Heavy Trigger Pull

[nagamon]

So I bought a brand new Peddersoli Brown Bess from Dixie this spring. Being somewhat of a sucker for volunteer work I only had time to run 2 balls down it before I took it to a Rendezvous. It worked once in a while with a great deal of help. We actually had to push 4F into the touch hole to make it fire. The trigger pull was so heavy I had to wrap my hand tight around the stock so it wouldn't slip off while pulling the trigger. Talk about a flinch waiting to happen. So when I got home I discovered the touch hole hadn't been drilled through. The very point of the drill had broke through but not the full diameter of the drill. Easy fix after a broken drill and a little cussing. I smoothed the hole out with a diamond burr and it never miss fires now. Then I attacked the lock. Being a machinist for 35 years I figured "no problem". That was a misconception. I filed down the bridle? and it helped but sometimes when I pull the trigger now it gets stuck on half cock. :hmm: Can anyone offer suggestions?

 

[Zonie]

If this was not a Brown Bess I would say the fly was not assembled correctly in the tumbler or that it may have been left out.

To the best of my knowledge though the Brown Bess lock didn't have a fly in its tumbler so that leaves one thing that may be incorrectly installed.

The screw that the sear arm pivots on should not be tight. It must be slightly loose to snug at the tightest. The sear must move freely so that it easily clears the half cock notch as that feature flies past its nose as the cock falls.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Yeah, I've had trouble with some of Pedersoli simpler locks, don't tighten the retaining screws to much, don't worry they won't go any where. (Do tighten the ones that hold it in the stock though! Just thought I'd,,,well you know.)

Britsmoothy

 

[rich pierce]

It's not safe to work on locks unless you are 100% sure you know what you are doing. You can make a gun unsafe in a hurry. I'd take it to a gunbuilder.

 

[Many Klatch]

Most machinists have the bad habit of cranking the screws down tight. Leave some slack in them. A lot of times new locks are hard because there may be a lump on the sear or the tumbler. You can carefully stone them so that they are parallel and smooth. It is fiddly work and you don't want to get the trigger pull too light. The half cock and the full cock are all the safety that you have.

Many Klatch

 

[nagamon]

There was this guy from Indiana who showed me how to disassemble and assemble a lock last year at Shinnin Times Rendezvous. Oh yea, it was you. Thanks! The screw is loose enough for the sear move freely. With the lock out of the stock, it works properly every time. When in the stock it works sometimes. I noticed that the pan hits the barrel before the lock plate hits the stock. I am thinking the lock plate is possibly bending slightly enough upon installation to slow the action down enough to cause the problem. What do you think?
Chris

 

[paulvallandigham]

Absolutely, that is your problem. Don't tighten that lock bolt so tight when you put the lock plate on the gun.

You might want to use inletting black, or some kind of marker, on the inside of that pan/bolster to see what part of it is touching the barrel. Then, file off the high spot until the lockplate fits flush and square to the barrel. That will allow all the internal parts of the lock to function properly, and and the lock to fit properly in the inletted lock mortise.

 

[mazo kid]

I agree with Paul; over tightening lock bolts (screws) that hold the lock in place can really cause problems. If not with warping the plate, then sometimes causing the internal parts to bind on the wood. You know what you should do to take care of the pan/barrel fit, then put some inletting black or lipstick on the surface of the mainspring, bridle, sear, etc and install the lock, working it a few times. Then remove it and check for marks left on the inlet. Hope this works for you Chris. Emery

 

[mckutzy]

i worked on this one bess that had this problem and also to the difficulty of having the lock bolts on to a certain tightness, but also having to deal with interference with the ramrod not stowing be cause of the lock bolt hitting it.... :cursing: