Went wrong dropping up when prepared to fire (6)
I believe the answer is:
cocked
'went' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with contact as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cocked that I've seen before include "Prepared (gun) to fire; sort of hat" , "Tilted in a particular direction" , "(Of gun) ready to fire" , "Crooked or askew, perhaps hat" .)