Hopkins & Allen "Minuteman" barrels

[mongrel]

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Products/1449500.htm

The modern Hopkins & Allen "Minuteman" rifles were fullstocks made by Numrich and had American-made barrels. Some of the barrels have turned up for sale via Numrich's website. Where Numrich comes up with this stuff, I don't know (I suspect they send exploring parties into their warehouse and whatever is brought out by whoever returns alive, they put it up for sale). These are probably only available in a limited supply. I've ordered two for my own use and upon receipt of the goods will report my honest opinion of their quality, giving due consideration to the fact that with shipping you're looking at just shy of $65 for one of them -- way less than half what you will pay, with shipping included, for any of the commercially-made barrels on the market today.

These barrels are 32 1/4" x 15/16", .50 caliber (and there is a .31 caliber version, see my last paragraph, below), and if you want an idea of what a fullstock built around one would be like, in dimensions, check the fullstock restock of the CVA Mountain Rifle I just finished. (http://traditionalmuzzleloadingcheap.com/forum/index.php?topic=16812.0

With the CVA hooked tang included the Mountain Rifle has an overall barrel-and-tang length of 32 1/4", also 15/16" diameter. I'm guessing right now that these Numrichs are rifled 1-48", though the .50 caliber 30" x 1" Numrich barrels I use on my lower-priced Western Trade Rifles are deep-cut-rifled 1-62". These barrels are also tapped 5/8-18 for a breechplug, according to Numrich's specs on the Minuteman rifles. I would expect that they're dovetailed for sights and underlugs, though neither breechplug, sights, nor lugs are included in this sale. Numrich has the Minuteman-correct breechplug for $4.35 -- http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Products/211790.htm

If someone has in mind to try a rifle build but doesn't want to risk major expense on what may be their first attempt, there are CVA percussion locks available on GunBroker.com for under $50, shipped, and PLAIN maple, walnut, and cherry blanks can be had for under $60 plus shipping (if you know who to ask about it, hint hint, and if you ask nicely I can usually find something more in the range of $30-$40 plus shipping). OR buy a plain-maple precarved stock from Track Of The Wolf, barrel channel and ramrod hole done, and you inlet the rest of the parts yourself, major shaping done, for $115 plus shipping. Assuming you bought the breechplug with the barrel and the rest of the parts (trigger, hardware, and sights, mainly) from Track Of The Wolf (or whoever you bought a stock from) you could come out of it with the makin's of a fullstocked percussion rifle, starting with what I'm betting is a decent barrel and a precarved stock, for roughly $300, if not a little less.

I wouldn't even mention this, except there's no way I can afford to buy very many of these barrels (finances permitting and assuming they only had maybe a couple dozen, I'd buy their whole inventory), and someone else might be in the market for such a deal and maybe not even have realized it, yet.

There is also a .31 caliber (yes, I said .31, not a .32) version of this barrel, but also being 15/16" in diameter (32" long) it would make for a HEAVY smallbore rifle in a slightly oddball caliber, and would require use of a ramrod less than 5/16" in diameter. http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Products/1449470.htm

[Dogshirt]

Thanks for the heads up Mike. I'll see where my finances go, I may make one up for the Grandkids.

[JonnyReb]

  They made a really nice barrel. My little buggy rifle loves a roundball. Look forward to hearing what you get. J

[mongrel]

I've used the Numrich barrels in both .445 and .50 caliber and every single one has delivered superb accuracy. As near as my eye can tell the grooves were cut deep, rather than the shallower button rifling found on a lot of inexpensive commercial barrels. I expect these new ones to be of the same quality but, like I say, will report once I have them in my possession.

I'm going to have to order at least one more barrel, since I didn't realize they had the breechplugs till after I'd ordered the two barrels I have coming. Their price on the plugs is about half what Track Of The Wolf or Muzzleloader Builder's Supply gets for machined breechplugs of the same type. Ordering several breechplugs will involve only a dollar or two less shipping than if I piggyback another barrel onto the order, so I'd be losing money to NOT order a third barrel, right...?

[Baldy]

Just checked and the 50 cal barrels are "Sold Out".  They still have some of the 31 cal barrels.

[mongrel]

I placed my order before they sold out, so unless my order overlapped them running out and they send me a "Sorry" notification, a third barrel and some breechplugs will be headed my way. And, if it turns out they ran out and hadn't updated their own system before processing my order -- easy come, easy go, and that's about $50 I won't be paying out. Win-win situation. And, either way, I don't have to lose sleep trying to contrive ways to come up with more money for more barrels.

Didn't think they'd last any length of time. I was surprised that the .50 calibers were still in stock after the .36 and .45 calibers were sold out.

[mongrel]

Well, the first two barrels arrived (we will see if a third one turns up or if they inform me on the coming invoice that they were out of stock). Very nice, no complaints, other than what might have been a huge problem for someone other than me -- both barrels are .45 caliber, not the .50 calibers I ordered. At this price they're still a great deal, but if someone had been planning a .50 caliber rifle build this would be an issue.

As it is, I had notified two customers that IF these barrels turned out to be what I hoped they were, I'd be using them on their rifles. Not going to happen, now, unless one or both is agreeable to a slightly smaller caliber than planned. If not, we go back to Plan A in each case, and I build a couple of nice .45 (actually, probably, .445) caliber rifles to put on my sales rack.

These are NOS barrels, with immaculate 1-48" rifling, drilled and tapped 5/8-18 for a fixed-tang breechplug as well as 3/8-16 for either a vent liner or percussion drum, with dovetails for front and rear sights. No dovetails along the bottom flats, which is actually good, since factory underlugs are never located really where I want them and them not being there means these barrels will work as well for halfstock as for fullstock rifles.

Based on the quality of these two items, particularly for the less than $60 I paid per barrel, if someone has their eye on one of the .31 calibers that are still in stock -- go for it. In fact I might snag one of them if any are still in stock when finances permit. I have a very nice T/C Hawken stock that will need a barrel and plenty of T/C breechplugs....

[Papa]

Mike,
I saw where you "have plenty of TC breech plugs". Any of them for a 1" barrel, left hand?
Mark

[mongrel]

No, unfortunately not. Just several (which is plenty when you never have a use for them) righthanded 15/16".

[Papa]

Mike,
1" LH's are hard to find, thought I'd ask. Thanks.
Mark