yuckapuck said:
Hello,
I am interested in a flint long gun but i am having a major struggle with which one. I really like the look of the Traditions Pennsylvania as well as the Shenandoah, They both have 33.5" barrel with 1 in 48" twist aside from some visual things and the obvious length/weight item they seem similar. about $100.00 more for Pennsylvania
I am planning on hunting with it but more likely shooting for fun.
Any thoughts, opinios pros cons or other suggestions would be appreciated
Hello Yuckapuck,
As was pointed out by another member the barrel length on the Traditions PA is 40¼" and the twist is 1in66. I've had that rifle for a number of years and it was a good shooter. Problem with it is that it will give you a bruised cheek if you mount the rifle like you normally would. The Roman nose comb is too big and there is no cast-off on the stock. If you push your cheek hard into it to align the sights, the recoil will push that comb right into your cheek. That makes for a big bruise.
A simple thing to do is to drop your head back farther on the stock and everything works fine. You have to consciously do this until it becomes a habit. You will get a bruised cheek every time you don't.
I found the gun to be plenty accurate. It uses a straight barrel so it is nose heavy. Lean it against something (tree limb for instance) and that's no problem.
Pay NO attention to Traditions claims that this rifle has been certified historically accurate for Rev War reenactments by some fictitious organization that sounds a lot like the BAR. Neither BAR nor Continental Line, nor any other recognized Rev War organization call this historically correct. It is not historically correct, accurate, or whatever other term you want to use. That blurb was why I bought it instead of something else and as soon as I joined a reenactment unit, I found out it was not even close to rifle used during the AWI, but was similar to the highly decorative rifles made after the war. No one ever stopped me from using it in Rev War reenactments, but I knew better.
It is not a true reproduction of any particular style, but it would be considered a golden era longrifle. The golden era of longrifles ran from about 1790-1820 or so and specifically came about because there were a lot of gunsmiths making rifles and the market disappeared when the war ended. You had to do something special for your rifles to stand out from the rest and that's the era where the longrifles started using all the brass accents and decor such as are found on this rifle.
If you're looking for something to use for reenactments, look elsewhere. If you want a gun that shoots well, that one will do it. Just be sure to mount your cheek farther back on the stock or you will be hurting.
Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
