Traditions St. Louis rifle kit.

[James Beardsley]

I've ordered the kit to give me something to do when I can't get out this winter. Any bear traps I should be aware of going in? Thanks, James

 

[Phil Coffins]

I hear a few people talk about the triggers not being at the right depth on Tradition guns. Fixable but you have to look for it and understand what it needs before diving in.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Look at the forearm. On most of those kits, the forearm is flat. Wood should be removed so that the forearm tapers to blend in with the barrel. There is usually too much wood around the lock. Wood should be removed to only have a thin (1/4") or so well defined flat area around the lock. If you have a Dremel tool, lock it up to avoid using it to remove wood or take the rough edges off the cast pieces. Get a set of proper gunsmithing screwdrivers. Most of the screw that come in the kit will be soft and an improper fitting screwdriver will burr up the slots. Best to get a couple bags of similar sized screws from the hardware store to use for the trial fitting.

It is worth while to get one of the muzzle loading building manuals to read the instructions on how to put your rifle together. Your rifle won't need all the steps described in the book, but it will be valuable when installing the lock triggers and adjusting the butt plate.

Dixon's, Art of Building the Pennsylvania Longrifle, an illustrated instruction manual, by Dixon, Ehrig, and Miller - Track of the Wolf
Alexander's, The Gunsmith of Grenville County, Building the American Longrifle illustrated instruction manual, revised edition, spiral bound, by Peter A. Alexander - Track of the Wolf

 

[James Beardsley]

Thanks. Keep them coming. James

 

[rafterob]

Yes, don't be afraid to modify the stock some to more closely resemble rifles of the time period. Otherwise the fit is usually pretty good you may have to do some minor inlet adjustments. Then decide on your metal finish.

 

[William Lincoln]

Traditions guns are very good. They are typically Spanish from the Basque area of
Spain known for firearms (were the CVA folks. ) They are also involved with the
Bergara barrels known for use on sniper rifles by military and police. While not
expensive or equal to custom rifles they are not "Cheaply" made. With help from
the old Owls on this forum you can make a great rifle from the Traditions kit.
The people behind traditions have many years experience making muzzleloaders.

 

[Mooney 78865]

I built a Traditions 3 band Enfield this summer. My first foray into building. Franky it was a fairly straight forward build. I did have to go back and redo a few things like, bedding the barrel, then going back and bedding the tang as well. (you don't know what you don't know) There was a fair bit of "carving" to get the bands to fit properly and the tang inlet needed to be a bit longer to get the barrel properly seated.
My trigger was pretty sloppy with the original inletting and had to be relieved a bit to get it set right. Other than that, the lock inlet was really close right out of the box with only minor work needed to get it just right. There is a wealth of information and plenty of folks here that will steer you in the right direction.
Take your time and put away the power tools and you'll have a nice bit of kit.

 

[akroguy]

Mine needed some work to get lock and trigger interface lined up right but turned out fine. The barrel is excellent....really accurate! I replaced the sights with buckhorn and a silver blade front. I used a micrometer to center them exactly on the flat. The rifle was DEAD ON for windage. NO adjustments at the range needed. That's a well centered bore!

 

[necchi]

Grenadier1758 has some great advise here, his first recommended book is a good one for a starter, just be sure to read it.
Fatal mistakes;
* Don't be in a hurry to shoot it., It's a gun kit,, that can turn out really well,, not an assembly kit. I mean there's a little more to it than just screwing the parts together, sanding the wood an slappin stain and poly spray on it.
* Use a rasp, to take off the wood to profile, sand paper is for finish work, not shaping.
* Be careful around the lock panels with the sand paper, they have that shape for a reason
* Yes, The brass parts DO need to be filed for proper profile fitting. Use a heavy file for fitting, brass is easy to polish.
* file from the wood side into the brass, ya wanna take off the soft brass metal not the wood.

There's a bunch more, when ya get the kit, com`on back,, we'll help.
It's a good idea to read some of the "back page's" here, alot of questions have already been asked, with answers given by professionals.
The place is an "encyclopedia"!

 

[James Beardsley]

Thanks all. I guess the saws-all stays on the shelf. A list of tools and materials would help me a lot. No Woodcrafter stores here in Bozeman so I'll be relying on help from this forum a lot. Thanks again, James