B.C. Hunter

Looking for some info on Austin & Halleck rifles. Any info would be great.

cayugad

A&H are funny rifles from all I have read. Some of the older ones were said to be excellent rifles, but heavy to carry. The new ones on the other hand were said to be not of the same quality. Some claimed the hardware to stock fit was not good. Other complained about the triggers. Again, this is only from what I have read about them.

Also you need to remember, the company folded. It does not exhist, so any customer service does not exhist. While there will probably alway be parts floating around somewhere, customer service is something I alway feel important. (Yet I went and bought a White.. so take that for what its worth)

Depending on what you want to spend, there are a lot of other rifles out there that might serve you as well or better.

trharder

B.C.,

I bought a A&H 420 50cal. this fall. I got it because I had read good things
about their accuracy and I liked the pretty wood stock and they were on
sale for half price from the manufacturer because they were going out of
business. I gave $275 for mine. I am happy with the gun. The gun is
very easy to cap as there is a lot of room even with a scope on. Way
easier than my CVA Firebolt. Removing the bolt and cleaning is pretty
easy once you figure out the little trick of removing the bolt. It's a sturdy
well made gun and feels good in my hands and is easy to point. Accuracy
has been impressive with the few bullet and powder combinations that I
have tried so far. Draw backs would be: Manufacturer is out of business.
The gun is a little on the heavy side. The universal hammer that it supposed
to work on 209s, #11s, and musket caps works great on 209s, but not so
great on the other two. I finally got it to work on the #11s with some bolt
adjustment, but never did get the musket caps to work at all. Still, I have
yet to see a more attractive inline anywhere.

geoffh

I bought one of the last 420s, I seriously wouldn't have even considered gettingan inline at all(flintlocks are more my cup of tea)but, and in hopes of getting a piece with wood as nice as in catalog pics, at half price... I just had to.Unfortunately that was not the case with the one I received, it's very plain,but it's still wood!I haven't yet had a chance to shoot it so I cannot comment on that aspect of the gun, if it shoots as well as alot of folks have claimed they do I'll be happy...a 320(synthetic stocked version)on clearance at the nearby Gander Mountain for 30 bucks morehad me feeling even better about the deal.I'd venture to guess that A&H had too hard a time trying to compete in a market flooded with guns that had a retail of half or less than they sold their rifles for. Without moving near the anticipated numbers a company cannot survive, the profit simply isn't there to keep going. I bet the quality control issues that a few guys have had were a result of the first attempts at cutting costs trying to stay afloat.There used to be a market for highlyfigured wood and polished steel but unfortunately there has been a shift to the biggest bang for the buck. Hell, I just admitted to doing just that, didn't I?

SHills

BC,
I have a 2006 catalog and several brochures. What were you looking for?
I do own a percussion and it is a nice rifle. I have seen two importer locations. Mine is from Maryland and the other I saw was a flint from out west, can't remember the state.
SHills

ReDoT

My local dealer has a new 50 cal BEAUTIFUL A&H (dont recal the model ###)priced at$250, the fit and finishseemedescellent, it has the octagon barrel , i almost bought it, thought one would be neat to have since they are no longer made.not too worried about thenon existing CS. Its not like the A&H would be my workhorse BP anyways......i just might go pick that up now!

SHills

BC and ReDoT,
I went and looked @ that Austin Halleck @ Gander. It is a flint andI was correct. It says UTAH on the barrel. Like I said minesays Maryland. Don't know the reasoning but they are nice rifles and if the lock ever did croak you can get parts from Dixie or just replace the lock w/ an L&R. The price was $546.00. If you can get that rifle for $250.00 that is a great deal I think... if you like the rifle.
LOL, SHills

yeoman

Some of you mention the beauty of the A&H 420 wood stock. If I could find a pretty in line I might consider buying one for a faster twist barrel. Does anyone know of a break action ML currently available in solid (not composite) wood stock?

cayugad

Most of the inline rifles use a laminated wood stock simply because of the strength of the material and I am sure a cost factor as well. I am not sure about the Lyman Mustang. Now on Auction sites there are older model inlines like the Knight MK-85 but while these are great muzzleloaders, are far from modern technology break open. I think the only way out would be custom...

yeoman

Ouch!

I did just find a decent summary on what may be available at this link. Trick is finding one used in good shape I guess.

[link]http://www.huntingclub.com/document.asp?dID=10201[/link]