New Traditions Deerhunter Flint showed up! Any advice?

[reddogge]

Ignore Sidney Smith. You have a great girlfriend and the first time you take that gun out and after it goes BOOM, you'll have a smile on your face.

 

[popayan]

Howdy! So happy my new .50cal rifle showed up! I've had a used .50cal Lyman's, but this is my first brand new gun!

Just curious if anyone has any tips for this specific model? I plan to remove the synthetic ramrod, plus the rod retention spring under the barrel that seems to ratel around without it.

I've never bought a new muzzleloader before. Is it normal for them to come with grease or some kind of petroleum jelly all over the lock mechanism? Mine was covered in it!

I'm not going to be able to test her out until next weekend, but I'm super excited!

Hi - I recently bought one of the Traditions Deerhunter percussion rifle kits. After a few weeks, off and on working it, the kit gun was done and I am very happy with it. Looks good, shoots great, what else could you ask for? And it's a lot lighter to schlep around with than my TC Hawken which I love too.
Good luck and enjoy the ride!

 

[sturmkatze]

I’ll say it again: there is nothing more despicable than some clown who will run down another man’s gun.

 

[NotDanielBoone]

Isn't the shooter more important than the gun?

 

[Century to late]

Isn't the shooter more important than the gun?

The gun I'm most proud of was a used cva bobcat. Got from a pawn shop for 99.00 my first muzzleloader. We were so poor but it put food on the table very well. Not one fool ever made fun of it. Oh and you haters the gun still works just fine after many years. Sir you take care of that lady.

 

[Celt5494]

Well, if you're happy with an inferior gun, more power to ya.. I guess the old line about you get what you pay for is ignored on these low end guns.

It's telling of who you are to continuously insult a man's firearm that was purchased for him by his girlfriend as a gift.

 

[Banjoman]

Shoot what makes you happy. The muzzleloaders that make me happy have names like Jukar, CVA, Traditions, Thompson Center, Chambers, Pietta, etc. Actually, one of my most accurate rifles is a rough, old, ugly, beat up, .45 caliber Jukar.

 

[Rendezvous Valley Trading]

My second ML I got when I was 14 was a .45 flint jukar. I was so freakin proud of it. My folks neighbor had it over his mantle for who knows how many years. The entire thing was painted brown. Everything including the lock. I scraped and sanded and polished that thing after school every night. My dad helped me reblue it. It’s in the back of the safe still 34 years later. Never mechanically failed me. Thousands of shots. Enjoy your gun.

 

[Kansas Jake]

The original poster asked for some suggestions. Here are several. First, make sure the barrel including the smaller patent breech area are clean and free of oil. If not they may tend to foul and cause misfires or flash in the pan. Next, if ignition is sporadic you may want to drill the touch hole to 1/16” if it is undersized or 5/64”. The last is if the lock is glitching smooth the frizzen foot etc. if you are uncomfortable doing it find a BP smith who can tune the lock.

 

[hanshi]

I had a Traditions DeerHunter .50 for more than 20 years. It was percussion however and I really liked that little rifle. Yes, it did take plenty of deer, was accurate and made a truly short, handy rifle to carry around. IMHO you have a great little rifle.

 

[Gum Slough Muzzleloader]

Last summer I introduced a 14 year old to my .36 flinter. He just got a Traditions Deerhunter Flint for Christmas. His dad knows nothing about flintlocks, so I replaced his Pyrodex with a half pound of Goex 3f and gave him a couple of 5/8 flints. Hopefully this Traditions is the first step in a life long journey. Calling it junk misses the whole point. We should celebrate, encourage and mentor shooters new to black powder in general and flintlocks in particular. Right now, this rifle is priceless to this young man.

I agree with 100%.
Very nice post.

Things would be so much better for everyone if more folks had a mindset like you.

That 14 year old boy will remember you and what you did for the rest of his life.
Just think he'll tell his children and his grandchildren.

A journey of a thousand miles starts with your first step.
You made it possible for that youg man.

Thanks for posting.

Take Care Stay Safe

 

[Mike in FL]

A very, very good start. I learned on a T/C with a really slow lock. But I had no knowledge and had nothing to compare it to. Decades later I am thankful I learned on that crappy lock because it made the better ones so much easier. And like your boy, I loved that rifle. Another good life lesson here is to appreciate what you have and not dwell on what you don't.

 

[Wirehair]

Thank you for the kind words. However, I think just about everybody on this forum would do the same thing. It's just what we do.

 

[deerstalkert]

CVA, Traditions, Thompson Center, and Lyman, toss in Investarms, are probably responsible for a great percentage of the folk that shoot black powder guns.
i could and have enjoyed a pine plank with a conduit barrel, ignited with a strike anywhere match, propelling a aggie marble. compared to that wreck waiting to happen a Traditions is a Cadillac.
but then there are those that feel if a rifle doesn't carry the name of Rigby or Holland and Holland they aren't worth owning.
i built a rifle not long ago using a Birch plank that was milled locally. i put the same effort into that piece of firewood as i would a CM5 stock. it has a Rice barrel. a Haddaway Lock. Davis triggers. pewter nose cap. shoots a dream. i would rank it with a traditions because of the birch stock.
years ago i had a friend who, along with his wife, cleaned up all competitions in the LA area using a lowly CVA Mountain rifle. one of my most cherished guns.

 

[laagamer]

I see this thread is revived!

Thank you all so much for your input!

I have a couple posts floating around now, and I'm sorry to annoy you all so much. But, I'm appreciate of all the solutions you guys have had for me.

An update on the Traditions Deerhunter:

It shot HORRIBLY! Coming from my Lyman's, the delay on the Traditions lock was gigantic! I could barely hit a damn thing. Which considering I have terrible aim normally, was doubly pitiful.

I made a second post after this asking about polishing lock internals. I was advised by many to shy away. Instead, I listened to others and my in-person shooting group mentor and went to work with some polishing stones and mineral oil.

The end result is night and day! With a bit of oil and greese, the lock is now every bit as fast on ignition as my Lyman's! Full and resounding success! Couple that with, what I find convenient, modern optics and now I love the damn thing! She's mine and I've made her work great! I even read through the manual, and tested the lock for safety in half and full ****, along with an (unloaded! ) drop test! Passed with flying colors!

My advice to anyone with Traditions problem: Polish your internals! Make sure your flints sit correctly!

My last shoot, I shot probably 30 times with zero ignition problems, all instantaneous!

I've still got a lot to learn, but damn that was fun!