Whats the group opinion on Traditions Revolvers?

[Reel Creel]

Hello All ... I was wondering what you guys think about these guns? Is the quality ok? The price seems good, but I know you get what you pay for. Your thoughts please.

 

[Brokenbear]

Sorry I cannot help you as I have never owned nor shot one ..I will say the general drift as I was researching things was that brass framed revolvers (which I believe Traditions uses quite often) are the second choice to steel mainframes ..especially the open top Colt patterns who eventually develop cylinder pin anchoring problems but not so much the Remington type patterns ..

With that said ..quantity of shooting, power of the loads shot and proper or improper locking of the barrel assembly to the main frame all come into play

I should think target powered mid range loads and even in substantial quantities a brass frame revolver should last a man a long time ..pressure is the killer of brass so all bets are off as to a brass framed revolver fed a steady diet of "full house loads"

As to Traditions over all reputation ..they may suffer the "brass frame syndrome" somewhat since they do produce a lot of brass framed revolvers ..However ..I am sure there are folks on here that have had great success with Tradition's brass and steel

Plus we all need to start somewhere and there is nothing wrong with starting in a price range that fit in your present needs ..

Good luck and welcome to the forum ..you will find a lot of talented, knowledgeable and helpful folks
Enjoy
Bear

 

[Reel Creel]

Sorry I cannot help you as I have never owned nor shot one ..I will say the general drift as I was researching things was that brass framed revolvers (which I believe Traditions uses quite often) are the second choice to steel mainframes ..especially the open top Colt patterns who eventually develop cylinder pin anchoring problems but not so much the Remington type patterns ..

With that said ..quantity of shooting, power of the loads shot and proper or improper locking of the barrel assembly to the main frame all come into play

I should think target powered mid range loads and even in substantial quantities a brass frame revolver should last a man a long time ..pressure is the killer of brass so all bets are off as to a brass framed revolver fed a steady diet of "full house loads"

As to Traditions over all reputation ..they may suffer the "brass frame syndrome" somewhat since they do produce a lot of brass framed revolvers ..However ..I am sure there are folks on here that have had great success with Tradition's brass and steel

Plus we all need to start somewhere and there is nothing wrong with starting in a price range that fit in your present needs ..

Good luck and welcome to the forum ..you will find a lot of talented, knowledgeable and helpful folks
Enjoy
Bear

Hey Thanks for the reply, What is brass frame syndrome? I really don't plan on shooting the things a whole lot; just once in a while. They seem like a good deal and I do have a few of there new stile rifles I use for hunting and they seem fine as long as there cleaned. But that goes with out saying.

 

[Brokenbear]

Not specifically to Traditions ..it simply means brass is softer ..it stretches more than steel ..so a steel cylinder rod embedded in softer brass will possibly be an accelerated wear point as an example
Bear

 

[TreeMan]

Traditions Blackpowder revolvers are made by Pietta. Use the search feature on this forum and type in Pietta. You can read the posts for days.

 

[cynthialee]

Traditions Blackpowder revolvers are made by Pietta. Use the search feature on this forum and type in Pietta. You can read the posts for days.

Beat me to it.

Pistols are Pietta.

Also the rifles they sell are made by Ardesa in Spain.

 

[BullRunBear]

I don't have any Traditions revolvers but they get good reviews for the most part. I have several Traditions rifles and single shot pistols and they have all been excellent shooters. Not the fanciest or custom finished but good and reliable. I do have plenty of Pietta percussion revolvers and they are darn fine guns.

The brass frame can last for many years if you keep the loads on the lighter side. Plenty of discussions about that topic. Those lighter loads are often among the more accurate so that isn't necessarily a big limitation.

Welcome to the Forum.

Jeff

 

[The Appalachian]

My son recently bought a Traditions 1868 Remington, made by Pietta. I was skeptical when he ordered it but after having shot it now quite a bit I'm impressed. The only thing I worry about is the loading lever seems a tad fragile and we don't dare try seating anything but pure lead projectiles.

With 25 grains of 3F it shoots roundballs and my 225 grain cast round nose conicals great. I do have to size the bottom and middle bands on the conicals down to chamber diameter so they will pass under the load lever but the front band as cast is sufficient to seal the charge from chain fire. It's a fun gun to shoot.

I do hate they come with #10 nipples, because everything else we have is #11. He plans to buy #11 nipples asap, pinching caps is a pain.

 

[PatriotKnight]

I don't have any Traditions revolvers but they get good reviews for the most part. I have several Traditions rifles and single shot pistols and they have all been excellent shooters. Not the fanciest or custom finished but good and reliable. I do have plenty of Pietta percussion revolvers and they are darn fine guns.

The brass frame can last for many years if you keep the loads on the lighter side. Plenty of discussions about that topic. Those lighter loads are often among the more accurate so that isn't necessarily a big limitation.

Welcome to the Forum.

Jeff

I agree completely. I have an 1851 .44 brass frame and I shoot no more than 18 gr. of BP in it. I Also have the same Pistol in case hardened steel frame and still only go with 20 gr. in it. Both shoot very well and accuracy is spot on.

 

[Zulch]

I bought an 1861 Traditions/Pietta. Steel frame antique finish. Very happy with it

 

[PatriotKnight]

My son recently bought a Traditions 1868 Remington, made by Pietta. I was skeptical when he ordered it but after having shot it now quite a bit I'm impressed. The only thing I worry about is the loading lever seems a tad fragile and we don't dare try seating anything but pure lead projectiles.

With 25 grains of 3F it shoots roundballs and my 225 grain cast round nose conicals great. I do have to size the bottom and middle bands on the conicals down to chamber diameter so they will pass under the load lever but the front band as cast is sufficient to seal the charge from chain fire. It's a fun gun to shoot.

I do hate they come with #10 nipples, because everything else we have is #11. He plans to buy #11 nipples asap, pinching caps is a pain.

I use RWS 1075 Caps and they work great and are readily available to buy.

 

[The Appalachian]

I use RWS 1075 Caps and they work great and are readily available to buy.

RWS 1075's are #11 so that doesn't solve any issues with a #10 nipple does it?

 

[Henry Miles]

RWS 1075's caps are slightly smaller than #11 caps. Hence the 1075 (10.75) instead of 11

 

[jim mencken]

i have a brass frame traditions 1851 navy have not had any problems with it. have fired 30gr.pyrodex pellets and no damage

 

[The Appalachian]

RWS 1075's caps are slightly smaller than #11 caps. Hence the 1075 (10.75) instead of 11

So they're going to be too tight on the other #11 nipples I mentioned. If the 1858 Remington was the only thing we had here I can see the point, but it's not. He ordered #11 nipples by the way. That solves our issue.

 

[good ole boy]

I,ve been kickin the idea around for several years about gettin the Trapper.The reports on that one have been good.Wish I would have pulled the trigger because the price has since gone way up.

 

[Henry Miles]

The good thing about 1075's is they are kinda universal for common size nipples

 

[PatriotKnight]

RWS 1075's are #11 so that doesn't solve any issues with a #10 nipple does it?

They are actually 10.75 caps and fit both #10 and #11 nipples very well.

 

[Wildrangeringreen]

They're Pietta made revolvers, so they're decent quality, and can be cleaned up to be really nice shooters (including opening up the loading window in the frame to accept the historical bullets the revolvers were meant to be able to shoot). I refuse to buy from Traditions, however, being an Ohioan; but Pietta's quality is generally good.

As for Traditions' single shot pistols, you can get better for only a little more.

 

[Reel Creel]

All good stuff. Do you guys grease the chambers after they have been loaded? I do hear about the things setting off the other chambers once in a while. So whats the best way? patches or grease or both?