cooltouch
Member
I have a family heirloom Stevens Marksman 22 -- a little break-action single shot -- that was originally owned by my uncle back in the 30's. It's been mine since the 60s. It's still a reasonably accurate shooter, and I enjoy taking it out for a relaxed day of plinking. But it is annoying now. Every time I pull the trigger, I have to cock the hammer and pull it a second time to get a round to fire.
I'm thinking the culprit is one of two things: 1) the hammer spring is weak and needs replacing, or 2) because I probably dry fired it thousands of times when I was a kid and didn't know any better, I ended up damaging the firing pin, such that it needs two strikes to ignite the primer.
I haven't dismantled the rifle yet, so I can't state with any confidence which of the above items is the likely culprit, although I'm leaning toward item number 1.
So, just curious about your thoughts on this. It's a cool little rifle that I'd like to get restored back to good shooting condition.
Yes, I could take it to a gunsmith, but I have many tools, and this is the sort of repair that I do enjoy doing myself. I have, in the past, repaired and replaced broken hand springs in my SAA pistol, customized my 1911, souped up my 10-22, built a custom stock for my Remington 700 varmint rifle, and bedded the actions on several of my bolt guns.
UPDATE: I removed the Stevens's barrel and . . . I don't know what it's called . . . the tip up section that the cartridge is placed into, and the lever assy attached to it. This exposed the firing pin, which I believe to be in good shape. Its face is sort of a rounded square shape and it has no nicks, notches, or uneven areas. To test it, I scrounged up an almost empty tube of ointment, which is made from some sort of soft metal . . . lead? zinc? Anyway, I flattened the tube, then pressed it against the firing pin, then snapped the hammer a few times. The pin made a nice, smooth, and fairly deep dent into the tube. So I think the firing pin is ok.
So I suppose I should look at the hammer spring? Other possibilities?
I'm thinking the culprit is one of two things: 1) the hammer spring is weak and needs replacing, or 2) because I probably dry fired it thousands of times when I was a kid and didn't know any better, I ended up damaging the firing pin, such that it needs two strikes to ignite the primer.
I haven't dismantled the rifle yet, so I can't state with any confidence which of the above items is the likely culprit, although I'm leaning toward item number 1.
So, just curious about your thoughts on this. It's a cool little rifle that I'd like to get restored back to good shooting condition.
Yes, I could take it to a gunsmith, but I have many tools, and this is the sort of repair that I do enjoy doing myself. I have, in the past, repaired and replaced broken hand springs in my SAA pistol, customized my 1911, souped up my 10-22, built a custom stock for my Remington 700 varmint rifle, and bedded the actions on several of my bolt guns.
UPDATE: I removed the Stevens's barrel and . . . I don't know what it's called . . . the tip up section that the cartridge is placed into, and the lever assy attached to it. This exposed the firing pin, which I believe to be in good shape. Its face is sort of a rounded square shape and it has no nicks, notches, or uneven areas. To test it, I scrounged up an almost empty tube of ointment, which is made from some sort of soft metal . . . lead? zinc? Anyway, I flattened the tube, then pressed it against the firing pin, then snapped the hammer a few times. The pin made a nice, smooth, and fairly deep dent into the tube. So I think the firing pin is ok.
So I suppose I should look at the hammer spring? Other possibilities?
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