Hammer Push off. ideas?

[LLCranford3]

Hello everyone,

I have a 45 caliber percussion long rifle manufactured by Dixie back in the early 80's. I have recently purchased this rifle off of the internet, and one of the MANY undisclosed problems with this rifle :cursing: is that when the hammer is in the full cock position, you can take your thumb and push on the hammer and it will slam down on the nipple. :shocked2: Any ideas on how to fix this one? I am repairing the issues one by one as I find them. :wink:

Thanks Paddy

 

[majg1234]

sounds like a sear problem,I don't know about parts availability for it ck Dixie gun works they might have it...sounds as if the lock needs a rebuild...others with more knowledge will chime in soon I'm sure good luck

 

[LLCranford3]

I may just replace the lock completely with a L&R Replacement lock.

 

[Steve Adams]

I had recently purchased for a good price a percuusion pistol, looked great and quote the lock works in all positions. Well the full cock notch and tip of the sear were worn, as yours sounds to be. I do a lot of repairs but do not touch sears or the notches. I sent mine to Longhunter Merchantile and talked to Dennis there. He had my lock back to me in less than a week. I would reccomend give him a call. They are in PA.

 

[Zonie]

I don't think L&R makes a drop in lock to replace one of the Dixie rifles.

Find a good gunsmith and he/she should be able to fix the sear and the full cock notch in the tumbler.

 

[Bill Hall]

Second what zonie said. It's a reasonably easy fix with a fine file, but needs to be perfect, or the results will be just as bad or WORSE. Not for guessing by a first time fixer. A gunsmith shouldn't charge too much for this. Bill

 

[tiger955]

Have you taken the lock off and cleaned it good? I have seen a couple that acted that way that were just gummed up. Pay special attention to the full cock notch in the sear,a little bit of gunk in there will cause problems.

 

[LLCranford3]

Zonie,

L & R's website in their replacement lock section shows that they offer a replacement lock for Dixie products. Don't know if the website is up to date? :hatsoff:

 

[LLCranford3]

Tiger,

Yes, lock has been fully disassembled and cleaned.

 

[jethro224]

I had a Siler that was doing that. Took some doing to figger out why.
Eventually what I did was to remove the springs and watch closely exactly what was going on when I pressed forward on the hammer with my thumb. It was lots easier to watch without the spring tension.
My Siler had a soft sear that had wallered out the hole where the screw goes thru it to hold it to the lock plate. It was tilting sideways until it would slip off the tumbler notch. Unfortunately that took a small chip off the edge of the tumbler too.
A new sear and tumbler fixed it right up.

Good luck with your lock. If you have not already done so, try removing the springs and watching what it's doing with just thumb pressure. Sure helped me.
Or... send it to a gunsmith.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Many of those early Dixie import rifles had locks with a screw adjustment for the sear. Folks often set them very light for easy trigger let-off. Take a look. Correction might be as simple as backing the screw a half turn or so.
But,by replacing with a quality lock you won't go wrong.

 

[Herb]

The trigger blade is probably too tall, not allowing the sear to fully seat into the tumbler notch. I have to carefully file the blade on triggers I make to get the exact fit. You usually always have to do this with Hawken double set triggers. I'd take the trigger out and look at the blade. Smoke it up with a candle or a paper match with a drop of oil on the flame. Put it back in the rifle. Smoke up the sear bar and replace the lock. Cock the rifle but don't touch the trigger, unless it is a set trigger, in which case set the trigger first. Remove the lock. See if the sear is marked, and the top of the trigger blade. If they are, the trigger blade is too tall and needs to be filed down slightly where it contacts.

Another test is to cock the hammer and see if the (unset) trigger moves. The trigger should not touch the sear, even with a set trigger. Then put the lock back in and dry fire it several times, protecting the nipple with a piece of leather. Take the lock out and look at where the trigger blade marks the sear. You carefully file down this area of the blade, until the blade doesn't touch the sear. This should solve your problem. You can use a caliper micrometer and measure from the outside of the trigger bar to the top of the blade. Then measure from the wood where the trigger bar is inlet, allowing for the top of the bar, down onto the top of the sear bar where contact is made. There should be some clearance there.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Good point. Definitely a possibility.

 

[jethro224]

Easy way to tell is if it still does it with the lock out of the gun. If it does it ain't the trigger.

 

[Dphar]

Hello everyone,

I have a 45 caliber percussion long rifle manufactured by Dixie back in the early 80's. I have recently purchased this rifle off of the internet, and one of the MANY undisclosed problems with this rifle :cursing: is that when the hammer is in the full cock position, you can take your thumb and push on the hammer and it will slam down on the nipple. :shocked2: Any ideas on how to fix this one? I am repairing the issues one by one as I find them. :wink:

Thanks Paddy

Take it to a competent gunsmith who understands the lockwork.
It likely needs to have the sear notch in the tumbler reworked and then heat treated.
Same for the sear.
Doing this right requires understanding the subtleties of the sear and tumbler.
Dan

 

[ChrisPer]

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/263423/post/1072433

ALTERNATIVELY take the trigger plate out and see if it still pushes off full cock. If it catches firm, the issue is the relationship of the trigger blade and/or set trigger blade to the sear extension. In the case I had, shimming out the trigger plate fixed it.

 

[Deadeye]

Patty, I see in your profile that you list your occupation as "GUNSMITH". It might be a good idea to get this gun to a "real" gunsmith. This is a safety issue.
Deadeye

 

[LLCranford3]

Dead eye,

I am a "real" gunsmith with my own shop, and do very good work, thank you. However this type of firearm is one that I don't work on very much at all(ergo: not my area of expertise). So therefore I seek the advice of people who have more experiance than I do. Of course it is a safety issue, with out a doubt, again please see my statement regarding seeing advice.


Regards,
Paddy

 

[LLCranford3]

Thank you for all of your replies.

 

[LLCranford3]

Rifleman1776,

you are absolutely correct about the sear adjustment screw. I wished that I can say that that fixed the problem. The hammer will push off when the lock is not in the stock. So it has to be a sear issue. I am going to contact another gunsmith who specializes in lock work.

Thank you for your reply
Paddy