Howdah Hunter

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cruiser96

32 Cal.
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Got my double barrel .50 caliber howdah hunter pistol today. cant wait to take it to the range. i was wondering what anybody had to say about these pistols. she is one nice looking pistol.
 
I have the double 50 cal. Love to shoot it. I stopped trying to aim it like a pistol and just point it like a shotgun. Much better accuracy. Those double half inch balls will do some damage.
 
Carrying a pistol in a Howda on the back of a moving elephant at half cock does not seem really safe to the those in the Howda nor the elephant.

You not going to ride in my truck with a Howda at half cock.
 
That's what I kinda wondered. According to my manual it states half cock is not a safety. But how would one carry a loaded rifle safely? It takes a moment to place a cap on the nipple. In battle or hunting for survival as many did back then it could be disastrous.

I punched a hole in a round piece of leather that Ohio Ramrod sent me along with a punch I purchased, but it often got stuck to the hammer.
 
You could cut a round disc shaped piece of leather from an old belt for each nipple. Punch a small hole in each piece of leather for a thong. Run a thong through the hole and tie it to the pistol. In use, place the piece of leather on top of the capped nipple and let the hammer down on it. The leather will act as padding to keep the cap from firing if the hammer is struck. When you cock the hammer, the piece of leather will drop away and you will be ready to fire. The thong will keep it from becoming lost.
 
That's what I tried for my rifle, but the leather would stick to the hammer more often than not. I removed it.

I certainly wouldn't travel with a loaded caplock. I was curious how it's meant to be safely carried afield.
 
They can lawyer disclaim the half cock as a safety if they want. There is no safety on that pistol. So the half cock is all you got. If you want to keep something on the cap as a safety then make sure your caps are snug. If the caps are not snug, when you take whatever nipple stall you are using off, it will surely take the cap off with it.
Ask me how I know...
:wink:
 
You have to remember that the original guns were designed for last ditch defense if one of those big, striped 'kitties' decided to jump up on ole' Simba's back and see if two-leggers taste better than four-leggers. Always thought it brought meaning to "prepare to repel boarders"!! :thumbsup: Believe I'd risk it rather than see how fast I could cap before I had a tiger by the tail!
 
rodwha said:
How did one carry these safely loaded?
I use the brass covers sold in Dixie Guns Works. They are known as kapcovers. Handy, quick to disengage. I don't have an elephant, and haven't seen a tiger around here.
 
Sorry I took this off track a bit.

Had a chance to shoot her yet?

I'm curious what the accuracy tends to be with these. Just close range defense against tigers or can you hunt with them at 25 yds?
 
I have the 20 gauge smoothbore and the accuracy's OK for what it is. The sights are minimal and there's the whole issue of there being one bead for two barrels that cross at some distance that's probably not at the distance of what you're aiming at.

That being said I've shot one at a USPSA target - not sure if you know what that is, but the key bits are the lower A zone is about 6x12 inches and there's an upper head area that's maybe 6x6 inches. If I'm quite close I can basically just hammer the triggers and put two .600 balls into the lower A zone. If I aim I can put two balls into the head or lower A zone without too much grief maybe 7-10 yards away. If I load it with #4 buck it will produce maybe a 5" pattern at those kinds of distances and I can put it in either zone.

25 yards... just haven't tried it, sorry. I can imagine hitting a person or largish animal out that far but the shot placement is basically going to be random.
 
cruiser96 said:
Got my double barrel .50 caliber howdah hunter pistol today. cant wait to take it to the range. i was wondering what anybody had to say about these pistols. she is one nice looking pistol.


PICTURES MAN PICTURES ... don't mean a thing till we see for ourselves... :thumbsup:

as for "safe" nuttin is safe with blackpowder huggin the breech and capped n ready for action. if safety is the main topic then no load and no cap or powder under the frizzen is the MAIN safety on any gun.

now if a loaded pistol is desired then a compromise for "as safe as possible" would be an un-capped nipple with a ball huggin the breech. get a nipple holding and installer tool for speed loading your nipples. if in the brush then just before "goin in" then cap em and with pistol in hand ... go in after em! till action is expected I would carry it un-capped especially in a vehicle of any kind.

just my 2 cents worth...and we all know what that is worth ... about 2 cents :applause: :applause:
 
cruiser96,

i've had my .58 version for quite a while and, yes, it'll "hunt" at 25 yards.. just for fun, i tried some buffalo ball-ets which are 380grain/.575 on a 25 yard range.. they worked perfectly without patching and are pre-lubed.. they're sorta like a mini miniball.. i think they were at dixie.. iirc, i used 35-40g fff goex.. don't know if they still have 'em.

have fun and don't worry about using half cock.. that's why it's there; it *is* the safety.

~d~
ps. too bad you didn't write sooner.. back in october of 2012, cabelas had the shoulder stock on sale for $159 (now$199).
 
When I stopped aiming and started pointing I got decent accuracy at 25 yards. I've never carried mine loaded, so I can't comment on the safety issue. It's a very well made pistol for what it is. Large caliber, close range stopping power
 
Wandering off topic (sorry), but another option to cap covers and safety, valve stem caps from tires, cheap and if necessary you can steal them if you need to when you go out to eat or at work.

Frugal, yep and safety item, yep.
 
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