Austin & Halleck 320 vs 420

[Only1King82]

Good morning,

I am new to the muzzleloader world. I was just gifted a bolt action Austin & Halleck muzzleloader. I am having problems finding recent information on the rifle since the company has closed their doors. Can someone tell me how I can tell the difference in whether it is a 320 or a 420?

 

[rafterob]

I suggest going to the modern muzzleloader site since that gun is outside the scope of discussion on this "Traditional" muzzleloader site.

 

[Only1King82]

Thank you. I'll give it a run.

 

[Zonie]

Try our sister forum in this link:

https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/
As rafterob said, this is a traditional muzzleloader site and most of us don't know much about the modern In-line guns.
For what it's worth, our forum rules say we can't talk about them so even if one of our members knows something about them, the only legal way for him to tell you what he knows is if he sends you a Private Message (called a "Conversation" on the forum.

 

[Only1King82]

Try our sister forum in this link:

https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/
As rafterob said, this is a traditional muzzleloader site and most of us don't know much about the modern In-line guns.
For what it's worth, our forum rules say we can't talk about them so even if one of our members knows something about them, the only legal way for him to tell you what he knows is if he sends you a Private Message (called a "Conversation" on the forum.

Got it. Thank you. I am extremely new to this world. I signed up for the wrong forum. Thank you both for the information.

 

[Zonie]

Got it. Thank you. I am extremely new to this world. I signed up for the wrong forum. Thank you both for the information.

It happens all the time.

Since you say your new to this world, basically there are modern "in-line" muzzleloaders like yours which is based on modern rifles and there are the old style muzzleloaders that were made back in the 1800's and earlier. These old style muzzleloaders are what this forum is dedicated to.

These old style muzzleloaders usually have an exposed lock on the side of the gun. The locks that were used from about 1820 up until the guns that use self contained cartridges were percussion style.
Percussion locks use a metal cap which holds the priming material to fire the gun. Inside the cap is a bit of special powder that explodes when it is struck by the falling hammer. These caps are also often used in the modern in-line guns. (They are called "in-line" because their cap is in direct line with the center of the barrel.)

Locks earlier than about 1820 were usually flintlocks. Flintlocks use a piece of flint to scrape metal off of a piece of steel we call a frizzen. The sparks fall into a small pile of gunpowder causing it to ignite. When it does, the flash of the "priming powder" goes thru a small hole in the side of the barrel and sets off the main powder charge.

The members of this forum like the old style guns. They get a feeling of what it was like to shoot and to hunt with the guns that were being used 150 and more years ago.

After you get to shooting your new muzzleloader, perhaps you will become interested in what shooting was like during your great, great grandfathers life?
It's a very enjoyable hobby.

 

[Only1King82]

Thanks man. The original style seems very interesting and I can see how it can become addicting. Thank you again for the information and being able to thumb through these posts.