Dixie Tennessee Lock replacement.

[ryan1376]

At a recent gun show I bought a used DGW Tennessee Mountain Rifle in Left hand percussion. The rifle looked to be in good shape and the price was decent so I got it. Once a more thorough inspection was done I realized that the lock would not hold at half cock. this was due to the lock's tumbler being chipped where the sear should catch. DGW did have the replacement parts (surprising since the gun went out of production 20 years ago). Parts ordered and problem solved.....not so much. The tumbler and sear that I received were slightly different. So much so that the main spring would not stay on with the hammer forward ( flying mainsprings are a bad thing right? :wink: ) So now I am just going to replace the entire lock. It looks like poor quality locks were a regular problem with this gun.

So here is where I turn to you guys to see if anyone has replaced one of there locks and what model worked with the least amount of modification? I would like to salvage this rifle if at all possible.

 

[Birddog6]

First thing to do is take your Track of the Wolf catalog & go to the Lock section & lay your lock over the ones in the book,
thus see what is close to the replacement. The locks in the book are Full Size.

If you don't have the book, you need one. :wink:

Keith Lisle

 

[ryan1376]

Yea, there are lots of things that are on the "need" list. A new lock just got added to it. I was going to get one of their catalogs when I ordered a few parts in a few weeks, now I defiantly have to get one. :haha:

 

[Roy]

I might actually have one.. give me the measurements and I will mail it to you if it seems to be the same lock..

 

[ryan1376]

It looks to be 4 3/4 from tip to tip lengthwise and 29/32nds height. Here is a picture.



If you have something that might work that would be great. :grin: We live close enough that I would be more that willing to meet up.

 

[Roy]

I didn't even look at the location.. :haha: I am pretty sure I have that lock.. I will check in the morning..
:thumbsup:

 

[bpd303]

I had a lock that did that, mainspring slipping off the tumbler. I heated the hook portion of the spring cherry red then tapped the hook to straighten it out and lengthening it a little. Quenched it and then tempered in the oven at 450 degrees for several hours. Still going strong.

You could also call DGW to see if they have a spring that will work with the new tumbler.

 

[ryan1376]

I thought of doing something like that. I am no expert at tempering metal. Since the locks seam to be a common problem, I figured that replacing the lock is probably the better long term solution. I would hat e to modify the main spring and have something else fail on the lock or it not work properly. DGW did not have a main spring for a lefty.

 

[44-henry]

L&R makes a replacement lock for those rifles in RH, but I don't think they ever offered any left hand versions. The original locks on those rifles did have some issues, but the styling wasn't too bad for the period. If it were me I would just have the original lock fixed.

 

[ryan1376]

I had bought replacement parts for the lock from DGW, but they were for the newer model. DGW didn't have a complete set to replace all the parts and the two different generations are not compatible.

Member Roy lives near me and after a short visit he was able to customize my lock with some spare parts and get a working lock. :thumbsup: I will be testing its function once I get a new nipple and a few minor parts ordered.