fixing leaky breech plug ?

[silent sniper]

hello guys i need your suggestion. i just recieved my 3rd crockett pistol. my last 2 also leaked. well this new one leaks out of the breech plug. i really like this pistol as it shoots very well. so..should i send it back for a new one or try fixing it ? thanks SS

 

[paulvallandigham]

I don't know what a " Crockett pistol" is, or who makes it. But any time a breechplug leaks, it means that the threads in the barrel are not matched to the threads on the plug. OR, the plug's length is shorter than the threaded portion of the back of the barrel, and the FACE of the plug is NOT pressed against the back of the shoulder behind the rifled section of the barrel.

SEND IT BACK!

That is a very dangerous condition in any gun. It may not blow up on you today, or in the next 20 years. But, gaps in the threads of the plug will allow crud to get back in there, and begin corroding the metal. Eventually, the metal will " rust out ", and high pressure gas will be coming out, usually toward the shooter! That gas will destroy the stock, and injure your hand, or head!

 

[Old40Rod]

It the companion pistol for a Crockett rifle from Traditions.
http://www.cabelas.com/hprod-1/0058839.shtml

 

[jtmattison]

Sniper,
Please define "leak". My Lyman percussion rifles have all "leaked" where the patent breech meets the barrel. During the first few range trips oil would appear in this area along the seam. They only show signs of this for a short time. After a few range trips they seal up with fouling, carbon, whatever. Bottom line is the "leaking" stopped.

HD

 

[J.D.]

hello guys i need your suggestion. i just recieved my 3rd crockett pistol. my last 2 also leaked. well this new one leaks out of the breech plug. i really like this pistol as it shoots very well. so..should i send it back for a new one or try fixing it ? thanks SS

Leaks how? Oil "leaking" from the threads, or gas from the powder, upon discharge?

How do you recognize the leak? Is there powder fouling around the back of the barrel? Smoke emanating from the breech on firing? Specifically what is happening?

 

[rkmeyer]

It seems to me that if the breech plug is properly fitted and seats on the shoulder of the bore there should no leak of any kind. :shocked2:
Just my thoughts. :2
Dusty :wink:

 

[renovato]

It seems to me that if the breech plug is properly fitted and seats on the shoulder of the bore there should no leak of any kind. :shocked2:
Just my thoughts. :2
Dusty :wink:

It's a known problem with both the Crockett pistol and rifle. The breechplug is a tad short and doesn't seat against the shoulder. It's also a pain to clean because that area snags cleaning patches and collects fouling. Traditions has admitted that they're aware of the problem, but as far as I know, nothing has been done yet.

 

[paulvallandigham]

If this is true, then it IS a problem.

I had the same problem with a semi-custom made rifle that was converted from Cap to flint about a year and a half after I bought the gun. When we pulled the Breech plug, we found lots of crud, and worse, LOTS OF CORROSION in the gap in the front of the plug and behind the shoulder. I had shot the gun a lot, and had cleaned it religiously, but could never get a totally clean patch to come out,no matter what I did.

I consulted more than a dozen experienced shooters at my club about the problem and NO one knew THEN what the problem was. When the man who converted my gun from percussion to flint removed the plug and found out what the builder had done, he was furious. He bought a new plug, hoping to close the gap. It did, but not enough, and he could not find a breech plug that had a longer plug on it. So, he ended up making a metal spacer on a lathe, that fit between the face of the plug and the shoulder, to see the back of the barrel properly.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

It seems to me that if the breech plug is properly fitted and seats on the shoulder of the bore there should no leak of any kind. :shocked2:
Just my thoughts. :2
Dusty :wink:

Amen!!!

 

[J.D.]

It's a known problem with both the Crockett pistol and rifle. The breechplug is a tad short and doesn't seat against the shoulder. It's also a pain to clean because that area snags cleaning patches and collects fouling. Traditions has admitted that they're aware of the problem, but as far as I know, nothing has been done yet.

Well, the way to avoid this problem is to buy higher quality guns. Cheap guns equals poor quality.


IMHO, I would send it back for a refund, and buy a better quality product. State the problem and let it be known that this is a known, unacceptable and unsafe, problem with Traditions "Crocket" guns.

 

[Birddog6]

I have a Traditions Hawken kit here I have never put together. Unfortunately I didn't buy it from Traditions, so they will not make good on it. It had a 1/16" space between the barrel & breechface, so I had to have it rebreeched to correct the problem.

Were it me on the Crockett ? I would send it back & tell them you want one correct or a full refund. I don't feel in that lil .32 cal it is a safety issue as far as it coming apart, but you will never keep in clean in that gap or leak area.

I owned 2 Crockett rifles & had no issues with either one as they were put together fine & very accurate for a ? $ 225. rifle at that time. Now that they are ? $ 400. No way I would buy one for that price with flaws....... You can build your own with flaws.... :hmm: :grin:

Crockett pistol, don't know. Never saw or shot one. But I still would not own it with a leaking breech...... :shake:

 

[silent sniper]

i was cleaning it and i was pouring water down the barrel and i noticed that there was water running down the stock. so i took out the nipple and sealed off where the nipple screws in2 the drum. i blew and i felt air coming out from the breech. so that would mean that it is leaking out the back of the breech plug.

 

[jtmattison]

i was cleaning it and i was pouring water down the barrel and i noticed that there was water running down the stock. so i took out the nipple and sealed off where the nipple screws in2 the drum. i blew and i felt air coming out from the breech. so that would mean that it is leaking out the back of the breech plug.

Don't shoot that thing any more!

Send it back. Get a refund.

HD

 

[Birddog6]

Send it back.

 

[Capt. Fred]

Holy manure! :shocked2:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

That is a seriously defective firearm. Send it back and get a refund. Any outfit that would ship junk like that to a customer is not a company you want to do business with!

 

[Cowboy45j]

I would send it back explaining the problem and give whoever you bought it from a chance to make it right.

No need to walk them up the gallows until you give them a shot as they probably didn't know it had a problem like that when they shipped it.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

As stated earlier, this is a known problem with these guns, so the retailer seems to just hope to skate by and dump products that he knows to be defective on the public. He should be hung and then drawn and quartered. But not before a full refund is obtained. :v

 

[MSW]

well, i'm inclined to agree with Mr. Russ on this one... especially if they're aware of a safety problem and doing nothing to fix it... you could try to have a new breechplug made, but this would probably cost more than the whole thing is worth... good luck, but i wouldn't fire it in its current unsafe condition.

 

[Mulebrain]

There should not be any leaks at all! That is just shoddy worksmanship!

I wouldn't except it for a second!