1860 Army Pietta Hammer in full cock problem

[oldgunguy]

Hi, I just got a new Pietta 1860 Army from Cabela's on their sale that they run periodically. Unfortunately out of the box, the hammer won't stay on full cock. I got this through the mail and I'd have to mail it back, so I'd like to avoid that hassle. I also know these things are somewhat problematic and I need to acquire some troubleshooting skills.

Any ideas on what I can do? I played with loosening the screw for the trigger and bolt spring. When I loosen that up, the trigger will catch and allow it to stay in full cock, but then the cylinder over-rotates. Seems wierd that it wouldn't work out of the box...what am I missing?

 

[Jim K]

That can be corrected by shortening either the hand or the sear (top of the trigger). The problem is that I can't tell which one is best without seeing the gun. You have run into the problem with ordering by mail, sight unseen.

Are there any Cabela's stores near you? Any one should honor the warranty. If not, you have three choices: send it back, try to fix it yourself, or have someone fix it for you. No good choices, unfortunately.

Jim

 

[rcmodel]

Choice #1 would be your best choice if you aren't a gunsmith, and don't want to pay one to void the factory warranty and try to fix it.

You paid for a working new gun.

That's why Cabala's needs to get you one like that.

rc

 

[g.willikers]

Yeah, it's one of the questions that if you had to ask, you shouldn't mess with it yourself.
Send it back for a fix or replacement.
You can thank us later.

 

[45 Dragoon]

Oldgunguy,
Of course they dont HAVE to be problematic, they all can and need fixing. It just depends on how much and reliable you want it to be. Consider, if you spend $300.00 on a new open top, spend another $120.00 on a gun to be corrected and tuned to the max, you have less than $450.00 in a trouble free gun that will shoot as long as you want at the range without binding and is as close tolerance as a Freedom Arms S.A. and, it is ready for competition shooting if you ever deside to do that!
It's good to have options.

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com