Shiloh Rifle Forums

I have discovered that the hammer screw has become loose allowing the hammer to wobble quite a bit on my 1874 Sharps .40-70SS. How bad would you expect this to effect accuracy?

A. Re-tighten the hammer screw till fairly snug. See if it loosens up again.

Or :

B. Remove the screw clean the threads, on the screw and screw hole, apply a small amount of purple or blue loctite on the screw, re-tighten, and let it set up for the recommended cure time, no more loose hammer screw.

Only an opinion, and with one of mine "B" was the cure after trying "A" several times.

GrumpyBear wrote: ↑Wed Oct 12, 2022 5:20 pm A. Re-tighten the hammer screw till fairly snug. See if it loosens up again.

Or :

B. Remove the screw clean the threads, on the screw and screw hole, apply a small amount of purple or blue loctite on the screw, re-tighten, and let it set up for the recommended cure time, no more loose hammer screw.

Only an opinion, and with one of mine "B" was the cure after trying "A" several times.

Grumpy, How was the accuracy effected?

I don't think it would affect the accuracy at all. Loose hammer screws are what screwdrivers were invented for. Pay attention to loose screws when you are cleaning. It is a very common occurence in almost all hammer rifles.

George

I don't know of any effect on the accuracy, other than the distraction to the shooter, over worrying about a loose hammer.

The hammer is still tightly splined to the square shaft on the tumbler, retaining screw or no retaining screw. As long as it’s on there fully so the nose hits the firing pin, the force of hammer fall will be the same, and therefore the primer ignition.

DaveC wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 1:34 pm The hammer is still tightly splined to the square shaft on the tumbler, retaining screw or no retaining screw. As long as it’s on there fully so the nose hits the firing pin, the force of hammer fall will be the same, and therefore the primer ignition.

Actually no. Its wobbles about with the loose screw.

Sounds like you may have Hammer or Tumbler shaft damage.

Yeah, normally fits tight even without the screw - you could take off the lock-plate and inspect further. Just make sure to loosen the screws holding the tang - they compress the wood a bit around the lock plate - trying to remove without loosening those screws can make removing the lock-plate difficult and the wood can chip around the inletted section of the lock-plate. Even after loosening the tang screws be extra careful pulling out the lock-plate.