H&R Huntsman 58 caliber

[Smith & Wesson Man]

First time post here, but I have a question. I thought I finally found a HR huntsman in 58caliber for my dad on Guns America (been looking for over a year). Contact the guy and come to find out that he sold the 58cal barrel and is now just selling the custom 45cal he made for it I was just wondering if anyone has know or seen one of these bad boys for sale? Not to make a sob story, my father has fired and hunted with one and he wants his own. THe guy that has one won't sell it. We really want to get him one. If no one here might have one for sale do you know if a barrel can be made in that caliber? Would it be able to fit the frame of the H&R models you can buy today. Thank you!

 

[sundance44s]

sundance44s

I know how your dad must feel .. i owned a H&R 58 cal. back in the 70`s it was a great rifle .. took many a deer with it .. its a hard hitter .. sold mine some years back .. wish i had another one .. i`ll check around and let ya know if i find any .. good luck .

 

[Nyghtfall]

I've seen a few on Gunbroker.com.

 

[frosty]

H&R

I have seen guns & barrels at the Pittsburgh gun shows...Barrels may require fitting(because the receivers vary slightly). This is much more critical on ctg. guns of the same make, but you dont want movement between barrel and receiver

 

[HUnter58]

H&R Huntsmen

Track of the wolf currently has one on their site for $189.00.
It's in the updates section about second page.

www.trackofthewolf.com

 

[Smith & Wesson Man]

thanks for your help everyone. I think I got one on the way now!

 

[Smith & Wesson Man]

We got it!

We got my dad the muzzleloader yesterday and he is happy. He now wants to get his own powder, bullets, etc. He told me that he wants 58cal balls and blackpowder. I have found hornady 58cal off the trackofthewolf.com sight, but not sure what kind of powder to find him. I use American Pioneer for my omega 50cal. what should he use? The one he borrowed was using blackpowder and I think they were shooting 90gr of powder. Thanks for the help!

 

[sundance44s]

sundance44s

Goex 2F if you can find it thats what i always shot out of my 58 .. thats a big ball ! i know its probally gonna be hard to find .. might try some Pyrodex RS ( 2f ) untill ya can get some . it would probally shoot about the same .

 

[Smith & Wesson Man]

Thanks sundance44s for your comments so far. I was looking on MIdway usa and they have some bullets to choose from. They have Hornady Great Plains bullets (525gr), thompson center maxi-hunter (560gr), THompson center maxi-ball (555gr). They also carry speer and hornady in balls. Have anyone went with these choices before? My dad would like to try bullets to see how they shoot compaired to the balls. Thanks for the comments!

 

[HUnter58]

Rate of twist

The rate of twist in the original H&R huntsman in .58 cal was 1:58.
This rate may be a little slow to get accuracy with anything other
then roundballs.

 

[nelson133]

I hunted with one of there in the 70's. I wasn't able to get anything but round balls to shoot accurately.

 

[sundance44s]

sundance44s

This is true with the 58 cal .. its a good shooter with round ball ..and they are plenty for deer .. sorta like a pumpkin ball ..

 

[Smith & Wesson Man]

can't believe it

I went to my local gunshop and they had everything I needed for my dad . 58cal brush, bullet puller, bore swab, jag, bullet starter, prelubed bullet patches, and speer round balls. I made a few calls and Gander Mountain has goex2 in stock so that won't be a problem. Pyrodex I can get pretty much anywhere. What type of loads were you guys using? My cousin in his I think is using 90gr blackpowder with roundballs. I am trying to talk my dad into using goex2 because blackpowder is hard to get (in Michigan anyways). Isn't their a rule you can use with the weight of a bullet to powder? I figure if I have a load recipe with the goex2 with the speer bullets he would go with it. Thanks everyone!

 

[sundance44s]

sundance44s

The way that rule works is with the caliber ..with a 50cal you start with 50 grs .. with a 54 ..54 grs .. and with a 58 start with 58 grs of powder and work up from there at some point adding powder you will end up with dimenishing returns .. the accuracy will fall off and the power will end .. it`ll take some testing .. with a 58 being used for hunting i`d start with about 80 grs .. if it shoots straight go up some from there but at some point it will stop grouping shots and its time to back off ... a well placed shot with 80 grs is a better deer stopper than 120 grs that shoots all over the papper . your shots may vary but my 58 was a good round ball shooter with the 80 grs . never shot a deer over 75 yards away .

 

[Smith & Wesson Man]

thanks for the rule I did find a place that sells blackpowder. I guess that is what he wants. I think triple7 would be a good choice because it shoots cleaner and he doesn't have to clean it as fast. I will see it next week, what fits in it? He told me that in the chamber it looks like it doesn't take a 209 or 11cap. I wonder what it takes? I know their is another type of cap that can start the powder, but the name doesn't seem to come to me. My cousin that has three of them has picked up some conversion kit that will allow it to take 209 primers. the only worry I have is if those are the breech plugs that are held with a rubber o-ring I have heard that some of these models had this and some people were hurt and even killed by this setup. they would have a "hang-fire" and when the person open the barrel the plug would shoot out. I have read this in an article by another shooter. I know what he has right now is screwed in and is a lot safer. What do you guys think?

 

[arcticap]

You're Right About That!

You did your homework. I also recall reading that the early breechplug that you mentioned that was not threaded resulted in a death and the bankruptcy of H&R. That shouldn't be a problem for your Dad.
Are you referring to musket caps as the type that the nipple might require? Musket caps are larger and a lot more powerful than standard #11 caps and should work just as well as a 209.
Remember to let your Dad know to reduce his loads by 15% if he uses 777. It does produce a little more recoil too. I found that the 777 fouling cleans up pretty easily with "Hoppe's Number 9 Plus Black Powder Solvent and Patch Lubricant".

 

[Smith & Wesson Man]

thanks!

I had been looking over a year for this model for my dad, so I read a few articles about it while on the way. Going to different gunshops and gunshows and explaining what it was I was looking for, and sometimes getting weird looks. One guy thought I was making it up, I plan on taking it in to show him Your right they are called musket caps. I think those would work fine and he shouldn't have to try to convert the breech plug over to 209 primers. Even thought my father has hunted more years than I have been on this earth, this is really his only second muzzleloader. He used to have a 45cal over and under. You would twist it to shoot the other barrel. He got rid of it when he missed an 8 point because both barrels wouldn't fire I say it took about twenty years until he wanted to try it again. Plus, he likes it because it extends your hunting season by a few weeks here in Michigan. Thanks everyone!