1905 00 grade 12ga extractor. 5 light strikes out of 6 attempts. Seeking ideas.
Pin protrusion is the ample, and the same on both sides. Gun seems to fully cock, set the seats, and the trigger is not dead. Tried multiple brands of ammo to rule out rim thickness. Gun is tight on the face.
I would think weakened hammer spring, bridle too tight.
B.Graham,
If you just got the gun, the first thing to try is a detailed strip and clean, a hundred years of "grunge" can slow things down considerably.
Mike
Second for a strip and clean.
I had a light strike issue in my Aya 4/53, and when I took it apart I found a couple of pieces of metal that had been left in the action during the course of a shoddy repair of a cocking dog. not to say that you'll find the same thing, of course, but just that you never know what you might discover. Maybe just grime.
Do the back end of the firing pins look like they may have been shortened?
They sometimes mushroom at the back end and a well meaning fix is to grind or file the damage off. That makes them sleek looking again, but too short sometimes for good ignition.
They still protrude the same from the breech,,just short at the back end.
Another problem may be the lock(s) pulled overly tight into their inlets.
Over time and use, people tighten that lock plate screw ever tighter. Pulling the plates and the mechanisms into the wood inlets inside.
It doesn't take much to slow the hammer down. Rubbing against wood or actually bending the plate.
Even an old repair to the wood inside the lock cavity may be sitting a bit high yet and interfering with a hammer or spring. They crack a lot up at the front and repairs done of different skills are often in there. Some helpfull,,some not.
Check the face of the hammers where they contact the firing pins and make sure that surface is square to the back of the firing pin. Hitting the firing pin at a glancing angle can cause it to loose a lot of energy.
None of the parts in those are really a masterpiece of fitting and craftsmanship, doesn't matter what grade,,,so it doesn't take much to start a problem.
Agree-100%- especially as to the fit-up and fitting, as compared to a English "Best" gun--I've seen the lockwork of a friend's H&H Royal- the detachable sidelocks- felt like I was looking at a Rolex's innards-- I like Smiths, but the more complex the action as far as parts and fit-up, the greater the potential problems over years of usage and lack of proper "strip and cleaning" procedures-- IMO-- RWTF
I agree in what Mike stated above.
Also does this gun have the bushed firing pins? The only way to see the back of the pin is to take out the bushing which sometimes can be hard. You didn't say if it was one side or the other, but if only one side the firing pin could be broken inside the bushing.
Bill, lots of things can cause this. Rim cut too deep, Fireing pin off center, dirt and crud , weak spring, short sear ( if a sear has been worked on too much the hammer throw is shortened due to not being held far enough back) to name a few.
Good luck.
Light strikes could be dirt in the lock work, a fatigued main spring, improper rim depth on the extractor or ejector or as simple as it just needs a little oil on the parts.
What it looks like is happening is that the cocking tooth is interfering with the hammer due to pressure applied by the cocking rod tip in the forend iron. No light strikes with the forend off.
Bill,
Are you measuring firing pin protrusion from the breech face, with barrels off? Measure the protrusion with the barrels on, both unfired and after dropping the hammer. A half inch rod works. I would say your on the right track, something is either slowing down, or limiting the hammer fall. The forend iron rotates the crank on the cocking rod,in cocking, and then it rotates the crank out of the way. Is the crank on the action end on correctly?
I should have said to measure the protrusion with the forend on, and with it off.
There is also an angled plate set in the forearm iron, that actuates the tips of the cocking rods when the assembled gun is broken open to re-cock the tumblers. that bears a closer exam, as it can be installed either position, and locks to the iron with a threaded machine screws- the head of which must be flush with the counterbored threaded locating hole.
If this OO has the bushed firing pins, as does my 1905 12 OO grade "parts gun", it most likely does not have the small bronze set screws, those are more often found on 2(E) and higher graded pre- 1913 Smiths.
If you cannot remove the bushing(s) to check the firing pins for dims. (against those shown in the brophy book on mechanics of Smith guns)-- you are S.O.L.-- and if the firing pin(s) are broken and encapsulated in the bushings, you are s.o.l. big time- sorry, one of the hazards of Smith ownership-- RWTF
Correcto- Dennis. I have recently looked at two post-1913 12 bore Smiths with the light firing pin striking issue- as verified with A-Zoom spring loaded plastic snap caps with the masking tape over the primer pocket test- In one case, the owner admitted to several times trying to re-assemble the ejector forearm onto the gun with the hammers down- the "Achilles heel" of Elsies- in the other case, as another "Smithsonian" responded previously to your comment, the lock plates were screwed in waaay too snugly, this was a FWE frame, so the owner had 3 lock plate machine screws to over-tighten-- It is also a HOT equipped Smith, so there are inherent problems with proper HOT function when that FUBAR is evident on the gun being examined. RWTF
Big Country figured it out. The issue was with the cocking hook, and it retarding the movement of the hammer.
Can you i.d. the page(s) in the Brophy book that show the cocking hook(s) on L.C. Smith Hammerless guns- Cocking rods, with the mounted cocking cams, fitted onto the end of each of 2 cocking rods- and as Dennis pointed out, they must be indexed correctly onto the milled ends-- but "hooks"- that escapes me- RWTF
Lifters are the correct term.