Hammer alignment

[stovepipe699]

My traditions deerhunter hammer and nipple are poorly aligned. Is there anything I can do to improve things?

 

[LawrenceA]

Does it go bang reliably?
If so do you really need to fuss with it?
Failing that.....
It looks like the drum and nipple are sitting so the cock strikes roughly centre so no messing with drum and nipple.
You would heat and reshape the hammer neck and maybe nose as well.

Personally I would leave it if it is reliable

 

[stovepipe699]

I had some issues but didn’t have a nipple pick. Next time I’ll pick it before loading and see. All I had was 777, I’m not sure if that’s an issue for these.

 

[LawrenceA]

OK
Must say I have 1 or 2 guns where the hammer does not strike square and it does not seem to be a real issue.
Did the cap fire? if so it is not a hammer/lock issue but a clogged vent.
If the cap did not fire then it may mean:

• a dodgy cap - Try another strike after rotating the cap BEWARE OF HANGFIRES!!!!!
• contaminated cap (oil or water) - Toss it
• Bad cap fit to the nipple. You can usually feel this as the nipple does not sit down all the way. A second strike usually sorts this out but no good hunting
• The hammer is not actually hitting the nipple. Look in the nipple nose. It should show some wear from striking the cap.
• insufficient strike from light hammer or bad strike

So you are best to store the gun muzzle down so any oil drains away from the vent.
Also before loading powder snap a couple of caps off with the muzzle near a leaf ow blade of grass.
Then when the cap snaps you will see the leaf/grass move which shows the vent to the chamber is clear.
It is also worth getting a couple of pipe cleaners. They can be really useful for clearing the vent.

That is all I can think of. No doubt someone with more brain's and experience will provide insight.

 

[Carbon 6]

I had some issues but didn’t have a nipple pick. Next time I’ll pick it before loading and see. All I had was 777, I’m not sure if that’s an issue for these.

You shouldn't have to "nipple pick" your nipple but once in a blue moon. Try a different brand of caps or replace the nipple with a "hot-shot" type nipple.
777 will often cause hang fires or misfires in a CVA with a stock nipple. Stock nipples are designed for use with real blackpowder, not substitutes.

If the caps fire every time, there is no need to mess with the hammer, but they can be heated and bent if necessary.

Are you using 2ff 777 or 3fff triple seven? Switching to 3f will also help some.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I think @Carbon 6 has hit all the pertinent trouble shooting steps. If the caps are firing, then the most likely culprit is the substitute 777 powder.

 

[Gun Tramp]

Is there anything I can do to improve things?

Send your excellent photo to Traditions. Changing powders won't correct the misalignment...

 

[mooman76]

It is common fir the hammer to not line up 100% especially in the cheaper guns. If it goes bang every time, its a nonissue for the most part. While it is true that changing powders won't correct the misalignment, if the true problem is the gun not going off every time when the cap does, it could correct the true problem. 777 is really mad for inline MLs. Many people do use them in sidelocks though and some have issues being it is a little harder to ignite. You could install a hotter nipple or change powders. A hotter nipple would be a good way to go. They aren't than expensive and it could help prevent issues that you could have with other powders also.

 

[wiksmo]

My traditions deerhunter hammer and nipple are poorly aligned. Is there anything I can do to improve things? View attachment 34059

Agree with @Gun Tramp on pursuing a fix of the misalignment through Traditions. I had the same issue with my Traditions Trapper percussion pistol a year ago, and just wanted it right.

Fortunately, I had help from the shop I ordered from, BGS in Lexington, KY. Wading through their return policies, I was able to get a new replacement pistol. I hadn't shot mine yet, so that helped. Second Trapper I got was aligned just right, and it functions perfectly. ~wiksmo

 

[Zonie]

My traditions deerhunter hammer and nipple are poorly aligned. Is there anything I can do to improve things? View attachment 34059

Actually, it looks like the nipple is a bit shorter than it should be. If the hammer were raised just a bit it looks like it would line up with the nipple better.

