Replacing a trigger

Gents my Pietta 1860 Army got a problem last time at the gun range. When I pulled the hammer to full cock the sear would not fully enguage and it became to iffy to shoot any longer. :nono: When I cleaned it I pulled it apart and found small metallic debri and the tip of the trigger that enguages the sear had a rough and uneven look to it. :shocked2: The sear notch in the hammer looked fine so I'm gonna get a replacement trigger from Dixie. 2 questions. Am I probably going in the right direction getting the trigger? and second did ya'll ever have to do much stone work on the sear end to fit it? Thanks for the advise.

Jay

 

[mazo kid]

Jay, my guess....could the "metallic debris" be cap fragments? Sounds like that might be the culprit in not letting the hammer come to full cock.If the sear looks good, I think you are on the right path in getting a replacement trigger. Check the trigger for smoothness/hardness when you get it.Emery

 

[Mike 56]

You can get a Pietta Colt parts kit from Cabela's for 25.00 http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/...parentType=index&indexId=cat602736&hasJS=true

Mike

 

Thanks Gents,

My order is in to Dixie. The only real debri I found was very small and black in color. No coppery shards.Like I mentioned in another post elsewhere all my weapons are pawn shop finds so no telling how many rounds my hogleg has had shot before me.The sear end of the trigger had a rough and uneven edge.I was wondering if the trigger would need any sizing to bring it down to fit.

Thanks,
Jay

 

[Zonie]

Usually, the new trigger will be a drop in so no special sizing would be needed.

After installing it, if you can move the hammer back far enough to allow the trigger to engage the full cock notch nothing will be needed.

If the trigger doesn't engage the full cock notch when the hammer is pulled all the way back, a little of the sear area on the new trigger will have to be ground off.

 

[crockett]

You ought to be able to do the work yourself if you have some mechanical skills and proceed slowly and carefully.
The notch on the hammer, there should be a slight undercut so that when the trigger is pulled you have to overcome this. The degree is VERY slight and the purpose is to avoid the very dangerous situation of the hammer notch being rounded or sloping in the wrong direction. If this type work needs to be done you are probably better off having a pistol smith do the work. Any pistol smith ought to be able to do this, not just one specializing in percussion guns.
The trigger sear needs to be square. Normally a jig is used to hold the piece to insure proper filing/honing angles. You could make a jig with bar stock and a drill press. The contact area of the sear should be heat treated to give better wear. Use Kasenit sold by Brownells. You may also want to pick up a book on Colt pistols. All the single actions, percussion and cartridge use very similar mechanisms.