• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

Making a Traditions Kentucky into a smooth bore?

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Hawken1980

40 Cal
Joined
Dec 18, 2020
Messages
146
Reaction score
163
Good evening all,

I have come into a second Traditions Kentucky rifle kit (percussion) I have a completed Flintlock already.

I’m thinking it would make a cool smooth bore for small game and turkey.

How much could the bore be opened up!
Also who would you guys recommend?
 
What calibre are we starting at and what are the external barrel dimensions?

If you find someone to do the work, they can take it out quite a bit. Usually though you just go up a calibre or so... .40 out to a .45 or .50 out to a .54 or a .56...
 
What calibre are we starting at and what are the external barrel dimensions?

If you find someone to do the work, they can take it out quite a bit. Usually though you just go up a calibre or so... .40 out to a .45 or .50 out to a .54 or a .56...

It is a 50 caliber I’m assuming it is a 15/16 inch barrel?
 
My pops, smoothbore .69 Springfield didn’t pattern well past 15 yards for turkey, but we were using #4 and I think a 1 ounce shot charge. In comparison my modern 12 gauge with #6 turkey loads and fixed modified patterned well up to about 30 yards. If I had to guess, that 15 yards is about the best you’d do with the equivalent of a 28-20 gauge for turkey. But if that’s what you are going for, I’d say do it.
 
It is a 50 caliber I’m assuming it is a 15/16 inch barrel?
So with a 15/16th barrel...it could be taken out to a .54 calibre, that would be a 28 gauge smoothbore. I love 28 gauges, they're kind of a niche gauge, but they are so much fun to take afield.

They do well with a 3/4 ounce load...65 grains of powder, same volume shot.
 
I don't know if the breech should ever be removed from a CVA or Traditions, would have to check,. Don't know if a barrel can be properly bored without removing the breach plug.
 
I don't know if the breech should ever be removed from a CVA or Traditions, would have to check,. Don't know if a barrel can be properly bored without removing the breach plug.
He's right, most of the Pro's won't touch it because of the way CVA installs the breech and drum, the liability issues are too great for pro's to accept. T/C and Lyman can be done, but the cross-thread Spanish breech is a no-go for a smoothy..
 
Bummer for sure. Assuming there's nothing wrong with the bore, you can still just shoot it as is, of course, but smoothbores are a lot of fun and such a conversion would have given you some flexibility.
 
My pops, smoothbore .69 Springfield didn’t pattern well past 15 yards for turkey, but we were using #4 and I think a 1 ounce shot charge. In comparison my modern 12 gauge with #6 turkey loads and fixed modified patterned well up to about 30 yards. If I had to guess, that 15 yards is about the best you’d do with the equivalent of a 28-20 gauge for turkey. But if that’s what you are going for, I’d say do it.
It'll do better than that sir.
 
So with a 15/16th barrel...it could be taken out to a .54 calibre, that would be a 28 gauge smoothbore. I love 28 gauges, they're kind of a niche gauge, but they are so much fun to take afield.

They do well with a 3/4 ounce load...65 grains of powder, same volume shot.
I put 3/4 oz in my .45 smooth rifle!
 
This was further than 15yds.
IMG_20181214_151419956.jpg

And this one.
IMG_20171125_155430157.jpg

.45 bore. 3/4oz or less shot.
For fifteen yard shots I'd use an airgun!
 
This was further than 15yds.
View attachment 65000
And this one.
View attachment 65001
.45 bore. 3/4oz or less shot.
For fifteen yard shots I'd use an airgun!

Beautiful birds, not wild turkeys. A wild turkey is best killed with a head shot. I want 7 pellets of #6 or larger in the spine or brain of the bird. It’s actually quite a small area. Even small holes in your pattern will maim and not kill a wild turkey. They are tough emmers and will run a quarter mile before having the sense to die.
 
Beautiful birds, not wild turkeys. A wild turkey is best killed with a head shot. I want 7 pellets of #6 or larger in the spine or brain of the bird. It’s actually quite a small area. Even small holes in your pattern will maim and not kill a wild turkey. They are tough emmers and will run a quarter mile before having the sense to die.
Absolutely. Had pheasants do the same and their heads and necks are smaller than a turkey 👍
 
Can someone explain what a cross thread breech is?
thanks
Kevin

The breechplug is threaded in then the hole for the drum is drilled crossways into the breechplug’s chamber area and the drum threaded through locking all the parts together. There’s cutaway pictures of it on here you could probably use search and find them.

And then after the drum is installed, a long drill is used to drill the chamber area which goes through both the plug and the drum.
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Back
Top