traditions flinter

[reloader4410]

Anyone out there got a traditions pennsylvania flintlock with a 40 inch barrel 50 cal? likes dis likes is this a good gun for one that has never shot a flintlock? hows the quality ect. thanks in advance.

 

[jim gray]

I didn't shoot one, but I thouroughly checked one out in a gunshop not long ago. I think it is a well made gun. It was pretty well fitted and seemed to be well worth the price.

I'm sorry I can't give you any information on the gun's performance or accuracy.

 

[the skrat]

hello reloader i have a traditions pennsylvania rifle but its a caplock had it for about 15 years now and really like it i think a good gun for the money. as for the flintlock a lot of peaple on this forum say the traditions flintlock is not reliable or a good sparker probably true. :results: but as for mine doesnt take mutch to set off a cap. hope this helps.

curly maple

 

i shot one for a couple years and she sparked well and held a good hunting pattern . over all i liked it but for me it did have a couple major problems for me .

First the flash hole was way to low and to small . I had to make a new liner and drill the new flash hole higher up to get the flash hole of the bottom of the pan .
Second was the drop of the stock . I have high check bones and when shooting anything but target loads the comb would smack me, to the point sometimes I would have to shake off the cob webs , if I recall that style butt stock was called a roman nose or something to that sort .

Any way in order to line up on the sights I had to squeeze into the stock and that caused my cheek bone to be across and over the top and low . With hunting loads it was like someone punching be in the face every time I shot it .

 

[schrivener]

Touch hole was too low, and too small.
Frizzen spring was WAY too stiff, and the geometry of the cock was wrong. Until I knapped some of my own, the flints were digging in too deep. In either case, I went through a lot of flints from the stiff frizzen. Spark was VERY weak, and not consistent at all.

Style-wise, it's a pretty modern gun, the butt was too thin and the forestock too thick.

That said, it was my first BP gun, and tough to get rid of, but I did, and bought a custom piece, and was much happier.

 

I have a Traditions Shenandoah (flint). I had a lot of problems with it firing at first. I ended up changing out the lock to a L&R RPL and drilled out the flash hole liner to a slightly larger diameter, and it now works great. Fires consistant and accurate. That's a lot of stuff to do to a new gun though. Think about it.

 

[Runner]

I have the ultra cheapy Deerhunter model. It sparks well and goes off when you pull the trigger. I killed my first flinter buck with it. I am using cut agate flints and you have to turn them upside down to get the best spark. The Frissens are supposed to wear out quickly but they are sold at BassPro. It is now a bragging gun, but it has been a very pleasant introduction to flintlocks. It shoots well enough for me to shoot good groups at 35 yards with it offhand. Like most things, the lower price range products show a lot of variation in quality from gun to gun.

 

[squirejohn]

A friend of mine has one and wins more than his share of shoots. The original lock was a poor sparker however, and he wound up buying a replacement lock. I think Davis sells the RPL.

 

[the skrat]

hello captchee i here your gripe about getting smacked in the face some times it down right hurts i have shot over 200 porcupines with that rifle most of them up in tall pine trees that position with the rifle is the worst. have a new john armstrong on order though cant waight probably wont shoot the traditions much but cant get rid of it first ml rifle.

curly maple

 

you will love the armstrong , I built one for falsears last year and man can he shoot it .
I finaly beat him last weekend at the Troy OR. VOOO,,, I still think he felt bad and let me do it LMAO. :front:

 

[seattlesteve]

I a new flinter and I have the Traditions Pennsylvania rifle. I have fired about 50-60 shots with it. I have not had any problem getting it to spark, have had a few flash in the pans, but may have been MY fault, not the rifle's. Also, I bought this rifle after a very experienced flinter friend of mine told me that he has used the Traditions Shenandoah for a couple of years and really liked it. He also helped me shoot the Traditions Pennsylvania rifle the first time I took it out of the box and he didn't find any problems with it.

So the bottom line, is that it's a good gun for the money, but like any factory produced item you can get a "bad" one that needs some work, as you can tell by the posts on this forum. Some people have good luck with the Traditions Pennsylvania rifle, others do not. :results:

I have a custom made Lancaster rifle being built for me. This is just my "practice" rifle to get the hang of shooting a flinter before my "real" rifle shows up next year.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Anyone out there got a traditions pennsylvania flintlock with a 40 inch barrel 50 cal? likes dis likes is this a good gun for one that has never shot a flintlock? hows the quality ect. thanks in advance.

Hi Reloader,

I have a Traditions Pennsylvania Rifle with the 40

 

[seattlesteve]

I just got home from shooting my Traditions Pennsylvania flintlock today and I again had a several "flash in the pan" incidents. I looked at my touch hole, and it appears that it may be a little lower than it should be. Rather than being slightly above the bottom of the pan, it is directly adjacent to the bottom of the pan. "
This may be why I'm having some trouble with it.

So I guess my results verify that you do have to check on the location of the touch hole to make sure it's correct. Unfortunately, I ordered my by mail order and I didn't know for sure if the touch hole was in the wrong spot.

