Huntsman .50 cal, New England Firearms

Midnight_Cougar · November 21, 2010, 09:09 PM

Huntsman .50cal
New England Firearms
Manufactured in Gardner, MA USA

-it is a break open with a hammer, and wood stock, it has a scopemount on it. I don't know if it came tapped or if it was took somewhere and had it tapped for a scopemount. It has the rings on it to, so i do need to go out and get a scope also. I don't know if the barrel is wore down at all it really needs to be cleaned

I recently bought a blackpowder, its my first one ever. ive never shot a blackpowder rifle before, just 2 BP pistols a few times. I have beern trying to find a manufacturing date and information for the gun, but without any luck. i have the U.S. patent number and the serial number. I would like to know roughly what it would be worth, im not planning on selling it, just curious.

I need to know what powder it uses and how much of what kind. I cant find the info that tells me that. I was thinkin it would be a good idea to find when the gun was made because there may be special instructions or specs to follow. I'm not one thatll just stick 150 grain powder in it and hope nothin happens.

It uses the orange plastic primer carriers, can they be reused? i read somewhere you can just clean them with water and let dry, I also read just use a new one after each shot. Somewhere else it said theres no reason to have primer carriers and you can just replace the place where they go. Is there a reason people do that?

what kind of bullets are just good to shoot with? i don't need to use sabots, I'm not hunting this year with it. i'de like some accuracy but still rather on the cheap side. Just to shoot and get used to the gun. I was thinking just a normal kinda looking lead bullet, not using a ball.

I also dont know how tight you put the powder in. Or if u need a wad or anything between the powder and the bullet. I'm not sure if it depends on the gun or the powder or bullets you use. I dont want to look up a certain way of doing things and think thats the right way and have it be wrong.

Ive been looking up my gun and alot about safely shooting BP.

I have 2 primer carriers and the look very used, but they could of been used once, but i don't know. I have 2 sabots and a green holder snap thing there in. They were bought at an auction, and it was gonna be resold the day i bought it. So i bought it right before iwas going to go.

Is there a relatively cheap scope for it thats good? Or should i just go get a 6-24x40 mildot riflescope like i have on my .22mag? Use 24x to sight it in pretty good and use lower power to hunt? even though theres only one shot it can be up some. I use my mag usually at 10-14x

Thank you everyone in advance!! I'm new to BP and just want to make sure i do it corect and safely

-Shawn

Jbar4Ranch · November 22, 2010, 12:03 PM

I had a .58 cal Huntsman a few years ago, and regularly shot the standard load of 140 grains of BP under a patched round ball. One day, I came across some old literature from H&R that stated they recommended no more than 100 grains, regardless of the projectile. Although it was an inline, the twist rate figured out to something around 1:72, most definitely a round ball twist.

Midnight_Cougar · November 22, 2010, 04:17 PM

thanks. thats why i was trying to find a manufactured date, then maybe i could find the specs and info they gave for it. that seems harder than i thoughjt it would be. Do u remem how much u paid for it, or sold irt for?

Jbar4Ranch · November 23, 2010, 12:54 AM

I bought it in good used condition at a yard sale about eight years ago for $30, and sold it a couple years ago for a hundred.

Midnight_Cougar · November 23, 2010, 07:32 PM

I just wanna get out and shoot a few times. i didn't really want to shoot balls, but if thats what it made for it'll be fun either way. But it came with one of the plastic loader snap cap things, and it came with 2 sabots in there ( but just because somebody does it doesn't mean it's right! ) Guess when i clean it i'll have to look at the rifling in the barrel. even just shoot with no scope or sites just to shoot it 2 times. but my 6-18x is made for real rifles that i have on my .22mag. If i can take that off and put it on the blackpowder it'll look awesome. i'll just order the same scope with a lit reticle for the mag.

It seems like stay away from the real black power cause it's real dirty. The pellet that are premeasure for 50grains, you have to go in intervals of 50. It seems like quite a few people are staying away from pyrodex and 777. I'm thinking about using the powder thats 15% stronger and just use 80 grains and see what it does, But i have to re-find the name, i didn't write it down. Also try the patches that help clean when you load it up.

I'de like to know if it's old or a newer one. It was made in gardner, Ma and i read that that building started collapsing and i saw a picture of it in 1986 that a huge corner of the building was gone. So i'm sure it was before that. The newer models i think just say New England Firearms. I don't know if Huntsman was a H & R. Thats why i was trying to look p the serial number or even find the papent number might tell me a little something. The newer models i saw all had chrome, or nickel looking finishes.

