Hammer problem with new to me Witness

[mjc1677]

I just got a "new" to me small frame witness with unknown round count. I followed Henning's video to disassemble and reassemble the pistol to give it a good cleaning. The previous owner thought that tree sap must have been a good lubricant because there was some serious build up on the pistol. Before I took it apart, the safety would not "click" on and off but other than that it seemed to work fine. Once I took it apart and put back together, the safety now "clicks" but now the hammer will not stay "cocked". The hammer now follows the slide back to de-cocked status. If I pull the hammer back by hand, it stays back and ready to fire. I am thinking that the sear had some build up on it that allowed the hammer to catch it but now that it is cleaned, does not have enough metal to catch the hammer. Or that the hammer had some build up and is not catching the sear. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Mike

[CHA-LEE]

From what you described it sounds like the slide isn't cocking the hammer back far enough to catch the hammer hooks on the sear lip. There is an easy way to test this. Lock the slide back as this will pull the hammer back to what is suppose to be the "Past Cocked" position. While the gun is in the slide locked state pull the hammer back slowly and listen for a "click" of the hammer hooks slipping past the sear lip. If the gun cocks properly when you do this, then the top edge of the hammer is too worn out and it needs to be replaced. Give that a try and report back with what you find.

Edited November 20, 2011 by CHA-LEE

[mjc1677]

I just tried your sugestion and I have a clicking sound when pulling the hammer back. Thanks for the tip. I will now add a new hammer to my parts order.