Ah-so!
YES! I am very familiar with the Ultra-Hi "fowler". I did "proof" test my gun "remotely" (as I do with EVERY muzzleloader that passes through my paws), before deciding to shoulder fire it. It worked VERY well with a .648 patched ball and 70gr 2F Black Powder (uses pinch of 4F for priming the pan). I lived about 1.5 miles from a great little black powder shop that was run by a friend of my father. There was always a pot of coffee on and I never got out of there in less than an hour--even if I was running late. Anyway, he had two of these Ultra-Hi guns--one of which he planned to keep for his own use and he let me buy the other (despite the fact that he really wanted to keep both of them. I had a good bit of clean-up to do to my gun to get it looking better and the lock seems super reliable. I've not had a "flash in the pan", unless it was my own stupidity.
I initially used approx. .650 diameter round balls cast by my friend using one of the simple Dixie round ball moulds. Quality was not the greatest, but they got me through the testing phase (though my friend was a qualified gunsmith and had already OK'ed the gun). I did quite a bit of shooting with them. Later on I would find some swaged .648 diameter balls that would really make the gun shoot. (All the time my load was 70gr 2F Goex.) If my memory isn't failing, I think that Warren Muzzleloading WAS the last place I had bought swaged .648 balls from...??? BTW, I have loaded it as high as 3 1/2 drams (about 96gr of 2F Goex) when loading heavy shot loads. The gun has never given me any reason to doubt if it's safe to use for live fire.
After 15 years of searching, I finally found a Lyman .648 mould that makes wonderful projectiles for my multi-purpose boomstick. I have measured the muzzle at .670, but the gun "seems" to be more like a 14 gauge (.69cal) that has been choked. Mine has a touch hole liner installed (whether that was part of a kit gun, factory gun, or afterthought--I have no way of knowing). My gun also has front and rear sights--which help greatly for poking those big holes in things. Both ball and shot are quite deadly at 30-40 yards, and on a "good day" I could put 5 PRB into a 2 1/2" circle at 30yds. I would trust it on deer sized game out to around 50 yds, maybe 60 if I was really hungry... and it has great performance with that big round ball. I've not taken a gobbler with shot yet, but many squirrel and rabbit have fallen victim. I imagine a "buck & ball" load would really flatten a white-tail, but I don't know of anyplace that load would be permitted (legally).
Currently, my Ultra-Hi has taken a favoured position over the fireplace mantel, as my health has not been so good over the past few years, but I know it will be ready whenever my miracle occurs.
PLEASE NOTE: Do NOT take my experiences as assurance that your gun is safe to fire. You really need to have a good gunsmith look it over and do some "remote" test firing for yourself just for peace of mind
I have also since learned that there was a "companion" flintlock pistol available as a kit that has the same bore dimensions and would probably be quite a handful of gun. Just seeing that large bore pointed at you at close range would require a change of the boxers...
Good luck on your Ultra-Hi and if I can be of assistance, please send me a PT and we'll try to work it out.
Regards,
WV_Hillbilly