Again, I'm still a newbie, so maybe the problem is me, not the rifle. I will try post a picture of my touch hole location and you experts can give me your opinions.

 

[seattlesteve]

OK .. I guess I am not allowed to post pics on this forum.

I have uploaded them to my website here:

http://www.bestmortgage.com/Pics/IMG_0029.JPG

http://www.bestmortgage.com/Pics/IMG_0030.JPG

http://www.bestmortgage.com/Pics/IMG_0032.JPG

WARNING: These are very BIG files(750K to 1 MB) for maximum photo quality, so be very patient if you don't have a fast Internet connection.

It may be hard to tell from the pictures if the touch hole is in the right position, but I give you three camera angles to look at.

If you think you can tell from the pics, I would be very interested to know if the touch hole appears to be placed correctly (in which case the "Flash in the Pan" is all MY fault), or they may be something wrong with my rifle.

Thanks,

Steve

 

You could try putting a dab of priming powder as far from the touch hole as possible or deepen your pan by removing some metal or plug you present liner hole and re-drill one in the proper place. I think yours is too low as it is now.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Yup, it is definitely too low. Deepening the pan is probably your best long term option. A Dremel tool or something similar would do it. Try taking it down about one sixteenth of an inch and add a little clearance at the front of the pan near the vent. As it is the vent sits a touch too far forward. You can always grind off a little more if needed.

 

[Rebel]

Too low, and it appears to be to far forward also. Deinately could be the cause of you problems. Your priming powder is most likely covering the vent hole and causing a fuse effect.

 

[Davecoughlin]

SeattleSteve

Experience teaches us many things. I found that I had many flash-in-the-pans with my Traditions flintlocks, until I started using 3F powder, flows in to the Traditions patent breech more easily (if there is no powder near the inside of the touch hole, no bang!)

You will notice while shooting that many folks routinely shake their gun before shooting to move the powder away from the touchhole so that it does not cover it. It helps to keep the touch hole clear so flame goes right to the main powder charge (no fuse effect). Your vent might be a little low, but is workable. grinding out a lower spot on the pan might help but try the above first, use as little prime as you can. It is amazing how little you will need.

You could also drill out the vent liner a tad to improve ignition. The maximum diameter should be no more than 5/32 (I believe! Several references to this on other threads in this area).

Bottom line is that experience will increase the number of successful shots you have with this gun. Make small changes, a few at a time. This gun is and will be a good shooter!

Jester :relax:

 

[seattlesteve]

SeattleSteve

Experience teaches us many things. I found that I had many flash-in-the-pans with my Traditions flintlocks, until I started using 3F powder, flows in to the Traditions patent breech more easily (if there is no powder near the inside of the touch hole, no bang!)

You will notice while shooting that many folks routinely shake their gun before shooting to move the powder away from the touchhole so that it does not cover it. It helps to keep the touch hole clear so flame goes right to the main powder charge (no fuse effect). Your vent might be a little low, but is workable. grinding out a lower spot on the pan might help but try the above first, use as little prime as you can. It is amazing how little you will need.

You could also drill out the vent liner a tad to improve ignition. The maximum diameter should be no more than 5/32 (I believe! Several references to this on other threads in this area).

Bottom line is that experience will increase the number of successful shots you have with this gun. Make small changes, a few at a time. This gun is and will be a good shooter!

Jester :relax:

Hi Jester,

Thanks for the feedback.

I have been shooting nothing but FFF powder in the rifle with FFFF for the primer charge.

I have also noticed that where you place the powder in the pan and how much powder you use makes a difference. I actually seemed to have better luck when I put the powder on the left side (next to the touch hole), but I guess I could keep experimenting.

I'm still very new at this. I have shot the rifle 4 times and I have not even put 100 shots through it yet, so I will practice some more before I take any drastic steps like drilling out the pan or the touch hole.

However, it's interesting that several people have posted
that the hole does look too low based on the pictures I posted.

As always, THANK YOU to everybody for your valuable help!

 

[Twisted_1in66]

**SNIP**
It may be hard to tell from the pictures if the touch hole is in the right position, but I give you three camera angles to look at.
**SNIP**

Hi Seattle Steve,

As others have noted, your vent or touch hole is too low and too far forward. Before you go drilling or dremeling anything, you might just take it back or send it to Traditions. They have a lifetime warranty on it, but as soon as you start grinding and drilling that warranty will go out the window. Call them up and let them know what the problem is. I'll try to take a shot of mine and post that so you see where mine is located.

Our Rev War reenactment unit marched in a parade in Rutland, VT this Sunday. I fired about 20 shots (blank charges) out of my Traditions Pennsylvania rifle and had one misfire after about 15 shots. Cleaned the fouling off the bottom of my flint so it would spark again, and then fired another five shots before the end of the parade.

I highly recommend that you prime by putting the charge on the opposite side of the pan (away from them touch hole). It made a huge difference in ignition time for me.