It followed me home, Honest!

[KCSO]

Yesterday a fellow walked in to my shop with a box under his arm and asked if I still shot muzzleloaders. He then held out the box and asked if I would give him 50 dollars for his uncles old pistol. In the factory box was a new unfired Hopkins and Allen target pistol. This is the underhammer jobber with the strange bore (shoots a 435 ball). I haven't seen one of these in 30 years but I looked and I still have the mould that came with mine in 1967. I promptly put on a decent set of sights, and I hope to try it out this week and see if it shoots as good as the one I had 30 years ago.

[JeffinNZ]

Well for that money it would have been rude not to.

[waksupi]

Don't worry about it, Jim. These things happen. Last Thursday, a guy came to our shop, with a bunch of machinist tools for sale. I looked in the back of the truck, and underneath piles of stuff, the end of a recurve bow was showing. I asked if it was for sale? He says, sure. I pulled it out, and it is a Bear Kodiak Magnum, #55, green glass, in nearly new condition. Amazing, as it was made in 1953. He also had a back quiver, arrows, and broadheads. Cost me a whole $20. One of the other guys bought the tooling, for $200, and there was well over a thousand bucks worth of stuff there.

[MT Gianni]

Is that the one they called a Mule Ear? Gianni

[KCSO]

Mule Ear strikes from the side and the Underhammer hits from the TOP? no the other end. Seriously the underhammer hts a cap on the bottom of the barrel for straight line ignition and the trigger guard IS the main spring. I will try and post a photo along with my mods to the system. The trigger pull on this one is 2# on the snout and I am installing a trigger stop for overtravel. My old one and my young eyes would shoot in the mid 90's off hand and if I could break into 90 period now days I would be plumb happy.

[georgeld]

Amazing what comes along and can be had for token value IF/WHEN you happen to have the bucks at hand to spare. Most times deals like this come by when there's weeks of total poverty and by the time the cash comes along it's too late.

Congratulations on great buys.

Got one to beat those all to H though.
Month ago was sitting here typing out bs to someone when the phone rang. Wife of an old shooting buddy that's in a N.home trying to die. Her kids and son in laws had been telling her bs about "all those powder drums being dangerous and would blow the house up" etc.

Knowing Mac and I had done a bunch of shooting and swapping, loading etc together she called to see if I'd like to take this 'dangerous powder and things out of the house before something blows up". Hey uh, what'd you say, huh? Great I'll be there soon as I gather up some boxes. The deal was: take it all, just get it out of here before something happens to blow the house up. The only cost was three days back ache and the time & gas to drive half mile to their house and box things up while the boy carried it out.

I spent six hours dripping in sweat just boxing this lifetime of reloading supplies up and her sil wheeled them up the stairs and loaded it all into my p/up. I'll bet there was 1200lbs of bullets mostly, brass by the thousands, a few tools, three sets of dies, set of mics to 4", 12 & 20ga hulls by the multi thousands filled half a dozen 12"x24" cardboard powder drums they thought was full of powder, but, just filled with primed hulls.

Expect there's 15,000 .224" bullets, about 20-30 boxes of bullets for each of: 243, 257", 270's & .308", .38's. ONLY 6 jugs of various powders, mostly full. But, no where as much powder as it looked like there was. Oh yeah, two Uniflows, Lil Dandy, Lyman, measures, 9 .50 cal ammo can's of mostly loaded, or primed brass for these cals. 18 boxes of .257 Roberts, .30/40's, ahhh-------! The stuff I can't use, has been traded off, or a little sold for cash. But, mostly traded even up for what I need.

Not often I get lucky like this, but, it's a great feeling when it does. Agreed?
Hate to one up your buys, but, this is just too fine a haul to not tell about it.