Inside the Lock
Virtually all muzzleloader locks are internally the same. There are variations from one type to the next, but conceptually, all work in identical fashion. The three major components of a lock are: the mainspring, which may be flat, V-shaped or coil type; the tumbler, which is notched and projects through the lock plate to the hammer; and the sear, which pivots its tip into the notches of the tumbler and holds the lock in the half-cock or full-cock position.
As the hammer is drawn back, the tumbler rotates clockwise allowing the sear to ride along the bottom of the tumbler until it clicks into the first notch: the half-cock or safety notch. When the hammer is set in a secure half-cock notch, it should be IMPOSSIBLE to fire or move the hammer by pulling the trigger. If the hammer is then drawn back further, the sear will click into the second notch: the full-cock notch. The gun is now ready to be fired.
With the gun in the full-cock position, the trigger pressure will push upward on the rear portion of the sear to push the sear tip out of the full-cock notch. The tumbler will then rotate in a counter-clockwise direction under the pressure of the mainspring and drop the hammer to fire the gun.
Virtually all muzzleloader locks are internally the same. There are variations from one type to the next, but conceptually, all work in identical fashion. The three major components of a lock are: the mainspring, which may be flat, V-shaped or coil type; the tumbler, which is notched and projects through the lock plate to the hammer; and the sear, which pivots its tip into the notches of the tumbler and holds the lock in the half-cock or full-cock position.
As the hammer is drawn back, the tumbler rotates clockwise allowing the sear to ride along the bottom of the tumbler until it clicks into the first notch: the half-cock or safety notch. When the hammer is set in a secure half-cock notch, it should be IMPOSSIBLE to fire or move the hammer by pulling the trigger. If the hammer is then drawn back further, the sear will click into the second notch: the full-cock notch. The gun is now ready to be fired.
With the gun in the full-cock position, the trigger pressure will push upward on the rear portion of the sear to push the sear tip out of the full-cock notch. The tumbler will then rotate in a counter-clockwise direction under the pressure of the mainspring and drop the hammer to fire the gun.
