-
This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.
Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades -
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
Hammer very hard to cock
- Thread starter monkr
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
DevilsLuck
40 Cal
- Joined
- May 6, 2019
- Messages
- 115
- Reaction score
- 32
I’m new to this too. So take that into consideration. When you say “hard”, is it relative to other pistols you’ve cocked? Have you tried working the action repeatedly, and then disassembled the pistol to inspect for burs, heavy friction points, and general wear marks?
Being somewhat impatient I sat and mindlessly cocked, and decocked my pistols when killing time on the couch, hoping to help break it in once I finally got to shoot it.
"Being somewhat impatient I sat and mindlessly cocked, and decocked my pistols when killing time on the couch, hoping to help break it in once I finally got to shoot it.
In all honesty, a person should not have to break in a revolver by cycling it over and over.
I have bought Uberti and Cimmaron revolvers and never had one which was hard to cock.
If it were me, it would be time to send it back to the seller.
Sometimes it pays to pay more and buy a Cimmaron.
In all honesty, a person should not have to break in a revolver by cycling it over and over.
I have bought Uberti and Cimmaron revolvers and never had one which was hard to cock.
If it were me, it would be time to send it back to the seller.
Sometimes it pays to pay more and buy a Cimmaron.
arcticap
54 Cal.
Pietta owns EMF so that might be the go to distributor if willing to pay a higher price,
Perhaps Pietta had a batch of main springs that were a bit stiff.
Someone posted the exact opposite about their new Uberti Remington having a mainspring being too soft to snap a cap.
There's a way to lighten up the main spring if that were the problem, but maybe Pietta would be willing to send you some new ones.
A youtuber made a video about his Pietta Colt wedge spring being too tight to easily remove but the factory replacement wedge from Brownell's fit just right.
These types of flaws are bound to happen when a buyer is not able to thoroughly inspect every aspect of a new gun in person before purchase.
And even then there's probably too many things for the lay person to check without help from a gun smith.
When I've bought in person at Cabela's I was lucky just to be able to check the trigger pulls of the ones they had on the shelf.
They let me check them all until I found a couple that I liked.
Perhaps Pietta had a batch of main springs that were a bit stiff.
Someone posted the exact opposite about their new Uberti Remington having a mainspring being too soft to snap a cap.
There's a way to lighten up the main spring if that were the problem, but maybe Pietta would be willing to send you some new ones.
A youtuber made a video about his Pietta Colt wedge spring being too tight to easily remove but the factory replacement wedge from Brownell's fit just right.
These types of flaws are bound to happen when a buyer is not able to thoroughly inspect every aspect of a new gun in person before purchase.
And even then there's probably too many things for the lay person to check without help from a gun smith.
When I've bought in person at Cabela's I was lucky just to be able to check the trigger pulls of the ones they had on the shelf.
They let me check them all until I found a couple that I liked.
Last edited:
If they were my Remington 1858's, the first thing I would do would be to place the hammer at half cock.
Then I would rotate the cylinder with my fingers. It should move freely in one direction and not at all in the opposite direction.
If there was some "drag" that caused the cylinder to not turn freely I would remove the cylinder from the gun and give the cylinder pin and the hole in the cylinder a good oiling. I would also try seeing how freely the cylinder rotates on the pin. It should spin freely.
While I had the cylinder out of the gun I would check the hammer and cylinder hand action by cocking the hammer and, with my thumb on the hammer spur, pulling the trigger to drop it.
I should be able to easily cock the hammer to full cock without any drag at all other than the force created by the hammer mainspring.
If there is a noticeable drag on the hammer I would try putting some oil into the joint between the hammer and the frame. If it didn't, I would put the gun back together and get ahold of the seller and tell him I the gun has problems and I want to return it.
For those wondering how to take the cylinder out of a Remington, this is how I do it. (My Remington's were stolen so I'm going by memory.)
The first thing to do is to unlatch the loading lever and lower it all the way down. Then, try to pull it out of the frame. It should not move forward.
There is a "screw" on the left side of the frame where the cylinder pin passes thru the front of the frame. It really isn't a regular screw. It is a special screw with a clearance cut in its body. With the screw in one position, the cut does not line up with the cylinder pin. This keeps the pin from coming out of the frame.
Rotating the "screw" 180 degrees turns the clearance cut so it lines up with the cylinder pin which then can be pulled out of the gun, releasing the cylinder.
With the loading lever and the attached cylinder pin out of the frame, rotating the cylinder clockwise (aft looking forward) should allow the cylinder to rotate out of the frame.
When putting the gun back together, place the cylinder in the frame opening by rotating it clockwise and pushing it in. Rotating the cylinder while you do this will push the cylinder hand back into its slot at the rear of the frame opening. If you try to put the cylinder in without rotating it, the cylinder hand will be in the way and it will prevent the cylinder from going all the way in.
With the cylinder back in the frame, put the cylinder pin back thru the hole in the front of the frame and thru the hole in the cylinder.
