuver the entire boat in order to aim the gun. The guns were sufficiently powerful, and the punts themselves sufficiently small, that firing the gun often propelled the punt backwards several inches or more. To improve efficiency, hunters could work in fleets of up to around ten punts.

In the United States, this practice depleted stocks of wild waterfowl and by the 1860s most states had banned the practice. The Lacey Act of 1900 banned the transport of wild game across state lines, and the practice of market hunting was outlawed by a series of federal laws in 1918. In the United Kingdom, a 1995 survey showed fewer than 50 active punt guns still in use. UK law limits punt guns to a bore diameter of 1.75 inches (44 mm) (1 1/8 pounder).^[2]

I have to admit that I have never seen an underhammer punt gun before and have no idea who could have made it. If any of you readers can identify it, please Post a Comment below to share your info with all of us.

Thanks, Jim, for sharing your unique and unusual prize with us.

It should be remembered that those of days of old who used these methods were not sportsman as we consider ourselves. They were market hunters and cared little about the balance of nature and no concept of conserving the resource. It was an attitude that prevailed at the time and resulted in the near extinction of many animals including our beloved bison.

A note in passing: it was Teddy Roosevelt who understood the dangers of this type of market slaughter and warned of the follies of such practices and worked diligently to stop market hunting. In that respect, he was one of the vanguard conservationists to whom we modern hunters owe a tremendous debt of gratitude.

Cheers!

.

We're taking another poll...

2011-03-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it's time, once again, for another survey.

As you seasoned readers may recall, we conducted a simple survey a while back which provided some interesting information about you, our readers.

For instance, we learned that most of you are target shooters. However, we also have a strong following of hunters and a few collectors as revealed in the chart below.

Target shooters..........................................27 (67%)
Hunters.......................................................21 (52%)
Collectors.....................................................6 (15%)

All the above…………....……………..........10 (25%)

You can see that the actual number of participants was rather low considering how many of you actually come by to read this stuff. It's apparent from the hit counter at the bottom of the page that we do get a lot of visitors here. In fact, we hold the Number 1 spot on all the major search engines when it comes to underhammers. That’s because you readers have put us there and we thank you for your on-going dedicated interest.

So, we’re asking for a bit more participation this time around. Sorry that we had to resort to threats from Voldemort this time to encourage your participation. From the low turnout as indicated by the chart above, it seems that our use of blatant sex last time around did not arouse as much participation as we thought it would. Go figure…

This time we would like to know a bit about your firearms choices. Specifically, how many of you are died-in-the-wool underhammer aficionados compared to cross-overs, that is, those of you who also shoot other cap guns, flint guns or cartridge guns.

We would also like to know what kind of muzzleloading arms you are most interested in purchasing – off the shelf production stuff, or custom-made arms.

Please scroll on down to the bottom of this page and take the survey. Just tick the box(s) that apply to you. What could be more simple?

THE POLLS ARE NOW CLOSED. THE RESULTS ARE POSTED BELOW,

We would really appreciate your participation!

Questions of comments may be directed to: underhammers@safe-mail.net.

Cheers!

THE SURVEY RESULTS ARE IN!

First of all, I would like to thank every one of our readers who took the time to participate in the survey. There was a total of 76 respondents and the results are quite interesting to consider. Not surprisingly, there are really only a very few of you folks who are dyed in the wool underhammer shooters. I did suspect that there was a considerable crossover element, but I had no idea just how many of our readers are also of the cartridge crowd. Well over half of you shoot all manner of firearms. Great to have your interest.

Also quite surprising is the number of you readers who are also builders of your own firearms. That was most pleasing to see - a whopping 60%! With that in mind, in the future we will consider more information geared toward your interests in crafting your own arms.

The question of the survey was:

My shooting interests involve:

Underhammers only	3 (3%)
Underhammers and other muzzleloading percussion cap arms	13 (17%)
Underhammers and other percussion and flint ignition arms	17 (22%)
Underhammers, cap, flint, and cartrdge arms	52 (68%)
I prefer to buy completed off-the-shelf firearms	22 (28%)
I prefer to buy custom firearms made to my order	8 (10%)
I build my own firearms from kits or from scratch	46 (60%)
None of the above - I'm just visiting	4 (5%)

Again, thanks for your participation.

Cheers!

.

Underhammer chunkin'

2011-03-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

One of the oldest games around is chunk gun shooting. It is also one of the simplest, although not easy to win. Here is a report from one of our long-time readers, Jeff Bibb, about his recently finished chunk gun and a nifty "chunk" shooting bench that he now offers.

Just a reminder that clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them for more detailed viewing. Clicking the "Back" button at the top left of your browser will return you to the text.

Hello Roger:

Hope all is well with you these days. I keep reading the blog and enjoying the content. Folks seem to be building some really great pieces.

I thought you might be interested in my underhammer rifle. We talked about it briefly last year, but I have been very slow getting something together on it. This is a .54 caliber chunk gun made by Ed Rayl and Charles Bowers. To Ed's knowledge, it is the only all-stainless one in existence.

For those not familiar with chunk gun shooting, this is a form of muzzle loading target shooting that has been going on in the Southern mountains for a long, long time. Basically, one shoots from a prone position over a log (or chunk) at an "X" target 60 yards away. The person who gets closest to the center of the X over a string of shots wins. These days, folks shoot flintlocks, percussion guns, and yes... underhammers. The competition is fierce, and a match may be won by a few thousandths difference.

This gun is a bit of a horse. It measures 71" long overall, and weighs just over 30 lbs. The barrel is 54" long, and 1.5" wide across the flats. It is entirely stainless steel, as is the action.

The lock is a Charles Bowers and made from stainless. The trigger is light and has a crisp release. There is a half-cock notch. The action is fitted to a nice walnut, monte carlo stock with a steel buttplate. Length of pull is a bit over 14".

Loads for the gun are very tight to produce the best accuracy. In this .54 rifle, a good starting place is a .530 or .535 ball with at least a .015 patch, and 100 to 110 grains of 2F. A custom made stainless range rod with a bore guide makes loading a bit easier. A step stool is also suggested.

This rifle is quite accurate in capable hands (not necessarily mine), and has competed several times at the Alvin York Memorial Shoot in eastern Tennessee. Since that event is approaching this month I thought it might be appropriate to share the gun with you and your readers. Hope you all enjoy it.

As a full time artisan in the muzzle loading world, a surprising number of my customers are also chunk gun shooters. It is an addicting past time. As a result, last year I started making and selling a fully adjustable chunk or bench rest.

All the best,

Jeff Bibb

All photos copyrighted by Jeff Bibb

Thanks, Jeff, for sharing your new rifle with us. As you shoot some winning targets maybe we can add them to the story.

If you would like more info on Jeff's shooting bench and other fine products, take a look at his site:

http://www.jeffbibbpouchesandhorns.com/

Cheers!

.

1000-yard Underhammer

2011-02-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

“Hi. I had a look at your blog and saw a lot of underhammer rifles, so I decide to build one for long-range target use.”

So began an e-mail that I recently received from a reader in Canada. I like that simple, straight forward, pragmatic approach – I needed one so, I decided to make one. Most people would start by looking for a rifle to buy, not by building their own from scratch - which is unfortunate.

Sometimes we let our fears take charge of our lives and consequently we miss out on a lot of opportunities and satisfaction. Not to play the schrynque here, but it’s true that many shooters who would love to have an underhammer rifle are just afraid to jump in and make one of their own.They believe they can't do it.

Well, friends, one thing that history has shown us clearly is that making underhammer rifles is not rocket science and most of you who want one are waaaay more qualified to build one than you might think. Aside from the barrel which is a Green Mountain offering, the rest of the rifle featured here was made with nothing more than a hacksaw, rasps and files, sandpaper, and a small drill press. No, I’m not kidding.

It was built in two months of winter down time by Patrick Chevalier. He said that he chose the underhammer action for its fast lock time, clean view of the sights, and the fact that it would not spit cap fragments into his face. He shoots 60 rounds a day in competition and says that he feels a lot safer with the nipple on the bottom of the barrel.

Clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them for detailed viewing.
Clicking the Back button will return you to the text.

Patrick said that he fabricated the action from steel plate. I was rather curious how he whittled a receiver from a steel plate and when I asked how he did it he said that he used the drill press to drill many holes to remove as much steel as possible. Then he filed the rest of the piece to shape and polished with various grades of sandpaper.

That was pretty much the same method for making the buttstock and forearm. Drill away the bulk of what doesn’t look like a rifle stock and then rasp and file the remains into submission. He explained that he needed a high comb stock for shooting at 800, 900, and 1000 yards. The high comb and rather slow pistol grip work well for Patrick’s Creedmore-style prone shooting positions.

From this seemingly crude methodology emerged a very sleek, accurate, and beautiful rifle.

While Patrick’s fabrication methods may seem simple, his basic mechanical design was sound. To achieve the best accuracy, assuming that you have a first-quality barrel, you need a rifle that is stiff and solid. To attain that stiffness it is important that the barrel and receiver be united as tightly as possible.

Toward that end, Patrick connected the barrel and receiver with a single ¾” X 16 TPI (threads per inch) breechplug that was screwed and seated into the barrel tightly; then he screwed the barrel into the receiver and torqued the two together. Then, perfect bedding of the receiver into the buttstock resulted in a very stiff rifle. BTW, Patrick also included a 5/8” deep Nock-type chamber in his breechplug for better ignition and cleaner burning of the charge.

Chevalier shoots 400-grain .40 calibre bullets ahead of 80 grains of FFg blackpowder.

A tapered .40 calibre Green Mountain barrel was chosen for the project. Being 1 1/8” at the breech and 1-inch at the muzzle and 32 inches long provides the balance and accuracy that Patrick required. Because the 1000-yard game requires long heavy bullets to win, a 1:16 inch twist was chosen to stabilize the 400-grain bullets on which this rifle feeds. Eighty grains of FFg seems to be the magic load that provides the perfect velocity to stabilize those long bullets with that really quick twist.

The mainspring/triggerguard of the Chevalier action slides along the

bottom of the hammer when it is cocked. The leather hammer fob makes cocking
the rifle very easy especially from the strained Creedmore shooting position.

Patrick’s action is very simple; the hammer and trigger are tightly fitted into a separate lower tang and the trigger is also equipped with a sear engagement screw. Although the hammer does not have a half-cock notch, Patrick devised a simple sliding bar safety that consists of a bar which slides in a track that is inlet into the forearm. Sliding the bar to the rear blocks the hammer from reaching the cap.

A simple sliding-bar safety was devised which blocks the hammer travel.

Both the hammer and trigger were cut from steel plate and the hammer was then fitted with a brass hammer “head” which was soldered onto the hammer body. The hammer head is also cupped to help contain the cap flash and fragments which is the curse of #11 caps.

In addition to all the other interesting features of Patrick’s rifle, the rear sight is a Goodwyn-pattern as used on the Whitworth rifle in the late 1860s. According to Patrick the Goodwyn sight, as made by Ron Snover of Pennsylvania, allows for extreme windage adjustments up to 60 minutes left or right at 1400 yards. Patrick mentions that he has needed up to 48 minutes of windage adjustment at 800 yards when the wind was really blowing! He also made that nifty little sunbonnet for the eyecup.

Initially he mounted the sight on the top of the tang, but later inset it into the top tang for a cleaner appearance, which was a good call on his part as the resulting lines are indeed clean.

All in all the Chevalier is a very good design for a special-purpose rifle. Sometimes specialty rifles get morphed into forms that become unpleasing to the eye in order to satisfy the demands of function. But in this case, Patrick was able to balance form and function and honor the gods of aesthetics while pleasing the gods of mechanics with his clean lines and good craftsmanship.

Thanks, Patrick, for sharing your splendid rifle with us.

All photo copyrights claimed by Patrick Chevalier

Crossing over to the Dark Side

2011-01-05T15:24:00.000-08:00

When did you cross over to the Dark Side?

Those of us who are truly afflicted with underhammeritis can usually recall that time when we were first infected, or, as my good mate, Terry, from down under in the Land of Oz would put it, “Crossing over to the Dark Side.” He’s not too far off the mark with that statement, either.

When first introduced in the latter part of the 18th Century, the very few underhammers made were most certainly viewed with suspicion. Most people of that day, including even some of the more enlightened minds, were very superstitious, believing that evil spirits lurked most everywhere and were able to easily take possession of most anyone or anything.

So stunted was their thinking that anyone who knew more or thought just a bit deeper than the rest of the village was likely to be burned or stoned as a witch or a sorcerer. Hence, anything which deviated from the norm was considered to be the work of the devil and best left alone.

The underhammer design was no exception. It was likely branded as being inspired by some evil force. After all, its very design of being “upside down” in its form and function would lead any God-fearing or logical thinking person to assume that only a possessed or afflicted mind would create such a deviant thing. It would be like us driving on the left side of the road! How weird and evil is that? (Sorry, Terry, but it is what it is.) So, the underhammer lay dormant until the invention of Reverend Forsyth’s percussion cap. It was then that the underhammer’s day had finally arrived.

It is generally accepted that the first underhammers were flintlocks of Germanic origin.

My own introduction to the dark side took place in the late 1970’s. I had been muzzleloading for quite a few years prior to that, but I only shot “traditional” rifles, like my .50 calibre TC Hawken. Traditional – yeah, right. At least, that’s what I was told when I bought it.

It was a rather warm late-August Sunday, as I recall, and I was headed for my very first rendezvous and was very eager to learn what all the hub-bub was about. Because of a lighter-than-usual weekend Honey-Do list, I had some time to make the trek up into the San Gabriel River canyon north of Los Angeles to experience this wondrous pageant and re-enactment of mountainman days gone by. However, it was already late in the day as I pulled into the parking area and people were beginning to pack up and head out. It seemed I might be too late and I hoped there was still time to see what this modern-day gala affair was all about.

As I got out of my trusty old Ford pickup, I was met by the pungent aroma of black powder smoke wafting through the air, very much akin to the smell of buffalo farts, and my ears were greeted by the familiar barking of rifles which were still shooting all manner of frontier marksmanship matches. Wow! I thought it was waaaayyy cool.

The moment seemed to promise a most wonderful experience in store for me, so I headed for the registration table where I discovered the following truth printed on the back of a well-worn t-shirt being sported by a gal at the table who looked equally well-worn. The message on her t-shirt read:

“It takes balls of lead to be a muzzleloader.”

Sometimes the Universe provides enlightenment in the most peculiar ways!

She explained that it was too late to register for any of the matches, but I could wander along the vendor’s row and watch the remainder of the matches being fired.

It was an amazing scene that lay out before me, like H.G. Wells had set the calendar on the time machine back to 1820. Holy Bullets! There was all manner of old-timey gear from rifles, obviously, to period clothing of buckskin or calico, tee-pees and canvas tents and period stuff or all manner was available. One guy and his wife were even selling authentic cooperage. I hadn’t a clue prior to this that there were so many people who were as crazy about muzzleloading as I considered (and friends, neighbors and relatives agreed) that I was. Those folks were really into it beyond my wildest imaginings. While I shot blackpowder, too, those folks ate it, smoked it, and lived the lifestyle (or tried to) of fur trappers and traders of yore.

Like a kid at at his first carnival, I was stunned by the wonder and magnitude of it all.

Of all the shooting events that were taking place all around the camp and up into every other little canyon branching off the big ditch, the one that really caught my full attention was Shooting the Axe. Now that, to me, was far more exciting than poking holes into paper at any distance. To my way of thinking this was the quintessential test of the marksman’s skill.

For those of you who may not know of this match, it is fairly simple in that one blade of a double-bit axe is set into the middle of the end of large log so that the other blade is facing the shooter. On either side of the protruding axe blade is placed a clay bird as used in trap or skeet shooting. The idea is to shoot offhand so precisely so as to split the ball on the axe blade and break both clay birds.

If it sounds difficult it’s only because it is.

There were a few of the good old boys regaled in handsome custom-beaded buckskins and toting gorgeous custom-made cap and flint rifles who shot this match and managed to split the ball – occasionally. However, just like a scene out of an old Western movie, an unknown kid – I say kid, because he must have been about 18 years old or so – stepped up to the line. He wasn’t wearing buckskins but, instead wore bib overalls, a plaid shirt and tattered straw hat reminding me more of Lil’ Abner rather than Kit Carson. In retrospect, perhaps he was representing the Appalachian mountain men. Whatever, that boy could shoot! Not only did he split the ball, he did it a second time, then a third time! The silent glances of the good old boys at each other with questioning in their eyes while the kid did his thing seemed to echo in unison, “Who the hell IS that kid???” As you might imagine, he walked away with the prize.

Aside from his fine shooting ability, another thing about this lad caught my attention – his rifle. He had the funkiest looking rifle I had ever seen. It looked more like a long crowbar with a buttstock attached than any muzzleloading rifle I was familiar with up to that time.

Numrich Arms' "Hopkins & Allen" was the introduction to underhammers rifles for tens of thousands
of target shooters and hunters. Seen here is the Heritage, their top-of-the-line model.

My curiosity was intrigued by his strange rifle, so I asked him if I could take a look at it and then I followed up with, “What is it?” He explained that it was a Hopkins and Allen underhammer. He seemed pleased that I was taking interest in his odd rifle. Upon closer examination I was very impressed with the ultra-simplicity of its design. Only two moving parts, the hammer and the trigger, and the triggerguard acts as the mainspring. How ingenious is that?! I could see this as the basis of a really great big-game hunting rifle.

His was the heavy-barreled target model which did not utilize a forearm or loading rod at all - just a big, fat octagon barrel of .45 calibre with a simple straight-grip stock and a genuine plastic buttplate. There were no frills, just a real simple shooting machine, and let me tell you, that rifle - and that kid - could shoot.

As a side note, I asked the young man if he had any other muzzleloading rifles, and he said he didn't. In fact, the only other rifle he had was a Marlin bolt-action .22. However, he said that he liked and shot his underhammer more than his .22 Marlin. Which gives credence to that old saying to beware of the man with one gun because he probably knows how to shoot it!

The following week I called around to several gunshops in the area until I found a Hopkins and Allen underhammer, but, it was in kit form. I was really looking for a finished rifle, but being a stock maker and certainly a gun tinkerer, I reasoned that I could manage it.

That began a life-long obsession with underhammer arms. As I studied the action of each new and used H&A that I acquired after that first one, the improvements that were possible nagged at me until I finally came to the conclusion that I either had to build my improved underhammer rifles or visit a psyche ward for a frontal lobotomy to get those pesky ideas out of my head once and for all.

Pacific Rifle Company's Zephyr is an advanced design, high-performance rifle.
Clicking on the photos will enlarge them for detailed viewing.
Clicking the Back button will return you to the text.

In 1996 I founded Pacific Rifle Company and the now-famous Zephyr finally took form. In retrospect I guess I should have opted for the lobotomy. It would have been cheaper in the long run. I was pleased to learn, contrary to the naysayers, that there really is a market for a custom, high quality, big-bore, underhammer hunting rifle.

A recent addition to the RJ Renner line-up is this French-styled stalking rifle.

Because of various factors in my life at the time, I sold Pacific Rifle Company in 2006, however, I reserved the right to offer, make and sell a similar, but much higher-end, underhammer than the Zephyr, that is, the Faeton. I’ve also added some variations of my Faeton design, including the Carabine de Chasse, a French-flavored stalking rifle and the New Century Rifle, which features a concealed underhammer action within (dare I say) a “more traditional” one-piece stock.

The New Century Rifle is a radical departure from the Faeton concept.

You can learn more information about my work at: www.rjrenner.blogspot.com

What’s your story?

Now you know about my walk on the Dark Side, but we would like to hear some of the experiences of you readers. How is it that you learned about underhammers, and what was that defining moment for you where instead of your underhammer passion being a glimpse into Dante’s Inferno with weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth because, “Eee gad, it has no lockplate!, the clouds parted and angels sang sweetly the Ode to an Underhammer as peace, purpose, and tranquility filled your life?

