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Hopkins & Allen underhammer pistol.

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Gtrubicon

50 Cal.
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Just stumbled into this over the weekend. I don’t think it was shot much. It’s got a mismatched replacement screw and the bluing was scrubbed off about a 3” section of the barrel. It’s a .45 cal. Looking for starting load info and proper disassembly information. I came up with .445 across the lands, is a .440 gonna need a mallet to get it going? Thanks for your help.
 

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I have one of those. It shoots best with light loads, 15gr or so. A .440" ball works fine, though my rifle version likes a .433" ball. You can try both to see what is better. Disassembly is simple - unhook the trigger guard from the hammer and remove the two screws. I am planning on reshaping the grip on mine, too much palm swell. But it does shoot quite well and is very effective on rabbits.
 
Just stumbled into this over the weekend. I don’t think it was shot much. It’s got a mismatched replacement screw and the bluing was scrubbed off about a 3” section of the barrel. It’s a .45 cal. Looking for starting load info and proper disassembly information. I came up with .445 across the lands, is a .440 gonna need a mallet to get it going? Thanks for your help.
I'm up for one of those; you really shouldn't have to "mallet" anything! They're fun!
 
I was able to get the nipple out of the gun, it is serviceable. It came with a new tin of #12 caps which fit perfectly, #11 caps don’t fit although my homemade caps do fit well. I was able to find a replacement #11 nipple specifically for this pistol at track of the wolf. I haven’t ordered it yet but when I do I will make certain the threads are the same. Thanks for the tip!
 
The big plus for me with the under hammer was for hunting.
Fast ignition
No need to wear safety glasses
Only 3 moving parts, one being the hammer spring
Less effected in foul weather
I never had a FTF
I did carry nail polish in my possibles bag to apply to the nipple for extra security holding the cap on while in the woods.
 
Muzzle crown option.
Crowning method thats worked well for me is wrap a slightly oversized lead ball with Emory cloth,
then polish with a layer of fine steel wool.
* to speed the crowning process up insert a double-ended drawer-pull screw into the ball so you can spin the ball with a powered hand drill.
For traction between the ball & Emory cloth use a small piece of double sided tape.
 
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