The underhammer was a great innovation, at least by the numbers made. A lot of slug guns and other target rifles were built as UHs and pistols and even sporting rifles. I don't particularly like them, other than maybe as slug guns. But this is simply personal taste. It has nothing to do with historical FACT. Being simple in design they were likely more reliable than many sidelocks with cheap import locks and the drum and nipple breech. They were far more likely to be made in some shop in America than by some Gin soaked lock filer working for pennies in Birmingham (Read W. Greener).
While the lower UH is most likely primarily a target rifle the other just as obviously is not. Its a "sporting gun". Weird? Yeah, to my eye. But it was made and used in the ML era apparently enough to have a globe front sight added at some point. Would I make one of these? Nope. I did one UH years ago as a bullet rifle.
So while some UHs are pretty strange looking (I have seen some pretty strange looking FLs that some here congratulated the maker for "breaking from tradition", or some other such liberal arts school ceramics class nonsensical verbiage) the UHs are still a
traditional percussion gun and were widely used in the east. It is impossible to have a discussion of the percussion system and not include them. Yet there are rules that ban them from matches that allow "traditional" percussion rifles. Or ban any underhammer that does not use the TG as the mainspring
Seems to be no reason for this. Until we understand that sometimes the rule makers for the match are fearful of being out shot. So when I am told that the Wyoming State ML Championship does not allow UH guns I wonder how well informed the decision makers were and secondly who has appeared at the matches in the past with an UH and perhaps gave everyone a shooting lesson. And with typical spite or ignorance the rule making "victims" blame the firearm
So one can show up with a barely traditional appearing sidelock rifle and compete but if another was to arrive with an ORIGINAL underhammer they are not allowed to shoot.
The Underhammer is a traditional percussion action that was widely used in some areas of America by probably 1830-1840. That's right folks Numrich Arms did not invent them in the 1960s. I suspect that a number came west with the "49ers" and those headed for Oregon. Since this is the case I see no reason to ban them or put them in a specific forum, we have not been overrun with them after all. If there were long discussion of them every week then it would be justified as a separate field of interest but I don't see that level of interest here.
They are a part of our shooting heritage just like any sidelock or side slapper lock percussion or the FL for that matter. So I would like to know what the reason is for their "having to go" other than someone don't like their looks. If we use "ugly" as a criteria then there are flintlock guns that appear on websites that at the very least should be ostracized or heavily criticized but are not because it might hurt someone's feelings that people here know personally, or so I assume.
So lighten up a little. While the rifle in the first photo above (from the BBHS Cody Wy) is not what I would call typical, the Undehammer in general is a traditional American firearm, I suspect 10s of thousands were made if we count pistols. Discussing this type action is not like discussing plastic saboted JHP pistol bullets driven by Blackhorn 209.
Dan