What?

You mean to say that it didn't happen that way for you, too?

Anyway, please send your stories, no matter how short or how long (not to worry about too long as I know how to use the Delete button) and I will share them with our readers.

If you have photos of your favorite underhammer rifle, so much the better. Please be sure to include them and send all your info to our alternate e-mail: underhammers@gmail.com. I will then publish your story below. So, be sure to check back from time to time to read our readers' stories.

BTW, for any of you who may be concerned about the possibility of the evil origins of the underhammer system which may dis-sway you from further involvement with it, rest assured that it does not have evil origins. Simple logic dictates that something so advanced for its time as the underhammer system probably came to us from aliens. Right?

I'll believe it if you do.

So without further ado, I’ll be signing off from the Dark Side,

Cheers and Happy New Year!

Reader Feedback

Thanks to Ron Brusco for sharing his trip to the Dark Side as he explains, below:

For me, my introduction to the Dark Side happened last summer when I stopped at a garage sale. During the conversation with the homeowner, I mention I hardly ever see guns for sale at a garage sale especially being I live in California, except for the time I found a 'junk' shotgun,

I mentioned that I was into muzzleloaders and that I have a sidelock and an inline rifle. He said he had a blackpowder rifle he was meaning to sell sometime. When he brought it out for me to look at, I was uncertain if this was a real rifle or a decorative wall hanger.

Ron's rifle as he bought it. The grip scroll had been installed backwards!

The barrel was rifled, but, I wasn't certain about it, since the hammer was under the barrel. I faintly recalled seeing a picture of this but I think it was a pistol. Since I am a man of limited means, that is, very frugal -or cheap, we struck a deal (within a few dollars of what he wanted). He also included a box with balls and other miscellaneous items including a little scope.

That night I was still apprehensive as to it being a real muzzleloader. I was even considering shooting it by using a string from a safe distance. The next day I decided to clean it and load it with a light load. My neighbor was with me and we were both impressed with its accuracy. I did some research and not until I used the term underhammer, was I able to find any information on it.


Ron's Heritage model after reinstalling the grip scroll and the bonus scope.

I have enclosed some pictures. Although we now know it is a Numrich Arms H&A Heritage, there are no marks or any other indication of a manufacturer or maker. The only mark there is five numbers that looks like they were put on with an engraving tool. There aren’t any proof marks or anything to indicate what caliber it is, although it is .45 caliber. In one of my pictures its shows the brass piece behind the trigger, which later I learned by looking at similar pictures, was installed backwards. I then re-installed it properly.


Closeup indicates this one to be in very fine condition!

These first offhand shots indicate the rifle is capable of good accuracy.
Ron reminds me that this target was shot with open sights - not the scope.

I also installed the scope. I didn't want to drill and tap the barrel, so I removed the rear sight and fashioned a brass screw to fit the dovetail. Then I used a piece of aluminum channel to connect the scope and brass screw. It may not be fancy, but it works well.

~Ronald Brusco Photos copyright by Ron Brusko

Additional note: Rons' garage sale find is a real prize as this is one of the cleanest Numrich "H&A"s that I have seen in two decades.! It didn't take long for most of them to begin looking pretty rough. A reminder, too, that clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them for a closer view. Clicking the Back arrow on your screen will return you to the text.

DAVE - KING OF THE HUNDRED ACRES

Here are some memories of Richard Holmes of his cousin and his first underhammer rifle. As you may recall, we recently featured one of Richard's underhammer rifles further down on this page. You can go back and take a look at his rather unique design and appreciate the work of another Dark Sider.

My brother and I, had a cousin about 15 years younger than us. We were into making and shooting rifles, so we let him shoot one of ours. He liked it so much that he asked his folks if he could buy one. Numrich (underhammer) guns were on the market at the time and he ordered a standard .45 but they sent him a .36 caliber model.

Not to be outdone, he got a bag of buckshot and we made him a powder flask and he made a bullet pouch. In just a few weeks, with a little coaching, he could ace a turtle about the size of your hand at 60 yards on a log in a one-acre pond on the property. He became one of the best shots I have ever seen because of that underhammer. He was about 13 years old at the time.

Last year I got the rifle from him and completely took it apart. The rifle is as new, with just a little bore wear and probably shot 3 thousand rounds.

Thanks, Richard, for your input.

Here's a short comment from Mini30:

In my case I've admired the simplicity of underhammers I would see in
catalogs over the years, but spent my shooting time with T/Cs and Lymans.

My final motivation to actually go ahead and get an underhammer was a
Turkey shoot last year in New Mexico; competing in relay after relay
with hunting-load .50 maxis got downright tiring. So I finally
scratched the underhammer itch with a slightly used H&A .36 cal roundball rifle.

OBTW; I've googled, searched, and read blogs, but can't find much
on .36 cal H&A loading info. Also couldn't find anything on takedown and
cleaning. Any Ideas where I might look?

...and here's a fun trip down memory lane with gunsmith, John Taylor:

Roger,

Someplace along the way I acquired an H&A under hammer rifle. Now this was interesting and something I could build. A small piece of hex brass stock was bored out for a BB and all the rest of the parts were made to make it into an under hammer pistol. The daisy BBs had little flat spots on the side and were not to accurate.

By now I was no longer using match heads for powder, found I could get black powder at the local sporting goods store, they also had the more expensive polished BBs . The little gun used about 4 grains of 4F ( a 22 short shell used to measure). At 25 yards it would hold a very good group but it was found that the BBs were also going through the 1" boards of the back fence. Good thing no one was living behind me.

This same little pistol got the Sheriff called out when a friend and I were shooting beer cans floating down the river. It was winter time and we were doing our part cleaning up the beach by picking up cans and throwing them in the river then trying to sink them before they got out of range. Might get two shots off before it got to far away.

While we were gathering up a few more "targets" a deputy came walking toward us and asked what we were doing. I said we were shooting cans with a BB gun. He turned on his heals and started walking away in disgust saying that someone had reported that we were shooting a 357 mag. He never asked to see the little gun we were using. I suppose someone could have thought it was a big gun, it sounded more like a 38 special to me.

There's a lot more I could write about but even though it has been 40 years I still think I should keep it to myself. Lets just say it is to protect the innocent (and guilty).

John Taylor, Gunsmith

Thanks, John!

College days and underhammers

Way back in the '70's, when I was a G. I. Bill college student without much cash money, I discovered the "dark side" at a gun show. In a relatively short time I accumulated a set of Numrich's H & A guns, a long rifle and a carbine length "buggy rifle", as well as a boot pistol, all in .45 cal.

Had fun with them, "dump huntin" as we used to do back in those days. Also had, for a while, the longest, heaviest, cannon of a .58 cal. I eventually traded it off, because it was just too danged heavy to manage in the woods. Still have the others, and take them out to the range on occasion, where they are an object of some curiosity.

Never could hit anything much with the pistol, and the long barreled rifle doesn't group round balls too well at 100 yds, but I have the most fun with the little buggy rifle on the 50 yd range.

My question is, after all these years, I've had it on my mind to dust 'em off and have another go with them after reading this blog, and I was wondering what twist they have in Numrich's barrels, and would a longer bullet work in them? I'd like to be able to do something at the longer ranges with the rifle.

Anyway, really have enjoyed reading about my old "Hopkins and Allens".

Regards,

John Johnson

Thanks, John, for the trip down memory lane.
The seventies seem like a hundred years ago, now, don't they?

Anyone else with a story? Don't be bashful, just send 'em on in.

EARLY AMERICAN UNDERHAMMER FIREARMS

2010-12-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

Heretofore factual underhammer history has been a rather sketchy subject at best. Yes, there have been occasional articles relating to specific examples of underhammer arms in various firearms history and collectors journals, and, of course, there is Hershel Logan’s book on underhammers which was written over fifty years ago. However, to my knowledge there has never been a definitive work on the complete history of the origins and evolution of the underhammer system here in America – that is, until now.

Noted underhammer researcher and scholar, Nicholas L. Chandler, has devoted untold years in research, compiling data and photos, and writing what is sure to become the new standard reference on the subject of early American underhammer arms. You may recall that the previous post below is a review about one of Mr. Chandler’s articles about the origins of the underhammer concept. His is a fascinating story to say the least, but he didn’t stop there.

His new book, EARLY AMERICAN UNDERHAMMER FIREARMS, is published by Mobray Publishing of Woonsocket, Rhode Island and features 192 pages of information and over 350 clear and detailed photos that tell the real story of the origins and development of the underhammer percussion system beginning in 1820s New England.

At only $59.99 this fine book would be a wonderful Christmas gift. However, if you want to receive it in time for this Christmas, I would suggest you contact Mobray Publishing - like Pronto. They can be reached at 1-800-999-4697 or go visit their website: http://gunandswordcollector.com for more information. In closing, let me say that if you liked Mr. Chandler's underhammer article, you're going to love his book!

Clicking on the promo flyer above will expand it for

a closer view. Click the Back button to return to the text.

Our thanks to Mr. Chandler for his dedication and efforts in providing this treasure trove of information for all of us underhammer aficionados.

Graphics courtesy of Nicholas Chandler

Cheers!

.

The Father of the American Underhammer System

2010-11-20T20:13:00.000-08:00

It is so unfortunate when someone who really deserves credit for a truly great accomplishment is ignored and forgotten by history. Case in point, most of us learned in grade school that Marconi invented the wireless radio. Right? However, the facts indicate that it was actually the electrical genius, Nicola Tesla, who had patented the idea prior to Marconi. Some even say that Marconi flat out stole the idea from Tesla. Only recently has the credit been given to Tesla - now that he's been gone almost 70 years. There were others who capitalized on (translate as "stole") many of Tesla’s ingenius ideas, including another notable, Thomas Edison.

Within our own cherished realm of underhammer firearms, there are a few names that instantly command attention because of their contributions to the development, and hence, the history of underhammer firearms. Names such as Asa Story, Nicandor Kendle, David Hilliard, and Ethan Allen, as well as many others, come to mind as being the pioneers in the underhammer movement.

Clicking on the photos will enlarge them for detailed viewing.
Clicking the Back arrow on your browser will return you to the text.

However, few of us underhammer aficionados have even heard of the Ruggles brothers, Fordyce and Adin, of Hardwick, Massachusetts. Fordyce Ruggles is another one of those genius minds that was lost in history and it was he who is the father of the underhammer system in America. Even a cursory comparison of the work of history’s underhammer notables with the original Ruggles design will show that those whom we consider to be the cornerstones were simply copycats of their day.

My very good mate from down under, Terry, recently came upon an article written by underhammer researcher and historian, Nicholas L. Chandler, in which the whole story about the origins of the underhammer system with the Ruggles brothers is disclosed. Following is Terry’s overview of the Chandler article. If, after reading Terry’s article, you would like the whole story, just follow this link: asoac.org/bulletins/96_chandler_ruggles.pdf for the full pdf download of Mr. Chandler's excellent article.

RUGGLES PATENTED UNDERHAMMER of 1826

Terry Berry

In our wonderful world of underhammer firearms, a multitude of gems surface from time to time, both in the physical items and interesting documentation on the subject matter. The recent posting of the great firearms made by Jonathan Bumstead, Richard Holmes, Mark Bond and Greg Sefton are fabulous examples of innovative thinking and execution by the builders.

I’m sure a lot of us who have the capability of building our own Underhammer firearm, still tinker around the edges, making numerous drawings and tossing around ideas between one another, without making it happen. I’m guilty of that affliction, but hope to make that underhammer dream into a reality soon. We will see.

I think we all know the basic history of the Underhammer in America but do we know who made the very first firearm using that simple lock work?

It is believed by some that as Forsyth’s percussion cap entered the firearms scene, the Underhammer just evolved. The truth is, someone had to make one. Someone had to develop the idea and instead of putting pencil to paper and looking at the drawing and taking the idea no further, someone actually took the idea and made it into a reality. Who was that person?

Well, I was snooping around the internet looking for Underhammer historical information and I happened across a document that may shed light on who made the first American Underhammer firearm. A well detailed article on this very subject has surfaced, written by Nicholas Chandler. In his article, he reveals that the first underhammer was more than likely built by the brothers, Fordyce and Adin Ruggles, in a workshop just outside the Massachusetts village of Hardwick in Worcester County.

It seems that the Ruggles brothers established their workshop in December of 1825 and worked on their design for a pistol that was efficient, cheap to produce and cost effective, to enable the average man to afford to buy one.

This design was apparently successful enough to allow the US Patent Office to issue a patent for the “… invention and improvements … in firearms …” on November 24th 1826. It is unfortunate however, that the patent no longer exists due to loss, along with other patents, during the US Patent Office fire of 1836.

“It is likely that this was the first US patent for an underhammer gun and the first for any percussion produced in quantity.” It seems that the Ruggles brothers had little or no experience as gunmakers but had mechanical ability through working with their father who was a millwright.

The west was opening up and large numbers of immigrants were arriving from Europe and along with some of the population of the east, they were heading west for greater opportunities and future prosperity. This mass movement of people provided a need for “… inexpensive and reliable firearms that could be carried to the new frontiers.”

Comparison of the drawings of the Kendall and Hilliard action, below,

reveal the true inspiration for their design as the Ruggles Patent.

The only firearms available to these westward bound settlers, were guns made in England and Europe or guns manufactured with imported parts by American gunmakers. By their nature, the complicated guns thus made, were expensive and more than often out of the financial reach of the westward bound.

It seems that the Ruggles brothers responded to this glaring demand for inexpensive and reliable arms and set out to design and patent a pistol that could be made with materials on hand in the rural areas and by mechanically minded people without necessarily being trained as gunsmiths. “The end result, was a uniquely American product that was cheaper to make than either its imported or domestic counterparts.”

The total number of parts of the Ruggles firearm is 10, with only 4 of them moving. The trigger, trigger spring, hammer and hammer spring. Therefore, this simple design compared very favourably against the more than 20 parts for the standard and by comparison, complicated side lock pistol.

“With this patented design, intricate, close tolerance lock parts and precise inletting of the grip to accommodate the lock, side plate, trigger guard and barrel, were eliminated. The underhammer pistol parts could be made by a mechanic with a basic skill level. The result of the Ruggles patent is a new all-American pistol, made by local labour, from local materials, at a competitive cost.”

With a secure patent, the Ruggles brothers began producing pistols and fowlers and they promoted their products heavily, at local fairs and gatherings and news articles were written admiring the brilliance of the unique and reasonably priced invention.

“What happened next is truly bizarre. On January 29 1828, 14 months after his patent was issued, Fordyce was testing one of his pistols in a field near Ware Village, not far from his shop. After awhile, he went to a tavern to warm himself. A young man seated himself near Fordyce and, unobserved, took the weapon, (which was loaded) from his pocket. He then proceeded without examination, to snap it, the muzzle being less than two feet from the unfortunate owner. It exploded and the ball entered his breast, lodged in his body and Fordyce expired as a consequence of the wound.”

A tragic event to say the least. It must have been devastating for the business and family members. However, recent documents uncovered show that Fordyce’s brother, Adin, was not totally devastated by this terrible event. In the months following, Adin and two others, Samuel Pike and Daniel Billings, applied to the US Patent Office for a patent for a pistol.

It is common knowledge that the Hilliard design is a modification of

the Kendall which was a modification of the work of Asa Story.

All are copies of the original Ruggles patent.

It is not known whether this new application changed the specifications of Fordyce’s pistol, or was made because of the belief that with his death, a new patent was a requirement. Subsequently the application was rejected, due to the fact that the applicants could not come up with the $30 fee and only one witnesses signature appeared on the document, instead of the required two.

After this patent rejection, Adin Ruggles and his wife Cynthia and the family, along with Samuel Pike, moved from Hardwick to Stafford. The Hardwick shop was sold and a new establishment was set up in Stafford, where after acquiring land, he built and equipped a new workshop and continued to produce the Ruggles designed pistols, fowlers and rifles.

In 1833, Ruggles was pushed to higher production by the visit to the New England states by President Andrew Jackson. The President had been travelling the northern areas and had stopped overnight in Hartford after celebrations and parades put on by the city. Selected people were invited to meet the President and Adin Ruggles was one of them. At his meeting, he presented President Jackson with a brace of “silver mounted rifle pistols.” It is said that the President was favourably impressed by these firearms. This was a tremendous boost to Adin Ruggles.

Again, in 1833, Ruggles entered into an arrangement with “E. Hutchings & Co. of Baltimore MD.” This business was well-placed to provide the many immigrants that berthed in Baltimore harbour, with the necessary supplies for their trek westward, including the“Patent Pocket Rifle” made by Ruggles.

Unfortunately, fate struck again on November 18, 1833. Just when business was picking up for Adin Ruggles, he was accidentally shot and killed by a workman who was test firing a pistol out the back door of the workshop.

Unbelievably, the business continued with Cynthia Ruggles at the helm and the business enjoyed its greatest period of production output. After several years of minor changes to grip design, barrel length and decoration, a standard production model evolved that was sold from 1834 until the Ruggles factory closed in 1838. Between these dates, the factory turned out thousands of pistols to meet the demand, with virtually all of them following the standard pattern.

It is believed that up to five talented gunmakers working for Cynthia Ruggles made their own pistols following the Ruggles patented design but placed their own names on the guns. Obviously done with her blessings. How many of these were produced is unknown. Cynthia Ruggles retained ownership of the factory and obviously guided it to the success it finally saw. Unfortunately, Fordyce and Adin never saw the final result of their innovative, simple and absolutely brilliant patented design.

It is incredible to think that the simple mechanism still holds us spell bound to this very day and all the “improvements” that flow through our fertile minds merely defeat the principle of sound, simple, and efficient design. However, it is in mankind’s makeup to try and improve that which cannot be improved, suffice to say that maybe, just maybe, someone out there will create the underhammer with one moving part instead of two.

Nicholas Chandler's article is a great piece of history and a very interesting read. For any student of the early American firearms industry to not have access to this vital information will leave him with a void and an incomplete knowledge of the subject. Chandler's article is very well-researched and opens up a brand new window of knowledge into the early American firearms industry.

Our sincere thanks to Terry for sharing his review with us.

Cheers mate!

How about a Double Set - trigger Underhammer?

2010-11-17T20:23:00.000-08:00

Double set-triggers aren’t a common feature in underhammer lock designs, new or old. The fact is that underhammer locks were so simple, with direct engagement of the hammer and trigger, that a double set-trigger was not usually needed to achieve a crisp, light trigger pull.

With a conventional sidelock, the trigger is a separate unit that must make contact with the spur on the sear to release the lock’s tumbler thus allowing the hammer to fall. Because of the “looseness” and tolerance between the trigger and sear there was quite a variation in trigger pulls between guns even of the same design and from the same maker. Achieving a really light, crisp trigger release in the typical sidelock rifle with a single trigger required the skills of an advanced gunsmith. All that equates to added expense to the rifle. Which, of course, spawned the creation of the double set-trigger.

However, when the hammer and trigger are directly connected, as in most underhammer designs, it is much easier to achieve a nice release of the trigger without a double set mechanism.

All that said, I have to admit that double set-triggers still intrigue me and I am guilty, too, of designing them for underhammers that just don’t need them. It’s a dichotomy that plagues me because while the double set mechanism intrigues me with the possibilities of clever design, it also violates my sensibilities regarding an adherence to the KISS principle in underhammers. Unless, of course, maybe I was making another long-range or offhand schuetzen rifle! That would be really cool and the set-trigger would be a real advantage.

One of our readers, Jonathan Bumstead, who is also an underhammer designer, has shared with us his latest creation in which he, too, succumbed to the allure of the two-trigger system. While he hasn’t shown us how he did it, I am really curious because anyone who can make a set-trigger mechanism that will consistently work in such a small space is on to something and I, for one, would like to know more!

