FYI...with just a few minutes tinkering, barelytrimming / shavinga little wood inside the lock mortise, I've beenable to get all my TC locks sitting tight metal-to-metal andnothing gets down inside my locks...IMO, I expect that can be done with any lock on any rifle

In my case the lock plate starts out fitting nice and tight Roundball.. but the more or longer I shoot the more it seems to seperate from the stock and comes loose. By the end of the shooting session there is powder that has gotten behind it and therefore it must be pulled and cleaned. The rifle has been this way since the day I got it. I even called Thompson Center and discussed this with them and they told me to just tighten the screw from time to time while on the range... I've done that but I still found fowling behind it.

Oh boy, Robert..
If you don't pull that lock off at least periodically, you will probably end up ruining that gun. I pull mine everytime I get home from a shooting session.
I will take a toothbrush and scrub the workings with solvent to remove any fowling. Then I will, (This part is my personal routine) disassemble the lock and polish all the components with fine steel wool, to remove any rust, (and believe me, when you take that lock of yours off, there is gonna be rust in there). I then reassemble the lock and saturate it to dripping, with Birchwood Casey Sheath. This displaces any moisture and leaves a protective finish. I let it drip off and then put a dab of High temp synthetic grease on any rubbing surfaces and install the good as new lock back into the gun. If you have never cleaned the lock on your gun, I am not surprised to hear of your troubles. On real expensive custom built guns that have a perfect fit, maybe this isn't necessary, but on mine, it is. Don't get upset if you remove the lock and see a rusty mess. Just do like I recommended and your gun will shoot like new. Those parts will polish up surprisingly well if it has not been neglected too long. Also, if the trigger pull is too hard like mine was, you can adjust it while the lock is off. My Traditions has a little screw on the sear to adjust the pull.

Livbucks: Well I would like to pull the lock off and clean it, but the dang thing won't separate from the stock. (I've tried unscrewing what looks like the obvious screws)

On Friday I called Traditions to have them walk me through the process. Unfortunatly for me, I found out they close early on Fridays. With me in Arizona and the 3 hour time difference...

The wife will be out of town on Monday through Sunday. Hopefully I'll get a chance to speak with the folks at Traditions during the day on Monday. Then in the evening, take the piece out of the cabinet, spread out a tarp on the floor, turn on the Military Channel and get to cleaning.

I love my wife dearly, but sometimes there are advantages to being a bachelor for a few days!

~Robert

Sounds like perhaps the sear is binding a little at the full-cock position. This could easily be caused by the stock wood swelling some from humidity, and should be simple to correct. But it needs to be corrected. If you don't feel competent to deal with this problem yourself, a decent gunsmith could fix it in a couple of minutes.

But DO get it corrected. Not only is it unsafe, it could cause variations in trigger pull weight that will make accurate shooting more difficult.....

My lock is hard to pull out too. The mortise is really tight and I have to grab the cock and wiggle to get it to budge. (sounds perverted, I know) Just a little rocking movement will probably begin to free it. I do mine at the kitchen table. It is small, and a piece of newspaper will handle the mess. Use some finesse and take your time. Good luck.

ALWAYS clean and re-lube the works of a flintlock, as the flash from the pan canleavesome powder fouling inside the lock-if left too long, this can cause somehorrendous rusting of springs & sears!! I usually do the same with my cap-locks too, but not every time I shoot them-usually just at theeend of the season, and so far, no real problems.

Locks are supposed to fit tight. The tighter, the better! This helps keep fouling and other dirt out of the works.

What I do to remove a tight lock is to unscrew the lock screws completely, put a piece of hard wood on the screw heads, and tap the stickslightly with a plastic screwdriver handleto dislodge the lock and push it out of its recess. Then you might have to usethe cock or hammer for a little leverage AFTER you've pushed it out of the recess as far as you can with the screws. Just be careful not to damage the stock......

ElDequello: normally I would agree with you about humidity causing the lock to stick. However I live in Phoenix, Arizona. Humidity isn't much of a problem here

Greatidea about using sticks to push the lock out after removing the screws. I'll hunt around the garage tonight and see if there isn't something appropriate that will work. I would wiggle the cock to losen the lock, but I'm afraid I'll torque out the screw that holds my cock in place. (man that really sounds bad!)

Will follow-up with results.

~Robert