Old Huntsman

[doc623]

Old Huntsman .45 cal. with a dollar size gap at the breach end when closed. This is the modle that has a O ring/gasget and not threads on the breach plug.
 
The rifle has not been used hard or much over the years and is not heavily loaded usually 60-70 gr pyrodex or similar and conical.
Is this anything to be concerned about?
Thanks in advance.

[DanielWGriggs]

doc623,
Take a look at the sticky in the Centerfire H&R forum should I have bought it. It gives the best answers I have seen for this question.

[Hammerspur]

Tightening up the breech is not hard to do, I've done it on a few with shim stock of various types.

I had some slight blow-by issues with the push in breech plug on an older .58 Huntsman, noticable after many shots at the range. I hollowed out the flat interior face of the plug into a conical powder well, never got any residue into the standing breech area again. My feeling is that the force of powder ignition gases forcing outward on the sloped interior of the powder well is enough to induce some expansion and a more effective gas seal, like a cartridge case does, rather than blowing straight back as dictated by the flat configuration of the breech plug in original form, thereby leaking past any minute gaps in the seal.

[Hammerspur]

Tightening up the breech is not hard to do, I've done it on a few with shim stock of various types.

I had some slight blow-by issues with the push in breech plug on an older .58 Huntsman, noticable after many shots at the range. I hollowed out the flat interior face of the plug into a conical powder well, never got any residue into the standing breech area again. My feeling is that the force of powder ignition gases forcing outward on the sloped interior of the powder well is enough to induce some expansion and a more effective gas seal, like a cartridge case does, rather than blowing straight back as dictated by the flat configuration of the breech plug in original form, thereby leaking past any minute gaps in the seal.