Check it out. Remember that clicking on the photos will enlarge them for a close-up view. Just click the Back arrow on your browser to return you to the text.

Hello Roger,

This is the Underhammer rifle that I've been working on. The frame is patterned after the Numrich “H&A” type that my buddy, Marlow Westerbeck, and I make at his shop. The 'lock' is machined as an insert and is fitted into the frame. This design gets me away from using those visible hammer and trigger screws.

This system has an internal mainspring and uses double set triggers! It also has a hammer with a half-cock position and a fly on its tumbler. I designed the lock as a proof of concept to see if I could fit it within the space allowed by the machined opening in the cylindrical frame. From the front to the rear of the parts, the lock spans 3.5". It gets kind of crowded in there! Normally I lean towards mule ear locks, but have two people to thank for turning my world upside down - Marlow, of course, and Laurie Fenton from NSW Australia. Both of those guys started me looking at underhammers just a little bit differently.

The stock is a maple shotgun set from Tiger Hunt (www.gunstockwood.com). The barrel is .45 caliber and is 32” X 1” and rifled with a 1:56” round ball twist. The trigger guard began as a Hawken style, until I fab'd it into an English-looking piece. The buttplate was also purchased, but was modified to suit my idea. I fit the forearm with a horn cap at each end and made all the other parts, including the wooden bottom rib, in my shop.

The gold bands on the receiver were a shared idea between Marlow and me. It was one of those, "Hey what do you think about this? " asks one, "Well, that's simple enough to do. " says the other, and it went from there. Marlow is the welder, so the bands on the frame are his doing. Basically it amounts to using a lathe parting tool on the raw bar stock and laying in some shallow grooves. He brazed in the grooves with some brass rod and then trued the bar back in the lathe.

While we were brazing on the frame it was heated and the resulting heat-blue really made the brass bands POP. So it was decided that the frame would be heat-blued. The blue finish isn’t very wear-resistant and would benefit from some laquer sealer like that used on case hardened guns. The blue color in the photos is a bit different than what it looks like close up. I also attempted the same treatment on the pipes which produced a nice effect.

The mainspring in this action is flat because there is precious little space inside for a coil spring and strut. If the frame had been machined a bit differently, there might have been a way to use a coiled mainspring. However, on the MK. 2 version of this lock insert, I'll be doing things a bit differently. There still won't be a lot of room, but it should be a more mechanically sound unit. With a little bit of alteration this lock design could possibly be retrofit into other UH rifle designs. I'm working out the details of a flint version as well.

As for the actual lock design, I'm not keeping it a secret, it’s just that the first version is rather crude! Most of the UH locks I build could be considered variations of the Cook or Bacon-style locks. My original design was really worked out by the T.L.A.R. method i.e. That Looks About Right!

I had a simple idea and sketch, but basically I built it by first making one piece then making the next and fitting them together and so forth in progression. The second version will be made using all the experience (translate that as, "mistakes made") that I gained building the first one.

Thanks for your interest.

Jonathan

All photos copyright by Jonathan Bumstead

Thank you, Jonathan, for sharing another successful build. I don't know about the rest of your readers, but I am really impressed with the creativity of the builders we've showcased, like Jonathan. It's a developing body of great work that, again, I am hoping will be an inspiration to more of you to build your own underhammer rifle.

There is nothing quite like walking through the woods, or wherever your sanctuary may be, and hunting it with a rifle that you made with your own two hands. When you fill the larder with that rifle, it then holds a very special place in your heart and in your memory. Unless, of course, you're not a hopeless romantic, then it's just another gun.

I suppose that if you're stalking and shooting paper bullseyes the feeling might be similar. Although I have never developed such an affection for one of my target rifles. It just isn't the same as a rifle that you use to make meat. It's just different.

Oh well, it is what it is.

Cheers!

The Holmes Underhammer - another unique design!

2010-11-14T22:35:00.000-08:00

Most underhammer builders begin by choosing an action from those that are readily available and add to it. There are however, those few who are not satisfied with the ordinary and have their own ideas about how things should work - which, to quote Martha Stewart, "It's a good thing." (She would probably croak if she knew we were quoting her in this kind of venue!)

After all, it was for the most part that same "not good enough" attitude and Yankee ingenuity that really sparked the whole underhammer revolution in the first place shortly after Reverend Forsyth hit upon the percussion cap idea back in 1807, or thereabouts. (No, I don’t believe he was a relative of Capt. James Forsyth of later Forsyth rifling fame).

Once the percussion cap made its way across the pond, it seems that every backwoods blacksmith and gunmaker in the newly formed united States of America was developing his own version of an underhammer action to take advantage of the new ignition system. Gone was the need of complex and expensive English flintlocks or the newly developed caplocks that evolved from them. Most anyone with half a lick of sense and some basic tool working skills could make a serviceable underhammer action and ultimately a rifle - or shotgun - with little trouble.

I really admire those few makers of today who take the time to design and build their own underhammer actions. I know that many more underhammer builders probably would also do so if they had the skills, tools, and facilities to fabricate - and the time. Sometimes you have to make a priority decision whether to spend your time designing and fabricating an underhammer action, or to just build your rifle with existing components and get into the field or range to shoot it. As for me, it seems that I’m spending far more time these days dreaming up and fabricating new designs and less time actually shooting them. But, that’s okay as it’s my choice – for now.

Richard Holmes is one of us who have to have it our own way. So he created his own underhammer action and a rifle design that is also quite unique - even down to the barrel configuration. Clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them for closer viewing of the rather unique design features of the Holmes Underhammer. Clicking the "Back" button on your browser will return you to the text.

According to Richard, “The receiver starts off as a piece of bar stock 5/8” wide. The two ends are machined to accept the cup rings. The 5/8” bar stock is also turned down on the breech end to 5/8” round by 1” long and threaded to form the breech plug screw. The back end is drilled and tapped to accept the stock bolt”

“To assemble the rifle, you put the front ring on then screw the barrel onto the breechplug and torque it down. You then add the two wooden inserts (both ends of the inserts are recessed to fit in the half moon recesses in the cups) and put the rear cup on, which is recessed on both sides. The stock is also recessed to fit into the rear cup recess. Then slip the stock onto the receiver and torque it down with the drawbolt.”

“Both the barrel and the buttstock are tightly torqued to the receiver. There is also a .004"- thick annealed copper washer that fits between the front nose of the breech plug and the front-inside shoulder of the barrel threads so that as you tighten the barrel the copper washer work hardens and completely seals the breech.”

Richard continues, “I made the barrel flat-topped and bottomed instead of filing it octagon to increase the weight. It is a round, tapered barrel, 29.5” long and made of 12L14 steel. It’s .50 caliber and rifled with 8 lands and grooves with a twist of 1:72”; grooves are .009” deep and the lands are smaller than the grooves. The round part of barrel is 1.100 at the breech. We hand file all the flats on the barrels we make. It’s a lot of grunt work that gives one a lot of time to think about things.”

“I expect that this rifle will take a large powder charge and the extra weight will help check the recoil although the exact charge will be determined when the rifle is bench tested at 50 and 100 yards. I want as flat a trajectory as I can get without decreasing accuracy and I want to shoot semi-hard balls with a temper about half way between linotype and pure lead. For better ignition I prefer musket caps.”

The rear sight is a peep and has an aperture diameter of .250” and is adjustable for elevation. The large aperture makes the sight act like a ghost ring sight. The front sight leaf is pure silver, somewhat fat, and will be modified when the rifle is sighted in.”

Clicking on these sight photos will enlarge them so you can more readily
see the flat-topped and bottom barrel design.

“The finished rifle weighs in at 9 pounds as indicated on my scale.”

“So there’s my underhammer rifle. I made the whole rifle, lock, stock, barrel and screws. The only things I bought were the steel and the wood blank.”

Photos copyright claimed by Richard Holmes

Thank you, Richard, for sharing your ideas and your work with us. What isn't readily apparent in the photos is Richards use of the tail of his mainspring to reach up inside the action and provide double duty as his trigger return spring. Also, in case you didn't catch it, Richard and his brother also make their own barrels on a hand-operated rifling machine which they also built.

Well, friends and neighbors, there you have it. Another successful build. And this one from scratch!

Just as a footnote, I want to commend Richard for incorporating a safety notch in his lockwork. I know some of you are probably tired of hearing my rants about underhammer safety, but usually stupid does, and should, hurt, and in the worst cases it's deadly. I just don't want anyone bringing any more undue negative attention to our favored activities because of their stupidity in designing and/or making an underhammer, or any firearm for that matter, without proper consideration for the safe handling and use thereof.

Enough said. NOT!

Be safe!

Cheers!

Mark Bond's latest underhammer

2010-11-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

One of the most popular underhammer actions for the builder are those variants of the bent-cylinder "Hopkins & Allen" action that George Numrich introduced in his line of rifles way back in the '50s. That's waaaay retro for some of our younger readers.

For those of you who are not familiar with the history of the "Hopkins & Allen" you may scroll down and go back through the Older Posts to our first feature, Underhammer History - briefly. There you can become one of the few who know the real story about the H&A underhammer and the fact that the Hopkins and Allen Manufacturing company of old had nothing to do with the rifle that later bore their name!

In addition to its low cost, George's underhammer action had one outstanding feature that really set it apart from most of the underhammer actions of the previous century. A feature that, in this scribe's opinion, is George's greatest contribution to modern underhammer history. That feature is the half-cock notch he so wisely included in his lockwork.

Here, again, we see the legacy left to us by George living on through a rifle recently built by one of our loyal readers, Mark Bond. Here's his story, and a few pics, too.

My Latest Underhammer

Roger,

I love your blog and have been reading it for some time.

Clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them for detailed viewing.

Clicking the Back button on your browser will return you to the text.

Here are some photos of my most recent build. You can tell I was influenced by the “H&A” underhammers. I built this rifle using an underhammer action from Fire & Iron Manufacturing (http://www.fire-iron.biz) mated to a Green Mountain (www.gmriflebarrel.com) barrel 7/8" X 36" long X 50 caliber with a 1:70 twist. At first I left the barrel in the white to show off the polished lock, but the Arizona sun gave such a glare when I was shooting at the range so I browned the barrel.

The wood I chose is tight, curly maple. I stained the wood using Min-Wax Gunstock stain because it has an orange tint and it allowed me to give the rifle a tiger like stripping. Then I applied 5 coats of gun oil to seal and protect the wood. I also chose a 3/8" hickory rod for the loading rod and candy stripped her to go with the tiger stripping theme. The ramrod tip has a .50 caliber jag with a hidden ball puller.

My rifle has a beaded front blade sight and adjustable semi-buckhorn rear sight. After a little adjusting and filing on the sights I have her dialed in and consistent with off hand shooting at 100 yards. Although the total weigh of the rifle is 7.4 pounds, because I had some shoulder injuries a while back, I decided to use an old Winchester butt plate to allow for a gentler recoil on my surgically-repaired shoulder.

Although I am a lefty I carved this stock for a right-handed shooter because I was going to sell her as just another hobby build. (I hate to admit it, but we do live in a right-hand world.) The wood turned out so nice, and after test firing her, I decided that I am keeping this one for my fun.

Once again, thanks for sharing your love of underhammers. It’s good to know that there are a few of us who love the beauty and simplicity of these smoke poles.

~Mark Bond

Photo copyrights by Mark Bond

Thank you, Mark, for sharing your latest build.

As I've said to you potential builders, Come on in. The water's fine!

A "Traditional" Underhammer Pistol

2010-10-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

For some of us, few things can compare with the satisfaction we derive from shooting muzzleloading arms. For some fewer of us there is nothing like the thrill of shooting a firearm that we designed and built ourselves - a rifle, pistol, or shotgun that embodies our best ideas of design and ergonomics. It actually is the manifestation of our imagination and in that respect it becomes a very personal item indeed - much more so than any off-the-shelf "ready-made."

It pleases me so much to learn of our many readers who are taking up the challenge and building their own underhammers. While it seems that most are too bashful to share their work, I thank those who have sent copy and photos describing their work to help inspire even more of you underhammer aficionados to give it a try. I would like to add here that I hope that you builders are identifying your work. There is so much confusion today regarding the makers of obscure underhammer designs of old because the makers did not consider marking their work for one reason or another. Who knows, maybe your design will someday be viewed as significant in modern underhammer history. At least your great grand kids might bask in the glory - if you had the foresight to mark your work.

Greg Sefton is one of our readers who, like a growing number of you, decided he wanted an underhammer done his way. After a bit of research, he jumped in with both feet and built the pistol you see below. What’s more, his prize is now winning him prizes as he competes with it in muzzleloading competition. But I’ll let him tell his story…

One more thing, remember that clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them for detailed viewing. Click the Back button at the top left corner of your screen to return to the text.

A Traditional Underhammer Pistol

Greg Sefton

As a sometimes critic of underhammers, I never thought I'd be building one. My main objection to most underhammers was their appearance. As a muzzleloader fan for over 50 years, I like a muzzleloader with a stock and fore-end as one single piece. The one underhammer experience I had (it was an H&A) was negative. The cap flash sprayed my forearm and the cap kept falling off the nipple. There were a couple of other small things among them being unable to easily remove the barrel for cleaning or to interchange barrels.

Needing a "traditional" style percussion pistol for competition, I decided to try an underhammer design, but made some changes to overcome those objectionable aspects I mentioned. In the course of my research I picked up an interesting book, "The Pictorial History of the Underhammer Gun" by Herschel C. Logan, and got a few ideas from there. Using some of the parts from a Billinghurst action that I got from Muzzleloader Builders Supply (http://muzzleloaderbuilderssupply.com ) I drew up plans for a hooked-breech target pistol and proceeded to build it.

Bringing the components together.

I made a conventional standing breech with a tang and made it to accept a hooked breech plug. I also welded a lug on the bottom of the breech so that the front of the underhammer action/trigger plate could be attached to the receiver with a machine screw. The barrel was made by Ed Rayl and is 36 caliber and 13/16” across the flats. The breech plug I made of 416 stainless steel and fitted it to the standing breech and the barrel. The barrel removes in seconds for cleaning with no tools. It uses a conventional cross key and staple in the bottom of the barrel to secure it in the stock. Sights are fixed and quite simple in order to comply with NMLRA (National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association) rules.

Sights are a simple affair.

The stock is made from Eucalyptus wood that I cut on my sawmill a few years back, so it was well seasoned. That's the natural color and most of it is figured like that. The grip is capped with a brass plate rounded slightly and polished partly to protect the butt and add some weight for good balance.

MBS Billinghurst hammer and trigger.

As I mentioned, I used the trigger and hammer of the Billinghurst action from MBS. The hammer is lightened somewhat to reduce movement. I also drilled and tapped the trigger to accept an adjustment screw for sear engagement and trigger stop. You could also create an adjustment for a weight of pull, but this one breaks nicely at 12 oz and I didn't need to do any adjusting. I also added a filler wedge behind the trigger guard to provide a consistent grip and better feel in the hand.

To eliminate that nasty cap spitting I created a nipple pocket by using a short section of brass tubing that I epoxied into the nipple well in the stock. This also protects the wood from cap spray. Now the nose of the hammer and the nipple are completely enclosed and no more spitting.

A simple nipple pocket stops nasty cap spitting.

This pistol is exceptionally accurate and easy to shoot. I've won some matches with it and have about 400 rounds through it now without a single misfire or malfunction of any type. I made up two mainsprings for it, a light one and a heavier one to compare the locktime. They seem about the same so I'm using the heavier one. I load 000 Hornady buckshot (.350" diameter) wrapped in an .018” thick ticking patch with a load of 15 grains of Swiss fffg powder.

Eventually I’ll brown the metal and install a pewter fore-end cap to finish it off. I'll also be making up a couple of extra barrels for it in .32 and .45 caliber.

I'm not a total underhammer convert yet, but I'm coming along. A clay bird 12 gauge underhammer shotgun is under construction on the workbench :o)

~Greg Sefton

All photos copyrighted by Greg Sefton

Thanks, Greg, for sharing your project with us.

So, if you’re thinking of building an underhammer firearm, come on in – the water’s fine.

NOTE: Some of you may notice that the lockwork of the MBS Billinghurst action does not provide a safety notch. If you are planning to use this action, I would like to recommend that you scroll down the page and take a look at our earlier post, The Billinghurst Underhammer Rides Again! With close observation you can see how a half-cock notch was added to the hammer of the Billinghurst. You can also check the Older Posts for my article, Underhammer safety. Low-tech to the rescue, which will provide a simple means of making these earlier underhammer designs much safer at the range or field.

Cheers!

.

Underhammer/Trigger Geometry

2010-09-08T23:32:00.000-07:00

Any of you who have followed my rants on this blog for any length of time will know by now that I am a stickler for safety. It really un-nerves me to see otherwise intelligent people do really stupid things - like design and make an unsafe underhammer rifle.

Since running the post about Keith Duncan’s underhammer action I have received a few e-mails and a Comment on the blog asking pretty much the same question - How did he set up the hammer and trigger? – as there was no photo that showed any detail along those lines. What they mean is, How did he arrange the notches in the hammer so the trigger will work properly?

Hammer/Trigger geometry is a subject that apparently is little understood by many novice gunbuilders. I know it had me confused when I first ventured from the safety of factory made lockplates. When building a standard sidelock gun we don’t need to be too concerned about sear notches as they are already set up properly in the lock that we buy. But when building an underhammer action – especially from scratch - you have to be the engineer and figure out the angles and arcs and pivot points and balancing of spring tensions in order to create a lockworks that actually works - safely.

However, there really is no great mystery about hammers and triggers and how they should work together in a safe and predictable manner – once you understand the concept of resistance and how to safely hold that hammer at bay and still have a nice trigger pull.

The diagram below should help illustrate the proper relationship of hammer to trigger and how the half-cock notch fits into the equation. I apologize for the fuzziness of the graphic, but click on it and it will enlarge for easier reading of the text. In the meantime, I'll investigate why the text is so fuzzy and perhaps have a better graphic in the near future.

Careful observation indicates that the hammer's full-cock notch is cut or filed on a plane that bisects the center of the hammer pin. Cutting the angle at 0 degrees will result in a safe and clean trigger pull. However, it can readily be seen that cutting an angle that deviates to one side or the other of the center of the hammer pin will result in an inclined surface. Such a condition will either encourage the trigger to slip off the hammer notch with the slightest nudge of the trigger - definitely an unsafe condition - or the trigger will have to “climb” the inclined angle to release from the sear notch. This results in a heavy or creepy trigger because the trigger has to also fight the tension of the hammer spring.

If you notice in Figure 2, the face of the trigger’s sear is cut so that when engaged with the hammer’s full cock notch, the hammer will be pulling directly upon the center of the trigger pivot pin. That is all that is needed to captivate the hammer IF those angles are cut correctly.

One other feature that should be considered is that the edge of the half-cock notch should be the exact same distance (or less) from the center of the pivot pin of the hammer as the full cock notch. If the edge of the half-cock extends beyond that arc, the trigger sear may catch on the edge of the half-cock when the trigger is pulled free of the full-cock notch. The result could be a breaking of the trigger or the half-cock notch, or both.

Obviously this is just a simple diagram to illustrate the basic theory. Your particular design might vary somewhat, however, if you take your time and think it through and apply the simple mechanical principles seen here, you should achieve a safe trigger mechanism without too much fuss.

Hope that’s been helpful, however, if you still have questions, please feel free to e-mail them in or post your questions in the Comments section by clicking on the Comments link below.

Cheers!

Underhammer Building 101

2010-09-02T00:08:00.000-07:00

Many assume that building an underhammer action from scratch requires special machines, tools, materials and skills that are beyond the reach of the average underhammer gun builder. Well, that's just another myth of gundom as demonstrated by one of our readers, Keith Duncan.

