T/C New Englander Lock Problem Using Hawken/Renegade Lock

[ThreeCrows]

A friend of mine picked up a T/C New Englander with a missing hammer and asked if I had one. I said I had a complete T/C Hawken/Renegade lock. I took the lock over and it fit right in the mortise with no problems. Problem was that the lock would not hold half cock. The new Englander has a single trigger that is built into the triggerguard assembly. Any reason why the lock/trigger will not hold half cock? Thanks in advance to anyone with any kind of answer.

ThreeCrows

 

[bang]

If it worked out of the stock then look for interference inside.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Most likely the trigger lever is too tall with respect to the sear and lifting the sear out of the notches.

With the lock removed, look at the hole for the sear and look at the position of the trigger lever in that hole. Compare the location of the sear lever between the two locks. You should be able to see the difference. If it is close, a shim under the trigger plate of the New Englander may lower the trigger lever enough for the lock to function.

 

[SDSmlf]

At some point later in TC’s production of sidelock guns they started to use hot glue and card stock (typically yellow or blue) to shim trigger plates, trigger guards, barrel tangs and other pieces because of sloppy inletting differences between stocks. As @Grenadier1758 suggested shimming the trigger plate will likely solve your issue. I would also recommend you AVOID modifying either the trigger or lock. You may want to use them in another stock at some point.

To figure amount of shim required, use card stock or plastic. Once you have confirmed the correct shim thickness, make a shim out of wood and glue it it place. Temporary shims have the magical property of falling out when you or someone else disassembles the gun for some reason, then getting lost or forgotten about. When the gun is reassembled without the shim, or the shim in the incorrect location, the ‘why doesn’t this work’ process starts all over again.

 

[Bad Karma]

At some point later in TC’s production of sidelock guns they started to use hot glue and card stock (typically yellow or blue) to shim trigger plates, trigger guards, barrel tangs and other pieces because of sloppy inletting differences between stocks. As @Grenadier1758 suggested shimming the trigger plate will likely solve your issue. I would also recommend you AVOID modifying either the trigger or lock. You may want to use them in another stock at some point.

To figure amount of shim required, use card stock or plastic. Once you have confirmed the correct shim thickness, make a shim out of wood and glue it it place. Temporary shims have the magical property of falling out when you or someone else disassembles the gun for some reason, then getting lost or forgotten about. When the gun is reassembled without the shim, or the shim in the incorrect location, the ‘why doesn’t this work’ process starts all over again.

The hot glue shims actually work pretty well… even if they’re slightly offensive.

 

[SDSmlf]

The hot glue shims actually work pretty well… even if they’re slightly offensive.

Silly Puddy and Play-Doh can also work, but why? Doesn’t make it right. Not really that much more difficult to use real wood shims. Something as innocuous as Popsicle sticks can be used.