Roundball size for a Numrich H&A .45cal Underhammer Pistol?

[BE Wild Willy]

It looks like I'm going to get my grubby little paws on a .45cal Hopkins & Allen underhammer pistol by Numrich. I've searched through some of the known forums and get differing diameters recommended for this gun. Should I start out with .433, or would .440 be OK? What powder charges would you suggest? What kind of accuracy could I hope for?

Danke Schoen...BEWW

 

[RON in PA]

I've only had experience with the .45 under-hammer rifle. Assuming the barrel dimensions are the same I'd use .440.

 

[arcticap]

The Numrich barrels were noted for being tighter than standard .45 barrels and many folks do load the .433 balls in them.
I use them with .018 patches in an old Numrich rifle and the Dixie catalog has mentioned that too.
But if .440's are what you've got then perhaps they're worth a try with a thin patch.
Loading 20 - 30 grains grains of powder should work okay.
Let us know how it shoots.

 

[[email protected]]

I had one, I shot a .440 ball and thick .017-.020 blue & white strip pillow
ticking and 20 grs Goex FFF black powder. Shot pretty well as I remember.
3 inch groups at 25 yds. It was just too barrel heavy for me and I sold it.
Think I paid 100.00 for it and sold it for same. I and others like for a pistol
to balance at the trigger. That way, it's just like holding your hand out. It
doesen't feel like you have a weight on the end of your arm pulling you down
All of our pistols we use in serious competition are like this.
Phil

 

[BE Wild Willy]

Finally got it

Trigger feels great, can't wait to get some prb's and give it a try.

 

[[email protected]]

Yep that's it. What got me was just how short the barrel is. It starts where
the nipple is. Really short barrel. Have fun with it. Pretty neat little pistol.
If you ever load it without powder, you will have to pull the ball. The CO2 won't
work on these. The ball will be covering the nipple flash hole. Get you a ball puller
screw right away.

 

[BE Wild Willy]

I measure 6" of bore. I'm going to start out at 15grs of FFF, appears that that will get the ball on the business side of the nipple. Any suggestions on a max load just in case I need a little more poop? BTW, I paid $150 for it.

 

[Acorn Mush]

In mine (bought used) the face of the breech plug is about 3/8" behind the nipple, which projects somewhat into the bore. Don't know how that came about. My guess is the nipple is not original.

I use a .433 ball and .015 patch because it loads much more easily than using a .440 with the same thickness patch.

 

[BE Wild Willy]

Acorn Mush, how does yours shoot? What powder charge do you use?

 

[[email protected]]

I won some matches with mine when I had it. It shot pretty good "3 inches
groups" at 25 yds with a .445 ball, .017 thick patch lubed with "spit" and
20 grs Goex FFF Black Powder. You could go down to a .440 ball but I
would think you would lose a little accuracy.

 

[Busyhands94]

Kwhi43, that under hammer gun kinda reminds me of your target pistols. have you ever shot under hammer pistols before? I like the simplicity of the under hammer design, it's a good design and not a lot can go wrong. I am actually considering building an under hammer pistol as soon as I get a decent barrel to use. I do know how you can remove a stuck ball that doesn't have powder behind it, just work a few grains of FFFG powder behind the ball by removing the nipple, and then bust a cap. this usually expels the ball. I have done this in my flintlock/caplock rifle before, it works if you don't have a ball puller

(I do intend to buy a ball puller soon though, it's a good Idea to have one)

 

[[email protected]]

The problem with this underhammer is you can't get any powder behind the
ball. The ball covers the nipple hole. As for as if I shot any, why yes I have.
Here is my underhammer I used to shoot.

 

[Busyhands94]

That is a really pretty gun I like the color of the barrel, did you build that yourself?

 

[[email protected]]

No, you can buy them from Pedersoli. Wife won this shooting. It's a Carlton.
36 cal. I think they cost around 700 or so.

 

[Acorn Mush]

Acorn Mush, how does yours shoot? What powder charge do you use?

Willy, I use 24 grains of GOEX 3f. The pistol usually keeps all shots on a playing card at 25 yards. It surely impressed me!

 

[BE Wild Willy]

Finally shot it

The gun shot surprisingly well, as long as I did my part. Bore is a little rough in one spot but smoothed out nicely after a few shots. Even fired it with 10gr. of fff, actually seemed like a nice target load. All shots were fired at 20yds. using a .440 rb and .010/.015 patches. Did another foo-pah (I really am a prb rookie) and forgot powder once, pulled the nipple, sprinkle sprinkle, fired, and out came the ball. The nipple hole on this particular gun is right up against the breach plug, lucky me. Now it's time to try a little competition shooting...

 

[Acorn Mush]

Congrats Willy! Glad it worked well for you. Did you by chance shoot any groups? If so, what were your results? Demented, I mean, inquiring minds want to know.

 

[BE Wild Willy]

Yeah I shot some groups but always seemed to pull one of the shots. Rested I could get 2 shots touching, and then 1 shot out and away approximately 3"-4". Offhand in a bullseye stance I was shooting 4"-6" groups in a 5-10mph wind. Nothing to brag about but I can see the potential if I can do my part. BTW, where is Acorn Mush in the PRK?

 

[BHP FAN]

I have the .58 rifle, and really love the trigger...smooooth! How's yours?

 

[BE Wild Willy]

I have the .58 rifle, and really love the trigger...smooooth! How's yours?

Trigger is real nice, a major contribution to the offhand accuracy. I've polished it a little bit already with my arkansas stone, probably do a little more before I call it good.

 

[tom e gun]

i surely do not intend to hijack this thread, but i just purchased this jukar .45 percussion pistol on GB today and was wondering about ball size to use in it. any info on this?
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=267657349