Navy Amrs Morse 12ga. question

[mastadonald]

Hello all. I have an old Navy Arms Morse 12ga. in real shootable condition, I am wondering if any one here has experience in disassembling the lock on one of these. I can't really see a way to take it apart! Seems to weakly engage when cocked or not engage at all. Any advice is welcome!

Mastadon

 

[Ken Morrison]

If you are having trouble getting the locks off you have to cock both hammers. On my Pietta Navy Arms shotgun the screw is hidden by the hammer when not at full cock. The screw head is very thin, I had to file a lot off the smallest screw driver bit that was wide enough to fit the screw.
I did not take the locks apart but I did take them off to check and give a drop of lube.
I hope this helps. Shoot safely.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Sorry there Magumba, but you're talking about a totally different gun. The Morse was a single barrel box lock with a brass frame. I've seen a few but I never really looked closely at them and have no idea how to disassemble one.

 

[Ken Morrison]

You're right, I missed the reference to Morse.

 

[blkpowder50]

I have a navy arms Morse .58 with the brass boxlock action and it shoots great but has the weirdest nipple thread. I want to put a musket cap nipple on it but am going to have to have it redrilled because the stock nipple thread is so small. Its got a stout barrel and is built tough. I really like it.

 

[Zonie]

I've never owned a Navy Arms Morse gun but on these box locks, usually the side of the reciever opposite the hammer is removable. Usually held in place by a few screws.

Once you get the side cover off you will probably notice the heavy mainspring and a smaller thinner spring that pushes against the sear. (The sear is the part that engages with the notches in the hammers tumbler).

If you find the thin sear spring, that might be the culprit but before you mess with it, give everything a good soaking with a good gun oil.

Often, the real problem is that the gun hasn't been oiled for 30 years.