Pedersoli Percussion Kentucky Longrifle .50 - My Experience

Good evening,

After buying my first traditional muzzleloader and shooting it with the help of y'all on this forum, I can now say I am addicted to muzzleloading. Time to buy a flintlock now, if the wife allows it

While I was searching to buy my first muzzleloader, which I ended it getting the Pedersoli Kentucky Longrifle, I noticed there wasn't very much information about it online. So, I decided to make a quick pro and con list and share my experience with the rifle so far in case anyone is planning on picking one up.

Here are the spec's I'm currently using:

0.015 lubed patches (pre cut)
65-70 grains 3F black powder (Swiss)
.50 caliber lead round ball
#11 percussion caps (CCI)

With the above specs, the rifle shoots flawlessly. Just recently got it finally sighted in, and it can hold a very tight group. The recoil definitely sucks with the brass butt-plate, but you get used to it after a while and learn how to properly shoulder the rifle.

Here are some of the pros and cons, which I'll describe down below.

Pros:

• Beautiful aesthetically

• Shoots flawlessly

• Fits well in hands

• Good fit in the shoulder

• Decently easy to clean

• Once sighted in, maintains an amazing grouping

Cons:

• Ram rod fit is too tight, and is almost impossible to pull out. I'm going to have to sand down the ram rod and re-stain it in order to get a proper fit on the outside of my rifle.

• Front sight is a pain to deal with. Make sure you use a brass punch, but be careful not to punch it too far, otherwise you'll have to add very thin sheet metal or some other fitting to ensure a tight fit when you put the front sight back on. Ask me how I know, lol. Pedersoli also installs their front sights very high, so you'll have to spend a lot of time at the range filing it down for proper elevation.

• Little to no information online, even on Pedersoli website. Unless you're fluent in Italian.

• No information in manual or on Pedersoli website about breaking down the firearm.

• EXTREMELY heavy trigger pull. I believe Pedersoli states the Kentucky Longrifle has a "5 lb" trigger pull. It honestly feels way heavier than that. Once you start to break it in after shooting it gets better, but it's still heavy.

All in all, for a first time muzzleloader for someone (like me) who is new to shooting traditional black powder firearms, this isn't a bad rifle to start off with to get a hang of things. I definitely recommend it, but make sure to weigh out the pros and cons if you're interested in buying one. Remember, this is a mass-produced firearm, so experiences can vary and there will be guaranteed some sort of issue. Feel free to ask me questions about this rifle if you are in the market for one, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

God Bless.

Welcome Dancer. Good advice on those triggers here on the forum : "Any advice on lightening the trigger pull on a Pedersoli Kentucky". I don't own one but it seems that you don't want to do too much more than polish the parts. Deceased and well respected member, Zonie, had the most complete advice imo.
Btw, did you really use a .50 round ball, or were they they the more common .490 or .495 balls. A .50 ball with a .015 patch would normally be impossibly tight. Pretty sure a .50 ball would be a special order or a DIY.
Happy shooting, Steve.

@DancesWithSquirrels, the top line of the Pedersoli website has a block that will allow you to pull down a selection of translations to use on the site. You can choose English to translate all the documentation.

The helpful hints and information in the General topics Forum has a lot of information that will apply in general to any traditional muzzleloader. Worth spending some time to read those hints.

Steve Wagner said:

Welcome Dancer. Good advice on those triggers here on the forum : "Any advice on lightening the trigger pull on a Pedersoli Kentucky". I don't own one but it seems that you don't want to do too much more than polish the parts. Deceased and well respected member, Zonie, had the most complete advice imo.
Btw, did you really use a .50 round ball, or were they they the more common .490 or .495 balls. A .50 ball with a .015 patch would normally be impossibly tight. Pretty sure a .50 ball would be a special order or a DIY.
Happy shooting, Steve.

Click to expand...

Haha you make a good point, it’s a .490 round ball. Thanks for the info!

Grenadier1758 said:

@DancesWithSquirrels, the top line of the Pedersoli website has a block that will allow you to pull down a selection of translations to use on the site. You can choose English to translate all the documentation.

The helpful hints and information in the General topics Forum has a lot of information that will apply in general to any traditional muzzleloader. Worth spending some time to read those hints.

Click to expand...

Interesting, I’ll have to take a look through that. Thank you!

Steve Wagner said:

Welcome Dancer. Good advice on those triggers here on the forum : "Any advice on lightening the trigger pull on a Pedersoli Kentucky". I don't own one but it seems that you don't want to do too much more than polish the parts. Deceased and well respected member, Zonie, had the most complete advice imo.
Btw, did you really use a .50 round ball, or were they they the more common .490 or .495 balls. A .50 ball with a .015 patch would normally be impossibly tight. Pretty sure a .50 ball would be a special order or a DIY.
Happy shooting, Steve.

Click to expand...

By tight I forgot to clarify. It’s not ramming the patch and ball into the barrel that is tight, it’s the brass fittings the ramrod sits in is super tight to pull out and put back in.

Pedersoli Kentucky percussion was also my first bp rifle. Very accurate rifle. It got me addicted and eventually led me to flintlocks as well. Unfortunately, I haven’t taken it to the range since getting into flintlocks. They are Incredibly fun and it’s kind of nice not having to worry about percussion caps.
Use a similar load for my pedersoli, 60gr of 3f goex, .015 patch and a .490 ball.

That was my first flintlock back in the 80's. Think I ordered it from Navy Arms. Not sure what type of wood it was but it was really pretty. Almost translucent.