H&A Breechplug Face

[Richard Kemp]

Does anyone know if the breechplug face of the H&A "Offhand" Underhammer in .45 cal. is flat or concave? My new tight-fitting cleaning jag gets stuck at the bottom of the barrel, and that's after removing the nipple, so I know it's not getting stuck on a too long nipple.

 

[M. De Land]

I refitted and replaced the one in my H&A but I think I remember the original is flat faced as is the new one I put in.
The nipple is just ahead of the plug face so I think what is happening is when you remove it the cleaning patch is pushing into the threaded hole when compressed against the plug face and is catching and sticking your cleaning jag.
Try cleaning with the nipple in place and see if that solves the problem. Mike D.

 

[Rifleman1776]

My memory from long ago says it is flat. Drop a good bore lite down there and look for other possible grabbers.

 

[bpd303]

The problem could be with the jag itself. If it's too tight the patches may be bunching up when you try & pull them out. Are you turning the rod when it is all the way in? That has caused me problems in the past.

 

[Rifleman1776]

new tight-fitting cleaning jag

Yes, that could be the problem if the jag is not designed properly. See pic below, the jag must have a rebated (narrow) area behind it to allow the clening patch to bunch up and reach into the rifling for cleaning without jamming. Post a pic of your jag.
Also, the H&A breechplugs are actually easy to remove for inspection. They are (or were) stainless steel and simply a large Allen screw design. You need a honkin' big Allen wrench to fit in there but with one the plug is easy to remove.

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[Richard Kemp]

Using some of the posted replys, the problem has been solved. Here's what I found. The bore on the "Offhand" is closer to .440 than .450, so I chucked my jag(it's like the one pictured above)in my drill and spun it against a flat file and removed .002" from it's diameter. Dropping a light down the bore and looking thru the nipple hole, I discovered that the face of the plug is indeed flat, but also that when the nipple hole was drilled they went a bit too far and drilled ever so slightly into the other side of the bore leaving some rough edges. I could see cleaning patch threads hanging up there. I was going to remove the breechplug to clean up the problem but instead wrapped steel wool around a bore brush, chucked the rod in my drill, pushed it down the bore and spun it for about 30 seconds.It worked. No more stuck patches.Thanks to all for their suggestions.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Hooray! :grin:
I am especially pleased you innovated for yerself. That is a lot more than we see from some here. You utilized help of others then worked it out. :applause: