Hopkins and Allen .45 underhammer

hanshi · Sep 24, 2021

I ordered an H&A .45 underhammer around 55 years ago and still have it. That super accurate rifle has taken deer, bobcat and squirrel. It also made my farthest .45 deer kill at 75 yards. They do have a half cock notch and I never had a problem with caps falling off. Mine is now retired but has been fired a LOT, and the bore is still pristine. Jump on this deal while you can, you won't be disappointed with it.....and it IS a deal.
Don't worry about the 20" barrel, I've killed quite a few deer with a shorty. Mine came with a .435" mold but later I found I could also use a .440" ball with a thinner patch. I loaded 60 or 65 grains of 3F and that's all it took. Too much powder will cause hammer blow-back. You'll do best if you wear a long sleeve shirt as insurance when shooting it.

Badgerfarm · Sep 24, 2021

It's a great deal and you know the seller. With the extras it is well worth the money.

SmoothboreMurph · Sep 24, 2021

Semisane said:
Not quite. None of the GM barrels with breechplugs will attach to the H&A action. What you want is the .54 or .58 barrel without a breechplug, but with 5/8 x 18 threads for a breechplug. Then use a 5/8 x 18 bolt from a hardware store to fabricate a breech plug for the H&A. You will also need to drill and tap for the nipple after the breechplug is installed and the barrel fitted to the action. You want to have the barrel installed so as to locate the proper spot for the nipple.

As an alternative, have that extra 31" barrel re-bored to a larger caliber by Bobby Hoyte.

So if I were to buy a 5/8×18 breechplug for the underhammer like New Old Stock and put that into the barrel that would also work right ?

SmoothboreMurph · Sep 24, 2021

hanshi said:
I ordered an H&A .45 underhammer around 55 years ago and still have it. That super accurate rifle has taken deer, bobcat and squirrel. It also made my farthest .45 deer kill at 75 yards. They do have a half cock notch and I never had a problem with caps falling off. Mine is now retired but has been fired a LOT, and the bore is still pristine. Jump on this deal while you can, you won't be disappointed with it.....and it IS a deal.
Don't worry about the 20" barrel, I've killed quite a few deer with a shorty. Mine came with a .435" mold but later I found I could also use a .440" ball with a thinner patch. I loaded 60 or 65 grains of 3F and that's all it took. Too much powder will cause hammer blow-back. You'll do best if you wear a long sleeve shirt as insurance when shooting it.

Is FF powder a good idea to use in this rifle ? I only ask because I have a lot of it that I use to feed my Bess Musket and Bess Carbine.

hawkeye2 · Sep 24, 2021

Yes to both your posts #43 & #44. Breech plugs and other parts do show up from time to time on eBay.

SmoothboreMurph · Sep 24, 2021

hawkeye2 said:
Yes to both your posts #43 & #44. Breech plugs and other parts do show up from time to time on eBay.

I'm looking at a breechplug on Ebay so that idea came to mind, thanks for the confirmation that it will work. Also thanks for answering my question about the use of FF powder.

SmoothboreMurph · Sep 24, 2021

Thanks to everyone who gave information about this rifle it all has really helped and it is much appreciated.

sheriff john · Sep 24, 2021

I've had two of these, still have one - both long barrel .45's - one a "Heritage" model. They are accurate, easy to shoot and simple. At different times, there was an array of different barrel/stock combinations offered. I've killed several deer with one or the other. 65 grains give me the most accurate load for 60 yard offhand, 440 roundball.

Woody Morgan · Sep 25, 2021

Sooo...you're getting it right after work Monday, right? Pics, man!

wm

SmoothboreMurph · Sep 25, 2021

Woody Morgan said:
Sooo...you're getting it right after work Monday, right? Pics, man!

wm

Yup, deal even got sweeter too he asked me to give him $300 and I would get 4 breech plugs and a .36 cal barrel for it with the rifle and the 2 .45 cal barrels that come with it. The .36 cal barrel is with his brother in North Dakota so it will be shipped to me soon. This gun will be my first ML rifle and it will be worth every penny by what everyone is saying on the forum.

ghostdncr · Sep 25, 2021

I'm late to the party but for what it's worth, I would've snatched that deal up in a second.

SmoothboreMurph · Sep 25, 2021

ghostdncr said:
I'm late to the party but for what it's worth, I would've snatched that deal up in a second.

Yea I had never heard of this rifle before so I didn't know if this was some 1960s Italian or Spanish dumpster fire muzzleloader or not. But I know now that this rifle is a neat little thing. I only shoot smoothbore and flintlock so this is all a new one for me. It will also be my first ML rifle.

SmoothboreMurph · Sep 25, 2021

sheriff john said:
I've had two of these, still have one - both long barrel .45's - one a "Heritage" model. They are accurate, easy to shoot and simple. At different times, there was an array of different barrel/stock combinations offered. I've killed several deer with one or the other. 65 grains give me the most accurate load for 60 yard offhand, 440 roundball.

Thanks for the input, I see a lot of guys here using 60 or 65 grains of powder which will give me something to go off of. My Bess digests 120g FF and spits out a freight train so I'm really only used to large powder charges. If I hadn't of asked for what charge people used I probably would've put in 80g like a dummy and the rest would probably have been history.

sdilts · Sep 25, 2021

If you go to buy extra nipples for it, be advised that they are threaded 1/4-32. You can get them from Track of the Wolf.

SmoothboreMurph · Sep 25, 2021

sdilts said:
If you go to buy extra nipples for it, be advised that they are threaded 1/4-32. You can get them from Track of the Wolf.

Thanks for the info I have read on some forums that the nipples do tend to get damaged on these so getting some spares will really help.

toot · Sep 25, 2021

2 shots said:
i may be wrong but i think these do not have a half cock notch [?] if so not the best for hunting.

a 3 of them I own all have a half cock notch on them. as far as I know they all have it.

Mulemauler · Sep 25, 2021

Only drawback I've ever found on these is flash and cap shrapnel. Don't want to shoot these in short sleeves.

OldRust · Sep 25, 2021

sdilts said:
If you go to buy extra nipples for it, be advised that they are threaded 1/4-32. You can get them from Track of the Wolf.

Actually, they were manufactured with 1/4x32 and 1/4x28 TPI nipples. Both of mine are 1/4x28. Track of the wolf offers both. The barrels have two styles of installation to the receiver. One has Allen head setscrews holding the barrel to the receiver and the other has a taper pin. Mine has the taper pins.

Your boss is offering you a bargain at $300. I would jump on it

Thanks

O.R.

SmoothboreMurph · Sep 25, 2021

OldRust said:
Actually, they were manufactured with 1/4x32 and 1/4x28 TPI nipples. Both of mine are 1/4x28. Track of the wolf offers both. The barrels have two styles of installation to the receiver. One has Allen head setscrews holding the barrel to the receiver and the other has a taper pin. Mine has the taper pins.

Your boss is offering you a bargain at $300. I would jump on it

Thanks

O.R.

Is 1/4-28 is a more common size compared to 1/4-32 ?

OldRust · Sep 25, 2021

SmoothboreMurph said:
Is 1/4-28 is a more common size compared to 1/4-32 ?

I can not give you an accurate answer to that as I've only ever had my hands on 4 of them. Three were 1/4x28 with one being 1/4x32. The nipples are available from a couple of vendors. Nipple thread length is something to look at also. It depends on caliber and barrel size. I can follow up with some photos later if you like.

Thanks,
O.R.

Hopkins and Allen .45 underhammer

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