BP Kit

Not really sure where to post this so I thought I’d try here. Are the traditions kits that are sold at Bass Pro worth the investment? I ask for two reasons 1) I have always wanted to put together a kit 2) I have a bunch of BP gift cards. Hopefully I put this in the correct forum, if not let me know and I’ll move it. Thank you.

There are different levels of kits from slap together and shoot or spend months and needing a lot of gunsmithing experience to finish one.

The Traditions kits are one of the easy ones. Their barrels tend to be very accurate; the flintlocks are OK although there are better locks out there. Fitting parts (easy), sanding and applying finish to the stock and bluing and browning the barrel are all that is needed to complete one of these kits.

As with all kits like these, there is a lot of extra wood that one can remove to make a slenderer, better-looking gun but you have to know where to remove it. I am not a fan of the two-piece stock on their Kentucky style rifles just because of the brass spacer look. There are probably hundreds of thousands of CVA and other guns out there with the same two-piece stock, it doesn't affect the gun's function, it just looks odd. Their half stock Hawken style rifles don't look bad.

Here is a really well-done Traditions Hawkens kit with faux striping added to the stock;

https://buckskinsbp.blogspot.com/2020/01/no3-traditions-stlouis-hawken-kit-gun.html

The style and caliber you get that fits your intended use is important. Flint or percussion is an important consideration as well, I think most beginners who plan to hunt with their rifle should start out with percussion.

A friend put one of these kits together, he didn't remove any wood from around the inlets like I would have, His tang was sunk into the stock with 1/4" of wood sitting proudly around it instead of being trimmed down flush with the tang. He did a good job of staining and finishing the wood and bluing the barrel.

There are a number of YouTube videos on putting these kits together, perhaps you should watch a few to see if you have the tools and confidence to put one together.

With a “bunch” of gift cards it makes good sense to get the kit from Bass Pro. The half stock rifle is good starting point and will serve you well to satisfy the building bug. Definitely get the percussion model!

Wow, that’s really good information. I greatly appreciate your insight. I’ve got a TC hawken that was my grand dad’s but I always thought I’d like to build something for myself.

Another good video;

Back in the late seventies or early 80 eighties I built over twenty of the CVA kits (CVA and traditions were both built by Andresia in spain) for the local Amish boys to hunt with. They are simple to assemble with a little wood working skill.