Caps sticking in hammer ?

[Beaverman2]

Years ago I had a Traditions Shenandoah that had this problem, I started cleaning the cup after every shoot using the small round wire brush for a dremel in my flex cable and that ended the problem.

 

[ETipp]

I've done the same thing and keep the hammer very clean. Still have some caps that stick every so often. Not a big deal to me.

My guess is, sticking caps might be due to, at least in part, by powder fouling buildup inside the hammer area. It seems I never have a stuck spent cap until the rifle has been fired a few times, but I cannot swear to that.

I have at least two of four ML's in the house that have notches in the hammers. All of them will still have spent caps stick in the hammers every now and then, notched or not. Sticking caps are not a problem at the range. But they are a hassle in the woods while hunting, especially when one needs a quick follow up shot. For such situations I use my hunting knife to pluck them out. Still adds another step to the process and requires more movement in a hunting situation. However, and without doubt, the notches makes it a little easier to remove the stuck, spent caps.

 

[longcruise]

My TCs frequently have cap residual left in them. Maybe due to a lighter hammer strike than other locks with conventional springs ?

My DIY caps never stick.

 

[SgtMaj65]

I’m used to digging caps out of my Renegade hammer; my GPR not so much. It’s just part of shooting process. Usually gets worse as shooting session goes on— gunk buildup. I carry a Stanley mini-screwdriver I use to make adjustments on my rear peep sight to dig them out. I only range shoot these days so it’s no problem. I sometimes forget under hammer needs cleaning too. A little Hoppe’s No. 9 on a couple of Qtips does the trick.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Fouling will cling to the inside of the cap recess in the hammer. Caps sticking in the hammer recess is common as the fouling builds up. The notch in the nose of the hammer helps to keep the cap debris loose to readily fall away, but caps will still stick in the hammer nose. It's simple to wipe them out after firing, but sometimes the cap fragments stick, and the sharp edges will cut into my thumb. After the shot, I place the hammer at half cock to see if there is any cap debris to be cleaned away. At the range I keep a pick handy to clean out the hammer recess. Most hunting will have minimal fouling build up in the nose and it will be unlikely to have sticking caps after one or two shots. If using a percussion fowling gun, there may be sticking caps, so checking the hammer needs to be part of the reloading process.

 

[user 34300]

I have caps stick most of the time, I like that. I make my hammer recesses deep. I shoot off hand matches, mostly. My left hand is near the lock when the shot is fired. I do not want any cap fragments flying around. Thus the deep recesses.

I recently had my left thumb fragged and bleed for a while. The fragment was deep enough I could not remove it at the range. I got it later with a magnifier and tiny tweezers.