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Old-Win
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HW Half-Cock Notch
Mar 27th, 2026 at 10:31am
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Any of you match shooters out there using high walls, ever remove the half cock notch? Have you seen an improvement on the target? Thanks. Bob
  
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bpjack
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Re: HW Half-Cock Notch
Reply #1 - Mar 27th, 2026 at 11:21am
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My RKS built 25 Hornet had the notch ground off even though the hammer had the slit for a fly. It has a set trigger so probably not exactly what you are looking for.  It is accurate but I didn’t ever shoot without the modification. I read an article years ago saying that accuracy was better with a well tuned standard trigger compared to a set trigger off the bench.
  

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Old-Win
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Re: HW Half-Cock Notch
Reply #2 - Mar 27th, 2026 at 11:38am
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Jack, my rifle is set up with a set trigger as well, and as you slowly let the hammer down, you can feel things bounce around a little as it clears the fly and was wondering if it would be worthwhile to remove the fly and grind the half-cock notch off. It will be in 25-35.
  
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gunlaker
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Re: HW Half-Cock Notch
Reply #3 - Mar 27th, 2026 at 11:43am
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I have a Meacham highwall that was made without a half cock notch.  It shoots well, but not better than the Meacham that I have with a half cock notch.  These are both 45-70 BPCR rifles, not schuetzen rifles so it's possible that you'd notice a difference with a schuetzen cartridge shooting benchrest.

Chris.
  
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Oldman1950
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Re: HW Half-Cock Notch
Reply #4 - Mar 27th, 2026 at 11:49am
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I have a Win. high wall that I replaced the hammer. The rifle has double set triggers. The replacement hammer is not cut for a fly. I cleaned the replacement hammer with a solvent to remove all traces of oil and filled the half cock notch with J B Weld. After the J B set up hard I dressed it with a file. My fix has lasted many rounds. I only load the rifle when I am pointed down range and ready to shoot.
A. J. Palik
  
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bpjack
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Re: HW Half-Cock Notch
Reply #5 - Mar 27th, 2026 at 2:05pm
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Old-Win,
I wouldn't modify a hammer with a fly already in it but would remove the 1/2 cock notch from a standard one. Prices were depressed on Winchester parts for a while since Joe Dobrynski was selling a large collection of them on eBay for a while.   Hammers were going for around $75 or less. 
This one has been on eBay for a while.  The seller might entertain a lower price.  
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Old-Win
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Re: HW Half-Cock Notch
Reply #6 - Mar 27th, 2026 at 5:08pm
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Good idea Jack but it's a coil spring action so not possible. I do have another receiver with the old style hammer and wide space double set triggers but I don't know what it's going to be yet. Maybe I'll try it on that hammer.
  
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gnoahhh
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Re: HW Half-Cock Notch
Reply #7 - Mar 27th, 2026 at 5:32pm
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I've ground the half-cock notch off of one (mainly because I had niggling aggravation with its fly), restored the gun to flawless functionality and I swear it helped accuracy - but the latter could've been in my head.
  
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