1873 Hammer is Following

[Modoc]

Hey All,

I lucked into an 1873 Carbine (Orriginal) for my Mother and am in the process of cleaning it up.  Everything seems sound, except that when you cycle the action the hammer will be stiff and follow back to half cock about 1/3 of the time.  By visual inspection when I cleaned the pounds of dust and oil out of the reciever, the sear and full cock notch look clean, square and sharp.  Does anyone have any suggestions that I should look at before taking it to a "Real" Gunsmith?

Thank You,

Modoc

[Coffinmaker]

If the angle at which the sear is cut is wrong, even if "sharp," it will "slip" off the hammer notch and follow the firing pin forward.  Same applies to the Hammer full cock ledge.  Both must be at the correct angle.
I would suggest you find a local gun plumber who is familiar with toggle link rifles and have that looked at.  One or both may require re-cutting.

Coffinmaker

[Cypress Sam]

Coffinmaker is right about recutting the sear to the proper angle.  But before you do that, make sure that the sear (trigger) spring is strong enough.  It can also be installed upside down, in which case there would be very little tension on the sear.  That would cause the hammer to follow also.

[Modoc]

A bit of an update,  just got the '73 back from the Smith and the trigger/sear interface are in excellent condition. The hammer end of the firing pin was badly peened and not allowing the hammer to lock back. He made a new firing pin and she runs like a champ.