I saw on a firearms auction a few that looked like mine went for $200. I spent alot less, I'm planning on keeping it and just leaving it in my gun cabinet and maybe hunt with it next year maybe. Or it look really good just stuck on a wall.

I kinda have O.C.D. (obsesive compulsive disorder) but it more makes me a perfectionish and i like things being perfect with certain things. So when i get used to shooting my gun, I know i won't have a problem with the fact of loading bp, and ill get my loads the same everytime and make sure it's spotless afterwards. But it drives me crazy when i can't find the imformation i want about when it was make. I stay up at night trying to find if i can find anything online thatll help me with tha, but can't. I'm on here after i come home from deer hunting and look for a few hours before i do anything else. So if it's online anywhere i'll find it. May just take a very long time.

Does anyone know where i can find out when the gun was made by the serial number? Or if i can get a rough idea somewhere of what year it was made in?

I would love to know the specs before i start shooting. And know what it was specifically made to shoot before i go out and buy stuff for it and have it being that i bought the wrong supplies.

How much blackpowder can you buy at a time? How does that work? Can i buy 3 things of different powder and see what i like better? Or can i just buy 1 a wk or 1 a month? Do people end up loving shooting them and don't want to stop, I know im gonna love it, and if u can only buy a small amount i'll run out the first weekend of having it. i bought my saiga .223 and bought alot of ammo. I got home and shot, i loved it so much i didn't want to stop. cleaned it alot out shooting and i ran out and went to the store the next morning just for ammo. The guy thought i was starting a small war, but it was just way top addictive to put it down. I told the guy i'll take everything he had in .223 which was like 12 boxes and then i went to the gunstore after to get more. And told all my buddys to come over anytime during the weekend they want to play with my gun. i got the gun on Friday, picked up more on sat and everyone kept coming over and we ran out of ammo sunday afternoon lol

joe sixgun · November 23, 2010, 10:23 PM

Welcome brother, enjoy all of the free info here. I happen to own the very rifle you have. OK, here is the low down. First, 100 grain max. type or brand of propellant depends on what your gun eats best. All guns have their own favorite. Bullet is also up to you, however my best accuracy has been with "power belt" brand bullets. Those orange plastic primer holders are definitely needed, and they are intended to be reused. I still haven't worn out the ones that came with my gun. Now be warned DO NOT use the factory ram rod when at the range. It may break and is hard to find a replacement. Use a range rod. OH,BTW it may be worth $100.00 if you are lucky.

Jbar4Ranch · November 24, 2010, 09:30 AM

I buy black powder in 25 pound lots from powderinc.com, and have it delivered to my door for about half what it sells for locally.

Blackhorn is probably what you're thinking of. They recently had a fire and I believe it's not being made at this time.

Midnight_Cougar · November 25, 2010, 12:41 PM

my primer carriers look really wore down, so i'll just get a new pack of them. Can i just get orange ones? I don't know if there color coordinated by size. But i can bring them into make sure i get the right ones, But if everything is online rather cheaper i'de just like to get it all in 1 shot.

I guess i'll have to get a range rod too, even tho i have no idea what that is lol. does it have to be made of something special or can i just use a wooden dowl that i mark to know how far to push it down?

WOW powder and bullets are alot more expensive that i thought! hell it's just powder and lead. I thought it be alot cheaper than that to get into BP shooting. It would be alot cheaper for me to just get a bullet mold and make my own. I have a lead sinker molds im gonna need to get out before spring fishing and make sinkers. So it might be a good idea to get a .50 cal bullet mold and make alot of sinkers and bullets at the same time. If i start hunting with it i'll switch to already made bullets if i have accuracy problems. I know that clean lead in the summer was only about $0.50 lbs that was remolded that they sell at the junkyard.

I think that covers everything i would need to purchase.

My best bet for right now would be for me to just to go to a store and get a pack of cheap lead bullets and a small thing of powder. It'll be alot better if i can just make a range rod out of a wooden dowl and cut it to the length of my rod extended. Also a pack of primer carriers. I may have 209 shotgun primers here for our 12g reloader, but i'll have to check on them. Would i also need patches, or some kind of wad? or does that depend on the type of bullets used?

