Homemade .45 caliber Kentucky rifle

[Skeleton]

Hi everyone, some of you may recall a few months back I made a post talking about the rifle I was making. Well, I forgot I had an account here after that post was made 😂 so I just remembered that I had this account and decided to sign in. Anyway, that rifle is finished and works QUITE WELL. It was tested multiple times in a vise before I even thought about shouldering it and it held up wonderfully. If I could figure out how to post pictures here I would post one of it.

For those who don't know, it's a Kentucky rifle, .45 caliber, 42 inch barrel from track of the wolf, the powder drum and nipple also came from track, and I bought the breech plug from muzzleloader builders supply. I made the lock following the old 1976 JACO plans, and I made the stock out of white oak. The butt plate is 3/8 steel to counter balance the long barrel lol.

I do have a question about it. First shot of the day, it takes two drops of the hammer to set the cap off. After that it's first drop every time. Any idea what's up with that? I tested a theory that the hammer was dragging by dry firing before putting a cap on, and it's the same story. First cap takes 2 hits to fire.

[whetrock]

Hey Skeleton,
Are you saying that the hammer has to hit the cap two times before it will fire, or that it takes two caps before it will fire? I think I understand what you said, but wanted to ask more carefully.

By the way, if you want to post a photo, there are some instructions here:

https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=83757.0

[Jim S]

It could be there's a little bit of oil in the nipple from storing the gun upright. I sometimes take the air hose and blast through there first.

[okawbow]

Sounds like the cap is too tight on the nipple. Chuck the nipple in a drill and polish it down until the cap seats all the way on without too much effort.

[whetrock]

You may have done this already, but I know this is a common problem, so I thought I'd mentioned it. If you have any question about a cock or hammer dragging, then the problem is sometimes something inside the mortise dragging. So, take off the main spring and sear then reinstall the lock and see how smoothly the hammer will swing (which indicates how smoothly the tumbler is cycling) while the lock is screwed down in position in the stock. If the hammer is not able to move without any hesitation, then something is dragging. The tumbler should not be touching wood at any time in its cycle.

When you've checked that, then put the sear back on and check it that way, and then reinstall the mainspring, and checking to see that the lower arm of the spring has free swing.

A lock mortise can be precisely made so that there is not a lot of extra room, but there does need to be enough extra to accommodate changes in the wood through the seasons, as moisture content changes in the air.

(EDITED for clarity. I hope it's better now!)

[taterbug]

definitely look into Whetrock's suggestions.  you can coat the internal lock parts with soot (smoky candle or kerosene lamp) or with a black thick sharpie marker.  Then place lock back into the stock (with lock bolts in place as normal) then cycle the lock through it's motion.  Usually no need to let the hammer fall under power of the mainspring, just gently let it down with the trigger held back. 

Taking out the lock, look for black transfer to the wood, and or shiny spots on the lock parts.  That will show the interfering wood areas.  may have to do it a couple times to get enough of a bright spot on the metal, or enough black to transfer to the wood in the lock mortice. 

 let these guys know what you find.  There are ways to fix just about anything