Anyone else with one of these?

[45nut]

Made in Germany,,Hy Hunter of Hollywood Ca. "Buccaneer Modell" approx 75 cal flinter.
Ihave had this a few years,but it sure doesn't seem to want to throw sparks,replaced the flint a few dozen times and adjusted to get the most surface striking the frizzen but it just seems,,weak.
Mighty impressive but is this a viable gun to expect to be a reliable shooter or just something to put in a shadowbox ?

 

[Tight_Wad]

Is that a barrel or piece of gas pipe??? It looks pretty thin at the muzzle and the bore looks roughly finished. Are there any proof marks on the barrel? Personally, I think it looks more of a wall-hanger or decorative piece than something I’d want to load and fire. Perhaps it’s just as well it doesn’t spark too well.

Don’t mean to offend but that’s how it looks to me.

Tight Wad

 

[Zonie]

If it was made in Germany and it was meant to be shot, it should have a proof mark on it.

The German proof mark looks like a little crown with a tiny cross on top. The crown might have the letter "S" under it indicating 1st black powder proof for smooth bored barrels. (sense 1950).

 

[dodgecity]

The terms "buccaneer model" and "hollywood" would give me some concern. This is definitely a piece that I would proof test before shooting.

 

[thehorn]

Mighty impressive but is this a viable gun to expect to be a reliable shooter or just something to put in a shadowbox ?

I looked in an old Hy Hunter catalog from the late '50's and cannot find it, though I've seen a number of these come up in internet gun auctions. Hy Hunter was a significant antique/curio gun dealer in Burbank, CA who carried tons of antique guns (& WW2 surplus guns including submachineguns), cheap & expensive, as well as a line of imported fireable and non-fireable repro bp guns. He also competed with Navy Arms in importing an early repro shootable version of the Remington Zouave. Discerning a shootable vs non-shootable Hy Hunter gun may prove a bit vexing. I would be very leery of shooting any Hunter imported pieces as his catalog is replete with low end quality guns. We have a Japanese import very similar to yours that Dixie carried back in the 60s and 70s, but on mine the barrel walls appear somewhat thicker. My son shoots it on July 4th with blank loads only. Just my 2 cents.

 

[WRussell]

Is that a cone at the muzzle? Is the barrel actually thicker back of that?

You might try using a smaller flint as a work-around for getting more sparks. If the mainspring is weak, you should have better luck with less, not more, flint surface on the frizzen. And the flint will have to be very sharp.

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

From your description and the picture, if I were making a guess, it appears that you might have a "Hollywood" prop, rather than a true replica muzzleloader.

Like the others here, I think that barrel is terribly thin (and rough looking) at the muzzle, but that's NOT where it really matters. What you need to do is measure the inside and outside diameters of the barrel at the breech end. I'm guessing that the barrel is thin at the breech as well. Is there a flash hole into the barrel in the correct location near the pan?

Also...
Since you have tried multiple flints and not gotten good sparking, have you checked the hardness of the frizzen? It sounds like it might be made of "soft" metal and NOT made for actual use. Something just doesn't add up there.

I also agree that you would find proof markings if the gun were German mfd. and intended for firing. Let me ask you though... how is the quality of the other parts of the gun? Is the wood walnut or a nice piece of maple maybe, or just stained birch? How about the brass? Nice thick parts or just plated wellAre there any cast aluminium (or "pot mteal") parts ANY where on the gun at all?

Have you removed the barrel from the stock and checked to see what type of breech plug it has?

I think until you can positively determine the suitability of the gun for actual firing, that you just keep it in "display mode ONLY"... it's just not worth taking a chance on getting hurt, someone else getting hurt, or destruction of property!

Please let us know what you find out. It's is still a nice looking display gun regardless. If you didn't pay too much for it, I's say keep it on display for a while--unless someone can verify it's origin and intended use.

Regards, and shoot safely!

 

[45nut]

It does appear to have a proof mark at the top near the breech, hard to make out as it appears the previous owner really polished the heck out of it. The muzzle is a cone as noted,,the barel is pretty thick down deeper,,it is as if the maker wanted a blunderbuss type effect,,no accuracy,,maybe it was meant to be a cannister shot effect ? One shot,clearing the decks ? The stock is walnut,and the brass triggerguard and other fittings appear well made. The touchhole is drilled through.
All very sound advice and taken in the spirit it is given gentlemen. It certainly won't "kill" me not to shoot it,but if there is any doubt it is dangerous I certainly won't. I paid little for it at a local shop that has since closed so I have no way of contacting the former owner.
Thanks again,,and if I can persuede my camera to co-operate in taking any detailed pics of the "proofmark" or any other marking I will put them up.

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

I will be visiting my Uncle Ted this week (deer season is in here in WV now), and he should know what gun it is that you have.

Regards,
WV_Hillbilly

 

[45nut]

Added a pic. You may or may not be able to see what I think is a proofmark at the top of the barrel and maybe a few of the markings on the lock.
I may try a smaller flint,and am seeking a small loading lesson on a smoothbore. I have plenty of rifled muzzlestuffers,but zero experience with smoothies.

 

[wwfeatherston]

Whatever it is, looking at it makes me want to add a flinter to my collection :grin:

 

[walruskid1]

i had a pistol that looked very much like that one. the frizzen was dead soft and would not spark. don't remember what the markings were but i bought it because it was HUGE. something about a cavernous bore. maybe i'm still here because i never got it to work. knowing what i do now, i'm glad i never stoked it up!

 

[Brasilikilt]

I have heard a few times an old remedy for a poorly sparking frizzen.
take the frizzen off, wrap it in leather and throw it in a fire. Theoretically, the carbon in the leather is supposed to transfer to the steel making for a better sparking frizzen.
Will this method actually work, or is it just one of those peices of bad advice which still circulates?

 

[Zonie]

I don't think throwing it in the fire will do anything except burn the leather and remove all of the hardness your frizzen needs to spark well.

There is a process where the leather (and bone meal) is packed around the steel part inside of a closed container. The whole thing is heated to a red heat and kept that way for a period of time.
This indeed will cause the vaporized leather and bone carbon to penetrate the steel creating a case hardening layer.
Following this process, the part is either quenched directly from the red heat or it is reheated to the red heat and then quenched.
This is done with low carbon steels to create a high carbon surface that can be hardened.

IMO, one should go very carefully with using this idea.
Many of the newly made Flintlocks use a oil hardening tool steel which does not need additional carbon. In fact, adding carbon to these steels can be too much of a good thing and cause the part to develop cracks even when quenched properly.
Quenching these steels in water from a red heat is almost sure to crack or break the parts.

If someone is interested in case hardening a frizzen I would suggest using Kasenit which is very low cost and works very well. For more information try using our search engine and put in the word "Kasenit". We have dozens of posts describing the good and the bad that can occur from this process.