Keith didn't provide any information regarding his project other than to say that the photos will suffice to tell the whole story. I guess he’s right, because enough info can be deduced and gleaned from the photos of his action that anyone who does have some basic shop skills and mechanical aptitude will be able to build the action. If you have major questions after reviewing his photos, then perhaps you're not yet ready to build your own action and rifle from scratch.

Like most things in life if you wish to be successful in this endeavor you've got to have a plan. Don't just jump in and start making and fitting parts in Rube Goldberg hit or miss manner. If you don't have a set of plans for an action you wish to build, be sure you draw out your underhammer imaginings into a full scale drawing to be sure that it has a good chance of actually working.

For any of you who are contemplating a design and build, I would like to remind you that safety needs to be of paramount concern when laying out your hammer and trigger. Some builders may consider that they will be shooting their completed smoke pole only at the range under controlled conditions and really don’t see a need for a half-cock notch. Let me assure you that Murphy (of Murphy’s Law infamy) camps out at shooting ranges, too. There is no escape from the mischief that can occur with a rifle sans safety notch. Eventually it will get you - or worse, someone close by. It’s a numbers game and just a matter of time before your number is up.

It’s one thing to acquire an old underhammer that originally did not have a safety notch. It’s quite another thing, however, to deliberately design an unsafe action without it. It’s a fool’s dance and I would hope that anyone contemplating such stupidity would resist the temptation to skip the half-cock notch in your design.

I don’t mean to get preachy, but if you don’t have a basic concern for safety and a healthy sense of self preservation, at least consider others around you. If that doesn’t convince you, perhaps you should find another avocation besides shooting.

To quote my good friend, Terry from down under, “Stupid should hurt.” Hopefully, just the perpetrator and not an innocent bystander. If innocents are injured, the legal consequences and mental anguish could make you wish that you had died in the mishap. Making firearms is serious business and it needs to be treated as such.

Now back to the story…

Keith's design is so basic that the materials needed for the action could be acquired at a home improvement or hardware store. Mild steel will suffice for all the action parts. The hammer’s notches, the trigger’s sear, screw heads and pivot pins can all be spot hardened with Casenit heat treating compound for durability. But other than that, there should be no heat treatment needed for the rest of the action parts. It really can be quite simple to build.

Clicking on the photos will enlarge them for a slightly better view of the details.
Clicking the Back button will return you to the text.

If you've gotten to this point and think that you would like to try your hand at underhammer gun building, may I remind you of the wonderful little book that I reviewed in an earlier post, The Underhammer Rifle, techniques and illustrations for the construction of Underhammer Locks by Jeff Baron. It's listed by Track of the Wolf as Item: BOOK - UR and may be purchased from their site at: www.trackofthewolf.com.

However, my recommendation of this book comes with a caveat. Some of the underhammer actions listed do not feature a half-cock notch and are not safe to be made and used as depicted. They will need a bit more thoughtful engineering to incorporate a half-cock notch into the lockworks to make them safe for use.

If you've got an underhammer that does not have a safety notch and you would like to shoot it, there is hope. I have earlier posted an article, Underhammer Safety - Low tech to the Rescue, about underhammer safety that will provide a simple yet safe way to take your underhammer afield. At the bottom right of this page is the Older Posts link. Just click on it and go back to through the pages to the earlier article. I'm sure you will be pleased with the simplicity of the solution.

So, go forth neophyte gun builders - be inspired by Keith's project and build.
But, please think and be safe.

Cheers!

Photos copyrighted by Keith Duncan

The Billinghurst Underhammer rides again!

2010-08-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

When talk turns to underhammer rifles, there are a few names that instantly come to mind. Names that have earned a position of respect over the decades due to the quality of their design, workmanship, and accuracy. Billinghurst is one such name. William Billinghurst built some of the finest and most accurate target rifles of his day. Many were full rifles while others were of his large "pistol" design that wore a detachable skeleton buttstock. All had fat octagonal target barrels and some were also fitted with a false muzzle. Many wore tube sights and he also liked the early Malcolm telescopes, too.

One of our readers recently discovered the revived Billinghurst underhammer action which is now provided by Muzzleloader Builders Supply, http://muzzleloaderbuilderssupply.com. This action is gaining a lot of converts lately, due in part, I believe, to its faithfulness to the original design. It is extremely close. For more information on the MBS Billinghurst action just scroll further down the page to our Underhammer Action Roundup. That is, after you've read Mike's story, below. Clicking on any of the pics will enlarge them for a closer view of this very fine rifle. To return to the text, just click the Back arrow at the upper left of your screen.

Hello, my name is Mike Bassett. I started working for a gunsmith/stockmaker about 5 years ago by the name of Dave Crossno, Crossno Gun Stocks. I did some construction work once for a set of checkering tools and its been down hill from there.

Dave builds high-end black powder cartridge silhouette rifles. A customer called Dave and asked if he had a stock for the Billinghurst underhammer action that is supplied by Muzzleloader Builders Supply. Dave said “no” but that he has a stock man (me) that is into muzzleloaders and that we could probably make one if we had an action. So the customer sent it.

Now we have a pattern stock for the MBS underhammer action that is a long range stock, but, the comb can be lowered for barrel sights. We just had to have a couple for our selves (of course) so these are pics of the first one.

This has a .40 cal Green Mountain barrel 32 inches by 1 1/8 inches across the flats. The rear sight is my version of a long bar peep sight inspired by Hilliard's bar sight and Gove's chunk gun sight.

We are also talking about doing a straight grip pattern in the future.

Sincerely,
Mike

I was extremely pleased to see that Mike and Dave chose to include a half-cock notch in the hammer of their long range rifles. The originals did not have that safety notch as many felt it wasn't needed on a target rifle. Including the notch would make the Billinghurst action not only safer on the range, but it would be suitable for field use as well.

Now, I know many of you are already looking at that wonderful rear sight on the rifle and wondering where you can get one. So, I asked Mike about the sight. Here's the skinny...

Mike continues:

The sights came out of necessity. The club I shoot with has a state match every year and some of the matches are open sights only. Well I wanted to shoot this rifle in those and also in the bench matches, so I needed something I could change quickly. With this I can change the blade with one screw. That's one reason. This action is also very large, so a barrel sight didn't seem to be the answer.

I'm going out on a limb but I think this action was built for the bench and a very large barrel diameter. The ladder type tang mounted sights would do well for long range but for short range (25 to 100 yards) the base already starts you out with too much elevation so you have to raise the front and move the rear back toward your face and in the way of your thumb. It also provides a lot more elevation than I need for a round ball barrel.

So this is where I'm at - still a work in progress. I already have some changes in mind for the windage screw - going to use double knobs and a shorter elevation blade - maybe.

Yes, sales will be possible but, for now I'm still working out the bugs. Dave does have a website. http://www.angelfire.com/ok5/crossnostocks. If you have any problems just google his name, You'll get a lot of links for him because he is well known in the bpcart silhouette circle. He not only does stocks but builds very nice single shot bp cartridge rifles and also has a full gunsmithing shop.

All the things I have done to make this rifle were all done in his shop under his guidance and direction. I can't thank him enough for taking the time to teach me.

Mike was right in his assessment that the action was made for bench shooting and it is intended to be fitted with large (1 1/4" - 1 1/2 inch) bench shooting barrels. By so doing, Billinghurst also incorporated a deep nipple pocket that completely contained the shrapnel from the percussion cap thereby overcoming the nasty habit of spitting cap fragments which is so common to lower end underhammers. Cap spitting is the #1 complaint about underhammer rifles, which is unfortunate, because with some careful planning and proper design, that should not be a problem at all.

(As a BTW, it was Billinghurst's nipple pocket that served as my inspiration for the Zephyr and Faeton breech as well. Subsequently, Faeton rifles, like original Billinghursts, are well mannered and do not spit at the shooter or bystanders.)

Thanks, Mike, for sharing the project with us. I hope that it will serve to inspire others to take up the challenge and build their own underhammer rifle.

Cheers!

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Cooper, copy, or what?

2010-07-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

By now you readers should understand that we really appreciate the KISS principle when it comes to engineering firearms. For those who are not familiar with the KISS principle, the acronym means Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Anyone can take a good design and complicate the hell out of it. The resulting Rube Goldberg gadget will usually amaze and baffle a simple mind. However, it takes real genius to accomplish something in the simplest manner with the least motion and the least number of parts. This latter approach gains the most accolades from engineering and machine heads.

Recently a reader sent an e-mail and shared the pistol seen below. Because it is Simplicity exemplified, and in such wonderful condition, I was eager to share it with you. From all indications, 5 would get you 10 that it's a Cooper. However, it is completely unmarked so it could also be a Cooper copy. I'm not sure if Cooper made any unmarked guns, but this one displays even minor Cooper details, like the three screws securing the grips, which means that the copycat really admired Cooper's design and copied it exactly. Or, it's a Cooper.

J.R. Cooper was making his nifty pocket pistols In New York, NY from about 1844 to 1850. Some say that he also did some work across the pond in England. Not sure about that, but if true, it would add to the range of his influence which could have spawned foreign Cooper copies, too. And, his design was well worth imitating, as it is ultra simple and ultra dependable as a pocket pistol.

Below are the comments from our reader, who I would like to thank for sharing the pistol with us. Click the pics for a closeup view, then click the Back button to return to the text.

Roger

Here's the pistol and as you can see, the trigger bends the spring which (after it slips off the trigger nose, it slaps the cap and) acts as a hammer. Capped, and in the position shown, the cap is not touched by the 'hammer' which, in fact, protects the cap from an accidental hit.

The holster, which is not original, is also a safety device as the trigger cannot be pulled sufficiently to release the 'hammer' when holstered. I don't know if this was intentional or not.

There are no maker's or other marks. Calibre is about 20 gauge and there are no sights.

Regards,

Eoin

Thanks, again, Eoin.

Cheers!

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1854 Correvon Underhammer Pistol

2010-07-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a great little pocket pistol design that was shared by one of our underhammer brethren from down under in Mount Tamborine, Queensland, Australia.

Clicking on the pic will enlarge it for a viewing detail. Return to the text by

clicking the Back arrow at the upper left of your screen.

As you probably know by now, I am a stickler for safety in underhammer designs and this one provides it well for its intended purpose. Unfortunately, many believe that pocket pistols don't need a half cock notch, but that, in my opinion, is courting disaster - not to mention a stable full of liability attorneys.

According to Terry, our friend down under, "Not much is known of it other than it was made by a gunmaker named Correvon in Switzerland in 1854. It is featured at the Military Museum at Morge.

"On studying it, it seems that the hammer is held off the percussion cap by the neat arrangement at the hammer/trigger joint so that when the hammer is released it goes forward a lot more towards the nipple. I think I have that right. A very tidy looking arrangement."

Yes, it would appear that the ring trigger is pulled through like a double action pistol. The trigger sear engages the hammer notch and as the trigger is pulled, it also pulls the hammer through its arc. At a point, the hammer simply falls off the sear to fire the cap. Then the hammer would have to be re-set back into engagement with the trigger for the next shot.

Now this is a design that deserves some careful consideration for other applications - like, perhaps, an underhammer shotgun. Makes perfect sense when you think about it.

Also, you may have noticed the knurling on the barrel... That's right, it's a screw barrel. For those of you not familiar with this design, the barrel simply screws off the barrel stub. Then ball and powder are loaded into the "chamber." Then the barrel is screwed tightly back into place, and after capping, you're ready for action.

Thanks, Terry, for sharing the Correvon.

I like it!

Cheers!

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The Screendoor Underhammer, or Why Gun Control Will Never Work.

2010-06-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

Well, you can take my glasses ‘cause now I’ve seen everything!

Recently I received an e-mail from one of our readers with the title, “Why gun control will never work.”
I'll tell you right now that this one gets the ribbon for Yankee ingenuity and uniqueness - and it's an Underhammer!

Our reader said he had found these pics on a shooting forum but couldn’t remember which one. I wish we knew because I would really like to tip my hat to the maker of this ingeniously simple muzzleloading underhammer gun and give him/them the credit due.

This underhammer is so simple that it could have been made from nothing more than an old screen door and a piece of pipe. Apparently, it's an “assault rifle” because it is marked “Yooper Assault Rifle” on the right side of the stock.

The photos are pretty self explanatory so I won’t distract you from your boyish excitement and enthusiasm over this neat little zip gun with my editorializing. However, if, by chance there is something that you might have a question about, please feel free to shoot me an e-mail and together we'll probably figure it out.

Remember that clicking on the photos will enlarge them. Then click the Back button on your browser to return to the text.

BTW, if anyone does know the source of these pics, please let me know so we can give credit where credit is due.

PS Note: the mystery about the name, Yooper, has been solved by a reader in the Comment below.
PPS: Apparently the Yooper is the creation of Fuzzbean and featured on the Home Gunsmith Forum, the link to which is posted in the Comment section below, thanks to another Anonymous reader.

I know I said I wouldn't editorialize this thing, but I just gotta say that I really love that trigger!

It just doesn't get any simpler than this, guys.

Enjoy and dream!

Cheers!
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The Zephyr is alive and well!

2010-06-17T23:55:00.000-07:00

Contrary to viscous and nasty rumors, I am pleased to report that Pacific Rifle Company is still alive and well. A recent phone call to PRC HQ confirmed that while the old website is defunct, there is a new one in the making.

It seems that PRC owner, Bill McCart, had been struck down with some sort of persistent respiratory ailment that left him incapacitated and unable to get into his shop, or take care of other business such as keeping up the website, for quite some time. I’ve heard of this, or a similar bug, that just does not go away and bites you again just about the time you think you’re getting better.

Thankfully, it seems that the bug has finally left town and Bill has been back to work. He claims that he is caught up on his backlog of orders and is now ready to take and fill new orders for his famous Zephyr rifles. He said that he is still offering the 20-bore (.62) standard Zephyr, the Alaskan 12-bore (.72), and the 8-bore (.82) African. He also hinted at a .50 caliber offering designed specifically for long bullets - that is, not patched round balls which have been standard fare from PRC for nearly 15 years.

For more information about the rifles that put Genuine Forsyth Rifling on the map, the Zephyr, check out the new PRC site at: www.pacificriflecompany.blogspot.com. Bill reminds that the site is still under construction, so if you have questions that aren’t answered on the site, e-mail him at: pacificriflecompany@gmail.com or give him a call at: (503) 476-4609.

For you purveyors of esoteric knowledge, here’s a bit of Zephyr trivia.

I’ll bet you didn’t know that the Zephyr is the first production percussion rifle in history to offer Forsyth rifling. Now there is a tidbit to share that is sure to add a bit of excitement to your next party.

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Nicastro Target Rifle

2010-06-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, although, at times many of us know that necessity is just simply a mother. There's nothing poetic about it. Especially if you can’t accomplish the invention aspect of it. It seems that once a good idea takes hold it will nag and frustrate the mind until it is finally realized – or until you've gotten a frontal lobotomy to be free of it.

One of our faithful readers, Peter Nicastro, wanted an underhammer target rifle but faced the financial challenge to fill the need. However, his resourcefulness and craftsmanship has resulted in a successful transformation that resulted in a very racy underhammer that I’m sure you will find interesting as well as inspiring.

Understand that Mr. Nicastro began this endeavor at the age of 72, which is testament to the fact that a vision empowered by pure determination knows no limitations, as Mr. Nicastro’s photos and comments explain.

My Custom Underhammer

By Peter Nicastro

I guess the best place to start is at the beginning…

At age 72 I got to thinking about taking up an activity I would enjoy. The idea of taking up target shooting came to mind and after some thought I said to myself, “Hey, why not?” At the time I no longer owned any firearms.

My muzzleloading interest all began back in the early sixties (1960’s). I had a percussion single shot pistol and a Bob Tingle Hawken rifle. Dixie Gunworks was then the place where you could get what you needed.

Well, at 72 it was my thought that I would get back into shooting muzzleloaders. So the hunt began for my first purchase. I picked up a copy of the Blue Book of Modern Blackpowder Firearms (available from www.dixiegunworks.com ) and there it was on the front cover – the Feinwerkbau Billinghurst Underhammer Pistol.

I had to have it.

The pistol was of the highest quality and has given me many 5-shot groups that would fit under a quarter at 25 yards from a benchrest. After about a year of working with the pistol I decided that I had to have a rifle of the same quality, but everything of the same quality was way out of my price range.

That's when the idea hit me to make a rifle/pistol combo with the Feinwerkbau pistol action.

Have you ever heard the expression, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."?

The first thing I had to do was to make a model of the stock. I chose to make it out of balsa wood that had been soaked in Future Floor Wax, which made the wood much harder. When it was finished drying, I sent it off to Pecatonica River Long Rifle Supply, www.longrifles-pr.com, to be carved from a nice blank of curly maple. They also supplied a matching forearm blank. I added all the burl accents.

Clicking on the photos will enlarge them.

Clicking the Back button to return you to the text.

I had to make the rifle breechplug longer to go deeper into the barrel, so I also had to make an extended hammer. This also required that I change the pin location in the hammer to get more striking force in the hammer. I also exchanged the #10 nipple that came with the pistol for a #11 nipple.

I order a 30” X 1” .36 caliber Match Grade barrel from Rice Barrels, www.ricebarrels.com, and added the Schoyen palm rest from CPA, www.singleshotrifles.com, for offhand shooting.

The scope that is mounted on the rifle for now is just for working up the best loads. I will shoot the rifle competitively with metallic sights.

All photos copyright by Peter Nicastro

Our thanks to Mr. Nicastro for sharing his rifle with us. I do hope that more of you readers will share your underhammer rifles and experiences with us. The rifles don’t have to be as exotic as Mr. Nicastro’s for our readers to have interest. If they work for you, tell us about it. If they don't work for you, tell us about it. That’s what this blog is all about – underhammer shooters sharing with other underhammer shooters.

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Another mystery for you underhammer sleuths.

2010-05-15T23:10:00.000-07:00

Some time ago I received an inquiry from one of our readers regarding a rather well-made underhammer action sporting a coiled internal mainspring. Unfortunately, I don't have any information on the maker, D.A. Stanley.

The sophistication of the part numbering system that Mr. Stanley employed seems to indicate that he may have made a number of these little actions. Perhaps enough of them that some of you readers may recognize the gadget and know the story behind the man and his underhammer product. If you have any information please contact me by e-mail and I'll share it with our readers.

After careful study of the photo, I am guessing that it was intended for use in a target rifle as it does not appear to have a half-cock or safety notch which is essential in a field gun.

For those of you who are tinkerers and machinists, you can get a closer look at the workings of it by clicking on the photo. Then click the Back button on your browser to return to the text. Perhaps you'll get some inspiration from its design.

BTW, our poll results indicate that most of you readers are target shooters, so I do hope that the Stanley action is something that some of you may recognize.

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We're taking a poll...

2010-05-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, we're taking a poll, but not about solutions to world problems. It seems that we already have enough politicians who would have us believe that they've got it under control - despite their ongoing and astounding screw-ups. Truly, the idiots are running the asylum! But that's another subject for another poll. Here we have serious questions to consider and need your input - just to get a better idea of who's reading this stuff.

No need for concern about privacy. By participating, your personal information will not be collected and forwarded to INTERPOL. So, no silenced black helicopters dropping Ninja assassins into your backyard to take you out because you clicked on that "tricky" answer.

There are no trick questions or wrong answers, so when you get to the bottom of the page, please take a moment to clue me in as to your underhammer interests. However, if you're a collector I won't guarantee that we'll have a whole lot more astounding new facts about The Significant Role of Underhammers in the French Revolution. But, it should be interesting to see who's reading and what your interests are.

Yeah, I know, using blatant sex to coerce you into participation is pretty despicable, but I had to do something to get your attention.

BTW, better wipe that smile off your face before the significant other sees it.

