I just aquired a new 1894cb in 45 colt, and have a few quals about the QC...

[186 tmanbuckhunter]

Well, I couldn't wait. Got to the dealer, bought it, and got it home. When I get home, I take a closer look. There are a few scratches in the metal on the tang, and the tang is slight depressed into the wood. The action sure does feel of great quality though. Another thing is, the barrel doesn't look like it's been crowned. Feels real rough around the edges, and looks somewhat uneven, although the more I look at it, the more it isn't uneven. Probably because of the octagon barrel. Hell, I don't know. A few scratches never hurt anyone, and they're not noticeable. We'll see next weekend when I take a trip up to Giddings to see some friends and family.

EDIT: Forgot to add that the foregrip has a slight gap between the receiver and where it slides into the slots. About 2 papers put together thick. Not that noticeable either. Also upon further inspection with a magnifying glass, it does have a crown. Whew.

EDITx2: Well, the front cap on the foregrip just needs to be tightened down. That's all. That problem is fixed.

[bull3540]

Great caliber choice! Mine does double duty shooting cowboy action as well as hunting hogs and deer. There's a couple things you can do to smooth up the action, but if you're not shooting CAS with it there's no reason to fool with it.

Buffalo Bore makes some heavy .45 Colt hunting loads as well as standard pressure self defense ammo that you can run in your rifle and pistol.

Have fun and let us know how she shoots.

[georgeky]

Congrats on your new Cowboy rifle. They are among my favorites. I have loaded me some hot 45's, and now my 45 is more like the mini 45-70 I heard a few folks talking about. Couldn't believe the difference between my loads, and the factory cowboy loads. WOW!!

[186 tmanbuckhunter]

Well, I found another problem. The hammer can move inside the slot its in, although it works; plus when I open the lever, if i I do it slightly too soft, or too slow it wont engage the firing pin but barely, although it does it on all of my marlins, still though, I don't think its enough to fire the rifle. I did put a lever wrap on it. Maybe I'm just nitpicking the small things, although the small errors in the rifle shouldn't exist. In all reality though, the rifle should fire every single round I put through it. I cycled 1 250gr. blunt nose JHP through it. Cycled it just fine.

[bull3540]

I'm not understanding you too well. Does the hammer move side to side when half or fully cocked? Is the detent button on the lever rounded over or is it's spring too weak to keep the lever fully engaged in the firing position? You say that when you open the lever the firing pin doesn't fully engage, but it's when you open the lever to eject the spent round that the two piece firing pin resets. As you close the bolt with the lever the new shell is chambered and it's that last 1/2 inch of travel until the lever is fully engaging the plunger that both pieces of the firing pin are aligned. Is that when the problem occurs?

[186 tmanbuckhunter]

I'm not understanding you too well. Does the hammer move side to side when half or fully cocked? Is the detent button on the lever rounded over or is it's spring too weak to keep the lever fully engaged in the firing position? You say that when you open the lever the firing pin doesn't fully engage, but it's when you open the lever to eject the spent round that the two piece firing pin resets. As you close the bolt with the lever the new shell is chambered and it's that last 1/2 inch of travel until the lever is fully engaging the plunger that both pieces of the firing pin are aligned. Is that when the problem occurs?

It only moves side to side when its decocked. Like I said. I cycle the action. when I close it the firing pin doesn't stick out as far as it should. It should be a little further out from my experience.

[bull3540]

Okay, now I understand. Check and see if the hammer screw is tight. If it is, then take out the bolt and you should be able to shake it back and forth to hear the firing pin move freely. If it doesn't, it may be broken, but it shouldn't be right from the factory unless someone dry fired it a number of times before you got it. You might also want to pull the butt stock off and see if the part that holds the main spring (hammer spring) in place is firmly in place. It may be the hammer screw, which the holds the hammer in place and allows the hammer to pivot around it, has something to do with it. If you're not comfortable doing this yourself, find a gunsmith that will take you step by step through the disassembly process. Once you've done it once it isn't so intimidating.
Another way to determine if the firing pin is broken is simply to take it to the range and see if it sets off every round. If you only have every other one or every third one go off but see that the primer was struck, it's broken.
Hope this helps.

[186 tmanbuckhunter]

Okay, now I understand. Check and see if the hammer screw is tight. If it is, then take out the bolt and you should be able to shake it back and forth to hear the firing pin move freely. If it doesn't, it may be broken, but it shouldn't be right from the factory unless someone dry fired it a number of times before you got it. You might also want to pull the butt stock off and see if the part that holds the main spring (hammer spring) in place is firmly in place. It may be the hammer screw, which the holds the hammer in place and allows the hammer to pivot around it, has something to do with it. If you're not comfortable doing this yourself, find a gunsmith that will take you step by step through the disassembly process. Once you've done it once it isn't so intimidating.
Another way to determine if the firing pin is broken is simply to take it to the range and see if it sets off every round. If you only have every other one or every third one go off but see that the primer was struck, it's broken.
Hope this helps.

That's what I was going to do 2 weeks from now. The bolt assembly comes out just like the 1895's right? And the lever fits back into the little slot?

EDIT: I can always take it back to the gun shop and exchange it for a new one before I fire it.

EDITx2: The thing is, it only does it about 1 out of 20 times I cycle the action, and it only sticks out a little, but I think it is still good enough to fire the rifle. Plus, it was brand new, in the box. That's why I think it slipped quality control. It seems the more I cycle it, the better it gets.

[bull3540]

Okay, now I understand. Check and see if the hammer screw is tight. If it is, then take out the bolt and you should be able to shake it back and forth to hear the firing pin move freely. If it doesn't, it may be broken, but it shouldn't be right from the factory unless someone dry fired it a number of times before you got it. You might also want to pull the butt stock off and see if the part that holds the main spring (hammer spring) in place is firmly in place. It may be the hammer screw, which the holds the hammer in place and allows the hammer to pivot around it, has something to do with it. If you're not comfortable doing this yourself, find a gunsmith that will take you step by step through the disassembly process. Once you've done it once it isn't so intimidating.
Another way to determine if the firing pin is broken is simply to take it to the range and see if it sets off every round. If you only have every other one or every third one go off but see that the primer was struck, it's broken.
Hope this helps.

That's what I was going to do 2 weeks from now. The bolt assembly comes out just like the 1895's right? And the lever fits back into the little slot?

Yep.

EDIT: I can always take it back to the gun shop and exchange it for a new one before I fire it.

That'd work too.

EDITx2: The thing is, it only does it about 1 out of 20 times I cycle the action, and it only sticks out a little, but I think it is still good enough to fire the rifle.

It may just need some breaking in, so all the internal parts start to wear together. I would definately get some snap caps for cycling and dry firing. If the firing pin is the problem then you'll be able to see and hear a soft strike.

[186 tmanbuckhunter]

See, sometimes when I cycle it, I don't hear the click of the firing pin popping out into place. Sometimes I just hear the lever closing, and don't feel any bump of it closing. Hmm. This sure does piss me off. 780 dollars, and something is wrong.