Sticky lifter

[Don Carter]

Hello All.
I have a 10 ga. lifter year 1876.
When the gun has set for a few day and you break it open the lifter is very hard to move. Once you get it to move the first time its OK.
I have cleaned [the best I could] and lubed.
Would anyone have a suggetion on this or is it the nature of the beast.
I have not tore down the action because I have know idea where to begin.
Any help would be welcome.
Thank you.
Don

[Pat Dugan]

Dave Purnell probably has the answer, he is in the process of moving so he might not be looking yet. He has some parts also, I know he has great firing pins

PDD

[David Hamilton]

I have an 1875 10 ga that suffers from the same problem. I surmised that this problem is the result of wear of the lifter. I don't know what to do about it but I simply operate the lifter a few times before shooting and things seem to be ok for a while. I have wondered if there was a missing part at the top of the lifter as I have seen a parts illustration of a later model that had a "sleeve" at the top that I did not see in my gun. This may be a problem that Austin could help us with? David

[Dave Suponski]

I would think that Austin would have the solution. Maybe he will chime in here.

[Kurt Densmore]

Don, I have had had a few lifters apart and suggest that you tear it down to the point you can take out the underbite bolt and or at least pull the action from the stock and soak it in a degreaser or a solvent such as acetone or lacquer thinner. If you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner then use it.

There is one screw on the left side of the lock plate that may be partially under the left hammer. If you can get it out without removing the hammer then great. If not, then you will need to remove the hammer and be very careful that you don't strip the hammer screw. Once you get the screw out you can thread it into the threads on the right side lock plate and use it to work the lock plate off slowly....Once the right side lock plate is off you can use a wooden dowel to tap the right side lock place off from the right side of the action. Once both lock plates are off then you lift up the lifter lever and you can see a small screw head just behind the action and on the left side, on the underbite locking bolt hinge point. Unscrew the little screw and grab it with a pair on needle nose pliers. Not a lot of space in there to work. Let the lifter lever down and it should come out. Then you can remove the top tang screw and the trigger plate screw. You can tap out the trigger plate from the watertable side of the action with a wooden dowel. After that, you should be able to take the stock off. Be careful not to chip the edges of the wood that come into contact with the action and top top tang of the action. Some of the wood is really thin and will chip or dent easily. Also, be careful to use the proper size of screwdrivers and put a lot of downpressure on the screws. The screw head steel is much softer than you would think.

Putting it back together I use a plastic mallet to tap the trigger plate back in to place and make sure you hold the triggers down when you gently tap the lock plates back into place. If you don't, the sears will hit the top of the trigger that engages the sear and the lock plate will not completely seat. Also, If you tap too hard you can bend the top of the the triggers.

If you run into problems you can send me a PM and I will give you my phone number.

If you do this cleaning and you still have problems then it is likely something mechanical and you will have to chase down the problem.

Good Luck

[David Hamilton]

Kurt, I have done all the cleaning and polishing and use of high tech lubricants and the problem persists. David

[Don Carter]

Thank you all very much.

Kurt; Thanks for the tear down instructions, very helpful.
In some ways it sound similar to my muzzle loading shotguns.
It my not get done right away, to many thing on my plate at this time.
Most likly this winter.
When I do and if I have problem I will appreciate the phone help.

Thank again.
Don

[Kurt Densmore]

I hope that Austin or someone can shed some light on this issue. I have not had this problem but expect that at some time I might.

The last lifter I had apart was a late model with the longer frame and check hook. I do not recall any parts being above the lifter, just the spring... It is difficult to say what the problem is. One location I would check for wear would the edge of the lifter that pushes the locking bolt over. Maybe the wear is causing it too drop down too far which may cause some binding...Some grease on the wear edge of the lifter may help. If that doesn't work then clean the wear edge of the lifter with a degreaser and add a strip of clear packing tape. Trim the edges with a razor and add some grease to the top of the tape. If it solves the problem you at least know that a couple thousandths of wear is causing the problem. Post up the schematic of the parts if you have it as an electronic copy.

good luck,
Kurt


Kurt, I have done all the cleaning and polishing and use of high tech lubricants and the problem persists. David

[David Hamilton]

Thanks Kurt! I will take this problem up when the outside world is restricted by bad weather. At present I, with the help of Jent Mitchell have killed 8 deer in the last two days and we will continue until March 29, 2010, when the season ends. We hope to make a dent in the population which is out of control because of the hunting restrictions which many local communities have imposed on themselves. If I understood the photo posting I would post a picture of Jent & doe. David

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Gentlemen . I have the same problem with ser # 1943 back action . you have to close the gun hard for the pin to go all the way down, then it is the devil to open. Yoy

























Gentlemen , I have the same problem with ser#1943 back action , you have to close the gun hard for the pin to go all the way down. It takes both hands to push lifter to get it open. just cannot seem to figure this out. any suggestions Gary

[Austin W Hogan]

I have never encountered a really sticky lifter action. They are usually completely smooth or inopertive. I have some instances of a slow lock up.

The lifter extension might be mired in its slot above the frame, or the headless 4 40 screw that closes the yoke on the lock bar may be gummed on the slide. It is most likely that the bolt itself is sticking in its slot. The bolt can be cleaned with Hoppes or Kerosene. A nylon brush or file card will remove hard residue. The boltway in the frame can be cleaned with a Q tip and wiped with a patch on a pick. If the action is dis assembled you might consider finding an ultrasonic cleaner, and thoroughly cleaning all the parts.

Best , Austin

[Richard Flanders]

I'll second... or third as it were, the sonic cleaner. I put entire actions in a pnut butter jar full of lacquer thinner and sit it in my small sonic cleaner made for drafting pens pour water in around the jar and leave it go for an hour or more then let it sit over night and do it again the next day. I tell you, there's absolutely nothing left in there after that. Nothing...

[David Hamilton]

I have cleaned the action of my 10 ga ultrasonically and polished all parts where they contact each other. Carefully lubricated and properly reassembled the action and the lifter still sticks. The action was very dirty and filled with old rusty residue which may have caused wear. The gun is shootable and so I just live with it until such time as I have a better understanding of the problem. David

[Austin W Hogan]

There is a question we all forgot to ask; does the pin rise above the frame when the lifter is operated on this gun?

Best, Austin

[David Hamilton]

Austin, In regards to my 1875 lifter the answer is no; there is no protruding pin. The above mentioned back-action may indeed have such. David

[Sean Harper]

Austin, In regards to my 1875 lifter the answer is no; there is no protruding pin. The above mentioned back-action may indeed have such. David

All folks interested, especially David. Here is an exposed lifter on an 1880 ten gauge. Notice the shape of the apperatice. Perhaps Parker changed and/or modified its lifter action as the years went by? A schematic of these lifters would really help. Perhaps there was a shift in design at or after 1875...

Sean

[David Hamilton]

Without taking mine apart I can not comment on the similarities but the part looks like what I remember mine to look like. Thanks for the pictures! David