Thank you all very much for all your help!! This is very helpful to me, this would take me hours to find the info i need to know. I like to ask people that have knowledge on what i need to find out, and the hints and tricks that will make this alot better for me and give me a good experience with it. It would be such a pain if i broke my rod off down the barrel and not be able to find another one for my gun. Then it would just sit in my gun cabinet and not be used again

My hunting buddy just got a BP from his dad last year and is just starting to get into it also. But he has no idea on any of the questions i ask him. But maybe someday we'll split the cost of a mold and split a order of BP. I don't think he really knows much about it yet. I am also passing some of the information onto him that may help him enjoy shooting BP more, all due to the information that i have found on thefiringline. So i thank you all

Midnight_Cougar · November 25, 2010, 01:51 PM

I also want to get a set of the plastic quick reloaders. Or would this speed clip loader be even better? http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/c....aspx?a=271220

Heres a CVA 4 in 1 loader http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/c....aspx?a=271210

They also have 100pc .50cal balls for $15. The sabots are cheaper there than other places i have looked. 20 sabots for $10+. even the hornady sabots are $11.77. Even the cheap shot sabots are $7

Do i need some sort of anti-seize stuff for the breech plug?

They also have a few range rods for $15. But they kinda look like they would break easier than my rod. Just found a fiberglass ramrod for $6.47 http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/c....aspx?a=271214

I'll also need something to measure the powder. Do i need a special tool or a peice that goes onto the rod to load sabots?

I have some BP cleaning solution here, I don't know why. we never had a BP gun, it might of came from my grandpa. Do i need any special brushes or can i just use what i have and only use it for BP?

I can't think of another single question lol

I'm already in the buyers club so i get a lil bit more of a discount, and i am planning on getting a few christmas presents from there anyways. So if i can save a lil extra i'll just get what i need through them, and just pick up some BP at a gunstore

November 21, 2010, 09:09 PM	#1
Midnight_Cougar Junior Member Join Date: November 18, 2010 Location: New York Posts: 5	Huntsman .50 cal, New England Firearms Huntsman .50cal New England Firearms Manufactured in Gardner, MA USA -it is a break open with a hammer, and wood stock, it has a scopemount on it. I don't know if it came tapped or if it was took somewhere and had it tapped for a scopemount. It has the rings on it to, so i do need to go out and get a scope also. I don't know if the barrel is wore down at all it really needs to be cleaned I recently bought a blackpowder, its my first one ever. ive never shot a blackpowder rifle before, just 2 BP pistols a few times. I have beern trying to find a manufacturing date and information for the gun, but without any luck. i have the U.S. patent number and the serial number. I would like to know roughly what it would be worth, im not planning on selling it, just curious. I need to know what powder it uses and how much of what kind. I cant find the info that tells me that. I was thinkin it would be a good idea to find when the gun was made because there may be special instructions or specs to follow. I'm not one thatll just stick 150 grain powder in it and hope nothin happens. It uses the orange plastic primer carriers, can they be reused? i read somewhere you can just clean them with water and let dry, I also read just use a new one after each shot. Somewhere else it said theres no reason to have primer carriers and you can just replace the place where they go. Is there a reason people do that? what kind of bullets are just good to shoot with? i don't need to use sabots, I'm not hunting this year with it. i'de like some accuracy but still rather on the cheap side. Just to shoot and get used to the gun. I was thinking just a normal kinda looking lead bullet, not using a ball. I also dont know how tight you put the powder in. Or if u need a wad or anything between the powder and the bullet. I'm not sure if it depends on the gun or the powder or bullets you use. I dont want to look up a certain way of doing things and think thats the right way and have it be wrong. Ive been looking up my gun and alot about safely shooting BP. I have 2 primer carriers and the look very used, but they could of been used once, but i don't know. I have 2 sabots and a green holder snap thing there in. They were bought at an auction, and it was gonna be resold the day i bought it. So i bought it right before iwas going to go. Is there a relatively cheap scope for it thats good? Or should i just go get a 6-24x40 mildot riflescope like i have on my .22mag? Use 24x to sight it in pretty good and use lower power to hunt? even though theres only one shot it can be up some. I use my mag usually at 10-14x Thank you everyone in advance!! I'm new to BP and just want to make sure i do it corect and safely -Shawn

