Mule ear and under hammer locks?

[Widows Son]

Hello all, I hope everyone is doing well.

I have only ever used standard flintlocks and caplocks. I have never used or even remember seeing an underhammer or mule ear lock other than in photographs.

Are there advantages to those styles over the customary flintlock/percussion locks?

 

[Grimord]

I have 2 mule ear guns. the mule ear lock is almost like a in-line muzzle loader in that the ignition fire from the cap goes directly into the powder charge in the breech. They are very fast. The mule ear lock was developed as a way to convert flint lock rifles to percussion. the other conversion, and I would assume a cheaper one, was the drum and nipple arrangement with a change to the cock to a hammer. Because the ignition fire in a drum and nipple arrangement must make a sharp turn to get to the powder charge, it can be somewhat slower, but not noticeably so to the human ear.

 

[user 48679]

Ditto for the U/H rifles - direct line-of-fire to the powder, simple 2 moving parts design (hammer & trigger guard-cum-mainspring), nipple protected from the elements, and lightweight too.

An added plus for me is having something that most other hunter's do not.

 

[Widows Son]

Thank you for your replies. They do indeed seem practical and utilitarian.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

I own and shoot one of each, both are originals. An unmarked .42 mule ear rifle and a D.H. Hilliard .52 underhammer smoothbore.

Advantages include the more direct fire route, easier cleaning, fewer lock parts, and the major COOL! factor as @Pietro mentioned. Completely unencumbered view of the target area, and no worry of cap splatter. The latter is nice when you're a lefty in a righty's world.

 

[ronaldrothb49]

Have built and shot both. Super fast and reliable ignition if set up right. Depending on the barrel size and bore size you will probably need a nipple with longer threads, you want the end of the nipple right at the edge of the bore for best results. Super easy to clean, just take the nipple out insert a nipple that has the end drilled out, put plastic tube on nipple with other end in some water and start pumping. The under hammer has a disadvantage, if you are shooting offhand it does tend to spray your left arm with hot gas and cap fragments,

 

[Col. Batguano]

to say nothing of a traditional offhand target hold where you support the gun under the trigger guard!

 

[Uncle Miltie]

The most accurate muzzleloading rifles ever made used underhammer and "mule ear" locks.

 

[ronaldrothb49]

to say nothing of a traditional offhand target hold where you support the gun under the trigger guard!

Don't think shooting offhand with an under hammer and supporting it under the trigger guard would work very well. The trigger guard on most under hammers serves a dual purpose, it is also the mainspring. When you fire one that spring has to go down which is going to push the muzzle up if you are using it to support the rifle.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Hmmmm. I never knew that. My only experience with under hammer guns is with Norwegian Kammerladers, (In my opinion, those are particularly ugly looking guns, but fascinating none the less.) With those, the main spring/ hammer is a separate mechanism / piece rather than the trigger guard which is attached on both ends as per traditional installation.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

There are American underhammer rifles where the mainspring is not the trigger guard such as those by David Hilliard and Nicanor Kendall where such an offhand hold would work nicely.

 

[Erwan]

I never had the occasion for testing a mule ear-lock, but I think that the result could be compared to an under-hammer...
That, the bests rifles of Tilo Dedinski all with an under-hammer system, especially for accuracy in target shooting. The rifles built by Tilo Dedinski are almost (are?) the best in Europa and are all with under-hammer systems for most of them...
Have a look: Finest hand crafted muzzleloaders

 

[Uncle Miltie]

I never had the occasion for testing a mule ear-lock, but I think that the result could be compared to an under-hammer...
That, the bests rifles of Tilo Dedinski all with an under-hammer system, especially for accuracy in target shooting. The rifles built by Tilo Dedinski are almost (are?) the best in Europa and are all with under-hammer systems for most of them...
Have a look: Finest hand crafted muzzleloaders

I like mule ear locks and underhammer locks. My favorite heavy target (slug) rifle is a mule ear that performs very well.

 

[Erwan]

I like mule ear locks and underhammer locks. My favorite heavy target (slug) rifle is a mule ear that performs very well.

 

[smokepolehall]

My under-Hammer rests on the forearm on my sandbag. I find no problems firing it, the cap spray does not bother me in anyway. It has a flash-cup for protection. I also wear a long sleeved shirt if needed