Underhammer Actions?

[Carbon 6]

And if you cut it "catty whompus". Then what?

You use a cattywhumpus correction tool.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@lonewolf172 if you're not willing to apply the barrel correction tool and the cattawampus correction tool (which is identical to the cattywhumpus correction tool), then stay away from using bacon as a browning treatment. There are many better and controllable methods to brown your barrel.

 

[FishDFly]

You use a cattywhumpus correction tool.

View attachment 51913

Okay, I concede.

 

[Grenadier1758]

There are times to concede and times to stand for your position. If use of the tools needed to cut and square a barrel is beyond your skill set, then do what you feel is the best path for you. Nothing wrong with @lonewolf172's choice to go with the 36" barrel. One should know and accept one's limitations.

 

[FishDFly]

I know my limitations, that is why there are gunsmiths.

Duct tape does not repair everything.

 

[FishDFly]

Believe me I've been looking and none out there. Best option is Pecatonica River but we'll see what they say.

You might put an ad in the Wanted section to see if anyone here might turn loose of one. Put a price you are willing to pay. Ads are free.

 

[lonewolf172]

You might put an ad in the Wanted section to see if anyone here might turn loose of one. Put a price you are willing to pay. Ads are free.

It won't let me post a WANTED ad. Guess because Im not a paying member.

 

[Notchy Bob]

The Gun Works in Springfield, Oregon, sells under hammer actions that do have a half-cock position. I think they are also the marketing/retail arm for Oregon barrel works. Oregon barrels have a solid reputation for quality. You might call them up and ask if they could fit the barrel you want to one of their actions.

The Gun Works underhammer action is very different from the H&A, however. It has an internal coil spring, rather than using the trigger guard as the mainspring. I believe it is a modern design.

Pecatonica River does offer some gunsmithing services. They might be able to cut and crown that Green Mountain barrel for you and do a professional job. It won't hurt to ask. If it were me, it would be worth the $25 or so to have this done. That extra 4" of barrel out yonder at the muzzle will affect both the weight and balance of the finished rifle. Just a couple of inches can make a difference.

Good luck with your project! I hope you'll keep us informed of your progress.

Notchy Bob

 

[twodollarpistol]

I know my limitations, that is why there are gunsmiths.

Duct tape does not repair everything.

Yea, but the two things it wont repair are not really necessary any way, any how.....TDP

 

[Brent]

I'm very interested in getting an underhammer rifle. I'm wanting something to hunt with and plink around the place. I'm not finding a lot to choose from on the used market so I'm thinking I might go with one of the Pecatonia kits. They have the H & A and an Allen action available. I suspect the Allen might weigh less that the H & A but I don't know if it would be enough difference to affect the balance or finished weight. The H & A is about $80 cheaper but after the rifle is finished the difference won't seem as great so I'm not going to factor that in.
Does anyone here have experience with both?
Is one more trouble free than the other?

I have built an underhammer on the Blue Grouse variant of the H&A action. While it is certainly a reliable and capable rifle, I cannot recommend that style of action for several reasons. For one, they are darn heavy for what they are. For another, the set up of the rear of the breech and the through bolt that attaches the buttstock makes for rather limited geometry options and requires lots more drop than I like. Thus, recoil is more significant than it needs to be. I am not a huge fan of the mainspring trigger guard either.

Finally, it was difficult, in my case, to keep the nipple ahead of the breech plug and yet reachable for the hammer. This may have been due to the way my Blue Grouse action mounts the barrel (screwed, not pinned), but be ware that you want your nipple not only in front of your breech plug but in front if it with a bit of a margin to spare - maybe 1/10" or so, if possible.

Trigger options the H&A are pretty limited, but you can make a decent single, nonset trigger with a bit of tuning.

Overall, I think there are many other underhammer styles I would prefer. The Billinghurst style is better in my opinion, but there are others as well. I cannot comment on the Pete Allen version.

