That is incorrect as well. Need to get studied up before you fling these statements out there like you know what your talking about. H&R manufactured and marketed the Huntsman inline muzzleloader for 15 years before it went bankrupt. I hardly call that a speck in the dust or an experimental deal. Knight likes to lay claim of inventing the inline but they're full of it. They just took what had already been invented and capitalized on it. Hey that sounds familiar to the initial intent of this thread.


H&R Huntsman History


Harrington & Richardson invented the Modern Inline Break action muzzleloader back in 1970. First marketed as 12 gauge muzzle loading shot gun, followed by a 45 cal and 58 cal rifle in 1971. These guns worked like the modern ones, but used the old no. 11 percussion cap as 209 primers
were a long way from muzzle loading then.

Many people converted them over to musket cap, and later to 209, which is quite easy. The nipple on these guns is quarter twenty eight and nipples of musket size are readily available, and adapters to fire 209 can be had easily.

The Huntsman of this era was equiped with a rebounding and plunger type firing pin which is special to the Huntsman designed to fire caps. However, the plunger firing pin works fine with 209 primmers, as well.

In their day, the H&R's stood alone, were unique and ahead of their time. In 1978, the Huntsman was upgraded. The transfer bar firing safety system was incorporated and replaced the rebounding hammer, but it still used the plunger type firing pin. The breech plugs on these guns
changed over the years, most have push in breech plugs, some of the latter ones had threaded breech plugs. The threaded ones used a special nipple breech plug wrench to remove the breech plug for cleaning . The push in type was an H&R pattened design, which was pushed in and sealed with a neoprene o-ring. An early version had a nylon ring, as well. These are easy to remove, you will never have a stuck breech plug. You simply open the breech and push out the plug with your ram rod.

These breech plugs have had their critics and are considered unsafe by some and potentially could be as the breech plug is only secured when the breech is closed. But the same is true with a single shot breech loading cartridge gun. If you open the breech to quickly after a misfire, and the misfire is hang fire, you will be in for a world of hurt. Although, that can happen with modern breech loaders and unfortunatly has
with both.


The Huntsman ramrod is also unique, as it is the telescoping type. They actually are quite strong and made of brass with a wooden handle.

The original rod came with cleaning attachments and was longer as the Barrels on original models were 28 inches long and the 58 cal could be had with a special order 32 inch barrel, it is a powerful rifle.

In 1985/86 the Huntsman model came to an end with the Bankruptcy of H&R Arms Co. In 1986 the company was reorganized under New England Firearms, NEF, which in turn became known as H&R 1871. Then Marlin Firearms bought NEF/H&R 1871 in Nov. 2000. It is now known as H&R 1871 LLC.

In 2002 NEF/ H&R 1871 introduced the new and greatly improved Huntsman. Built with quality, as good if not better, than the original and with a long list of improvements, and worthy of carrying on the Huntsman
tradition.