Worn slap out

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Appalachiannative

Appalachiannative

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I feel like the hammer on my rifle just doesn't fall hard enough anymore. It fails to ignite caps quite often. If I hold the trigger down while pulling the hammer all the way back then let go with my thumb it goes off every time. I ve already smoothed out the wood so that it doesn't make contact with the hammer. It's a traditions deer hunter. Bought it used ten years ago for $100. Point being is there something in the lock worn out maybe? And if so is this cheap of a gun worth putting money into repairs?
 
Captain*kirk said:
Could be the mainspring is just getting tired
Click to expand...
That's what I thought too. Or maybe there is corrosion in there where the trigger let's the hammer fall when you pull it. I don't know how these locks work. Ive just started working on my own stuff in the last couple years and I've never fooled around with these black powder locks. How hard would it be to change out the mainspring myself? If I can get parts that is
 
Most likely the mainspring has gone soft. I'd say for sure unless it's like totally dry rusted up. Easy to change out. The spring in it could be re-tempered by anyone with a basic knowledge of springs and tempering and hardening steel. Where the spring makes it's small bend, you can wedge something in there to make the working or flexing part of the spring shorter, which will increase tension. Most likely would not break if the spring is soft enough to go weak over time.
 
Any gun that shoots good is worth fixing in my opinion. You should be able to get a new main spring for a Deerhunter, but you may need a mainspring vise to get a new one in place. Easy. Done it many times. But first take the lock off and see what's going on in there. Clean it up and lube it well might get you going again.
 
noelf2 said:
Any gun that shoots good is worth fixing in my opinion. You should be able to get a new main spring for a Deerhunter, but you may need a mainspring vise to get a new one in place. Easy. Done it many times. But first take the lock off and see what's going on in there. Clean it up and lube it well might get you going again.
Click to expand...
I've never taken a lock out or apart I'll have to find a video on the subject
 
I'm kinda curious, haven't had anything from Traditions on my bench in years, did they stay with a conventional leaf spring or go to a coil spring like Investarms and T/C?
 
Appalachiannative said:
I've never taken a lock out or apart I'll have to find a video on the subject
Click to expand...
You should at least take the lock out once a year at a minimum to check for BP corrosion. Once you take the lock out, hold it over a bucket and spray it with auto carb cleaner to flush out any black powder residue. If there is any rust, use a piece of scotch brite or 4 ought steel wool on the end of a pencil to rub off the rust. Badly rusted parts may have to be removed to properly clean. Once the lock is flushed, a small drop of oil on the bridle and sear should be all you need to do before you re-assemble.
 
Appalachiannative said:
If I hold the trigger down while pulling the hammer all the way back then let go with my thumb it goes off every time.
Click to expand...

How much farther back from full cock does the hammer travel when you do this?

If you can pull the hammer back a long way from the full cock position, it does indeed sound like a weakened hammer spring. If the hammer does not travel very far past full cock, I would look for some point on the trigger/sear that is interfering with hammer fall; the trigger may not be getting completely out of the hammer’s way when you fire it normally. Gunsmithing is like surgery or playing cards: one peek is worth a thousand guesses! :)
 
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J-Bar said:
How much farther back from full cock does the hammer travel when you do this?

If you can pull the hammer back a long way from the full cock position, it does indeed sound like a weakened hammer spring. If the hammer does not travel very far past full cock, I would look for some point on the trigger/sear that is interfering with hammer fall; the trigger is not getting completely out of the hammer’s way when you fire it normally. Gunsmithing is like surgery or playing cards: one peek is worth a thousand guesses! :)
Click to expand...
Im not sure how far is too far. I can't recall how far it went but it did seem like quite a significant distance. I saw a video that showed me what I needed to see. Will be pulling the lock off after work
 
Fyrstyk said:
You should at least take the lock out once a year at a minimum to check for BP corrosion. Once you take the lock out, hold it over a bucket and spray it with auto carb cleaner to flush out any black powder residue. If there is any rust, use a piece of scotch brite or 4 ought steel wool on the end of a pencil to rub off the rust. Badly rusted parts may have to be removed to properly clean. Once the lock is flushed, a small drop of oil on the bridle and sear should be all you need to do before you re-assemble.
Click to expand...
Good chance this is a corrosion issue as I've never taken the lock out and I bought it 10 years ago. Although I maybe shot it on no more than a dozen occasions until year before last when I got back into black powder
 
Appalachiannative said:
If I discover I need to replace some parts I wonder if the lock from my CVA hawken with the broken bolster will fit. It was always very reliable
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It should fit. I have a CVA Hawken lock in my parts bin, and I checked the spring against my deer hunter lock and they are almost identical, with the CVA spring perhaps a bit thicker/stronger. The lineup of the spring's lockplate stud is good as well. The hawken lock I have is from an early model CVA but I doubt they changed the spring.
IMG_20220503_152336721.jpg
 
noelf2 said:
It should fit. I have a CVA Hawken lock in my parts bin, and I checked the spring against my deer hunter lock and they are almost identical, with the CVA spring perhaps a bit thicker/stronger. The lineup of the spring's lockplate stud is good as well. The hawken lock I have is from an early model CVA but I doubt they changed the spring.
View attachment 1076167
Click to expand...
My CVA is definitely very old compared to the traditions. It had a hard brown patina when I got it
 
noelf2 said:
It should fit. I have a CVA Hawken lock in my parts bin, and I checked the spring against my deer hunter lock and they are almost identical, with the CVA spring perhaps a bit thicker/stronger. The lineup of the spring's lockplate stud is good as well. The hawken lock I have is from an early model CVA but I doubt they changed the spring.
View attachment 1076167
Click to expand...
That's good to know. I wonder if I could swap out the trigger group. I miss having the set trigger
 
Take the lock out .Its only one or two screws. You likely have dried up oil and gunk ,maybe rust too. Use carb cleaner or WD40 to spray it out. Your lock will not have a fly so it will not work with set triggers. I do think that your lock will interchange with any number of CVA small locks..Many are on ebay and not too high priced.
Black Jack Shellac
 
Jackrabbit1957 said:
I'm kinda curious, haven't had anything from Traditions on my bench in years, did they stay with a conventional leaf spring or go to a coil spring like Investarms and T/C?
Click to expand...
I don't know when my gun was made but I bought it in 2012 and it didn't look very old at the time. It's mainspring is a leaf spring. You know more about this than I do is the lock in the picture above traditional?
 
Intact, especially if you don't have a mainspring vise! You don't want to scratch the mainspring using the wrong tool. It will break at that spot under stress, like glass. Don't ask how I know that...
 
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