That said, if the cap's fire when the hammer falls on them, don't worry about the position of the hammer. We should be after function here. Not a, "Looks right." thing.

 

[Eddie2002]

Looks like your nipple is too short as Zonie stated. They come different lengths but if the gun goes bang I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've a CVA Hawken that has the opposite problem, it came with a longer nipple and shoots just fine, just looks a little funny. Try some real black powder instead of substitute for ignition problems, triple seven can be problematic.
I've had pieces of cap get stuck in the striker face of the hammer which causes misfires so check for that.
If it really bothers you getting a longer nipple is easier than realigning the hammer.

 

[stovepipe699]

The caps are going off every time, and I can see where the nipple contacts the face of the hammer. I had a hang fire, and then a fail to fire on the next shot. I removed the cleanout screw and put a bit of powder into the “barrel” that the nipple screws into. The nipple had some crud so I cleaned it and re-installed. The gun fired correctly after that. I have a can of goex now, and will use it next time I shoot. Ordered some soft pipe cleaners, wasn’t sure if I needed “bristle”. I cleaned the barrel when I got it, but didn’t clean the channel inside the barrel and nipple, it may have had something in it. I ran barrel butter on a patch after cleaning so a glob of butter could have blocked things off. I clean with boiling water, and removed the nipple and cleanout screw, so it should be ok unless I gobbled things up with barrel butter. Maybe I should flush it again before I shoot and be careful not to put excess butter on my patch this time.

 

[stovepipe699]

Warranty from traditions isn’t an option, I bought the gun used.

 

[LawrenceA]

Just pop a coupla caps and see if the vent is clear and you should be pretty right

 

[Grenadier1758]

I agree that wiping the bore with an alcohol soaked patch before shooting is a good practice. It is also worth while to fire a percussion cap to verify the flash channel is clear. There are a number of us on the forum that don't use boiling water to clean. Tepid water cleans as effectively. Since you use Bore Butter, a squirt of dish washing soap in the water to better attack the grease used in the barrel is the best cleaning solution around. Be sure to dry the barrel thoroughly before apply a rust inhibiting lubricant for storage. Dry patches, rubbing alcohol or WD40 will displace the water.

Do use a pipe cleaner to clean the flash channel from the nipple seat through to the powder chamber.

 

[rafterob]

If cap is going off every time, no problem. The synthetic powders sometimes have ignition problems with the CVA and Traditions rifles. The use of magnum caps solves that problem. But if you are switching to real black you should have no further problems.

 

[flntlokr]

Warranty from traditions isn’t an option, I bought the gun used.

Check with them. It's a manufacturing flaw; they might cover it anyhow.

 

[stovepipe699]

Check with them. It's a manufacturing flaw; they might cover it anyhow.

I sent them an email with the picture, I’ll see what they have to say.

 

[Howard Pippin]

If cap is going off every time, no problem. The synthetic powders sometimes have ignition problems with the CVA and Traditions rifles. The use of magnum caps solves that problem. But if you are switching to real black you should have no further problems.

I too wondered about that because I was wanting to use 777 in my new traditions because I had it, and had read favorable reports on it. Then someplace else, I ran into a discussion about nipple hole size, so I measured mine with a wire bit and went up one size before I even shot it. About every 10th shot I would have to use an extra cap, and I was using magnum primers, but they would seat so hard into the hammer I would have to dig them out with a screwdriver so I drilled the nipple out one more wire size and went to regular caps, and I don't have any misfires and the fired cap stays on the nipple about 95% of the time for easy removal. I haven't went back and tried black to see what would happen, but I can see no reason that it wouldn't perform satisfactory too. I should mention, it's a 50 caliber, with round balls, I'm shooting 45 grains of 777, and getting around 1400 ft./s. I mainly shoot paper, and if I can go hunting this fall I will load heavier, but not much as I am not a long-range shooter.
Squint

 

[stovepipe699]

Update: Traditions has told me I can ship the gun to and from them on my dime, a minimum $55 inspection fee to look at it, and I also would pay parts and labor for any work done.