doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Two Questions About Pin Fire Shotguns

Friend of mine (not an Internet user) acquired an Isaac Hollis & Son, London, Serial #6 ... 12ga pinfire shotgun missing the right hammer:
Q1: How does one measure the throw of the hammer?
Q2: The name of a source to buy the missing hammer or a pair (original or replica casting?)


Pinfire shotguns are not in my knowledge base
Thanks Kindly
John Corney
(DGJ Subscriber from Vol No 1)

Try these people.

http://www.blackleyandson.com/index.html

If he doesnt want to invest any more into the gun, just put the side with the hammer missing against the wall....most folks wont even notice that missing hammer if you hang it high enough...

Thanks Daryl for the link. Will pass on the information.

Throw on a muzzle loader is measured from C/L of the tumbler to center of top of nipple. Throw on a Centerfire breech loader is measured from C/L of tumbler to center of rear of firing pin.
I would assume throw on a pinfire would be C/L of tumbler to top of pin. Note that in all cases this is center of rotation to center of Striking point.

Miller - thanks kindly for the information
Like I said, pin fires are not in my knowledge base. Looking around on the Internet, these pin fire hammers have throws from 42mm to 56mm.

Background on the Hollis: My friend does not own a pin fire and his arm was twisted for $100 to buy the Hollis. It is NRA Antique VG and is missing the right hammer. Not having a pin fire, he wanted to add it to his collection of long arms (vintage 1850's to 1930's)that number over 800 pieces. His latest project is a Zulu shotgun that was factory converted to rifled bore. He's in the process of making rounds for it and then a test firing for an article he is going to write

Of the shotguns in his collection, my favorite is an '94 Remington C Grade that looks like it just came out of the box. It's gorgeous

John;
I do have a W&C Scott & Son 12ga pinfire. By my above method this one would have a throw of about 2.0" (50.8mm) or just above the median of 49mm you stated for the range you have seen. This was just by a rough scaling, not real precise, but I would be about 99.99% certain that is the way it would be measured. Hope this will help your friend to find an appropriate hammer for the Hollis. I have an I Hollis percussion which has one ill matched hammer, but it does have proper throw to work. It is mostly in retirement now but used to hunt it quite a bit.