I have purchased at auction a Hopkins & Allen underhammer rifle. It is marked as the Heritage model, and appears to be a 45 cal. Inspection of the firearm would lead me to believe it has never been fired. Inspection of the bore with a bore scope shows no signs of ever being fired. The nipple was still loaded with dark brown grease, and there is no signs of a cap even being fired on it. Looks like this rifle was in storage for many years and very well kept. I have contacted Numrich Arms ( the maker of this underhammer rifle) in an effort to attain informatio about suggested ball size, and powder charge range. They would not give any information. Have measure the twist and it appears to be very close to a 1 in 66" twist rate for round balls. I have disassembled the rifle and made an effort to remove the breach plug. Although there is no rust or signs of corosion it is nearly inpossible to remove it without damage, so slugging the bore is out. If anyone has information about ball size and powder charge range I would like to hear what they have to suggest. At this point I would tend to believe that it will take a .440 round ball and about 60 grains of FFFg powder.I have run a few cleaning patches and oil through the bore to protect it from rust on a tight brass jag. The rifling is so sharp that it cuts the cleaning patch. Wonder if a light lapping with a tight fitting patch over a jag with JB bore compound would help before making an attempt to load and fire the rifle. Again I would like to hear from those who have had experince with these rifles and what you would suggest. Thank you, Sendaro

make a tompion (wooden plug) to snug fit the barrel and buy a pint of Kroil. Fill the barrel and tap the tompion in. Let it set for a day or two. Kroil is a super penetrant, it should loosen the breech plug up enough to get it out.

Rich

Those were pretty cool guns, I remember lusting over them in the Dixie Gun Works catalog back in the late 60's-early 70's.

Anyway, as you surmised they are 45 caliber and the usual recommendation is a 440 ball with a .015 patch (old bedsheet type stuff). If you are just planning on target shooting with it you might want to start with 40 grains and work up to 60.

Hey just found an interesting link that can probably answer most any questions you might have:

http://underhammers.blogspot.com/

Thank you for the information and reply. I have tried the Kroil treatment to no avail over the past few days. Being that the barrel is held to the action by a tapered peg I believe the combination of tourque in seating the breach plug at the factory and then the stress applied with the tapered pin have really set the breach plug in for good. It is apparent that this rifle was cheaply made, but they have left plenty of room for improvement. That's half the fun of a new rifle. Making the improvements and getting it to shoot accurately. I have both FFFg and some .440 round balls and will start with a 40 grain charge. many years ago I had a 45 cal. long rifle that was made in one of pizza factories on the other side of the pond. It shot very well with 65 grains of FFFg and a tight patched .445 round ball. Tried one of these .445 RBs in the muzzle adn it's just too tight. The .440 just goes in.Will give it a try. Thanks again for the imput.

While I can't offer any opinion I have an under hammer as well. They must be one of the most elegant guns around. I've just put a peep sight on mine and a globe front sight. I'll be taking it out very soon after deer season is over and getting to know the old girl. Mine isn't an H&A and it has a half cock. I'm under the impression that the H&A doesn't have a half cock so be a bit careful. I've read that you can just slip a wooden dowell under the hammer (but not on the cap!) to block the hammer from striking the cap while hunting.

Keep us posted!!

the chef

Calgarychef1 The H&A that I have does have a half cock knotch. The deer season here in up state NY has a few more weeks before it will be over and then I will start test firing. Have started making the small items necessary to fire my rifle. Now that I'm retired I have the time to work on projects like this one. Another project that will start about the same time is building cases and test firing a very special Winchester high wall varmint rifle that I will be writting an article about. This rifle belonged to Mike Walker of Remington Arms. It is chambered in R2 Lovell. However the chamber is more like an improved R2 that Mike must have been working with before his designing the 222Remington. Have Redding reloading dies on the way after sending them a chamber casting of the improved R2 chamber. Also have been running test on the .204 Ruger in depth. That will also continue this winter from the warmth of my shooting lab. Just don't know how I got anything done when I was working for a living! However, life is full and very good!!!May all your shots find their intended mark, Sendaro

Today I gave the H&A a test firing. The .440 round ball went in very tight but didn't cut the patch. Using a 50 grain charge of FFFg I fired the rifle at 50 yards. The original nipple was too fat to take a #11 cap, and it was so high with a cap forced on that the edge of the hammer cup would hit the outside edge of the cap first. Ignition was very poor.Replaced the nipple witha SS one that fits right and the caps fit on nice and snug. The hammer now clears and the cap fires every time. Will continue testing soon.

An old feller told me to file the nipple at an angle that matches the angle of the hammer. Makes sense to me and might help you out too.

Happy to report to any interested that I have solve the ignition problems with the H&R underhammer. If you have ever looked one of these rifles over you will see that it is not the best of workanship or materials. Such was the case with this rifle.The hammer and the nipple were not in alignment at all. So the hammer was heated and bent to the proper angle to align the center of the hammers cupped face with the nipple. Now it stricks dead center and flat on the top of the capped nipple. The rifle now fires every time with very positive ignition. Went back to the benchrest rest at our shooting house and test fires 24 shots with 50 grains of FFFg Goex, and a tight patched .433 round ball. The rifle is grouping 1 3/4" at 50 yards. At this point I have not gone up or down with the powder charge and have just worked out the bugs to get it to fire every time. When I first test fired this rifle I was using a .440 round ball and it loaded every hard with the ball having to be hammered into the muzzle with such force that it nearly flattened the ball face. With the .433 patched round ball the ball still goes in with some tapping but there is very little deforming to the face of the ball. Since I have not varied the powder charge that will be the next step in the testing of the rifle. Does anyone have any suggestions for an accurate powder charge with this cal. I guess I'm asking if I should go higher or lower in the powder charge where some one else has found accuracy.Please advise. thanks, Sendaro

Sounds like you're on the right track. As for loads, in my experience and that of fellow shooters and hunters, muzzleloading rifles are each a law unto themselves. The variables are many - ball diameter, patch thickness and material, lube type and quantity, powder quantity, brand, and granulation, cap brand, bore seasoning, wiping between shots, frequency of cleaning during long shooting days, etc. I primarily hunt with my frontstuffers so I don't care for a combination that has to be hammered on at all. No telling what a fella might put up with at the benchrest though... Enjoy!