97 hammer fall

[John Barleycorn]

Every so often the hammer on my 97 follows the bolt down causing me a second to recock the hammer.  Whats going on? Or is this just one of those things that happens sometimes on 97's.  Thanks, JB

[St. George]

Double-check with an UNLOADED weapon - but is your fingertip anywhere close to the trigger when you cycle the piece?

Especially when you're trying for speed?

Model 1897's could fire pretty fast when the trigger's held back while cycling - so there's the possibility of a weak hammer-sear arrangement.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[John Barleycorn]

Thats what I thought it was too, but found the it has been doing it when a finger is no where near the trigger.

[Silver_Rings]

If it is an old gun, there may be too much play between the bolt and receiver.  If this is the case, when the bolt comes back the hammer is not pushed down far enough to catch the sear.  This takes a gunsmith to fix. 

Rack the slide slow and see how much the hammer pushes the bold up.  Push the slide forward slow and see if the hammer follows.  May take a few tries before it fails to stay back.

SR

[Pettifogger]

97s are designed to slam fire.  So, even if your finger were on the trigger the hammer should not fall until the bolt is forward and locked.  Since you say your finger is no where near the trigger the most likely culprit is the sear.  Check to make sure the screw in the sear spring isn't loose.  Several companies have after market tool steel sears.  I would check with the Cowboy & Indians store.  If you know what you are doing, you can take the sear out and resurface it.  If you don't know what you are doing, take it to someone that does.  You can also check the trigger over-travel screw that is behind the trigger.  If it has moved inward, it may be prevently the sear from fully engaging.  Could also be plain old fashioned dirt.  When is the last time you took it completely apart for cleaning?

[Coffinmaker]

The hammer should NOT follow the bolt forward EVER.  Pettifogger's post pretty much covers it.  If it is happening "once in a while" the most likely culprit is gunge at the sear ledge of the hammer.  A warn trigger sear will start with "once in a while" and get progressively worse.  A good indicator of for the trigger sear is if the trigger has become a very light trigger.  Shotguns are not suppose to have "light" triggers.
If it's not dirt, the sear can be re-cut.  It can also be replaced.  Cowboys and Indian have a nice unit. 
In any case, as said, a full teardown and thorough inspection and cleaning are the first step.  Neither the trigger sear not the hammer ledge should be "rounded" over.  Nice and crisp with no gunge buildup.  If the trigger appears warn, re-cut or replace.

Coffinmaker

Matt, After you inspect it, give me a call or an e-mail if it continues to follow the hammer forward.  Or, if you don't want to take it that far down, gimme a shout.

[John Barleycorn]

So,  I took the 97 apart last night (way further than I should have) gave it a super cleaning and even polished a few of the ruff spots, well let me tell you, getting it back together right was frustrating to say the least, 3 hours later I finally got it together right, and if nothing else learned a little about how it (the action) works in there.
  Still having the hammer fall problem so I guess it will be of to Coffinmaker this winter, but dang its clean!  JB

[Capt. Augustus]

I'm not familar with original 97's, but on a Chinchester 97 I had a similar problem.  The fix was the sear spring screw in the bottom.  I had to tighten it slightly, end of problem.

[John Barleycorn]

Just got back the 97 and the 93/97 back from Coffinmaker there as good as new.  Thanks, pard!