Thanks for playing along.

Cheers!

THE RESULTS!

Well friends, the polls are closed and the results are in.
I want to extend a big Thank You to those few of you who did take the time to participate.

So, here's a cross section of you readers - or at least those who responded:

Target shooters.............................................................27 (67%)
Hunters.........................................................................21 (52%)
Collectors.......................................................................6 (15%)

All the above.................................................................10 (25%) None of the above. I just came for the free stuff...............1 (2%) You gotta love that last one! Perhaps we can do this again some time. Cheers!

The Stephen Marlow Project

2010-05-05T17:23:00.000-07:00

Here's another great example of an offhand target rifle that was shared by one of our readers. However, this offhand rifle by Stephen Marlow is different than the rifle we looked at last week in that it was made from the Billinghurst underhammer action kit that is available from Muzzleloader Builder’s Supply http://muzzleloaderbuilderssupply.com. For a closer look at the underhammer action Stephen chose, you can read about it further down the page at my posting at the Underhammer Action Round-up.

In addition to his interest in building muzzleloading rifles, Stephen is also the President of the Texas Shooting Sports Complex, www.txssc.org, an NRA Training Counselor, Chief Range Safety Officer, and a Shooting Sports Instructor for both the local 4-H and Boy Scouts. I don't know where he ever found the time to build a rifle!

For this project Stephen decided to go with a 36-inch .50 calibre barrel with a 1:60 twist that would provide high velocity to the round balls that he planned to shoot out to 200 yards. The rifle finished out at 54 inches in length and a hefty 12 pounds.

He wanted to build an offhand target rifle with a full pistol grip like those of the late percussion period. However, the mode in which the offhand rifle is mounted and held generally required special consideration as far as length of pull and stock configuration is concerned. Usually, hunting rifle stocks don’t provide the best offhand fit and offhand stocks don’t do well for snap shots that present themselves in the field. Each discipline has its own design parameters that must be considered if you wish to enjoy sweet success.

An offhand rifle is not held in the same manner as a hunting rifle. Generally speaking, the hunting rifle, when aimed from a comfortable offhand hold, is held at about a 30 degree angle from a line across the shoulders of the shooter. The offhand target rifle, on the other hand, has a shorter length of pull which allows it to be held in tighter to the chest. In fact, it is held at about 10 degrees or less. Holding the rifle up tight against the shooters chest provides a much more stable frame from which to control the rifle.

Such a stance is further secured by bracing the left elbow (for a right hand shooter) up tight against the rib cage. With the proper fit of rifle to shooter, the idea is for the shooter to simply stand up straight and have the rifle fit. Adding a palm rest to the forearm of the stock provides even greater ease in supporting and controlling the rifle by the left hand as Stephen demonstrates above.

You may recall that at some time or another you've picked up a rifle and had to contort your neck or arms and shoulders in order to fit the rifle. One might tolerate that poor design in a hunting rifle where you are only taking one or two shots at a time. But in a target shooting situation, where you may be shooting a 20-shot string, craning your neck and shoulders to accommodate an ill-fitting stock will fatigue the body rather quickly and accuracy suffers badly.

There is a certain beauty in a properly proportioned offhand rifle such as the old schuetzen rifles. They were fit to the shooter like a glove. The shooter simply stood in a natural pose and the rifle fit the pose perfectly.

Stephen is a pretty savvy shooter and understands all of this geometry business and to be sure that he got it right, he made a mock up of his rifle in Styrofoam. That’s right – Styrofoam. I thought it a rather ingenious idea that allows the builder to quickly and accurately determine the perfect shape of the buttstock for his style of shooting.

Here's the layout sequence from the cardboard to the 3-D styrofoam model
and finally laid out on the mesquite slab and ready for the bandsaw.

Once Stephen had the Styrofoam stock whittled to fit him, it was a simple matter to transfer it to the prime slab of mesquite that he had harvested from the back 40. For you younger guys, that’s farmer talk for the backyard. That piece of mesquite had a tight curve in the grain that Stephen took advantage of by using it in the transition from the pistol grip to the body of the buttstock.

1. A sharp chisel is essential for clean, crisp inletting of the tangs. 2. A depth gauge really helps in achieving consistent depth of the tang channels. 3. & 4. The evidence of skill, patience, and sharp tools is evident in the perfect fit of the top and bottom tangs. 5. Once the action was fitted to the stock, rough shaping could begin. 6. After careful fitting of the deep-pronged buttplate, shaping of the stock's perchbelly completed the roughing in of the basic shape and proportions.

After careful finishing of the MBS Billinghurst action kit, Stephen carefully fit the action to his prized stick of mesquite and a beautiful rifle slowly began to emerge as seen above and below.

Here the photos are self explanatory as we see the forearm take shape.
Stephen secured the forearm to the barrel with a traditional pinning method.

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Once completed, Stephen took his prize to the range. He stated, "It was my honor to have several of our instructors take a shot with this fine rifle at our NRA Shoot Day. We hosted 100 or so Venture kids at the Lost Pines Boy Scout Camp near Bastrop – a semiannual event."

Although somewhat finished, Stephen is still searching for the right sights for his new creation. He knows that he will be using the Merit rear sight insert as provided by The Merit Corporation, www.meritcorporation.com, fitted to some sort of ladder tang sight and a Vaver front globe that he just acquired. I'm hoping that once he's found what works best for him, maybe we'll hear more as he works with his new offhand rifle to develop a winning load.

Thanks Stephen for sharing your work with us. You've not only built a wonderful rifle, but your work of photo-documenting it has given us a great look at your build.

Yet another inspiration for those of you who are getting the bug to build an underhammer rifle.

Come on in - the water's fine!

All photos copyrighted by Stephen Marlow

Replicating the original Numrich Arms “Hopkins & Allen”

2010-05-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

As they say, “Better late than never.” So it is with this late entry into our Underhammer Action Roundup. Unfortunately John Taylor was not able to provide his information and photos in time for the Roundup back in February, but he finally got his information to me. I am including it because I believe it is a worthwhile addition to your growing stores of underhammer knowledge and acumen. While you may think he’s a Johnnie-come-lately, John Taylor is no newcomer to underhammer guns and builds high quality actions for a very reasonable price.

George Numrich introduced his “Hopkins & Allen” underhammer rifles back in the 1950s and now the supply of them has pretty well dried up. But the interest in them is still strong and there are even a number of builders who are beginning to replicate the simple, clean lines of George’s original design. However, making a true to the original replica is not quite so easy anymore. Since having been acquired by another concern, George’s action design has morphed into an “improved” version that is looking less and less like George’s old Hopkins & Allen.

For those who wish to get back to the original, John Taylor will provide a completely round-bodied action true to the original featuring a fully-machined steel receiver which incorporates a tapered pin to secure the barrel and receiver.

However, John also offers some variations on that theme, as he explains:

“I try to stay with the same size as the H&A under hammer actions so I can use the same hammer, trigger and spring that was used in the original.

I make actions in three diameter sizes, 1", 1.125" and 1.250". This action (the subject of these photos) is made from brass and set up to take the original butt stock with a little work. This action was also threaded for the breach plug to provide a stiffer rifle – it’s not a takedown.

John's extra long and extra stout stock bolt
makes for a very stiff and sturdy rifle.

I prefer to use a 1/2" stock bolt for added strength in the wrist area and most of the time the bolt will be 10" to 12" long. The rear of the action is countersunk just like the H&A to help keep the stock from splitting.

Barrels are held in three different ways: threaded, taper pin or set screw. I make whatever the customer wants - within reason.”

Basic actions are $180.

“I am not a stock maker. It's not that I can't make them, just that I can't make a living at it. I can cut the octagon channel for the forearm using special made router bits in the milling machine. I can also make dovetail thimbles and lugs for holding the forearm. Numrich did have the simplest way to hold the forearm and I can mount and pin the forearm to the barrel the same way if the customer wants it that way.”

For more information about John’s underhammer actions and his other custom services, visit his website: www.johntaylormachine.com. E-mail: john@johntaylormachine.com or phone: (253) 445-4073.

Photo copyrights by John Taylor

PS: One of my very early posts features one of John's small-frame rifles. If you go to the bottom of this page and click on Older Posts you can get back to that first page and see another example of his work.

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McDonald - Ingrham Offhand Rifle

2010-04-30T16:03:00.000-07:00

Getting bit by the underhammer bug can really change your life. For most guys it means finding that one underhammer that really blasts your bullseye. But for more serious cases which fester into full-blown underhammeritis there is only only one remedy - you've got to build your own. In its worse case it becomes a matter of do or die.

That seems to pretty much sum up the story of Steve McDonald, one of our readers who managed to get one of the Ingrham actions while they were available. Steve has always admired underhammer guns and wanted to build one of his own. He eventually got to that critical point where it was do or die for him, too. But lest I steal more of his thunder, I’ll get off the keyboard and let Steve tell his story.

Underhammer Dreams Do Come True.

By Steve McDonald

The underhammer desire didn’t hit me like a ton of bricks. It was a slow-growing obsession that started quite some time ago after seeing an old H & A for sale at a local gun show. At the time I couldn’t afford the asking price, but I made some mental notes on how simple the design was, and how well it fit me, and moved on.

I’ve always respected clever mechanical devices and I grew up in a “you shouldn’t own it, if you can’t fix it yourself” environment. My father was a very inventive machinist and proffered a credo that no mechanical challenge was ever too great. At least not too great to give it a try yourself before calling for backup. I made sure in my growing years that I learned how to use every tool he had in the house, and then some. Unfortunately, he did lack a certain eye for aesthetics. His end products always provided the desired results but usually at the expense of visual sense. I always assumed he studied under Rube Goldberg at some point in his career.

I, on the other hand, was always a fanatic for visual harmony. A connoisseur of beauty, and a crusader against even the slightest blemish on the surface of anything I ever constructed. It was always what was on the outside that counted, and less is more, as far as I was concerned. Kind of a visual OCD I guess. Maybe my potty training had something to do with it. But as nice as it sounds, I hardly had the skills to put my money where my compulsion was.

So I guess that might be why I was attracted to the under hammer in the first place. What a fabulously elegant device - sleek and to the point, yet fully functional. And, with plenty of room for tasteful adornment. Yep, the more I thought about it, the more I had to build one. And the journey began.

Over the years, my professional career seemed to keep me from my mechanical passions. Lack of workspace and very little extra time limited me to only dabble in small engine repairs or the occasional honey-do, to fix something around the house. But fortunately for me, my second passion of working with wood offered me at least a small outlet for my 3-dimensional talents. And when we were finally able to build a bigger home, I was incensed with putting a workshop in the basement. It was time to put my woodworking skills to work. So along with bird carving, furniture repairs and woodturning, I set my sights on making and repairing gun stocks. My basic plan now was to acquire an underhammer action and set out to making a beautiful stock for it.

I searched off and on, to find as much information on underhammers as I could. For about two years I gathered valuable tidbits and grew more excited about the possibility of building one. But finding a complete underhammer action ready made was proving to be difficult. But I kept looking.

My search led me to a man named Wade Ingram of Texas. A man I’ve never met in person but feel like I’ve known all my life. I saw Wade’s underhammer design on his website. Immediately I was intrigued. His design had all the features I was looking for. Clever and compact, but with an obvious strength that I was sure would stand the test of time. And the best part was the removable barrel feature. I had to have one. Unfortunately, Wade was no longer making his underhammer actions. He’d stopped making them some years before. But this wasn’t the end of the road. It seemed my inquiry to Wade opened up some valuable communication between us.

Wade and I corresponded by email for many months. I picked his brain about design and he was very pleasant in his replies about his actions. He sent me images of the various rifles he had made using his action and I of course, asked more questions. Somewhere along the way Wade became inspired to make a few more of his frames, and the emails continued.

Wade sent me pictures of the various processes involved with making one of his actions. He is an outstanding machinist and I felt like I was being let into the big boys club while he showed me his progress. I bounced ideas off him, and he asked for my feedback along the way. I’m sure I learned more than he from the experience but I could sense he was excited about the work.

Long story made short, the result of our months of correspondence ended up with me owning one of Wade’s underhammer actions. I couldn’t have been more proud to own anything else in my life. I recall the day his package arrived, I felt like a little kid on his birthday. The quality, craftsmanship and appeal of Wade’s action was astounding. But, best of all it was simple and elegant. I had a real job ahead of me to now make a stock that would measure up to the high standard of Wade’s action.

Steve's stockwork is a tasteful blend of racy and traditional lines and exhibits great skill in its making.

I couldn’t keep this to myself any longer. I have a good friend named Loring Hall who's an avid shooter and a machinist himself for many years. He had to be shown this and told of my plans. He became another valuable player in my quest for an underhammer. He gave me several beautiful slabs of walnut to use for the stock, and a rough cast butt plate. I could tell he was as excited as I was about this project and later he helped me with a few bits of fine tuning that I didn’t have the equipment for.

Steve chose a classic German schuetzen buttplate for his target rifle which

makes holding and controlling it much easier during a 20-shot offhand string of fire.

Next, I was off to see Andrew, another good friend a few towns away and an eccentric gunsmith who works exclusively on arms from the period of mid 1700s to the late 1800s. I wanted him to see this action for all its beauty, and to get his suggestions for how to begin this daunting task. He was the next important player in my quest as he guided me through several difficult moments in the stick making. However, he being used to working with field pieces carried by infantry and such, was insistent on making one strengthening modification to Wade’s design by adding a tang bolt boss on the lower tang to receive a hefty machine-thread tang screw for added strength. Normally in this design the upper and lower tangs are secured to the stock with separate wood screws. This mod, however, is definitely an improvement.

Seen here is the lower tang modification that Steve mentions in the story. The normal Ingrham action, as seen in Photo 1, does not use a tang bolt that secures both upper and lower tangs together. A tang bolt boss was added, as seen in Photo 2, which allows use of a full tang bolt to further secure the action in the stock and add stiffness to the finished rifle.

So for the next several months I cut, chiseled and filed away at my stock. I sent Wade some progress pictures to get his feedback as I muddled through it. He provided valuable guidance and codified my progress. I was really nervous that I was working too fast or removing too much wood. I knew one wrong cut and I’d be starting over again in no time. My stock design was based on a Schuetzen style and it took a while before it began coming together.

Making the escutcheons, as seen above, and setting the butt plate was a real challenge. The barrel I chose for the project was a .40 caliber Green Mountain barrel with aggressive rifling and quick twist. It was 36 inches long and it seemed all the way through the project that I would need to cut it down because it was cumbersome. But in the end, I left the length as it was. When the barrel locked up to Wade’s action, it was a marriage made in heaven.

A little special attention to final fit and finish and my underhammer was complete. I felt like I had made history. In fact I believe I did, because according to Wade this was the only action of his in this part of the country (New England). I completed this project about a week before my annual summer camping trip to the White Mountains. I would use this trip to inaugurate my underhammer and impress my camping buddies with my talent.

I chose a Lyman globe front sight and an unknown, but good quality, rear tang sight for this rifle. We test fired it and the performance was spectacular. The first three shots, made by three different people, made a two inch group on a steel plate at 25 yards. Later, at the shooting range, I did more test firing to help establish good loads. The results then were just as amazing with a group under two inches at 75 yards. I attribute a lot of the steadiness of this rifle to the smooth functioning of Wade’s action. It gives a crisp let off and strikes the cap with authority.

Recently I tested some pure lead cast pistol bullets with a diameter of .401. This suggestion came to me from my gunsmith friend. I lubed them on site with a little bore butter and fired 4 consecutive direct hits on a steel plate at 100 yards. I then moved over to the 200 yard steel plate and had 2 out three direct hits, without changing my sights from 100. Of course next I will put some paper down range to see how well it will group with a larger number of shots.

I really owe a debt of gratitude to Wade for helping me along with this project. And thanks also to the other handful of friends that played a role in my success. I now not only have a nice, unique handmade underhammer in my collection, but I have an amazing experience that I can share with anyone that will listen. “What next?” you may ask. Build another underhammer of course!

All photos copyrighted by Steve McDonald.

I hope Steve's story will serve to encourage some of you who would like to build an underhammer rifle to do so. With a good action, barrel, and careful planning, you could be building and shooting your own heirloom rifle, too.

Thanks, Steve, for sharing your beautiful offhand rifle with us. Please keep us posted on your next project, too.

.

A bit about pistol-gripped stocks

2010-04-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

Not long ago, I received a Comment from a reader asking if I have ever considered incorporating a full pistol grip as part of the buttstock design in my Faeton rifles. The answer can be seen below in the form of this special request custom rifle.

(Click the pic to enlarge it for closer viewing, then click the Back button to return to the text.)

The customer requested a heavier rifle than my standard-weight Faeton and supplied a rather stout, straight-octagon .58 calibre Getz tube with a medium slow (round ball) twist for this project. The wood chosen was a beautiful stick of quilted Oregon madrone, a dense, fine-grained wood that is similar to maple. He also requested a large shotgun buttplate, a tall blade front sight, and a Sharps-style rear sight. The metal was rust blued using my own proprietary Genuine Weasel Piss rust-browning solution.

Although the pistol grip does add more bulk to the rifle, all in all we were quite pleased with the rather racy result of our walk on the wild side. While not very clear in this photo, the forearm sports a stylized ebony Schnabel tip and sheaths a jet black, Gaboon ebony loading rod with brass tips at both ends.

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo as it was taken in a hurry as the customer was about to leave my shop. It was a last minute thought to capture the image and all I had was my vintage 35mm film-burner, a Minolta SRT-101. Obviously I didn’t know what I had captured until I developed the film. By then the customer was off to parts unknown and I was never able to get a better photo of the rifle.

However, it does serve as an example of what can be done with the simple bent-cylinder type of underhammer actions when it comes to attaching wood. Being sure of your structural integrity, watch the lines and proportions to keep them pleasing to the eye and you should be okay.

BTW, pistol grips are a traditional underhammer rifle feature having been used by several of the great makers of old, including Billinghurst. So, be brave ye underhammer builders and push the boundaries a bit. Remember, no guts, no glory - just the dull reward of mediocrity.

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Secrets of the Zephyr

2010-04-10T23:27:00.000-07:00

As a result of our Underhammer Action Roundup, there has been some discussion about the various ways in which barrels are, or can be, attached to an underhammer action. The resulting exchange of ideas lead to the question of how it is that the Zephyr and the newer Faeton barrels are attached to the receiver as neither of those rifles display any apparent tapered pins or screws.

The breeching system that I chose for the Zephyr is very simple, secure, and aesthetically pleasing because of its covert manner of wedding barrel and receiver in tight union. But that's not the only advantage of this system as study of the accompanying graphics will clearly display.

Breeching begins by reaming and tapping the front of the Zephyr/Faeton receiver to accept a ¾” X 16 TPI (threads per inch) breechplug. The breechplug is an unheard-of 2 inches in length and it is cut from all-thread steel rod. While most muzzleloading rifles feature a breechplug with about ½” of threaded journal which is screwed into the barrel, the Zephyr’s breechplug is seated 1 ½ inches into the barrel. Such an arrangement provides advantages that are most unique to the Zephyr and help contribute to its fine accuracy.

First and foremost, the barrel and receiver are torqued together like the head bolts on a diesel engine. That quality of tightness of barrel and receiver provides a stiffness that any serious target shooter will tell you is paramount to consistent accuracy. All things being equal, the stiffer the rifle, the more accurately it will deliver the goods to the target.

Unlike most other muzzleloaders, where the nipple is screwed directly into the barrel, in Zephyr and Faeton rifles the nipple screws into the breechplug. That's right - directly into the breechplug. While it's okay to screw the nipple directly into the barrel, the result is that the cap flash is sprayed into the body of the powder charge thereby allowing the powder ignition impulse to follow any random burning pattern which can result in shot-to-shot inconsistency and deterioration of accuracy.

