Yesterday when I took the Cherokee out, I also too out the Hawken that I had installed the tang peep on so I could sight it in. Well I loaded her up with her favorite load and laid her across the sand bags. I pulled back the hammer and started to line her up but the sight picture was a bit high. So, I lifted up the forearm and "bumped" it against the front bag to lower it a bit.
When the forearm came down on the bag - KABOOM. Scared the crap out of me cause I was not expecting that! I pulled the hammer back to remove the spent cap and it fell forward.
Well, I thought, I have a dangerous situation here with this old girl. I put it up and came home. Stripping her down, I noticed that the rod that goes through the coil spring was bent on the end. Also it appears that the sear engagement is worn on both mating parts causing rounded edges. The combination of the two conditions would allow the hammer to drop forward on its own or with only some slight forward pressure. You can tell by looking at my rifles that this is not neglect. It is purely a case of wear. This lock has to be 25 to 30 years old. I could not tell you how many thousands of cycles this lock went through.
I could probably fix her myself but with the lifetime warranty, I'm sending it out. (who knows, maybe they will send me a brand new lock?)