November 22, 2010, 12:03 PM	#2
Jbar4Ranch Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 1999 Location: Near Helena, Montana Posts: 1,719	I had a .58 cal Huntsman a few years ago, and regularly shot the standard load of 140 grains of BP under a patched round ball. One day, I came across some old literature from H&R that stated they recommended no more than 100 grains, regardless of the projectile. Although it was an inline, the twist rate figured out to something around 1:72, most definitely a round ball twist. __________________ Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets replaced... SASS 47015

November 23, 2010, 12:54 AM	#4
Jbar4Ranch Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 1999 Location: Near Helena, Montana Posts: 1,719	I bought it in good used condition at a yard sale about eight years ago for $30, and sold it a couple years ago for a hundred. __________________ Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets replaced... SASS 47015

November 23, 2010, 10:23 PM	#6
joe sixgun Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2010 Location: west michigan Posts: 185	Welcome brother, enjoy all of the free info here. I happen to own the very rifle you have. OK, here is the low down. First, 100 grain max. type or brand of propellant depends on what your gun eats best. All guns have their own favorite. Bullet is also up to you, however my best accuracy has been with "power belt" brand bullets. Those orange plastic primer holders are definitely needed, and they are intended to be reused. I still haven't worn out the ones that came with my gun. Now be warned DO NOT use the factory ram rod when at the range. It may break and is hard to find a replacement. Use a range rod. OH,BTW it may be worth $100.00 if you are lucky. __________________ DON'T TREAD ON ME !

November 24, 2010, 09:30 AM	#7
Jbar4Ranch Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 1999 Location: Near Helena, Montana Posts: 1,719	I buy black powder in 25 pound lots from powderinc.com, and have it delivered to my door for about half what it sells for locally. Blackhorn is probably what you're thinking of. They recently had a fire and I believe it's not being made at this time. __________________ Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets replaced... SASS 47015

November 22, 2010, 04:17 PM	#3
Midnight_Cougar Junior Member Join Date: November 18, 2010 Location: New York Posts: 5	thanks. thats why i was trying to find a manufactured date, then maybe i could find the specs and info they gave for it. that seems harder than i thoughjt it would be. Do u remem how much u paid for it, or sold irt for?

November 23, 2010, 07:32 PM	#5
Midnight_Cougar Junior Member Join Date: November 18, 2010 Location: New York Posts: 5	I just wanna get out and shoot a few times. i didn't really want to shoot balls, but if thats what it made for it'll be fun either way. But it came with one of the plastic loader snap cap things, and it came with 2 sabots in there ( but just because somebody does it doesn't mean it's right! ) Guess when i clean it i'll have to look at the rifling in the barrel. even just shoot with no scope or sites just to shoot it 2 times. but my 6-18x is made for real rifles that i have on my .22mag. If i can take that off and put it on the blackpowder it'll look awesome. i'll just order the same scope with a lit reticle for the mag. It seems like stay away from the real black power cause it's real dirty. The pellet that are premeasure for 50grains, you have to go in intervals of 50. It seems like quite a few people are staying away from pyrodex and 777. I'm thinking about using the powder thats 15% stronger and just use 80 grains and see what it does, But i have to re-find the name, i didn't write it down. Also try the patches that help clean when you load it up. I'de like to know if it's old or a newer one. It was made in gardner, Ma and i read that that building started collapsing and i saw a picture of it in 1986 that a huge corner of the building was gone. So i'm sure it was before that. The newer models i think just say New England Firearms. I don't know if Huntsman was a H & R. Thats why i was trying to look p the serial number or even find the papent number might tell me a little something. The newer models i saw all had chrome, or nickel looking finishes. I saw on a firearms auction a few that looked like mine went for $200. I spent alot less, I'm planning on keeping it and just leaving it in my gun cabinet and maybe hunt with it next year maybe. Or it look really good just stuck on a wall. I kinda have O.C.D. (obsesive compulsive disorder) but it more makes me a perfectionish and i like things being perfect with certain things. So when i get used to shooting my gun, I know i won't have a problem with the fact of loading bp, and ill get my loads the same everytime and make sure it's spotless afterwards. But it drives me crazy when i can't find the imformation i want about when it was make. I stay up at night trying to find if i can find anything online thatll help me with tha, but can't. I'm on here after i come home from deer hunting and look for a few hours before i do anything else. So if it's online anywhere i'll find it. May just take a very long time. Does anyone know where i can find out when the gun was made by the serial number? Or if i can get a rough idea somewhere of what year it was made in? I would love to know the specs before i start shooting. And know what it was specifically made to shoot before i go out and buy stuff for it and have it being that i bought the wrong supplies. How much blackpowder can you buy at a time? How does that work? Can i buy 3 things of different powder and see what i like better? Or can i just buy 1 a wk or 1 a month? Do people end up loving shooting them and don't want to stop, I know im gonna love it, and if u can only buy a small amount i'll run out the first weekend of having it. i bought my saiga .223 and bought alot of ammo. I got home and shot, i loved it so much i didn't want to stop. cleaned it alot out shooting and i ran out and went to the store the next morning just for ammo. The guy thought i was starting a small war, but it was just way top addictive to put it down. I told the guy i'll take everything he had in .223 which was like 12 boxes and then i went to the gunstore after to get more. And told all my buddys to come over anytime during the weekend they want to play with my gun. i got the gun on Friday, picked up more on sat and everyone kept coming over and we ran out of ammo sunday afternoon lol

