Hawken percussion lock

[Moe1960]

Ladies and gents I have a traditions hawken woodsman in 50cal RH.
When I stored the rifle since my last outing about 1 year ago I left the hammer cocked on safe my mistake, I took the rifle to the range yesterday and realized the hammer won't click back to fire. I took the lock out and cleaned it and oiled but its still not working..Do I need to buy another lock or can this be fixed easily ? Thanks for any suggestions.Moe

 

[Katahdin]

Keep at it,it worked now it doesn't so it is just hung up .look for rust crud and the like.Something just isn't moving,check the fly and tumbler.

 

[nwtradegun]

rusted to lock plate remove parts and hammer. clean.

 

[rafterob]

With the lock out, you need to look and see why it is not holding at full cock. The "Fly" may be stuck. It is a small piece of metal that swivels under the tumbler. If the lock functions outside of the gun, then there may be a trigger issue.

 

[Zonie]

When you were cleaning the lock, did you try moving the sear arm (the thing that sticks out away from the inside surface of the lock plate) up and down?

It should move freely and a small spring at the rear of the lock should be forcing it so that the tip of it is always pushing against the tumbler (the somewhat round thing with the half and full cock notches in it).

If it is difficult to move or the spring isn't enough to make it move, loosen the screw that holds it in place a bit.
Sometimes this screw gets tightened up too much and if it does, the sear can't move to engage the full or half cock notches.

Of course, all of these moving parts need a good dose of oiling to work the way they should.

 

[necchi]

Take the lock out again and look for this screw;

back it off,, install the lock and try again.

Let me know what happens.

 

[Moe1960]

Necci theres seem to be a problem I was unable to see anything

 

[Moe1960]

Zonie thanks would it be advisable for me to take the lock apart or i;m I asking for trouble lol.

 

[Mr. Troll]

I bought a stray from a pawn shop with a stuck fly. The sear fell into the half cock notch, and broke the tip off. The fly is very important with the set triggers, since the rear trigger just hits the sear arm and doesn't keep it back, like a single trigger would. The fly prevents the sear tip from entering the half cock notch during hammer fall. The hardest part of the job is getting the main spring out and back in. There are specialized tools for the job.

 

[Billnpatti]

Zonie thanks would it be advisable for me to take the lock apart or i;m I asking for trouble lol.

The disassembly and reassembly of a lock is not all that difficult but if you have never taken a lock apart, you ought to consult with someone who has done it and can show you how. Meantime, give this a try, go to the nearest auto parts store and get a spray can of either brake cleaner or carburetor cleaner, either will do the job quite well. Then remove your lock and take it outside and thoroughly spray it with the cleaner. Wear safety glasses while doing this because that stuff will sting like hell if you get it into your eyes. That stuff will easily cut old gummy stuff and flush any dried crud and oil out of your lock. Pay particular attention to the sear and tumbler full cock notch. The cleaner will evaporate quickly. Once you have your lock clean, lightly oil the working parts and see if that solves the problem. When you replace the lock into the stock, do not over tighten the lock bolt(s). They need to be just snug not King Kong tight. Over tightening will cause the inner parts of the lock to rub against the lock mortise. This can cause problems similar to what you are experiencing.

 

[Zonie]

I do not recommend taking the lock apart.

IMO, there is little to gain by doing it.

 

[SmokepoleSam]

If you're still having problems contact me.
I am in Levittown. PM or call me.516-306-2480
Domenick
Email is in my profile.

 

[old gunsmith]

Also check to see if there are any rub marks on the wood inside the lock mortise particularly in the cut out where the sear leg, ( the long metal part that sticks out at right angle to rest of the lock inside) goes and is contacted by the trigger when you pull it. Sometimes wood can twist and move with changes in humidity and it is possible the wood is blocking the full range of motion for the sear. Hope you find the problem. OG

 

[Moe1960]

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions,when I have
Some free time I will try to get the lock working and give a update

 

[necchi]

Necci theres seem to be a problem I was unable to see anything

Ok, sorry.
There's a screw in the tumbler that can be seen from the top when the lock is removed,, back it off

 

[Maddman]

If you are unable to free it up, or just don't want to bugger with it I have a woodsman lock with only maybe 100 or so shots fired I have no use for.

 

[Moe1960]

Hey Domenic I haven't been able to work on the percussion lock since I posted about the problem I have, been busy with work.Anyway
I went back to it to try to make it work but no luck. If you have time I would like you to take a look at and maybe give me some suggestions
Thanks........Moe

 

[AZbpBurner]

Remove the lock from the rifle.
Pull back the hammer to half cock, then to full cock.

If it cocks to full cock, you likely have lock parts dragging on wood.

If it won't stay cocked, why not? Does the sear not engage? The sear screw may be too tight, gummed up or sear spring broken.

Does your lock have coil or leaf type main spring & sear spring? If coil springs, your sear spring is in a recess and pushes a plunger - it is likely gummed up and won't allow the plunger to push on the sear to move into place to hold the tumbler notches at 1/2 or full cock.

Just looking at how it operates and what its' not doing can give you a clearcut idea of how to fix it.

 

[SmokepoleSam]

Hello Moe: I'll be happy to help.Call me at 306-2480 or email at [email protected].
Domenick