Got my Patriot back, should I be happy???

[ballandcap]

I have a T/C .45 cal Percussion Patriot in near mint condition that has been fired VERY little. It was having lock failure. The hammer would fall if the gun was bumped and this was not good! The stock also has a crack in it that runs through the lock screw hole all the way to the barrel channel. This is the opposite side of the lock.

The gun has not been shot in some time due to the crack and especially the hammer danger. I sent it in to T/C with my concerns and these 2 problems listed, and got it back pretty quick. I was so happy that I had to open her up in the parking of the Fed Ex place and welcome my beauty back home and couldn't wait to take her shooting soon.

The note in the box said "Replaced Tumbler".
"Note: Shoot only Round Balls-
No Conicals. Shoot low Powder charges & your stock will last longer. The crack will get worse."
"Work performed: No stocks ARE AVAILABLE for the Patriot."

Well My happiness turned to sadness in an instant! I wanted to use this to hunt Javelinas next February. Not only was this virtually flawless when sent in, but my old mint Patriot now has dents in the stock that were not there before, mostly around the lock area :cursing:, this really ticked me off, probabaly the most!!! Maybe I am just being too picky?

This has been sitting in the box it arrived to me in for almost 4 months now and have been meaning to post this question since then, but hate to relive my dissapointment with my T/C, and my anger for them damaging (denting) my stock when it was sent in perfect except for that stupid crack!

So I guess this is a disposable gun or a mantle hanger only huh? This was not abuse, heavy loads/conicals, or a kit gun that had to be drilled, but has to be a factory defect. I have seen pics before of others with the same or similar cracks in them.

So my question is now what??? I can't use it now for what it was built for and I won't just sell it to an unsuspecting individual either. What would you all do if you were in my shoes? I mean the least they could have done is repaired the existing stock or tried to separate the crack some and glue it correct?

 

[curator]

Open up the crack and fill with Brownell's Acraglass epoxy bedding compound. If it is really serious consider installing a brass cross bolt, Brownells sells them for stock repair too. While you're at it bed the tang/breech, and the barrel. It will end up stronger than new. A cracked or broken stock is no big deal and a common problem in the old days. That didn't cause any gun to be retired to wall hanger status back then.

 

[rafterob]

The recommendation for round balls and low powder are to keep the stock from cracking any worse. the crack was there when you sent it in so TC did not cause any more damage that would affect the firing of the pistol. I assume they fixed the hammer fall? There are occaisionally Patriot stocks on ebay, you might want to keep your eyes peeled there.Cracking a stock on single shot pistols seems to be a significant risk @ heavy loads.

 

[MikeChapin]

Myself, I would repair the crack with epoxy. I would also bed the breech. That should make the stock stronger than when it was new.

It is not surprising that you could not get a new stock. I'm surprised that you got a new tumbler. The factory that made Patriots, Senecas and Cherokees burned down a number of years ago and they decided not to rebuild. Parts for these models are definitely scarce.

 

[Bearkiller]

I agree with the others. Simply repair the stock with pins and epoxy and shoot the heck outa that pistol! Here is a pic of a repair I made on my CVA many years ago. I have since shot it many times with heavy loads with no problems.

 

[ballandcap]

great advise guys, thank you. I was happy they fixed the tumbler, just ticked about the new dents and chips in my was mint stock. Will take it apart and see what I can do.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Patriot stocks always crack...sooner or later! I've never seen one that was actually fired that didn't crack. I consider it an inherent problem with the pistol due to the way it's manufactured, and the closeness of the parts and how little wood actually is in there to absorb all of the use/abuse. Most folks that I know that have one build their own stock for the thing out of stronger wood than the original, or repair the crack and just live with it!

Dave

 

[FishDFly]

Open up the crack and fill with Brownell's Acraglass epoxy bedding compound. If it is really serious consider installing a brass cross bolt, Brownells sells them for stock repair too. While you're at it bed the tang/breech, and the barrel. It will end up stronger than new. A cracked or broken stock is no big deal and a common problem in the old days. That didn't cause any gun to be retired to wall hanger status back then.

The above is excellent advice and another way to repair the stock is to place it in a padded vice with the stock perfectly level.

Using a hand drill (carefully), from the top of the stock, drill a vertical hole through the crack, muzzle end and aft end of the lock screw. Cut 2 pieces of brass round stock a bit shorter than the drilled holes. Use a file and round the ends of the brass so it will go into the drilled holes without catching. Mix up "slow drying" expoxy and place it in the holes and then push the brass stock into the holes. After the epoxy is dried, mix up some wood filler of the right color and fill the holes.

To remove the new dings, hold the stock over a pot of boiling water. A lot of times the steam will remove small dings. A couple coats of Liquid Gold should help hide the new scratches.

RDE

 

[mazo kid]

If your crack is similar to the picture that is posted, another way to repair it is to remove the tang and put a screw down through the crack from the tang mortise (after putting epoxy in the crack). This way there is no patching of holes. You could also remove the trigger guard and go up from the bottom in the same way. OR....You could sell me the pistol as isl!!

 

[ballandcap]

more great advise. my crack is not as bad as the one pictured but the same type. I'll probably get some acraglass and do as suggested.
is there a link someone can post on the proper way to bed this as suggested?
I will try the boiling water for the dents. however when he removed the lock he chipped out some of the wood around it and there is no steaming that out.

 

[renovato]

It's easy to pin and glue a crack. If you're careful, you'll have to look close to even see the repair. This will make it plenty strong again. As mentioned above, stocks make it through Ebay regularly. Keep an eye on it for a while. They were going pretty high last time I looked, but with the economy the way it is, that might not be so anymore.

 

[bingo1952]

If your crack looks like Bearkillers work some slow cure epoxy into it with a dental pick or a tooth pick, get about 3 ft of 1/4" surgical latex tubing and wrap around the cracked area, and bed the tang. Mutiple wraps of the tubing will put a large amount of pressure on the stock closing it up and will be almost if not invisible after cleaning the excess that squeezes out and looks a lot better than screws or pins. A roundball is plenty of medicine for a Javelina. HTH

 

[ballandcap]

Does anybody have a link to on how to properly bed a barrel and tang? Thanks again.

 

[Geraldo]

I consider my Patriot a target pistol, not a hunting pistol. It's just me but I would build a larger caliber pistol for hunting.

As for durability of cracked pistol stocks, I bought a flint pistol more than twenty years ago that had a completely cracked stock that was repaired and it's not been a problem.

 

[Bearkiller]

Well I don't know if I did it properly :wink: but while making the repair pictured above I decided to reinforce the entire rifle.

Mixing up a batch of Micro-Bed, which is no longer available, I laid a layer of the magic goo along the entire length of the barrel channel, breach, tang and lock areas filling any voids. Since I didn't plan on ever removing the barrel again no release agent was used. I coated the back of the lock with wax. Any excess goo simply squished out and wiped off. The rifle is solid as a rock now and the barrel doesn't creak and groan against the stock like it used to. The lock and trigger function better since the stock no longer flexes when tightening the lock screws.