Tradition Kentucky pistol

[Harold1950]

I know this has probably been asked before but I can't find it.....I just bought a Traditons .50 Caliber Kentucky pistol. The only thing I don't like about it is that the grip is a little too smooth to my liking, so I may eventually rough it up a little just to improve the grip. The barrel seems to be a part of the tang, how does one remove the barrel from the wood? The book I got with the pistol is for a rifle. What charge is best for this gun? I know two questions, sorry.....thanks in advance for your help.....Harold hopefully this weekend, I can go shoot it..............

 

[Allan Gray]

The Traditions pistols do seem a bit front heavy.
'Not sure what you have in mind when you say "rough it up" I recently finished a Trapper kit for a friend so I know what you mean.

I'm not familiar with the Kentucky, but from photos on this forum it looks like you need to remove the tang screw and perhaps a screw through the nose cap? I did find that Tradition has an O.K. web site with their suggested loads and kit instructions. Try doing a search on the web and you'll find it.

Meanwhile, I'm sure others will chime in that are more familiar with this pistol. :hmm:

 

[BadHeart]

I shoot 25gr and a .495 round ball and a bore butter lubed M-16 cleaning patch. but you have to remember that what works in one gun may not be the best load for your gun. But hopefully this will get you started shootin that thing. You may have to go up or down on the powder charge and a different patch thinkness or ball size.

 

[Zoar]

25 to 35 grains of FFFg powder behind a .490 or .495 round ball with a prelubed patch... That is my recommendastion for starters.

I have a few different guns that shoot roundball and since round balls are so cheap I always buy whatever the caliber is (lets say 50 for example) I buy .490 and .495. If it is 54 caliber i buy .530 and .535.

THEN I try them both with different loads of powder. I usually find what the gun likes pretty quickly.

And it is all fun. Ka-Boom.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

The tang screw goes down into the trigger plate. Take that out. The nose cap used to be secured with one or two screws, take them out also. Lift out the barrel. Some pistols have or had the lock bolt/screw going through a small portion of the breach plug, or the breach plug was notched for the lock bolt to pass through. You might want to pull the whole pistol apart just to get familiar with it. It's really simple. Make sure you use a proper screw driver... And for the grip,think about maybe some sort of leather sleeve over the narrow part to fill it out for you. You can always take that off once you figure out what you want to do and how to do it.You could even use some of that old black friction tape to wrap the grip to see if fills your hand properly.
.490 cal balls and pillow ticking to keep it simple. Work up a good load and shoot the pistol from a sand bag. Make some notes of the charges for the distances you will be shooting.Stick with it. :thumbsup:

 

[deanscamaro]

I posted my experience with building the Traditions Kentucky pistol (03-29-08 07:14 PM - Post#551370), in case you want to go through that. I had just finished it at that time. If you have some more questions or if I can provide some more insight, just let me know.
:thumbsup:

 

[renovato]

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that your maximum load is probably about the same as it is for my Traditions Trapper pistol: 45 grains 3F. That said, the max load is not the most accurate load with most any gun. I'd start at 20-25 grains and work up 1 grain at a time till you find your best groups. My Trapper groups best at 35 grains. If your barrel is like mine, it may be a bit tight. A .490 ball on a .010 patch was a tight fit and the patch got shredded. I found that moving down a little in ball size, to a .485, on a .015/.018 patch fit better and the patch didn't blow. Once I began using a wad under the patch, the groups got a lot tighter, so that's something else to consider.

As for cleaning, I'd suggest going with a nipple flush kit. It replaces the nipple with a hose that you can set in a bucket of soapy water and scrub away without having to remove the barrel. You can find them at Track of the Wolf, Dixie, and most anywhere that sells muzzleloading stuff.

 

[rafterob]

The "smooth" grip can be somewhat annoying if you are shooting alot and get sweaty hands. You could have the grip checkered if you can find someone good at that. I shoot 30grn. in mine and the 25-45 grn. recommendation is right on. I hit the bear silhouette target at our range (100 yds.)with 45 grns. and we were all laughing because no one thought I would hit it. Should have taken some bets! I had to file off almost 1/4" of the front blade on mine, but it was a kit and maybe the finished models are better adjusted. I think they are a gas to shoot. Like it better than my revolver.Posted some pictures on the picture site.

 

[Lyness1215]

I shot a deer with mine last year .490 RB 30 GR OF 777 BP .015 Patch at 25 yards she went 50 yards and fell over!!!