Traditions Pennsylvania flintlock

[wjgonzalez]

I have a few caplocks and flintlocks. I have a Great Plains flintlock. I have seen a lot of criticisms of the Traditions Pennsylvania flintlock. I decided to ignore the criticisms, and bought one. I like the way they look, and I like the price. I'm happy, so far, with the rifle. First day at the range, the windage was right on, and was hitting an inch or two low at 25 yards. The rifle feels sturdy, the lock works well, the wood is pretty, and is a good metal to wood fit.

 

[MSW]

Mr. Notch, welcome to the forum, and welcome to the addictive hobby of flint shooting. to paraphrase the little green Star Wars guy, "once rocks banged have you, forever will they dominate your range time."

lots of folks 'look down their noses' at rifles such as yours, as well as the venerable Thompson Center 'hawken like' rifles ... but ...

"be ye not afraid... " (Esdras, 16:75, KJV)

if the rifle is brand new, it may take a few hundred shot for the barrel to 'settle in,' after which time it will need the application of Dutch Schoultz' method. here's a link:
http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/

I can't remember how much Dutch charges, but the fee is more than reasonable ... I think you can get the method as a download on your computer ... he guarantees that, if you follow the instructions, your groups will shrink - how cool is that!

after this point, you will have a straight shooting rifle which pleases you. if someone has a problem that your gun doesn't have the features they want, well, that's pretty much their problem, and while I would defend their right to have their opinion, I would defend your right to shoot whatever rifle best suits your needs and your budget.

good luck with your new gun. go to the range often, and


make good smoke!

 

[SgtErv]

Welcome to the forum! :hatsoff:

If you're happy with your rifle, that is all that matters.

The transition from cap lock to flintlock isn't too steep a learning curve. Are you getting good ignition? For me, flint placement and care was the hardest thing to learn. Plenty of info in here. I'd check out the thread that's posted on top, too, "Flintlock shooting tips." Learned a ton from it.

And most importantly...Have fun!

 

[mooman76]

They probably get allot of their criticism from some of their early guns. Caplocks were ok at best and the flinters were iffy at best. Allot of the early flint "locks" were poorly made (didn't spark well) and turned some people off the sport all together. I believe the newer ones are made allot better.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

I bought one back in about 2000 but I bought it to use for Rev War reenactments. Nobody ever told me I couldn't use it but it didn't take long to figure out it was from the Golden Age period of flintlocks AFTER the Rev War and was not right for Rev War era. I have since purchased an Early Lancaster Rifle from a private builder that is correct for that time period.

Nonetheless, that Traditions Pennsylvania Longrifle was/is a good shooter although it likes a LOT of powder - 95 grs. for the best accuracy. My other rifle (both are .50 cal.) prefers a load of 80 grs. I had to adjust my mount of the Traditions rifle to keep the Roman Nose on it from smacking me in the cheek with the recoil, but can't complain about the accuracy.

One thing you REALLY have to be careful of though is to be sure to tape that front lock screw in place. If you take that out, the spring that holds the ramrod in place will fall and jam the ramrod. Then you have to to remove the barrel to reset the spring. About the second time that happened to me I had a gun-builer friend of mine drill a hole in the stock and I pinned that sucker in place so it didn't matter if I removed the front lock bolt.

I found the rifle to be quite nose heavy, but when shooting from any kind of rest, even against the side of a tree, it's a good shooter.

If you have trouble with the lock being inconsistent, then only fill that small pan 1/2-full of powder and bank it to the outside by holding onto the wrist of the rifle and giving it a quick flick to the outside AFTER you close the pan. You might not have to do that but mine needs that for everything to consistently fire quickly.

On other thing that is VERY important is to get the angle of the flint correct as it hits the frizzen. you need the flint to hit it at a 55° to 60° angle. If you do that, it will give you lots of sparks, long flint life, and is self-knapping so you rarely need to touch up the edge. Flip the flint bezel up or bezel down, push it forward or pull it back. Do anything you need to do to get that angle. With that angle on the flint it is a very dependable shooter.

Enjoy!

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[Crewdawg445]

Not my personal favorite but they shoot. Traditions makes a good barrel IMO. One of the only features I like about them.

That said, I've built a very nice rifle from a traditions barrel and it's an excellent shooter.

However the price they go for, I'd certainly turn my nose up, your in the relm of a good kit build.

To each his own and if your happy that's all that matters. Just remember what they are and are not.

Welcome by the way. :hatsoff: