allen and thurber target pistol

[2172]

ON Auction Arms there is a single shot Allen and Thurber target pistol, perc. .50 cal for sale..2 bidders have put it up to $400, and the reserve price has not been met...now, this thing is a ringer for my Hoppe's target pistol, for which I overpaid $100 at a silent auction...am I missing something? Is the Allen and Thurber an antique, and my Hoppe's a modern copy?
Hank

 

[Zonie]

Yes, the Hoppe's is a modern copy.
The ETHAN ALLEN (Allen & Thurber, Allen & Wheelock, E.Allen & Co.) was in business in the mid 1800s.
They made many different styles of pistols and rifles. The Pepperbox was one of their most common styles of pistols, but if you own the "Target Pistol" reproduction made by Hoppe's, it is a fairly good recreation of a Allen & Thurber Sidehammer Target Pistol which was made in the late 1840's into the 1850's.
"FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE" (pg 44) says there were several hundred made in calibers of .34, .41 and .45. Barrel lengths were from 6 to 10 inches. The old models had full octagon barrels while the later ones had the screwed in round barrels.
My old 6th edition (1994)"GUIDE" lists the value of an original as $250 (Good) to $675 (Fine).

If you Hoppe's pistol shoots as reliably as mine (not) the problem is that the hole in the breech face is too small, and it's dam near impossible to get down there to enlarge it without special tools. Also, the standard #11 caps don't fit very good.

 

[2172]

Zonie, yeah those were the charms of the Hoppe's when I got it. Luckily, one of the guys in our club is a pretty good gunsmith and I took it to him..he found a way in from the panel on the offside (side other than the hammer) and was able to enlarge the opening...shoots pretty good..mine, bought used, came without a nipple, and I put in a discarded nipple from a Ruger Old Army and the caps seem to work well on it..Thanks for the info on the Allen and Thurber...Hank