Traditions Kentucky?

Anyone have thoughts on the Traditions Kentucky Rifle Flintlock .50 Caliber?



I'm looking to get back into flintlocks but don't have much money to spend. Other than the brass band, it looks very authentic to me. I'd probably put rawhide on the band to make it look like a native american stock repair.

Do these shoot well? For $400, would it be worth it? I'm mainly a percussion shooter but want to try flintlocks, and in no way shape or form can I afford a custom gun. This appears to be the only full stock flintlock I can afford. The Pedersoli is something like $700+.

Thoughts?

Inexpensive production flintlocks are rarely, if ever, the great deals they appear. The poor quality of the lock results in marginal performance necessitating replacement with a better lock. And suddenly, the good deal isn't a good deal any more...

Save your money and buy a quality flintlock - you won't regret the decision.

The older CVA flintlocks were very crude.....The new Traditions locks seem to be better....There are plenty of reviews on Youtube.
You can always go the L&R replacement lock route for another $200.00ish If you don't like the factory lock...But I would contact L&R to be sure of proper fitment.
Still cheaper than a Pedersoli.

With $400 available, I'd look around for a used rifle in flintlock that didn't have the two piece stock. For a little more you may be able to find something pretty nice if you have a little patience.

About $90 more gets you a Lyman Trade Rifle, not counting shipping. TOW has a couple of brand new ones in stock. They're not full-stock, but not two-piece stock either. And they get good reviews.

Thank you, but I'd rather have a full-stocked rifle, no half-stock.

You'd rather have a crappy full-stock that is a generic model of nothing specific than a slightly better quality half-stock? Isn't that like letting the color dictate the type of car you buy...?

I'd say again - save your money and buy quality.

Keep an eye on the classified section here or the muzzleloading sections of auction sites like Gunbroker or Gunsamerica, sometimes good deal show up.

I'm aware of no half-stock flintlocks other than the English sporting rifles and the Harper's Ferry Model 1803.

Traditons Hawken Woodsman, Traditions Tennessee Rifle, Lyman Great Plains Rifel, Lyman Trade Rifle & Dixie Hawken Rifle come to mind. :wink:

Smokey Plainsman said:

I'm aware of no half-stock flintlocks other than the English sporting rifles and the Harper's Ferry Model 1803.

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The Rocky Mtn plains rifles were almost all half-stocked.

I just built one from a kit. The only problem with this rifle is the lock,the frizzen spring is about 5 times stronger than it needs to be and will break your flints and trash your frizzen. I took mine all apart,polished all the internals and weakened the frizzen spring and it is now a reliable hunting rifle. I harvested my first black powder deer with it two weeks ago.My shooting buddy was so impressed with it's accuracy that he bought one,I tuned the lock on it and it too is reliable and a tack driver.This rifle is not ready to shoot out of the box,it needs tweaking and fiddling with.If you are willing to to this you can have a very reliable, accurate flintlock without breaking the bank.

Black Hand said:

You'd rather have a crappy full-stock that is a generic model of nothing specific than a slightly better quality half-stock? Isn't that like letting the color dictate the type of car you buy...?

I'd say again - save your money and buy quality.

Click to expand...

I'm guessing you don't own one... :hmm:

I don’t know much about the quality of the Traditions but if you just want to get into flintlocks without a big investment go for it. I have heard the old CVA Kentucky’s were pretty good shooters and I think the Traditions are about the same. You can always fake a repair where the brass plate is by covering it up, they used rawhide to do that and some brass tacks to decorate it. Just know you normally get what you pay for and if you like flintlocks you’ll end up probably saving up for a really good one later on.

I started off saving up for a custom Hawken and after about 20 years I was able to afford a nice custom flinter. Now I have two flinters one in .40 and one in .54 both fullstocks. I can’t say I like them anymore than my Hawken, just different styles

Whatever you do I hope you enjoy it.

Snakebite

These can be hit and miss in flintlock. I do believe these are a much better rifle in percussion. In fact very good. In flint I would say good not great.
I kind of have a soft spot for them and at that price point I think they are a good decent rifle.
Honestly the Traditions flintlock I had was a good reliable little lock. It did just as well as some of the more expensive locks I have owned. It's been better than some.

So, for a good, decent rifle these do well In my opinion. I think they make good starter rifles if it's lock performs as well as mine did.
Some say these have poor locks but I wonder if that is really learning curve issue. :hmm: Most who get these are entry level.

Another thing too, you can easily spend a a grand or more on a piece of historically correct junk.
I really think the mine field for a new flintlock buyer are the so called semi-customs. It's real easy to get burned here looking for bargains.

The factory guns.....most have thier issues, and in my opinion the Traditions Kentucky holds it's own until you get into the quality semi custom and custom rifles. To clarify.....I would rather have a Traditions Kentucky than a Pedersoli Kentucky.

The Fromtier and Blue Ridge, these are very good rifles for factory guns.
So....
Traditions Kentucky....good starter
Blue Ridge/Frontier...very good factory gun
Bargain Semi Custom say 200 bucks over price of parts....Buyer Beware...Reenactor bait... :surrender:
Established Semi Custom.....good quality
Full custom.....do the research but these are true heirlooms.

Then there is building your own which is really a whole different subject. For kits the Traditions is still a decent starter.

Lastly I'll mention Jim Kibler's new rifle. At $950 it's a real honest to goodness 1770 Era flintlock rifle. It's a true kit, not a parts set.

If I wanted a real deal flintlock and wanted to learn about building, I would consider the Kibler...knowing there's more to spend on research...tools finishishing supplies.

If I wanted a fun little project for a little taste.....Traditions...

I would expect the Tradition's lock to require polishing of mating surfaces such as the toe of the frizzen, the tumbler shaft, spring clearance to the lock plate and a weak mainspring. The frizzen may be soft, requiring hardening.

You will learn a lot about flintlocks from a Traditions rifle.

I was leaning towards the Traditions model but heard some not favorable comments on it and the work that it takes to get the flintlock to work on one.

I did some looking on GunBroker and found a great Pedersoli Kentucky in .45. I got it for $500 shipped directly to my door.

I've been very satisfied with it. Took no work on my part to get it to shoot reliably and accurately.

YMMV.

The early ones made for CVA and Traditions (made by same manufacturer) had poor locks and occasionally someone would get a good one but not enough and they developed a bad rep. I don't know it for a fact but I rarely here complaints on the newer ones so I'm a thinkin they fixed the problem for the most part.

The CVA/Traditions Kentucky has been in production for nearly 50 years.....It even outlasted Thompson Center.....
That is a pretty darn good legacy for something that some call "junk"....

My first flintlock was that Traditions Kentucky rifle back in 1992. I got the kit as a percussion gun and when the flintlock bug bit, I ordered a Flintlock from Traditions for $90 removed the drum and put in a liner.

The lock worked good as long as I did my part to keep rocks sharp, lined up properly, correct distance from the frizzen etc. etc.. AS others have said you will learn all about flintlocks as it is not as forgiving as higher quality locks. It takes a very small flint so does not produce a whole lot of sparks. So there is little room for error. It went off in the snow, and wind again as long as I did my part.

It is not a Chambers or an L/R but from my experience it did the job.

Do NOT judge flintlocks based on this lock! That would be like saying I don't like Ferrari because my I don't like Chevy. While Chevy's get the job done and many time wonderfully, its is not the same as driving a Ferrari on the Autobahn.

Good Luck!