D.H. Hilliard Underhammer

[goldidig]

As I was going through my gunroom tonight I found a gun I had totally forgotten about. I expect it is probably pretty rare up here in Canada. It's a D.H. Hilliard underhammer buggy gun made somewhere between 1830 and 1877 in Cornish New Hampshire as near as I could find out. It says D.H. Hilliard Cornish N.H. on the barrel.
It's a .54 smoothbore or .28 guage shotgun. It is perfectly functional and I have fired it many times with patched round ball or carded shot over the years. Major parts are all serial numbered and are matching numbers. Only defect is a cracked weld on the one ram rod tube to barrel, cracked only on one side. Really shoots great still! I'd love to know more about it but have never been able to find another one exactly like it on the internet. Can anyone tell me anything about it?
Al

 

[gunsaholic]

Nice gun but I don't know anything about it. There is info on the net about Hilliard and some of his guns (which you likely have seen) but not of this same example. Would be cool carrying this ole gun.

 

[goldidig]

Thanks Gunsaholic. That's exactly what I found too. The barrel length and style is different than most. I did see one that was auctioned off on a U.S. Auction site that was virtually identical in every aspect other then the barrel. I expect that Hilliard made guns to special order though. That's what I figured this one was likely to be but I have no way to find out the history on it. It is a neat piece for sure. I can ring the 10 inch gong at my 60 yard range every shot with patched round ball and 50 grains of 2F. Used it once when a bunch of us went skeet shooting just for laughs and managed to bag a surprising number of close clays! :-D
Al

 

[gab]

I searched my copy of Herschel C. Logan's The Pictorial History of the Under-Hammer Gun, but couldn't find any D.H. Hilliard guns like yours.

 

[goldidig]

I hate to resurrect a thread this old but I still have been unable to find out anything about this underhammer? I keep checking on the web but have never turned up another one like it. Does anyone have any recommendation for a U.S. antique blackpowder enthusiast forum?

 

[tula]

That’s my old gun, bought it in BC and I’m pretty sure before that it came from south of the border. I had a history of the maker some where’s if I can find it.

 

[tula]

he Specialized in underhammers Al, I think he was from Vermont. I’ll look it up again.

 

[Calgarychef]

I can't tell you anything about it but I have a H&A under hammer that I bought here on CGN several years ago. It shoots like a dream.

 

[goldidig]

Thanks Nick. I wrote down what you told me when I got it somewhere. LOL If I could just find it again!