Trigger Help/Troubleshooting TC Renegade .50 cal

[psubowhunter54]

Hi all,

I am new here and this is my first post. I’m looking for help with the trigger on my gun. When squeeze the main trigger, the hammer will fall, strike the plate, and ignite. When I have the hammer cocked and set the set trigger first then fire the main trigger, the hammer hangs up at the half-cocked position. Curious if it’s an order of operations issue, or if it might be something inside that needs some TLC. This was my grandfather’s gun and I want to make sure I’m taking good care of it and keeping it in the woods for as long as I can. Thanks in advance!

 

[French Colonial]

There is probably NOT a fly in the ointment. Others who know this lock better than I will have better answers but use the search button and search for fly and you will probably find the answer.

 

[Phil Coffins]

You are using it correctly, there should be a small part in the lock called a fly that prevents the sear from catching at the half cock when falling from full cock to fire. Have someone familiar with muzzleloaders or a gunsmith help you.

 

[Davey Boy]

There is probably NOT a fly in the ointment. Others who know this lock better than I will have better answers but use the search button and search for fly and you will probably find the answer.

I want to reinforce using the Search function. Use it Like an index to a book. The knowledge spelled out in this forum has been saved for many years.

 

[Daveboone]

Probably the fly....but just the same, if you can remove the lock and give it a good cleaning it may help...no one knows what accumulated gook/rust , etc. may be in there affecting the action.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@psubowhunter54,

The problem is probably the fly. It is a tiny piece of metal in the tumbler that the sear pushes over the half cock notch as it falls. There is probably a lot of dried up grease that is causing the fly to stick in the tumbler.

Lets look at a picture of the lock.

Remove the lock and look at the inside of the lock. Holding the hammer, cycle the lock several times to see how the parts move. The sear is the L shaped piece that is farthest from the spring. The nose or front edge of the sear rides against the tumbler that rotates with the hammer. The nose of the sear will enter the notches in the tumbler. In this photo, the nose of the sear is resting against the fly. The hammer is at full cock and the fly is covering the half cock notch. When the sear is released and the hammer is slowly lowered allowing the sear to tide on the tumbler, that small more or less triangular piece of metal will be pushed by the nose of the sear over the half cock notch. If the fly is missing, it will have to be replaced. If it is not moving, cleaning the internals of the lock should get the fly to move freely in its recess in the tumbler.

First make sure the two screws are snug, holding the tumbler and sear in place. The fly is that tiny piece of metal directly under the axle of the tumbler. The nose of the sear is touching that. The internals of the lock can be cleaned using brake cleaner or rubbing alcohol to remove any solidified grease in the lock. Once clean and the fly is moving freely in the tumbler, lubricate the lock's internal parts with a thin oil. A touch of grease on the nose of the tumbler is okay.

 

[psubowhunter54]

Hey everyone,

thank you so much for the speedy and helpful responses. I took off the lock and inspected it. It appears the plate covering the tumbler and the nose of the sear was loose. The fly flipped up inside of it and was tucked away. I was able to get it in place and tighten down the plate. Now it goes off every time with the set trigger engaged. I appreciate the help and kindness. Looking forward to taking my first deer or elk with Pops’s gun.

 

[ord sgt]

Stick around. Plenty of answers can be found here, as you can plainly see. Lots of good information here. At one time or another, almost everything that can go wrong with muzzle loaders has happened to someone here. And the solutions to those problems were found here.