Once it is in place, turn the cylinder pin retaining "screw" 180 degrees to lock it in place, bring the loading lever back up and latch it and, your done.
Like the others said, if these things don't fix the problem, send the guns back.
Then I would rotate the cylinder with my fingers. It should move freely in one direction and not at all in the opposite direction.
If there was some "drag" that caused the cylinder to not turn freely I would remove the cylinder from the gun and give the cylinder pin and the hole in the cylinder a good oiling. I would also try seeing how freely the cylinder rotates on the pin. It should spin freely.
While I had the cylinder out of the gun I would check the hammer and cylinder hand action by cocking the hammer and, with my thumb on the hammer spur, pulling the trigger to drop it.
I should be able to easily cock the hammer to full cock without any drag at all other than the force created by the hammer mainspring.
If there is a noticeable drag on the hammer I would try putting some oil into the joint between the hammer and the frame. If it didn't, I would put the gun back together and get ahold of the seller and tell him I the gun has problems and I want to return it.
For those wondering how to take the cylinder out of a Remington, this is how I do it. (My Remington's were stolen so I'm going by memory.)
The first thing to do is to unlatch the loading lever and lower it all the way down. Then, try to pull it out of the frame. It should not move forward.
There is a "screw" on the left side of the frame where the cylinder pin passes thru the front of the frame. It really isn't a regular screw. It is a special screw with a clearance cut in its body. With the screw in one position, the cut does not line up with the cylinder pin. This keeps the pin from coming out of the frame.
Rotating the "screw" 180 degrees turns the clearance cut so it lines up with the cylinder pin which then can be pulled out of the gun, releasing the cylinder.
With the loading lever and the attached cylinder pin out of the frame, rotating the cylinder clockwise (aft looking forward) should allow the cylinder to rotate out of the frame.
When putting the gun back together, place the cylinder in the frame opening by rotating it clockwise and pushing it in. Rotating the cylinder while you do this will push the cylinder hand back into its slot at the rear of the frame opening. If you try to put the cylinder in without rotating it, the cylinder hand will be in the way and it will prevent the cylinder from going all the way in.
With the cylinder back in the frame, put the cylinder pin back thru the hole in the front of the frame and thru the hole in the cylinder.
Once it is in place, turn the cylinder pin retaining "screw" 180 degrees to lock it in place, bring the loading lever back up and latch it and, your done.
Like the others said, if these things don't fix the problem, send the guns back.
arcticap
54 Cal.
The Remington has a mainspring adjustment screw.
Just back out the screw in the front grip that tensions the mainspring and see if that helps to resolve the problem.
Don't loosen the screw more than necessary as it may possibly affect cylinder lock up.
Only move it a little at a time.
If not there are some other avenues to acquire a reduced weight Pietta 1858 main spring if you don't want to attempt lightening it yourself.
Just back out the screw in the front grip that tensions the mainspring and see if that helps to resolve the problem.
Don't loosen the screw more than necessary as it may possibly affect cylinder lock up.
Only move it a little at a time.
If not there are some other avenues to acquire a reduced weight Pietta 1858 main spring if you don't want to attempt lightening it yourself.
Last edited:
arcticap
54 Cal.
One option to acquire a lighter main spring is:
Bob's Gun Shop:--->>> https://www.gun-parts.com/bob.htm
[FAX or Email only with questions] E-MAIL [email protected]
In the past, he has provided lightened Pietta Remington 1858 main springs for CAS shooting that can make a big difference.
Bob's Gun Shop:--->>> https://www.gun-parts.com/bob.htm
[FAX or Email only with questions] E-MAIL [email protected]
In the past, he has provided lightened Pietta Remington 1858 main springs for CAS shooting that can make a big difference.
Have a dragoon bought used. Almost needs two hands to cock the hammer. Based on this thread decided to take it apart for the 4th time to see what was maybe what.
2 1/2 flattened caps or so under the trigger thingy. Removed the debris, now got something to work with. Maybe i found out why the other owner did not want the gun. Hummmmm.
2 1/2 flattened caps or so under the trigger thingy. Removed the debris, now got something to work with. Maybe i found out why the other owner did not want the gun. Hummmmm.
arcticap
54 Cal.
You basically need to make sure that it will bust the caps reliably, and that blow back through the nipples doesn't reset the hammer too easily.
Hammer reset is more prone to happen firing max. loads anyway, but should not blow back the hammer enough to reset it with only moderately heavy powder charges.
The screw can always be re-adjusted further to fine tune it if you experience any problems.
Hammer reset is more prone to happen firing max. loads anyway, but should not blow back the hammer enough to reset it with only moderately heavy powder charges.
The screw can always be re-adjusted further to fine tune it if you experience any problems.
thanks a lot
WRustyLane
32 Cal.
I don't know if the mainspring on a Remington is like a Colt copy. If it is, here's how I lessened the force to cock the hammer. Using a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel trim the center of the spring out. That's how Wolff springs look. I did this after ordering a set of replacement springs for my Uberti Colt .45 unmentionable.