November 25, 2010, 12:41 PM	#8
Midnight_Cougar Junior Member Join Date: November 18, 2010 Location: New York Posts: 5	my primer carriers look really wore down, so i'll just get a new pack of them. Can i just get orange ones? I don't know if there color coordinated by size. But i can bring them into make sure i get the right ones, But if everything is online rather cheaper i'de just like to get it all in 1 shot. I guess i'll have to get a range rod too, even tho i have no idea what that is lol. does it have to be made of something special or can i just use a wooden dowl that i mark to know how far to push it down? WOW powder and bullets are alot more expensive that i thought! hell it's just powder and lead. I thought it be alot cheaper than that to get into BP shooting. It would be alot cheaper for me to just get a bullet mold and make my own. I have a lead sinker molds im gonna need to get out before spring fishing and make sinkers. So it might be a good idea to get a .50 cal bullet mold and make alot of sinkers and bullets at the same time. If i start hunting with it i'll switch to already made bullets if i have accuracy problems. I know that clean lead in the summer was only about $0.50 lbs that was remolded that they sell at the junkyard. I think that covers everything i would need to purchase. My best bet for right now would be for me to just to go to a store and get a pack of cheap lead bullets and a small thing of powder. It'll be alot better if i can just make a range rod out of a wooden dowl and cut it to the length of my rod extended. Also a pack of primer carriers. I may have 209 shotgun primers here for our 12g reloader, but i'll have to check on them. Would i also need patches, or some kind of wad? or does that depend on the type of bullets used? Thank you all very much for all your help!! This is very helpful to me, this would take me hours to find the info i need to know. I like to ask people that have knowledge on what i need to find out, and the hints and tricks that will make this alot better for me and give me a good experience with it. It would be such a pain if i broke my rod off down the barrel and not be able to find another one for my gun. Then it would just sit in my gun cabinet and not be used again My hunting buddy just got a BP from his dad last year and is just starting to get into it also. But he has no idea on any of the questions i ask him. But maybe someday we'll split the cost of a mold and split a order of BP. I don't think he really knows much about it yet. I am also passing some of the information onto him that may help him enjoy shooting BP more, all due to the information that i have found on thefiringline. So i thank you all

November 25, 2010, 01:51 PM	#9
Midnight_Cougar Junior Member Join Date: November 18, 2010 Location: New York Posts: 5	I also want to get a set of the plastic quick reloaders. Or would this speed clip loader be even better? http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/c....aspx?a=271220 Heres a CVA 4 in 1 loader http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/c....aspx?a=271210 They also have 100pc .50cal balls for $15. The sabots are cheaper there than other places i have looked. 20 sabots for $10+. even the hornady sabots are $11.77. Even the cheap shot sabots are $7 Do i need some sort of anti-seize stuff for the breech plug? They also have a few range rods for $15. But they kinda look like they would break easier than my rod. Just found a fiberglass ramrod for $6.47 http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/c....aspx?a=271214 I'll also need something to measure the powder. Do i need a special tool or a peice that goes onto the rod to load sabots? I have some BP cleaning solution here, I don't know why. we never had a BP gun, it might of came from my grandpa. Do i need any special brushes or can i just use what i have and only use it for BP? I can't think of another single question lol I'm already in the buyers club so i get a lil bit more of a discount, and i am planning on getting a few christmas presents from there anyways. So if i can save a lil extra i'll just get what i need through them, and just pick up some BP at a gunstore