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January 7, 2017
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The last of the ‘hey, I’m a new guy, look at my rifle” topics…. I don’t have an 1898 catalog, so I don’t know if anything on this rifle was truly special order but it appealed to me, so I bought it…. SN 48554. Again, I’m ready to reload for it but haven’t just yet as the hammer falls when locking the lever closed. Sometimes the hammer falls halfway, sometimes all the way. I suspect a worn sear and hopefully the hammer notches are not too bad. If the hammer is bad, is there a smith that tig welds some metal on and re-establishes the notches? I’ve had my Browning Citori block rebuilt twice (used to shoot A LOT of clays). Best case, it just has a bunch of crud that needs cleaning…. Anyway, comments welcomed.
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
WACA #10293
November 27, 2013
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Very interesting rifle. It would appeal to me as well. There’s just something about a gun that was used for its intended purpose but well cared for, as this one obviously was. Fun to imagine the stories it could tell.
I bought a Colt Burgess for my wife (she collects that Brand X stuff and I thought she should have at least one lever gun) that had the same problem with the hammer fall. Since the last gunsmith that worked on Burgess’ in my area likely died a century ago, I took it apart and expected to find one of the issues you mentioned. To my relief (’cause parts for that gun are a little scarce) it turned out to be a little sliver of brass wedged in the hammer notch. Dug it out and reassembled it and it cycles flawlessly. Repair cost nothing but time and I learned a whole lot about the inner workings of the Colt Burgess.
If you are mechanically inclined, get a takedown guide and take it apart and look for the problem. ’94s aren’t particularly hard to work on. I’ll bet you are on the right track by suspecting a worn sear or hammer notch. If it’s the sear, you can simply replace it and if it’s the hammer notch, it should be reprofiled. A very experienced gunsmith once told me that, if the wear in the notch isn’t too bad, it can be carefully cleaned up with riffler files without building it up. I haven’t tried that, though.
If you aren’t confident to take it on yourself, take it to a gunsmith. Most likely it would be a simple fix for one with some experience with these old lever guns. Either way, that’s a gun that’s definitely worth putting back in shooting shape. It looks like a rifle that would love to see some range time or even go out on a stalk and put some venison on the table. I’ll bet it’s been there and done that a time or two.
November 7, 2015
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Interesting rifle, have one in the same configuration but a bit newer. I’m confident a good cleaning is always the best place to start, it’s amazing what happens when a few decades worth of gunk are removed from a hard-working gun like yours. I don’t think this rifle has seen the round count your Citori has seen but it most certainly hasn’t been a safe queen. It was likely out in the woods before my grandparents were born and was obviously someone’s favorite (or only) rifle for quite some time, quite possibly handed down for a generation or two. The stories it could tell, indeed.
December 1, 2012
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I agree that it is either a sear or hammer notch problem. If it is the sear that is easily replaced with an original one in good condition, often seen on eBay (for a price). Your description of the problem (sometimes halfway, sometimes all the way) leads me to believe that it is a hammer notch problem. If that is so, in my limited amateur experience, the only long lasting solution is to replace the hammer with an original used one of the same knurling type. I say this because the broken/worn part will be the overhang on the safety notch and those repairs never last – the built up part will break off again. As a first step I would remove the hammer first and compare the notches against one in good condition, even if the comparison is only against a photo of a sound hammer.
"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
January 7, 2017
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Well, had an issue getting this one to shoot and it turned out to be lack of rifling to stabilize the bullet. Was having it re-lined when the barrel warped. See the Swap Meet section if you think you can help…
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
WACA #10293
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