 

[FishDFly]

It won't let me post a WANTED ad. Guess because Im not a paying member.

Think you need to be a member a bit longer and need a few more posts, then can post in Wanted ads.

 

[Newtire]

Have a couple of those myself. Mine are all H & A except for one Bondini pistol. Simple and reliable. The fire from the cap goes directly into the charge instead of having to take a 90 degree turn like on most side locks (mule ear excepted). Theoretically, should give faster ignition. Mine shoot great and quality of barrels is smooth as anything I own. Those Pecatonica locks look pretty nice.

 

[FishDFly]

"The Gun Works underhammer action is very different from the H&A, however. It has an internal coil spring, rather than using the trigger guard as the mainspring. I believe it is a modern design."

Both Wade Ingrham and Bob Mimms made under hammer rifles and pistols, both from Texas and both deceased. They both used internal coil springs in their actions and the triggers were adjustable.. Barrels were interchangeable.

You might post in the Want Ads. to see if anyone has one they might part with. I know Wade kept a chart on his wall in the shop where he sent rifles and they were scattered around the country.

R. Olsen from Herman, NE. made some under hammer pistols, I have one of his boot pistols. You might do a Google search to see if he is still making under hammers and if he made any rifles. Might be worth the effort

 

[Mark Herman]

Contact Deer Creek Products in Waldron, Indiana. They carry a full line of H&A products in kit and finished items. There's no trick to fitting and barrel to that action, they have breach plugs, which are easy to make.

 

[flynfred]

I have 3 H&A underhammer actions from pecatonica river and they all have half cock, I have two original H&A guns from the 70s and they have the half cock functions also and have one 50cal underhammer boot pistol with half cock all excelent shooters , deer creek has a lot of parts

 

[lonewolf172]

Well heard from Pecatonica River. The charge to breech the barrel is $25 (I assume he means fitting barrel to action) I just emailed them back asking that.. Each sight dovetail is $12 and to cut your underlug dovetail is $12. Cutting and crowning the barrel is $10. All in all I think very reasonable.

 

[lonewolf172]

Heard from Pecatonica River today. The charge to breech the barrel is $25 ( I hope this means fitting barrel to action). Each sight dovetail is $12 and to cut your underlug dovetail is $12. Cutting and crowning the barrel is $10. All and all not bad.

 

[Sam squanch]

Rod Olsen deserves a knighthood! Great quality, at reasonable prices.

 

[lonewolf172]

Hey all. Hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving. Although I can't buy that under hammer kit from Picatoncia River until after the first of the year, I'm trying to buy a house so I can't make any big purchases, I'd like some advise on how to brown it. consider the type of ML I think browning would look more authentic. Now keep in mind that I'm going to have them fit the barrel to the action, all one piece, so I can't stick it in the oven. Any advise, videos, best browning solution to use would be great. Also any advise and/or suggestions for staining the stock would be great too. Not sure what wood the stock is. All Doug told me was that it was a nice CM3. I think CM mean Curly Maple. And no I wouldn't use bacon. I just posted that a joke but I do know some guys did use that as a way of browning a barrel.

 

[lonewolf172]

Hey all. Hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving. Although I can't buy that under hammer kit from Picatoncia River until after the first of the year, I'm trying to buy a house so I can't make any big purchases, I'd like some advise on how to brown it. consider the type of ML I think browning would look more authentic. Now keep in mind that I'm going to have them fit the barrel to the action, all one piece, so I can't stick it in the oven. Any advise, videos, best browning solution to use would be great. Also any advise and/or suggestions for staining the stock would be great too. Not sure what wood the stock is. All Doug told me was that it was a nice CM3. I think CM mean Curly Maple. And no I wouldn't use bacon. I just posted that a joke but I do know some guys did use that as a way of browning a barrel.

Oh just a side note. I'm going to be looking for a dark reddish rust color for everything. Maybe a little darker on trigger guard, hammer and trigger just so they stand out from the rest.