Traditions caplock Kentucky rifle

[MuskratMike]

A person I know asked if I would mentor him in muzzleloading. He is an accomplished shooter in several disciplines including B.P.C.R. His kids bought him a percussion Traditions "Kentucky" rifle kit in .50 caliber. He has completed building it other than the staining. Just how poor of a rifle are these in barrel boring, lock geometry, and function? I know nothing of them but if memory serves me everything I read was not good. Compare them to a Thompson-Center or Navy Arms from the early 70's. Just want to know what I am getting into.

[danny]

I have one my wife bought me more than 20 years ago. Wish I heard of scotch brite. Was not to accurate, burned patchs, had to wipe the barrel out every couple shots. no idea how many round balls i have shot out of it but its good enough now I have killed several deer with it. It likes a big powder charge, kicks like a mule, bruises my cheek bone.

[hudson]

I have only three experiences with Traditions rifles and not in years. All at about the same time period through another person, he does some work on muzzle loaders for locals. In all three the face of the breach plug was short of mating up with the face or seat in the barrel. With one the gap was such that when the owner was cleaning the cleaning rod got stuck. It was found the patch had bunched up in the gap. The fix was to make a spacer to fill the gap.

[Hungry Horse]

 I literally wore out a second generation CVA Mountain Rifle years ago. So I know what an entry level muzzle loader should be capable of. Since learning what is quality, and what is not, I have a new prospective of my old CVA. But nothing prepared me for what today Traditions considers an entry level muzzle loading rifle. This was a flint gun, that had to have the cock heated and bent so it wouldn’t lock up the frizzen half way open. The frizzen spring had such a lazy bend in it that it wouldn’t allow the frizzen to open wide enough to stay open after firing, so it broke flints regularly. And the hole in the plate where the tumbler fits through was so oversized that the tumbler bound sideways enough that the lock time was literally slow motion.
 A half a day of heating, bending, tempering, and cussing, and finally it will go off ALMOST every time. I would say these guns are dangerous primarily for their lack of performance. A gun that won’t go off leaves the owner with a loaded gun that he, or she, has to fool around with. That isn’t good’ or safe’ in my opinion.

Hungry Horse

[recurve]

100yards sight in the high and right then moved the sights to center group  a good inexpensive way to start muzzleloading (this one is for my grandson)

you can get some fine groups with the right load I use 65 grn swiss 3f and #40 pocket drill tallow as lube the barrel is a shallow 1-66 round ball the weak part is the lock in flint I replaced with the L&R
old lock




I also replaced the trigger with a Dixon trigger pinned high in the stock got rid of the creep breaks crisp

[Tumbledown]

I have 3 Traditions Kentucky Rifles, 2 cap and one flint. I had to do a little work on the flintlock (polishing frizzen where it contacts the spring, replacing the wave washer with a plain washer), but they shoot fine, better than I can.

[Eric Krewson]

A friend brought over one of those plastic stock Traditions flintlock rifles, it was small and looked like a toy. Being a gun snob, I didn't expect much out of it, surprise, surprise, the lock threw a shower of sparks, the gun when off very quickly and was as very accurate at 50 yards.

[Daryl]

A decent crown and bore scrubbing with maroon Scotch Brite w/WD40 on it, works wonders on guns that need the bore smoothed up a bit. A "gun" does not burn or tear patches, if
the crown allows what we deem to be a "proper" ball and patch combo to be loaded.

[JLayne]

I can’t speak for the cap locks, but I had a flintlock Pennsylvania rifle made by Traditions that I bought in the 90s and it misfired far more often than it went bang. Hasn’t left the safe in over 20 years as a result. I can see someone buying something like that as an entry level BP rifle and deciding not to continue with the hobby due to disappointment. Fortunately, years later somebody pointed me toward Kibler and Chambers. Been happy ever since.

Jay

[Leatherbark]

I'll never forget the time a co-worker wanted to buy himself a Hawken gun.  This was back in the day when the Thompson Center was king of the hill (as far as sales and popularity). 

I had a TC Hawken, and my co-worker bought a CVA Hawken.  I told him they weren't worth a doodley squat. He went on to shoot rings around us TC guys and was the one to beat at all the shoots. His rested 100-yard groups were envious. He shot a .490 ball and those little yellow thin store-bought patches.

Seems to me that the Traditions guns are made in the same area of the world as the CVA's.

Bob

[MuskratMike]

What I don't understand is why anyone would buy one? In the for sale tab there are often used rifles made with good components that will not frustrate the shooter to the point they leave the game. For a few hundred more there is the Chambers and Kibler options plus other fine makers out there. I know for many of us each dollar counts, but there is a limit you just shouldn't go below. Just an opinion from an old man.

[Darkhorse]

Muskrat, They buy them because they don't know any better. Until they get into the game most have never heard of Chambers or Kibler so they read the manufacturer's description and think they have a real good gun.

[bob in the woods]

The Traditions rifles I have seen here often have problems with ignition. However, the main thing that seems crazy to me, is that the prices are high as well.
Usually from $ 850 to $900 where I live.  More than a few of the local shooters who bought one, ended up changing the locks to the RPL one , so any price advantage over something decent is gone

[MuskratMike]

Darkhorse: You are correct. I didn't mean any disrespect to the people who have bought one. I hope I wasn't misinterpreted in my post. It has been my findings that most people who enter this sport are shown by a current shooter or are invited to a shoot. Not sure that many just watch the Revenant and run out a buy a muzzleloader with nothing more to go on. Any way if I hurt someone's feelings I am sorry.

[recurve]

Or like myself a family member wants to give a gift of a flintlock build(my son during covid , )my wife told him that I was thinking building a flinter and he sent the traditions kit(not what I would have bought but a bird in hand) so I needed to please my wife and son so I made the best of it and built it for my grandson)I later built a flinter from a plank)


grandsons starter flinter

my plank build

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