flint hooked breeches

[northmn]

I was doing some shopping for parts for a English inspired rifle I want to build and wonder about the use of flintlock hooked breech plugs.  My question is whether they were common enough to warrant any extra cost.  I have never really seen any great advantage to hooked breeches but some like them.  

DP

[Stophel]

Common enough where?  Europe, yes, America, no.

I don't know how advantageous it really is.  I imagine the breech tends to get loose and bounce around some.

[Dphariss]

I was doing some shopping for parts for a English inspired rifle I want to build and wonder about the use of flintlock hooked breech plugs.  My question is whether they were common enough to warrant any extra cost.  I have never really seen any great advantage to hooked breeches but some like them.  

DP

Depends on the style of the gun and the period.
There are a number of American guns that have hooked breeches and its virtually impossible to make a good grade English gun after about 1790-1800 that does not have one. They are very common on better grade percussion guns.
It makes cleaning a lot easier with less potential damage to the wood with 1/2 stock guns. Skinny little FS forestocks without a barrel installed for rigidity risk damage so there is a trade off with FS guns.

Dan

[keweenaw]

Higher grade English rifles frequently had a hooked breech.  If they are closely fit, they will still be tight 200 years from now.  The standing breech and probably the plug were routinely case hardened which would reduce the wear.  It will take more time to build the rifle than with a fixed breech but will be well worth the effort as  the barrel can easily be removed for cleaning.  As for the cost, it's a really small percentage of the value of a finely finished rifle.

[Acer Saccharum]

Many of the lower grade hooks I have seen on originals are all loose. If it's well fitted and casehardened it will never be an issue in your lifetime. Most of the bad rap comes from the lower grade guns, I believe, and guns that have been sorely neglected will often have a poor fit in the standing breech.

I don't take my barrels out for cleaning, so I don't fit these breeches for my personal guns.

Look at the long range target guns, English and Irish, with their standing breeches. The sights are often on the heel of the buttstock for the back rest position. Any wobble in the breech would negatively affect accuracy. But these guns were built very well.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Hooked breech plugs with a standing breech tang are the way to go on a good English rifle or smoothbore.  There are a few examples too of American longrifles and fowlers with hooked breeches.  The "A. Verner - Gun Smith" rifle in RCA first comes to mind.  In the percussion era, the hooked breech is common.

[northmn]

Looking through my sources there are two types of breechs.   One is the "Hawken" type which is a modified percussion breech and would extend the barrel about an inch, the other is a standard plug that has a hook to fit the tang.

DP