By screwing the nipple through the barrel wall and into the breechplug, not only do we create a stronger breech, we also have the basis to utilize a coned-breech. With the coned-breech, the ignition impulse always begins in exactly the same spot, the point of the cone, and burns straight forward through the powder column. In addition, the coned breech also provides the advantages of the shaped charge principle, which some of you military men may recall.

Simply stated, the shaped charge principle will amplify the ignition impulse to get the full charge up and burning much quicker and more efficiently. Another reason why the 20-bore Zephyr or Faeton can completely burn 200 grains of blackpowder in only 30 inches of barrel.

Clicking on any of the images will enlarge them for detailed viewing. Clicking the Back button on the top left of your screen will return you to the text.

Additionally, screwing the nipple directly into the breechplug will result in the creation of a nipple pocket in the barrel wall as seen in the drawing of the Faeton breech. One must first counterbore through the barrel wall in order to reach the body of the breechplug.

Provided the hammer is properly designed and fitted to the barrel and the nipple, the result is a nipple and cap that are virtually enclosed at the moment of ignition. Cap spitting is the number one complaint that most shooters have about underhammers. Utilizing an enclosed nipple pocket – and using musket caps - will solve that problem.

So, in summary, the stiffer the rifle, the more accurate it is likely to be. BTW, a tapered barrel will generally deliver better accuracy than will a straight barrel. But we need more than just fine accuracy from Zephyr and Faeton rifles. While accuracy is absolutely important, we build hunting rifles. They not only must be accurate, they must also be tough as nails to stand up to the rigors of prolonged and rough outdoor hunting.

As an additional point on the stiffness and ruggedness of the Zephyr and Faeton rifles, the photo below will illustrate the back half of the stiffness/ruggedness/accuracy equation that we believe is essential in a big game hunting rifle. Such over-engineering, as some call it, eliminates any flexing or bending of the rifle at that critical joint of buttstock and receiver.

If you would like more information about the Zephyr, you may contact Pacific Rifle Company at their new e-mail address: pacificriflecompany@gmail.com.
If you would like more information regarding the Faeton, please contact me at: underhammers@safe-mail.net.

Hope that’s been helpful.

Cheers!

.

Mystery Underhammer Pistol

2010-03-08T23:20:00.000-08:00

A strange thing happens when you start writing about a subject. A good percentage of those who read your thoughts will actually believe you! It doesn’t seem to matter too much what you’re writing about, but, because people see your mental ramblings or rants or whatever you’re pontificating about in print, they are apt to take your word as truth.

Being published, that is, actually having your work in print – even cyber print - before the public, adds a tremendous amount of credibility to a writer. The more you write, seemingly, the more credible you become. However, sometimes that credibility is not deserved because some of the writing is just plain drivel. Credibility must be earned.

Of course you don’t need to worry about that here at The Underhammer Society blog as I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t know jack shxx about soooo very much in this world. (But, rest assured that I do know all about Zephyrs, Faetons, Forsyth rifling, and big roundball projectiles!)

Recently I received a request for assistance in identifying a nice little underhammer pistol whose maker failed to leave his mark on his work. Our reader figured that being I write an underhammer blog, surely I must know about most things underhammer. But the fact is that I’m not any kind of authority on those great old pieces of underhammer antiquity, especially when they’re unmarked.

Oh yes, like many of you, I have some basic information on the old guns and can identify certain obvious features, but when it comes to unmarked guns I need help. Sometimes there are subtleties that escape detection, except from the sharp eye of an experienced collector, that can lead to the identity of some of those mystery guns. However, that's not me!

So, I’m turning to you, the readers, for assistance in identifying this pistol. That's a good thing about having a broad readership - someone out there just might know!

Clicking on the photo will enlarge it for detailed viewing. Clicking the Back button on your browser will return you to the text.

Based upon the obvious features, such as that bulbous grip, (seems rather Freudian to me) the design of the lockwork and springs, and the right angle at which the hammer strikes the nipple, it would appear that the pistol may have been made by H.J. Hale of Connecticut. That said, it is only a guess because anyone could have copied his features and marketed their work anonymously, which, I've been told, copycatting was a rather common practice at the time. As I’m not sure whether Hale did make any unmarked pistols, again, it’s only a guess that he may have made it. Who knows, it might even have been a lunchbox special.

So far as I know, Hale's pistols where marked on the topstrap as:

H.J. HALE

BRISTOL

CONNECTICUT

H.J. HALE

WARRANTED

CAST STEEL

Along with the aforementioned features, there are also those rather crudely stamped embellishments, referred to by some as "engraving," that cover the top strap and flats of the barrel, and then there's that unique hexagonal bore. I just don’t know enough about these pieces to venture an educated guess. So, if any of you readers know more about Hale or who may have made this pistol, please send me an e-mail and I’ll forward it to our inquisitor and the two of you can continue to ponder the mystery.

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Underhammer action conversion to tapered pins?

2010-02-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

Well, dear readers, it seems that I may have kicked a hornets' nest with my comments about using Allen screws to retain the barrels in some underhammer actions as I've already received a few e-mails and Comments regarding the opinion I expressed in the earlier Underhammer Action Round-up. One e-mail comment was apathetic and the writer didn't seem to care one way or the other, but there were a few criticisms from some who defended the Allen screws. Most who took the time to comment, however, agreed that they, too, did not like Allen screws (or Phillips screws for that matter) on old timey guns from an aesthetic point of view and one mechanical engineer didn't like it from a more left-brain, mechanical-logic point of view. You can check the Comments on the earlier posts for more of the story.

A couple of our readers asked about the feasibility of converting an existing Allen screw action to other methods of marriage of barrel and receiver, including the more traditional tapered pin method. While I tried to respond to our reader, Sandman, in the Comment section in which he posed his inquiry, Google insisted that my comment was too long for the Comment forum. Not wanting our reader to feel I was ignoring him, too, and because there seems to be some interest in this subject, I've included my comment to Sandman, below.

In case you don't read the Comments that our readers post, (BTW, lots of additional information back there) Sandman was asking about using a stainless steel tapered pin that would be less likely to become corroded in the pin hole as was alleged as being a real bug-a-boo about using tapered pins to secure the barrel and receiver in a muzzleloader.

Hold on to your knickers, 'cause here we go, again...

Hello Sandman,

Thanks for your feedback. It's good to know if/that all this blogging is actually worth the time and trouble I put into it.

As for your question regarding the tapered pin, the answer is, Yes, a stainless pin would reduce the possibility of corrosion freezing the pin in the action. But, so will a casehardened carbon steel pin - if you learn to take reasonable care of your gun.

However, if you let your firearm go the point where a pin becomes corroded into the action, you have much greater problems than a mere sticky pin. I'd be more concerned about the rest of your lockwork and whether it's still in safe operating condition. But, that's just my opinion.

Getting back to the pin...

Your gunsmith can purchase both the Tapered Pin Reamer and the correct Stainless Tapered Pin from MSC Industrial Supply. In my opinion they are the premier supplier for all your machine tool/work needs. If they don't have it, or can't get it, chances are that it doesn't exist, anyway.

You can view their virtual catalog at: http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=1702339&PMT4NO=80252690. If the link doesn't work, just copy and paste it into your browser and you should be okay. (If you're a machine head you may wish to order their hard catalog with your order. It's a valuable resource.)

Actually, that URL will/should take you directly to the page where you will find tapered pin reamers.

A good-quality, high-speed steel #4 tapered reamer is item: MSC #: 02401032 which is just about perfect for your size application. Cost is a mere $14.89 each. No need to break your piggy bank.

The #4 Stainless Tapered Pin is item: MSC #: 67701763. The pin is 1 1/2 inches long, which gives you plenty of length for the width of the action you are working with, and the cost is only .99 cents each. At that price you can afford to have a few spares on hand.

The following link will take you directly to the tapered pin section of their virtual catalog: http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=2030482&PMT4NO=80254573. You may also wish to order a cup-faced punch to drive the tapered pin from the hole and re-install it so that it won't slip off the pin while driving it. Sorry, you'll have to look that one up yourself.

As a side note, one of the reasons I like MSC is that their technical staff is first class and is available to answer any questions you may have. Not only about the correct product for the problem at hand, but also the correct use of it. If your gunsmith has never installed a tapered pin, the guys, and gals, at MSC will walk him through the process so he can do it like a pro.

One aspect to consider in any firearms welding, and certainly in this process of conversion for installing the tapered pin in the U/H action you have, begins with choosing the right alloy for plug welding the existing screw holes. Most people would erroneously assume that you need a real hard alloy material to plug those holes.

NOT TRUE. Most U/H receivers are generally cast of mild or medium carbon steel. You should use a similar rod or wire to fill those holes. If you use a much harder filler material, you may experience flaws in your final metal finish as the harder filler material will generally not brown, blue, or case-color exactly like the surrounding material.

While tapered pins can seem tricky at first, installing them is not rocket surgery. If you drill and ream a few practice holes in some scrap material, you, or your gunsmith, will figure it out in short order. I'm assuming that your gunsmith knows what he's doing, or will learn - before taking on your job.

Again, removing and installing the pin is no big deal if you don't allow the pin to freeze in the hole - or you use a stainless pin. Like any other mechanical device, if you live in a climate that is very humid, you should more frequently inspect your rifle for corrosion and clean as needed. That would include occasionally removing the tapered pin and checking the barrel/receiver union for rust if you don't normally take down the rifle for storage after returning from the range or field.

If, by some slim chance, the pin does freeze in the hole, there is no need to massacre the pin and gun with heavy blows from an improper punch and a bigger hammer. You simply give the pin a shot of penetrating oil, let it set for an hour or two, then try to drive it out. If it's still stubborn, then heat the pin with a propane torch until the oozing oil starts to bubble and smoke. Then drive the pin out. It's that simple.

BTW, be sure to clean all the corrosion and oil out of the corroded hole before installing a NEW stainless, tapered pin to replace the old one.

For those who are not overly concerned about swapping barrels and take-down capabilities as provided by either Allen screws or tapered pins, there is another method of securing the barrel to those actions which offer Allen screws. The other method involves plug welding the screw holes, dressing the holes, and then silver soldering the breechplug into the receiver for a super-secure attachment. Then the barrel is simply screwed onto the breechplug and torqued up tight. That does require a bit of fitting, yes, but, again, it ain't rocket science and is worth the extra effort if you appreciate a clean look and an extremely sturdy rifle.

Hope that's helpful.

Cheers!

.

The Underhammer Action Round-up. Finally...

2010-02-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to The Underhammer Society’s first Underhammer Action Round-up.

Since starting this blog, there have been numerous requests from builders all over the country – and even some requests from a few foreigners - for recommendations of a good quality underhammer action. It seems that those few who are making and offering underhammer actions are far and few between and remain virtually unknown by most underhammer aficionados.

In order to remedy this unfortunate situation I have contacted several underhammer builders to invite them to show off their wares for your consideration at our Underhammer Action Roundup.

However, before we begin, as the old saying goes, “I have some good news, and I have some bad news.” First, the bad news...

I am sorry to report that our friend Wade Ingrham is out of the running in this Round-up. Many will remember my report of some of Wade’s work in earlier posts on this blog. It seems that Wade (remember that he is 88 years old) is stuck in a wheelchair - for a bit, anyway - and is unable to get into his shop every day to tinker with his underhammer projects. While he’s determined, and threatens to get back at it, for now we must consider that his actions and rifles are not available. We extend our best wishes and hope for his speedy recovery.

Many of you have been waiting for this Round-up to learn more about the actions of Charles Bowers. We were hopeful that Charlie would be able to participate, but he said that he is recovering from an injury and that he, too, is unable to get back into his shop for the moment. However, as soon as he's able, he will again be providing his underhammer actions and you will find an announcement here when he’s back at it. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery to him as well.

That’s it for the bad news. The good news is that there is no more bad news - except, perhaps, if you want to consider that there was not a great response to the Round-up. We have only three actions to review; however, I wish to thank those makers who did respond for taking the time to do so.

For, probably a variety of reasons, some underhammer action makers did not respond to my offer to show off their goods. Some didn’t even bother to return my calls. Only one was able to provide an action for review. But we’ll do what we can to provide you with the best information possible.

Before buying an underhammer action for your next rifle, it is important to understand that not all underhammer actions are created equal. Some are better suited for target rifles while others are suitable for hunting rifles. Some are good for both and some are not very well suited for either.

It was the intention of this Roundup to be able to compare the actions and their various features to provide you, the reader, with useful information by which you could make an informed decision before laying out your hard earned cash.

In considering the following, your evaluative criteria should include consideration of mechanical design, quality of materials and workmanship, and the overall aesthetics of the action.

So let’s get this show started. Remember to click on the photos to see them in detail. Then click the Back button on your browser to return to the text.

We will review the makers alphabetically beginning with...

Allan Foundry Underhammer Action

Features:

Medium-sized two-piece action intended primarily for hunting rifles

Internal coiled springs for both hammer and trigger

Non-adjustable hunting trigger

Half-cock notch on hammer for safe carrying in the field

Cast of 1020 steel which allows bluing, browning, or color casehardening of the action

Receiver features an integral breechplug for superb strength and stiffness in the finished rifle. Action is available in two standard breechplug sizes, 5/8” X 18 TPI (threads per inch) and ¾” X 16 TPI and will accept barrels up to 1” diameter or across the flats. (See comment below about the appropriate barrel size.)

Utilizes a ¼ X 20 TPI stock bolt (not provided) which draws buttstock into engagement with the receiver. Customer must provide a bolt proper for customer’s buttstock design. Rear of receiver is mortised to receive the buttstock and the stock bolt screws into an extension of the receiver which provides greater strength to the wrist of the stock.

A forearm may be mounted flush with the front of the receiver to provide greater protection of the nipple and cap from the elements, yet the rifle will still qualify as an exposed ignition system.

Price: $225.00

Comments:

Many of you may know of Pete Allan as a renowned target shooter while others may know him as a muzzleloading rifle designer and builder. Actually, he is both and the founder of Allan Foundry. Pete has recently put the finishing touches on an improved underhammer action that I believe to be one of the best available to the underhammer gun builder. I give it high marks for mechanical ingenuity, quality of materials and workmanship and its aesthetic appeal.

The sample that was sent for this evaluation exhibited machining of parts where needed for precision and reliability of function, while the exterior is left smooth “as cast.” Although it could be rust browned as is, a bit of stoning and polishing would be needed if the action is to be engraved or for finer finishes or color casehardening.

The action consists of two major components; an upper and lower receiver. The barrel is attached to the upper receiver while the hammer, trigger and coiled springs are housed in the lower. Two screws hold the two halves together; one that is visible and one blind screw that enters from the rear of the action. I especially appreciate that factor from an aesthetics point of view as it seems all the rage lately to provide a whole collection of ugly and inappropriate screws on underhammer actions. BTW, the quarter in the photos is intended to provide a size comparison of the action. Nothing more.

I also applaud the design for incorporating a simple and unique half-cock feature for safe carrying afield. While Mr. Allan does not claim his action to be a target rifle action due to its simple and un-adjustable trigger, I would have no problem shooting this action in a match. The trigger was light and crisp as received. I believe the trigger can be easily prepared for serious target work BY A QUALIFIED GUNSMITH.

While the Allan Underhammer Action is one of the most advanced designs submitted for this roundup, there are a few things that the gun builder should be aware of before planning a rifle based upon this action. Understand that they are not necessarily flaws, just things to keep in mind as you’re planning the build of your rifle.

While the “specs” indicate that the action can accommodate a barrel of 1-inch across the flats, the actual width of the action - at the top where the barrel will mate with the receiver - is just less than one inch, actually measuring at .960” across the action.

This is not a huge discrepancy, but one which you should be aware of because a barrel that is one inch across will protrude past the edges of the receiver. Not a lot, mind you, but just enough to be visually and physically annoying. Your hand and fingers will catch the sharp edge of the barrel unless it is dressed to match the receiver. Another solution could be to order a barrel that is 15/16” across at the breech, depending upon caliber. Not a real big deal, perhaps, but something to be aware of before ordering your barrel.

While the specs call out a 1 inch barrel, after some study of this action, I believe that an octagonal barrel up to 1 1/8" across the flats could be fitted to this action. With proper treatment of the overhang of the barrel, the result would be a great looking rifle with a "serious business" kind of vibe - perhaps like a Sharps buffalo rifle with the oversized barrel.

My other concern about this action is the openness of the front of the action. I believe this condition will become apparent after a bit of shooting as the design could channel cap residue and fragments (if you use #11 caps) right into the lockwork within the action. I can think of a simple fix for this situation (use musket caps) so I’m not overly concerned about it. But again, it is something to be aware of as a possibility as you plan your build with this action.

The Allan Underhammer action is now available from several sources, including:

Pecatonica River Long Rifle Supply
www.longrifles-pr.com
Phone: 815-968-1995

Muzzleloader Builders Supply (you may have to call them about this product)
http://muzzleloaderbuilderssupply.com
Phone: 877-397-3008

The Gun Works Muzzleloading Emporium
www.thegunworks.com
Phone: 541-741-4118

Dixon Muzzleloading
www.dixonmuzzleloading.com
Phone: 610-756-6271

Tip Curtis
Phone: 615-654-4445

Fire & Iron Manufacturing “H&A” Action

Features:

Solid receiver of cast steel following Numrich Arms underhammer pattern

External mainspring which also serves as the triggerguard

Un-adjustable simple, single trigger system

Half-cock notch on hammer for safe carrying in the field or on the range

Receiver is cast of medium carbon steel allowing bluing, browning, or color casehardening of the action

Receiver accepts separate breechplug which is held by three Allen socket screws.

5/8” X 18 TPI breechplug and ¼” X 20 TPI stock bolt are included.

Price: $175.00

Comments:

Way back in the middle of the last century (which now sounds like eons ago, doesn’t it?) there was a great resurgence of interest in muzzleloading arms. George Numrich of Numrich Arms believed that there was a market for a simple, inexpensive, beginner’s level muzzleloader which he could sell either as a kit (also the heyday of the basement gunsmyth which is not to be confused with a gunsmith) or a completed rifle for less than a C Note. That’s a hundred bucks to our younger readers.

George chose the underhammer concept for his new product. It seems that he took much of his inspiration from the early underhammer pistol makers. He combined the separate metal receiver ideas of Allen and Thurber, Anderson, and Bacon, with the ingenious triggerguard/mainspring designs of Cook, Jones, Pratt and other very early UH pistol makers as well as later rifle makers such as Billinghurst, Brockway, and Warner.

As good as those basic concepts were, they all had one glaring fault – they had no half-cock notch in the hammer - they were not safe to carry with a cap on the nipple. George designed a lockwork that did incorporate a secure half-cock notch and his underhammer action was born!

Because Numrich Arms had bought up the rights to the name of the defunct Hopkins & Allen manufacturing operation, George decided to use that “trademark” on his new underhammer creation. That mis-marriage of name and product has confused shooters ever since. The fact is that the original Hopkins & Allen company did not produce underhammer firearms. However, this is the action that comes to mind for many shooters when you say “underhammer.”

I believe that the safe underhammer lockwork was George’s greatest contribution to modern underhammer history and lead to our greater enjoyment of underhammer guns today. It was his humble “Hopkins & Allen” underhammer rifle, after all, that introduced countless thousands of shooters to our sport and served as inspiration to several of us in the pursuit of excellence.

Why the trip down memory lane? Well, to introduce you to a replicator of the classic. Fire & Iron Manufacturing of Webster, Florida offers their version of George’s “Hopkins & Allen” underhammer action. While Fire & Iron has made some modifications to the receiver, employing an improved solid steel receiver, the lockwork is still true to the original design as devised by George Numrich over 50 years ago.

