Ultra-Hi by Miroku

[Weatherman68]

I was at the local flee market today when I came across a .50 Cal flintlock with the name Ultra Hi marked on the barrel. It shows some signs of use but overall seems to be in very good shape.  I have a Thompson Center in .54 but I wanted to hrave a back up flint lock since that is all you can use in the late muzzle loader season in PA.

i can't seem to find anything on this particular gun.     It looks like Miroku manufactures shotguns and replica center fire rifles but I reccon that this gun must be fairly old.  If anyone knows anything about these I would appreciate anything you can tell me.

Thanks  

[Graybeard]

I've never heard of it but if it is in fact make by Miroku it should be of very high quality. They made the original Charles Daly line of shotguns. They make all the Browning Citori shotguns and used to make the BSS side by side shotgun for Browing as well. They made the Winchester 101 O/U line as well. They make all the Browning and Winchester reproductions of the old Browning patent Winchester guns as well. I've never seen anything come out of there that wasn't of high quality.

[captchee]

Ultra Hi  was a Japanese company  that made muzzleloaders back in the mid 1970’s . they had a full line  ranging from pistols to rifles and muskets .
 some where very good and still are sought after today, like their brown bess  .
Others were not . You just never new  about the quality but most were reasonable  .
 But back then you didn’t know that about many of the muzzleloaders being offered
 But to give you some idea , In 1976  the Ultra hi  hawkens rifle retailed for  177.96 in kit form . At the same time  TC  listed their hawkens kit at 130.00

 those  hawkens  rifle i have seen through the years were very much the quality of  those made by  investment arms 

[longcaribiner]

Ultra Hi had muzzleloaders made under contract with various companies.  A few models were quite well made and many of them were junk.  My brother has an old Ultra Hi kentucky style pistol, most of it was pretty good, but the lock was junk.  We tinkered with it and were able to fit one of the better CVA locks to the gun.  I think Miroku made the Dixie Mountain Rifle, and that was extremely well made, heavy as an anchor, but well made.    There was some real crap on the market in the early 1970's and Ultra Hi across the board was just slightly better than crap, however, there were a very few models that are excellent.  Sounds like you got a better one.  I think Numrich/Gun PArts ended up buying the remnants of the company along with the parts and left over stock.  If you need parts, Numrich/Gun Parts might actually have them.     

[RussB]

I have had a UltraHi since sometime back in the early 1980's...it's a .66cal smoothbore, and I bought mine "on special" for about $150 back in the day.
Kirkland Turner must have sold a train load of these things at Dixie Gun Works when muzzleloading was starting to catch on back then.

The gun is far from perfect in everyway, but certainly still, to this day, a very serviceable muzzleloader.
I have heard all the horror stories about this gun, and I have seen a lot of these guns over the years. If these stories have any real basis to them, I have personally never seen the reason for it....perhaps others have.

My own UltraHi was my first smoothbore, and I have shot the living daylights out of it over the past 25 or so years, and especially the past 10 years.
It works quite well with ball, or shot, and it does have a rear sight which was kinda frowned on back when they were first introduced.

I have no clue as to what may have eventually happened to stop Dixie Gun Works from selling them, but I do believe that the rear sight issue is what gave them their bad name...originally.
Research over the years has proved beyond a doubt that many original smoothbore did in fact have rear sights, so that "excuse" is no longer a valid argument.

Miruko makes, and has always made a great gun, and they have been ahead of the US in steel technology for many years.
 
Russ...

[captchee]

well said uncle russ 

[Weatherman68]

Well, weather permitting I hope to take the gun out tomorrow and give it a try.  At this point I do not have any round balls, only mini conicals so I am going to give it a try with what I have.  My Thompson Center has a twist that will work with both, but I can't find anything on what the rate of twist is on this rifle.  I also just purchased some American Pioneer powder for the first time and it says that it will work with side locks so I am going to give it a try.  If it burns as clean as they say I would rather shoot than clean.

I have been looking for a manual for this gun but so far have not found a source.  If anyone knows where to look your assistance is appreciated. 

Thanks 

[leserz]

if you do find a manual  are you going to share the info very interested in a copy myself.  i have a .45 cal on lay a way should have it in a week or so.

[Weatherman68]

Took this out and ran about 20 rounds through it on Labor Day.  After I had it dilaed in I could put the conicals inside a 4 " circle at 50 yards with the open sights.  With my aging eyes I am happy with that performance.  It should be accurte enough to drop a deer, especially here in PA where a 50 yard shot is a long one.