The Underhammer Rifle - a book for builders.

So many of us muzzleloaders are certainly DIYers and we tend to make a lot of our own shooting gear such as buckskins, knives, powder horns, hawks, tents, tepees, and many of us are casting our own bullets, too. We tend to really get involved with our sport to the point where it is more a lifestyle than a mere pastime. Sometimes this condition can carry over into the rest of our life, perhaps, to the chagrin of our family. Like the guy who showed up at work in his buckskins on casual Friday…

I guess it is a basic sense of self-sufficiency and independence that motivates us to want to do such things for ourselves exactly as we want them done. It's either that or the shrink may have been right about us having “control issues.” Either way, we are what we are, and for the most part we are doers – perhaps, better stated as "highly-motivated."

I like that. Certainly sounds better than having control issues.

For many, being self-sufficient also means that we would like to make our own guns - if possible. At least one, anyway. And I believe that is a good endeavor to pursue, as the novice gunmaker will be left with a sense of appreciation for the work of those who do this for a living. Perhaps they will even come to understand why good quality underhammer rifles command as much money as good quality sidelock guns.

While there are quite a number of good kits and individual parts available for those wishing to replicate some form of sidelock gun, slim pickings are available for those who wish to build themselves an underhammer rifle, pistol, or shotgun.

Although generally considered to be ridiculously simple, little is actually known of the mechanics of underhammers because few shooters have had the opportunity to take one apart and study the design, geometry, and function of even the simple and common types of underhammer mechanisms.

Thanks to the work of Jeff Baron, we now have a better sense of underhammer lock design. Jeff put together 30 pages of drawings and construction tips in his book, The Underhammer Rifle, techniques and illustrations for the construction of Underhammer Locks.

As a teaser, the sample page below depicts the quality and extent of detail in his drawings. You can click the pic for a closer view, then click the Back button to return to the text.

For a mere $8 this little book is jam-packed with detailed drawings for seven underhammer actions, including the designs of Cooper, Wood, Cook, Hilliard, Carleton and Chase. They span the range from super simple, such as the Wood, to rather involved, such as the Carleton.

The instructions and diagrams are such that most any good craftsman could build an underhammer action with basic shop tools and Jeff’s book. However, one should have an understanding of basic lockwork geometry in order to build an underhammer mechanism that provides the level of safety that its original designer had intended. Simply having a drawing and some basic dimensions does not guarantee that you will be creating a lock with safe and efficient sear angles, pivot points, and spring tensions.

Before charging off to the workshop with book in hand, it would be a good idea to study the design you wish to replicate. Analytically consider mechanical principles that govern the captivation of the hammer, the trigger/sear arc, sear depth, pivot pin tolerances, and other mechanical aspects, as you study the drawing. With a bit of careful observation, you may even see the improvements that each of the designs offer which you could then incorporate into your project.

If you are new to the gunmaking craft, once you’ve completed your action, it would be a good idea to have a qualified gunsmith or gunmaker inspect your work to be sure that you have a safe and sturdy mechanism before investing a lot of time and expense in building the rest of your rifle.

While this book is a great resource and inspiration for budding underhammer makers, I do have one major concern with it. All of the actions depicted do not incorporate a half-cock, or safety notch, as some call it. And while true, the author is depicting old designs, in my opinion that is no excuse for building what is considered by modern standards to be an unsafe firearm.

If one wishes to build for one’s own use that certainly is one's choice. But beware if and when you may tire of it and sell or trade such an item to another, as the liability you are assuming as its maker is horrendous indeed.

Luckily, there is a solution for providing an extra measure of safety and peace of mind while shooting those older-design underhammers. You can read all about it in the previous post below.

The Underhammer Rifle, techniques and illustrations for the construction of Underhammer Locks is listed by Dixie Gun Works as Item: BO1982 and may be purchased from their site at: www.dixiegunworks.com. You can also snoop around the Dixie site while you're there for some of the other parts you'll need to build and finish your new underhammer.

Go forth and build, enjoy, and please, be safe!

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Underhammer safety. Low-tech to the rescue.

As unique, diverse, and innovative as underhammer firearms are, there is one feature that is common to most otherwise great designs that is a glaring flaw. It's a design defect by modern standards that would provide a field day for product liability attorneys and result in the rejection of the firearm design by product liability insurers. That is the lack of a half-cock or safety notch in the hammer.

It would seem that a solution to this very unsafe condition might be rather complicated, perhaps involving modification of the hammer, trigger, or both. Certainly alterations that would negatively impact the value of a shootable collectible.

For the target shooter this is not too much of a problem as his normal regimen is to simply cock the hammer, cap the nipple and immediately fire the shot.

However, if one is carrying such an underhammer arm in the field there are few options for safely carrying. One could carry the arm with the hammer cocked and the nipple left uncapped. At the sight of target or game, the nipple could then be capped and the shot taken. Not really practical as one should be focusing on the game, but instead is fishing for a relatively tiny cap – perhaps doing so with cold, stiff, and maybe even wet fingers – and then attempting to carefully and accurately seat it firmly on the nipple. Then find the game - again - and take the shot. Yes, you could use a capper to speed things up a bit, but still a considerable delay and distraction is involved.

Been there, done that; it’s slow and not really practical in most instances.

One could also cap the nipple and gently lower the hammer onto the cap and pray that the hammer is not inadvertently struck by dropping the gun or by bumping into some object along the trail, perhaps as the result of tripping and falling, thereby firing the gun. Have done that one, too. Convinced myself that it would be okay 'cause I'm a rather careful kind of guy. Thankfully there was no falling, nor any accidental discharge. But I was walking on eggshells the whole time the hammer was resting on the cap. I think Murphy had that weekend off and I was very lucky.

Hard on the nerves, unsafe; so not really practical, either.

It was a totally unrelated incident on the game trail that inspired the solution to the dilemma of carrying an underhammer in an unsafe mode. I’ll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say that it was a broken twig that rendered my rifle inoperative that flipped on the light for me.

The solution is so cheap and easy that there is now no excuse for carrying your underhammer in an unsafe condition if it was not designed with a safety notch.

Simply purchase a half-inch diameter wooden dowel (or if you’re really cheap whittle a twig) and cut it into 5/8” to ¾” lengths. Then cut or whittle a shallow notch on one side of each piece as shown in the sketch.

After you’ve loaded and capped the gun, the idea is to use the dowel as a hammer block. That will allow you to cap the nipple and carry the gun with the hammer resting upon the dowel and not on the capped nipple. The hammer rests in the notch in the dowel while pushing it up against the bottom flat of the barrel, thus keeping the hammer off the cap.

When the big moment arrives, you simply cock the hammer and the dowel will usually fall free and away from the gun as you bring it to aim.

BTW, there is no need to pick up your used dowels as they are, after all, “green” and will naturally decompose into the environment. (Who says shooters aren’t green conscious?) Carry a few of them in your pocket and you're good for the day.

You may have to adjust the notch or even the diameter of the dowel to get the proper “fit” between the hammer and the bottom of the barrel on your particular style of underhammer to achieve that all important clearance between hammer and cap.

In case you haven’t figured it out, the notch just keeps the dowel snugly in place. In making yours, one thing to be aware of is the shallow nature of the notch. If it’s too deep and narrow, the hammer could become wedged in the notch and the dowel will not fall free of the hammer when it is drawn to cock. On the other hand, if the notch is too shallow, the dowel may be coaxed out of position by Murphy’s Law leaving you in a rather dangerous condition. Experiment a bit and you’ll figure it out.

So, there you have it - cheap and easy. Once again, Low-Tech reigns triumphant.

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