Fire & Iron’s H&A is supplied with a 5/8 X 18 TPI breechplug which is secured into the receiver by three ¼” Allen socket screws. Personally, I would like to see them offer this action with an optional tapered pin for securing the barrel to the receiver. A tapered pin has traditionally been used in muzzleloader gunmaking to allow for the quick takedown of the rifle or for swapping barrels. The tapered pin would also be truer to the original Numrich design as that was the way George did it.

(Call me picky, but I simply detest exposed Allen screws on a supposedly “antique” design. It’s akin to putting Jag wire wheels on a Model T restoration – it just ain't right. But, that's just me.)

The steel receiver will easily accommodate barrels up to 1 1/8” across the flats and with a bit of fitting of the nipple and slight trimming of the nipple cup on the hammer, even a beefy barrel of 1¼” can be attached.

The rear of the action has a mortise into which the wrist of the buttstock is fitted and the stock is then attached via a ¼” X 20 TPI drawbolt which screws into an extension from within that mortise. I like that feature as it provides more support of the stock at this otherwise weak junction. The drawbolt is included with the kit.

The cast steel receiver will require clean-up and polishing and will accept rust brown, hot blue, or case-coloring to finish. Or, you could just leave it polished in the white and let it acquire its own patination over time. That variegated and soft natural brown is a great finish if you’re going after that genuine old-timey look.

The hammer and trigger have been heat-treated and tempered and should probably be polished and left “natural” or they could be browned. Do not attempt to heat blue them unless you are very familiar with the properties of steel and understand the process well.

The trigger guard of this H&A action also works double duty as the mainspring and is attached to the receiver by - another Allen screw.

Recently, Mark Kisenwether, the owner of Fire & Iron Manufacturing, has been putting the finishing touches on another variant of his basic H&A action. This new offering is rather unusual in that its modification allows for the ease of swapping the buttstock. That’s right, the buttstock.

Photo 1. above, displays the right side of the Modified H&A receiver and the collar which forms the transition between the larger-wrist stock and the receiver. Photo 2. displays not only the left side, but also the the buttstock with the stock bolt installed. In photo 3. the pin which serves to keep the collar and buttstock in alignment with the receiver is clearly visible.

Mark designed a collar that fits on the back of the modified receiver and which is larger than the receiver itself. The collar’s larger diameter of 1 3/8” allows the builder to make a buttstock with a thicker wrist. A small pin is set into the rear face of the receiver which acts to keep the collar and the buttstock in proper alignment with the receiver. The rear of the collar is relieved to receive the wrist of the buttstock to provide a more secure ball-and-socket fit of the two components.

This new design also utilizes an 8½” long threaded rod that does not go completely through the stock like a drawbolt. It's intended to be threaded into a blind hole in the front of the buttstock along with a special adhesive designed to bond to both the steel and wood. The rod passes completely through the wrist and into the solid body of the stock. The smooth front end of the bolt protrudes from the buttstock and is then inserted into and secured to the receiver by two Allen screws on either side of the receiver.

Mark asked, What if you like a thicker wrist than the slender inch and a quarter diameter of the receiver? Or perhaps you prefer a pistol-gripped stock for bench shooting, or you may want another stock with a shorter length of pull for fall shooting when you would wear heavier clothing. Whatever the reason, now you can quickly and easily change stocks to match your shooting activities.

In all other respects Mark's modified action is identical to his standard H&A action.

Modified H&A Price: $240.00

Contact: Fire & Iron Manufacturing:
http://www.fire-iron.biz

Muzzleloader Builder’s Supply Billinghurst Action (kit)

Features:

Billinghurst-style of receiver cast of mild steel

External mainspring is investment cast steel and also serves as trigger guard

Simple single trigger that can be adapted to include sear engagement adjustment screw

Hammer does not feature a half-cock notch

Cast of low-carbon steel which allows bluing, browning, or color casehardening of the action

Breechplug, screws and pins needed to finish the action are not included in the kit

Kit cost: $89.00 (when available)

Comments:

Some of the most famous and accurate of all underhammer rifle designs are those of William Billinghurst. In his day he built a variety of underhammer target rifles which incorporated both internal as well as the more familiar external mainspring. In those which utilized an external mainspring, the spring also acts as the triggerguard. It is one of the most ingenious features lending to the overall simplicity of function and is exclusive to underhammer arms.

Muzzleloader Builder’s Supply, recently acquired by Ryan Roberts and now located in Aberdeen, Idaho, supplies a Billinghurst-inspired underhammer action KIT that could be the basis for a wonderful target rifle. I specify “target rifle” because this design does not provide a half cock notch for safely carrying the rifle in the field. If you think you really want to build a hunting rifle on this action, there is a means of safely carrying it in the field. One solution is found in an earlier post further down the page on this blog.

Another solution is displayed in the photos below of the custom rifle of Bob Alderman in which he and co-builder Loyde Moler crafted a sliding bar safety that is inletted into the rear of the forearm. All in all a clever remedy to the safety issue.

While the MBS action is rather large and designed to accommodate the heavy target barrels associated with bench rifles, it can wear a more slender barrel when the barrel is properly fitted with a tulip breech plug. (Coincidentally, I just happen to have a design for such.)

The breechplug hole in the receiver is just under ¾ of an inch. The breechplug can be secured with a tapered pin in the true Billinghurst manner, or the breechplug could also be silver soldered into the receiver to create a semi-integral plug. Such methods, when properly employed, can provide a stiff and secure union of barrel and receiver which is essential to accuracy in a target rifle.

The kit consists of the receiver casting, a trigger bar or lower tang, hammer, a simple, single trigger, and a cast mainspring/triggerguard. The kit requires some light machine work mostly in the form of drilling pin and screw holes. The screw holes must also be tapped with appropriate threads. In addition, a bit of filing and polishing will be needed to ready the action for final finishing. The mainspring casting also requires heat treatment in order to function as a spring. Instructions for that process are included.

Making a good spring from certified spring stock is a craft all its own. Making one from a casting can be very tricky at best and is probably one of the reasons that many distrust the triggerguard/mainspring concept. However, I am told that the process described in the instructions does produce a good, durable spring. If I were to build this action, I would also craft a spare from flat bar spring stock - just in case. Or, you could just buy a spare from MBS as all the action components are available separately, as well.

As can be seen in the photos, most of the hole locations are marked in the castings by dimples. However, drilling with a drill press is still recommended to be more assured that the holes are drilled 90 degrees from the center-line of the action. A slight deviation from that ideal could result in a binding hammer or trigger, or both. Again, instructions are included.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that MBS is presently out of stock of this product and is waiting on their foundry to deliver. Hence, unfortunately, a sample was not available for our review, but photos were.

(Update: I've received word that the Billinghurst action is now in stock and ready for delivery!)

While I have gotten some mixed information from some of our readers about the quality of this product in the past, after speaking with Mr. Roberts about this issue, he has stated that the quality issues have now been resolved.

For more information visit: http://muzzleloaderbuilderssupply.com. It may be necessary to use their on-site search engine to find the underhammer page, in which case, be sure to use the keyword “Underhammer.”

So there you have it, friends.

Well, thanks for stopping by - that concludes our Underhammer Action Round-up. Again I wish to thank Pete Allan, Mark Kisenwether, and Ryan Roberts for their participation and friendly cooperation in our Underhammer Action Round-up.

As new things develop, I’ll try to get them posted here for your edification so check back often. In fact, if you like this site and would like to be notified of new postings as they are published, you can subscribe by clicking on the Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) link at the bottom of this blog page.

Also, if you have found this posting to be worthwhile, please drop me a line and let me know at:
underhammers@safe-mail.net

Cheers!

R.J.Renner

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Underhammer barrelmaker? Is there even such a thing?

2010-01-21T15:23:00.001-08:00

Well friends, the regular hunting seasons are over and the guns are all cleaned and put up for the winter. But beware - Cupid is already gathering arrows in preparation for a hunting season all his own. Yes, it’ll soon be that time of the year when a man’s fancy turns from hunting to other endeavors that some would call “matters of the heart.” It’s amazing just how powerful that almost primal urge is that can render an otherwise sound mind into mere mush and cause a grown man to revert into a fidgety boy having just one thing on his mind…

...building another rifle for the fall hunting season.

What did you think we were talking about?

Like other muzzleloader builders, we underhammer makers are always looking for a source of good barrels. Luckily, today’s builders do have a good supply of barrels from which to choose for making tomorrow’s family heirlooms.

That is, most muzzleloader builders have a good supply of barrels.

Those of you who have requested Captain James Forsyth’s wonderful book, The Sporting Rifle and its Projectiles, have learned of the many advantages of Forsyth rifling. As a result, some of you now wish to build a big-bore rifle based upon the ideas expounded by Forsyth and proven by those of us who shoot such rifles.

Tah dah!!!

Yup, you guessed it. Time, once again, for my annual plug for Forsyth rifling in big-bores.

Since my first posting of the Forsyth information on this blog, I’ve received many queries seeking a source of Forsyth barrels as it would seem that they are not readily available. Unfortunately, the source that had provided me with virtually all the Forsyth barrels I used through the years has locked his shop, retired, and gone fishing. So I, too, have been looking for another barrel maker who can provide those special barrels that have made me a believer in the big round ball as being The Best muzzleloading projectile for the taking of big, tough game with one shot.

Now, I know them’s fightin' words for some hunters, but that’s only because they haven’t yet discovered how much better big round balls really are over those plastic-wrapped little pills they have been convinced will do a better job! The fact is that you just can’t begin to imagine how effective big round balls are on big game until you’ve hunted with them. It’s that simple.

Some may protest and argue that I probably haven’t yet tried the new sub-calibre bullets wrapped in the latest version of a plastic cocoon. And while that’s true, as I haven't, I have made a few underhammer rifles with the fast twist for my Forsyth customers who wanted to give the new notion a try. They have each come back to hunting with big round balls. Their curiosity satisfied, they had to agree, too, that Forsyth had this muzzleloading hunting formula all figured out 150 years ago. I trust their opinions and won’t waste my time on sub-caliber plastic-wrapped bullets. Besides, I have plenty of experience with cartridges that shoot the equivalent of the new breed of muzzleloading projectiles and loads and in my humble opinion they can’t hold a candle to Forsyth performance.

Recently I have contacted several barrel makers who have indicated that while they may not list slow twist, shallow rifling options on their price lists, they are willing to make barrels with the magic Forsyth rifling for those of us who request it. However, they ask that the rifle builder provide the exact rifling specs he requires and they will then make the barrel to order.

For those of you who have not read Forsyth’s book, or if you did, but still didn’t catch on to his sometimes subtle suggestions of dimensions, here is a formula that I have used that has proven very effective in nearly two hundred rifles in which I had employed it.

To begin with, however, it must be understood that the advantages of the extreme performance capabilities rendered by the Forsyth rifling system are only obtainable in big calibres with .58 being the smallest bore advised. Smaller diameter balls just don’t have enough mass to provide the wrecking ball blow needed to anchor and kill big game with just one shot.

That said we can now get to the Magic Formula.

Most muzzleloading barrels wear deep grooves of depths of .012” to .016” (that’s thousandths of an inch) with land width being about equal to that of the grooves. Forsyth, on the other hand, calls out a groove depth of only .005 of an inch. The groove to land width ratio should be a minimum of 5:1 and more is better.The shallow grooves allow less blow-by of the propelling gas thus making more efficient use of the powder charge.

The next aspect of the formula is the slow twist. This is based upon the fact that the round ball is a perfect geometric form and as such requires very little rotational spin to stabilize it in flight. Another fact is that the larger the round ball, the less spin is needed to keep it tracking straight to the target.

While Forsyth prefers a rate of twist of 1 turn in 144 inches, I have experimented, too, and learned that a twist of 1:108 will provide all the benefits of the upper end of the performance spectrum, but provides sufficient stabilization of the big round ball when loaded to velocities much lower than the 1900 – 2000 feet per second that we normally achieve from the Zephyr and Faeton rifles.

If you’re not really sure what rifling specs you need, feel free to drop me a line and I’ll be happy to help you figure it out for your calibre with specs you can then give to the barrel maker of your choice.

Shown above is the muzzle of a beautiful custom 12-bore barrel made for me by gunsmith, John Taylor. This barrel is made of “hard steel” as Forsyth would say, and utilizes an 8.5:1 groove to land ratio with very narrow lands of only .040” width. Clicking on the center of the photo will provide a real close-up view of the lands at the muzzle and display the extreme width of the grooves. Click the Back arrow to return to the text.

According to Forsyth’s thinking, the idea is to have as little of the land bearing against the ball as possible – hence narrow lands. Forsyth rifling does not require a hammer tight fit of bullet to the rifling. The influence of the slow twist on the patched ball is so gentle that the ball does not resist the guidance of the rifling. This allows us to achieve high velocity without the worry that the ball will strip from the patch and render a wild shot. This also allows easy loading without the need of extra gadgets such as a short starter.

As an additional side benefit of this fact, it is also possible to accurately shoot hardened lead balls (wheelweights or linotype bullets shoot very well) from the Forsyth bore. However, I won’t get into the details here. Just read the book.

I know, I know - all these "facts" defy all that many of you have ever thought to be true about muzzleloading rifles. I’m telling you that you just can’t believe the many advantages of the Forsyth system until you’ve experienced it. As I like to say, Forsyth had it all figured out 150 years ago and had overcome all of our modern complaints about muzzleloading rifles.

If you haven’t yet read Forsyth’s wonderful book, The Sporting Rifle and its Projectiles, I will gladly forward the pdf e-book to you if you send a request to me at: underhammers@safe-mail.net. Then you will understand what all the excitement is about.

While there may be other barrel makers who will make a “Forsyth” barrel for you, those listed below are those who responded to my inquiries and who I know have the understanding of the concept and the skill to produce a high quality barrel at a fair price that will provide you with all the benefits that have made us Forsyth shooters as giddy as schoolgirls at a Friday night sleepover.

If you’re a barrel maker and not on the list but would like to be included, drop me a line and we can talk.

Understand that really good barrel makers are very busy which usually translates into some waiting time. So don’t be surprised if you’re quoted 6 weeks to even 6 months before you receive your prize. But truly, it will be worth the wait.

THE OFFICIAL BARREL MAKERS OF THE UNDERHAMMER SOCIETY

Please contact the following barrel makers for their current prices, terms, and conditions and, of course, tell them that you read of them on The Underhammer Society blog:

Scott Keller or Scott Kelley, Colerain Barrels: www.colerainbarrel.com or phone: 814-632-7513 or e-mail : scott@colerainbarrel.com

Charles Burton, Flintlock Construction, Inc., phone: 606-780-7709; e-mail: flintlockcalb50@hotmail.com

The makers listed above offer barrels up to and including .62 calbre. Those listed below will make barrels of even larger bore as well as the usual small bore calibres.

John Taylor, John Taylor Machine, www.johntaylormachine.com phone: 253-445-4073;
e-mail: john@johntaylormachine.com

Jim Carpenter Barrels, phone: 208-245-3693

Ed Rayl, phone: 304-364-8269

BTW, there is no such thing as an underhammer barrel maker. Most any muzzleloading barrel can be used to make an underhammer so there is no distinction that I'm aware of. However, according to my wife, I could be wrong. So if you know different, please enlighten me.

On my drawing board...

If you’re curious about that custom John Taylor barrel mentioned above, it is being used in the project now on my drawing board. My new dream is a "Nouveau Jaeger" based upon my Faeton design, which will be a 12-bore stalking rifle with overt Germanic influence that will feature that extremely swamped barrel for light weight and perfect balance in the finished rifle. The hammer is one of the more unique features of this rifle and is a stylized acanthus leaf (at least for now).

Clicking on the photo will enlarge it for viewing the detail of this unique, one-of-a-kind underhammer rifle.

The trigger guard is also the mainspring and fabrication of it as one solid piece of spring steel was one of the greater challenges in this design. The grip rail may be of horn or perhaps, ebony, while the loading rod will be metal-tipped, streaked Macassar ebony. The forearm tip subtly suggests a traditional Schnabel without an obvious elephant lip or undercut knob. The wood I have chosen for this project is a nice piece of French walnut - conservative and not too flashy. The checkering pattern, too, will be conservative, although undecided in actual design at this time. Sling rings may be utilized – not sure.

Engraving/etching of the steel receiver and buttplate will be performed in a floral, Germanic Victorian pattern that is graceful and elegant, unlike the later and rather cliché chiseled oak leaf and acorn motif that many associate with Germanic arms. The barrel will wear my exclusive Damascus pattern.

Over all, the finish will be highlighted French gray on the receiver with a light browning of the barrel and buttplate. Screws, the trigger, and triggerguard will be Nitre-blued to a deep cobalt-blue color.

I believe it will be a most unusual, if not beautiful underhammer rifle.

For more information about Faeton rifles, please visit: www.rjrenner.blogspot.com.

UNDERHAMMER ACTION ROUNDUP!

Tune in next month for the Underhammer Action Roundup in which we’ll take a comparative look at some of the more readily available underhammer actions. You rifle builders will find it to be most timely and informative.

If any of you readers are making and marketing underhammer actions - or if you know someone who is - and would like to be featured in this upcoming roundup, please contact me right away so I can be sure to include you. Just drop me a line at: underhammers@safe-mail.net and we can brainstorm your feature.

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Fun with Dick and Bob

2009-10-28T20:30:00.001-07:00

For over 60 years the Holmes brothers, Dick and Bob, have been making firearms for friends and neighbors in their little corner of North Carolina. This may not seem like much until you consider that they started their arms-making “career” when they were mere lads.

Dick relates, “As kids, my brother and I were always fascinated with guns, especially pistols. Being too young and also not having the means to buy one, we did the next best thing - we made some for ourselves and some to sell. Most were pretty well-made affairs, but simple. We used an in-line system and brass barrels.”

Dick also adds that their endeavor was not without its challenges as they had to stay a step ahead of the local lawman, and those who bought the brothers’ wares were sworn to secrecy. Dick explains, “Any boy that bought one from us had to swear not to tell where he got it. Never got caught, but came close.” He goes on to explain, “The local police chief was asked one time where a guy might purchase a cheap handgun. His answer was, ‘Go see them two boys down on the other end of town. They got'um, but I ain't never been able to find'um.’”

Their fledgling arms business faced other challenges, too, such as a supply of suitable loading components for their guns, as Dick relates, “Ammunition consisted of match heads, firecracker powder and plumbers lead rolled into round balls for bullets.”

Hey, sometimes you just have to be resourceful and use what you have.

Then in the 1960’s the Holmes boys found Herschel Logan’s wonderful book on underhammer guns. That's when their gun-making kicked into high gear when they decided to copy one of the rifles featured in the book. Dick said, “Through trial and error, we learned to bore, ream and rifle the barrel for it. The only thing we bought to build that rifle was a brass butt plate casting. We made everything else - even the metal and wood screws.”

Now sneaking up on his mid 70’s, Dick is still making underhammer guns of one sort or another and he has sent us these pics of some of his favorite underhammer pistols. All display fine workmanship and good quality materials. You can click on the pics to take a closer look at the details of the different mechanisms he employed in making them. Then click the Back arrow to return to the text.

Following is Dick’s brief description of his pistols.

1. A Target Pistol of 36 cal., 6 ¾-inch rifled barrel, takes a # 11 cap, cherry grip, two piece firing mechanism. As the spring hammer is pulled to cock, the rear of the spring pushes the rear of trigger forward to engage the sear in front of trigger with the hammer notch. This pistol has adjustable sights.

This second photo is of Dick's sketch which displays the utter simplicity of the mechanism of the first pistol which is not readily apparent in the photo.

2. The Carleton Reproduction is 36 cal., 7 7/8-inch rifled barrel, takes a # 11 cap, walnut grip. Early understriker design, trigger guard serves as hammer spring, has adjustable sights. (Editor's note: There is a sketch of the unusual Carleton mechanism in an earlier post further down this page entitled, The Underhammer Rifle - a book for builders.)

3. This is a Gambler-type Pistol of 40 cal., with a 4 ¾-inch smooth bore barrel and takes a # 11 cap, has a walnut grip. The hammer is a spring and rotates for capping nipple. Safe to carry in pocket because the trigger blocks hammer, can be fired double action.

4. This Hale Design has a 3 5/8-inch rifled barrel, takes # 11 cap and has a maple grip. This is a conventional underhammer with a backstrap around the grip.

5. This Ladies Pistol is 31 cal. and has a 2 ¾-inch smooth bore. It is a pill lock and has maple two-piece grips. The hammer is also a spring and rotates to insert the priming pill, as in no. 3. It’s a very safe gun to carry concealed as the trigger blocks the hammer until pulled. It can also be fired double action.

6. The photo to the left is of an H. E. Leman reproduction in 41 cal. with a 13 7/8-inch rifled barrel. It takes a # 11 cap and has a maple grip. Also has a holster and ramrod over 19 inches overall. Brass mounted with fully adjustable sights. If a fellow had one of these and a Hawken Rifle going West back then, he was a big man.

Our thanks to Dick and Bob for sharing their history and to Dick for sharing his fine collection of underhammer pistols with us. Please accept this as our humble tribute to your lifetime of contributions to the ongoing history of underhammer arms.

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Hunting Season Mixed Bag

2009-10-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

Tapered Paper Cartridges

Those of us who hunt with muzzleloading rifles, whether underhammer or of inferior designs, all have one common concern – a quick and accurate follow-up shot. For some time I have been thinking about and designing a really nice quick-load gadget made of copper tubing and having a nice chain to hold the beautiful turned-wood plug captive while loading my Faeton or New Century rifle.

I was all set to start making a few of these gadgets so I wouldn’t have to carry loose powder and ball into the field. I really like simple and the speed loader seemed like a really good idea that would save me fumbling for my powder flask, measuring powder and inevitably spilling some in the process. Then, of course, getting patch and ball together and ramming onto the powder and finally to futzing with a cap.

Yes sir, my neat little copper tubing speed loader would save me from most of the uncertainty and chance of Murphy's Law while performing a quick reload in the field. I thought I had it all figured out.

Then I got a call from my friend, Bruce…

Now understand that I am not one to abandon a good idea too quickly – especially when it’s MY good idea. But I have to admit that after talking with Bruce I gave up my little copper tube speed-loader idea without a second thought. It was a no-brainer decision.

What Bruce shared with me was another speed-loading gadget – the paper cartridge. Now I know you’re probably thinking that paper cartridges aren’t anything new. In fact, I’d be willing to bet a donut hole that some of you have probably tried making and shooting the traditional paper cartridge at one time or another. I know I have and I was a bit under whelmed with the results in the field.

However, all that said, Bruce shares a rather clever twist to the old concept that deserves a fresh look from those of us who think we’ve seen it all. Bruce shows us how to make and use TAPERED paper cartridges that load in a blink and shoot more accurately than you would ever believe possible. The paper cartridge actually becomes the patch and a cushion wad! I was immensely impressed.

The target seen here, shot at 75 yards, shows a first shot in the bull and the tapered paper cartridge follow-up shot just an inch to the left of the first shot. Can't ask for much better accuracy from a quick follow up shot.

But, rather than steal more of his thunder, I’ll let Bruce tell his story to you. Unfortunately I cannot publish the whole story here directly due to technical difficulties in converting media and posting photos etc. So the whole story has been converted to a PDF file which I will be more than happy to send to you readers if you send a request to me at underhammers@safe-mail.net .

Don't pass up this opportunity. E-mail me now to request Bruce's story and perhaps you could be hunting with this speedy and simple reloading system this season. Believe me when I say that you will be pleasantly surprised when using and shooting these tapered paper cartridges.

Thanks, Bruce, for a most helpful and timely contribution.

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Underhammer Fobs

When my love with underhammers was just beginning to blossom I had one bad experience that almost soured the affair. At the time I was still shooting customized versions of the Numrich Arms "Hopkins & Allen" (by now you should know that it isn't really a Hopkins and Allen design - Numrich just used the name) rifle with its typical hammer spur.

The rifle was loaded and I had it shouldered and aimed. Reaching forward to cock the hammer, I wrapped my forefinger around the hammer spur and pulled to bring the hammer to the full-cock position when it unexpectedly slipped from my finger. Luckily the trigger sear snagged the hammer’s half-cock notch (which is what it is supposed to do) and prevented an AD (accidental discharge).

Unfortunately, the very fragile sear at the front nose of the trigger was broken and the half-cock notch in the hammer was rather buggered as well. As you might imagine, that ended an otherwise great day at the range. My wife says that I should try to find the positive in every situation... Because I did create some new vocabulary appropriate for the situation, which, by the way, has served me well in similar situations since, the day was not a complete loss. Perhaps my wife was right. It did, after all, also inspire me to add a loop to the then-emerging Zephyr hammer design for attachment of a fob.

BTW, had it not been for that half-cock notch, my rifle would have fired. Luckily, I was pointed down range at the moment that occurred.

That incident got me to thinking about a means of drawing an under-mounted hammer to the cocked position with more assurance of full and complete engagement of the lockwork with less chance of a repeat of earlier experiences along with the attendant new vocabulary that such events tend to provoke.

A very simple solution is a Hammer Fob. For those of you who have never had a pocket watch, a fob can be any sort of do-dad that is attached by cord or chain that allows you to easily draw an object from a secure position, like retrieving a pocket watch from your pocket.

Here are two examples of how to affix a simple leather lace having a knot for the fob. I used Zephyr hammers for our demonstration. The hammer on the left shows how to loop the leather over the shank of a typical type of (under) hammer and knotting it. Then a few more wraps of leather lace tied close up to the hammer shank will keep the fob from pulling off the hammer when it is cocked. The hammer on the right shows how the Zephyr hammer easily accepts the fob with just a loop through the hammer curl and a simple knot to secure it.

Affixing a fob to a hammer allows you to simply grab hold of the fob and give it a good tug to cock the hammer. Obviously these are very simple examples, but you get the general idea. Right?

The fob itself can be very basic, such as a few strands of leather lace with a knot, as seen on the Zephyr hammers, or perhaps with a trinket or a piece of trade silver attached. Or, it could be rather ornate such as the optional fine chain tassel as seen in these photos of my new, concealed-hammer New Century underhammer rifle.

If you're hunting during the typical big-game season and your fingers are cold, stiff, wet, or all of those, you will surely appreciate a hammer fob or tassel. It will certainly make cocking the hammer easier and safer.

Clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them for a closer look at the details. Clicking on the "Back" button will return you to the text.

Well, there you have it, simple and neat. Did I mention that I really appreciate simple solutions?

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Press’n Seal® clean up?

Here’s another mixed bag tip that is sure to save you mess and fuss and preserve the finish on your favorite smokepole and, perhaps, your marriage, too, if you’re hitched to an obsessive neatnik.

Cleaning up after shooting my muzzleloading or blackpowder cartridge guns has never been the warm and fuzzy part of the whole shooting experience for me. In fact, to be absolutely truthful about it, I’ve even tried thinking up ways to be able to put off the cleaning as long as possible before there might be damage to the bore of my rifle.

It seems that no matter how careful I was, keeping that dirty, smelly, foul and corrosive water off the wood of my rifle was always a challenge during the bore-cleaning process. I like to use a nipple replacement which is actually another form of nipple to which you attach a plastic hose. Your cleaning jag or mop, if tightly fitted to the bore, will allow you to draw water from a bucket into the bore of your rifle. This is a simple means to clean your rifle and is intended to keep the mess to a minimum.

I’m sure most of you readers are quite familiar with the process. If not, you can visit Track of the Wolf as well as most other muzzleloading suppliers and check out their wares and give the gadget and the process a try.

Even when taking all the necessary precaution, I still managed to get that nasty water on the forearm of my rifle. Then my wife introduced me to Press’n Seal® plastic wrap and my life became a much happier place.

Available at most any supermarket, this stuff sticks to metal, wood, and itself amazingly well and can be used to wrap your rifle barrel and forearm, or the complete rifle if you’re really messy. This stuff is not like the early plastic wrap that gave you fits trying to manage it once off the roll. The Press'n Seal product actually behaves quite well and is rather obedient to your commands.

Wrapping with the plastic film will render your rifle's wood protected – at least within the context of normal cleaning. Probably won’t keep it absolutely dry if you’re one of those who takes his rifle into the shower with him. But, we really don’t want to go there…

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll stop here and you can take a look at the graphic and imitate if you haven’t figured it out by now. And, if you need a closer look, just click on the pic and then click your "Back" button to return to the text.

Hope that's helpful. Made clean-up a lot easier for me. Of course, if you're shooting a Forsyth barrel, clean up is a snap, anyway. Be that as it may, I haven't given up my search for something that will safely allow me to put off cleaning for another day.

So, the next time you're faced with the mess and drudgery of cleaning your muzzleloader, as they say, "Don't get mad, get Glad."

Works for me.

Wade's at it again! Ingrham's Underhammer Harmonica Rifle

2009-07-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

When we consider underhammer firearms we generally think in terms of them being single-shot arms. But there were some enterprising individuals who were thinking way out of the box for their time at the onset of the underhammer period. Those Enlightened Ones wanted a repeating underhammer rifle. Probably the best known of those few underhammer repeating designs is the slide action or “harmonica” gun.

The slide or harmonica of the design consists of a flat bar having several holes drilled into it to act as chambers, hence the reference to the harmonica. At the back and on the bottom, the harmonica is fitted with percussion nipples for ignition. It also has an additional set of holes that accommodate a spring loaded brass plunger that acts to lock the harmonica’s chambers in correct alignment with the barrel for firing.

The photo here shows the loaded and lubed chambers on the front of the harmonica bar. Just a reminder that clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them for viewing the details of the design. Clicking the Back arrow on your webpage will take you back to the text.

The harmonica slides through a steel frame into which the barrel is fitted. So arranged, the harmonica is advanced for each shot by cocking the hammer, releasing the locking mechanism, then simply pushing the slide to the next chamber. By releasing the locking plunger it will snap back into the appropriate hole thereby locking the harmonica in position.

This view to the left shows the bottom of the action with the harmonica in place and locked by the spring-loaded brass locking plunger.

Ironically, as advanced as the concept was for the day, it never really caught on in its own time and very few rifles have actually survived for us to study. Those few that have survived command such high prices that few of us will ever enjoy the privilege of handling and studying one up close.

Another interesting fact about harmonicas that is unknown but to a few moderns is that Jonathan Browning's earliest commercial products were underhammer harmonica rifles which he built in Quincy, Illinois in the 1830s before later moving on to Ogden, Utah.

Now, about 175 years later, the underhammer harmonica is being revived by our friend, Wade Ingrham. You may recall an earlier post on this blog regarding his underhammer rifles and his underhammer flintlock pistol. To say he’s mechanically adventurous is an understatement. And while he may technically be retired at 87 years young, you just can’t keep a mechanical kind of guy sitting idle very long before his mind runs wild with new ideas that seek expression in the tangible world.

So, check this out cause it is waaaaay cool!

Wade decided that his single shot underhammer design needed rapid-fire capability. To his basic take-down underhammer design he’s added an addition that converts his singleshot into a .36 calibre 5-shot repeater! The Ingrham Underhammer Harmonica Rifle is the result.

Wade’s takedown design allows him to switch from the singleshot mode to the repeater mode with just a few turns of the take down screw which is positioned just forward of the hammer. You can take a look at our previous post about Wade to view that take-down process.

Loading of the rifle is pretty simple and straightforward and requires that the harmonica be removed from the rifle. Wade designed a simple lever loading tool to load the harmonica in much the same manner as one would load a percussion revolver cylinder. First the chamber is loaded with 15 grains of fffg blackpowder, after which the round ball is placed into the chamber mouth and then seated on top of the powder with the loading press. When all five chambers are loaded, the empty space above each bullet is filled with grease to act as bullet lube and to prevent a crossfire.

A crossfire is more known to occur in percussion revolvers and is the result of the flame from the combustion blowing through the cylinder gap and igniting the powder in the adjoining chamber. As you can imagine, that makes for an exciting, albeit a dangerous day at the range.

Although a crossfire is definitely a very real possibility in a percussion revolver where each chamber is extremely close to the next, in Wade’s harmonica the distance between chambers is so great that the chance of a crossfire is very remote. When the chamber is then topped with grease the chance of a crossfire is virtually nil.

Flipping the harmonica on its front side allows the nipples to be easily capped by hand or by a capper. Then the harmonica is simply slid into place to bring the first chamber into alignment with the barrel at which point the spring-loaded slide lock pops into place and you’re ready to fire.

It should be noted that the harmonica can be started from either side of the receiver making the whole arrangement ambidextrous. And, of course, there is no ramrod needed for loading.

Here's a top view of the Ingrham Harmonica Rifle loaded and ready to rock and roll.

I’m sure that Wade’s rifle will probably inspire some of you other underhammer makers to venture out and try something new and for that I believe he deserves a round of applause and our appreciation for his efforts and inspiration to the rest of us.

While Wade's pics are pretty self explanatory, if you have any questions about Wade’s underhammers I’m sure he would welcome your e-mail. His e-mail address is listed on an earlier post down below so go back and take a look at his earlier work and you can then better appreciate the ingenuity of his single shot/repeater conversion.

Just in from Wade is the video below of him demonstrating the rapid fire capability of his Underhammer Harmonica Rifle. This is really a rare opportunity as there are probably only a handful of people in the whole world who have ever seen a harmonica rifle being fired.

Turn up the sound, click the arrow on the bottom of the video frame below, and Wade will show you how it's done!

You're going to love this!

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Here's a view of those 5 quick, barely-aimed shots at 25 yards.
Click the pic for a closer look at the target.

To really appreciate the underhammer harmonica one must consider that at the time of its introduction at the very outset of the percussion age, the harmonica rifle was the technological equivalent of today's Vulcan gun. It was futuristicly cutting edge!

Imagine that its the late '20s or early '30s - that's the 1820s or 30s - and you are armed with a flint rifle, or perhaps you're a man of means and had one of those really modern wizbang percussion guns, or maybe you had a conversion of a flinter to a cap buster. And let's imagine that you came upon an opponent with the capability of firing five aimed shots in about 10 seconds. But, who could also swap his empty harmonica for a loaded spare and deliver another five shots before having to reload. I don't know about you, but that would be fairly intimidating to me.

Truly, the harmonica rifle really was a wonder in its day and did inspire the development of several later repeating designs.

So there you have it boys and girls - Wade's Underhammer Harmonica Rifle.
I don't know about you, but I'm sure impressed!

Thanks Wade, for sharing your achievements and inspiring the rest of us.

Remember, kids, you saw it here first!

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LePage Rifle

2009-06-10T10:46:00.001-07:00

Our thanks go to one of our readers who tracked down this fine example of underhammer gunmaking and to our good friends at Track of the Wolf, Inc. for their kind permission to share it with you.

This .50 calibre rifle was built by Bruce LePage and displays an interesting combination of features not usually seen in contemporary underhammer circles. Fancy maple was the wood of choice for the forearm and buttstock which wears a smooth shotgun butt that I’m sure slips right up to the shoulder as smooth as silk.

I have always admired those underhammer designs that incorporate the trigger guard to perform double duty by also motivating the hammer. LePage delivers with a very graceful trigger guard which is pinned to the hammer and a super slender trigger which adds a touch of refinement that pleases the eye.

LePage’s 28-inch barrel is part octagon with the balance round and tapered to the muzzle, which provides for good balance. While not unique in and of itself, LePage takes the execution of the transition of the octagon to round lengths of the barrel to another level with the slight rotation of the last inch of the octagon portion. This is a clever twist (no pun intended) which when combined with his rope treatment of the traditional wedding band provides more tasteful eye candy.

A conservative pewter cap provides a classy finish to the forearm which is secured by pin and escutcheon treatment. LePage chose to expose the hickory ramrod on the bottom of the forearm but captivates it within a ramrod tube at the rear of the forearm.

At 6 ½ pounds the LePage rifle is nicely done and is probably a sweetheart of a rifle to shoot.

Again, thanks to our friends at Track of the Wolf for sharing this rifle with us. More photos of the LePage rifle can be seen at www.trackofthewolf.com.

Yes, another underhammer flint-pistol maker!

2009-05-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems that there are now at least two underhammer builders who were intrigued enough by the concept of an underhammer flintlock to build one. Our friend Scott Coy has now joined the ranks of that elite little group who have successfully made an underhammer flintlock.

Here's Scott's story .

Remember to click on the photos for a closer look, then click your Back arrow to return to the text.

My First Underhammer Flintlock

by Scott Coy

It all started as a joke!

A shooting buddy of mine stopped into my shop one afternoon to see what I had been up to. Having just finished an underhammer percussion rifle I handed it to him and asked him what he thought of it. Knowing that I am an avid flintlock shooter he said “why didn’t you make it a flintlock?” We laughed about it but after he left I was wondering if it could be done? I searched the net trying to find any information on underhammer flintlocks and found very little. Now it became a challenge.

I had been working on this underhammer rifle for nearly a month so I understood the concept pretty well. With close examination I realized that I could modify the percussion hammer to hold a flint and build a pan to hold the frizzen and I would have an underhammer flintlock. It sounded logical to me but I don’t think that it would have looked very good. A flintlock has to have a graceful S-shaped cock. To me looks are almost as important as function!

I started to draw out some ideas on paper but things didn’t progress. A couple weeks went by until one day while working on a large Siler flintlock the light went ON in my head!. I took the Siler apart and arranged the parts upside-down and at that moment I knew that I could make this thing work.

Having built several conventional flintlocks in the past I decided to use existing parts where I could. The H&A type mainspring-trigger guard was the logical choice for the main spring. I added a piece to the cut-out side of a large Siler cock, adapting it to utilize the H&A spring. This piece also has the half and full cock notches cut into it.

It’s a tricky process to get those in the correct place! I used a sear to engage the half and full cock notches and I made the trigger from scratch.

Getting everything in the proper position and working correctly took a lot of time. It was all trial and error. Mistakes were made and some parts were turned into junk, but that’s what happens when you are trying to create something new. Making something simple is a lot harder than one might think!

With my hand-made or modified parts assembled into the action I still was not sure that this thing would actually work. The main spring seemed to have plenty of power. The half and full cock notches seemed to hold, but would this thing really work? I put a piece of wood in the jaws of the cock then pulled the cock to the full-cock position. Touched the trigger and it actually worked - the first time! With the wood replaced with a new flint I brought the gun to full-cock and touched the trigger again. The frizzen gave off a beautiful shower of sparks right into the pan. I thought I had this thing whipped.

At the shooting range things didn’t go that good. It seemed that I had overlooked one minor obstacle - GRAVITY. With a conventional flinter you try to get the flint to strike about 1/3 the height of the frizzen from the top. With the underhammer design, the powder was igniting too far below the vent and ignition was very slow. I also had several flash-in-the-pans without the barrel firing. To remedy this situation I adjusted the flint to strike the frizzen at about the half-way point. I also opened the vent a bit larger than I normally would. Doing this and a few other small "tweaks" got it to fire pretty fast and eliminated those flash-in-the-pan misfires. However, I still haven’t got it to fire as fast as a well tuned conventional flintlock!

For those of you contemplating a project like this I will tell you that this is a very complicated build. The placement of parts is very critical and there isn’t much room for error. Study the parts placement and geometry of a conventional flintlock. They have been around for hundreds of years and are about as close to perfect as they can get.

For me, designing this gun and getting it to shoot while keeping it as simple as possible was the challenge. I know there are a lot of you who can do a much better job on something like this than I did and I would like to see examples of your work.

Thanks, again Scott for sharing your story.
Anyone else up to the challenge?

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