I don't use a set trigger while hunting. Not because of an Adrenalin rush. It would have to be a really big buck to give me one. I hold the trigger back while I'm cocking the hammer so there's no hammer clicks. Once the hammer is all the way back I let off the trigger and ease the hammer down to full cock.
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Has anyone put one of these together
- Thread starter Texas Reb
- Start date
FrontierGander
New member
The kits are not bad at all. They do require some wood inletting, but thats to be expected on a KIT.
Heres my build along.
https://www.frontiermuzzleloading.com/t10471-traditions-st-louis-hawken-build
Traditions kits are a collection of parts that they cast off from their production line, because they were out of spec for production rifles.
Where do people come up with this? lol kit rifles are not drop in parts, slap on some stain and go shoot. The locks and triggers are ready to use, as is the brass. You are mostly working on the wood when it comes to a traditions kit. I go above and beyond with lock polishing and bedding, but if i am putting time into something, it gets done above the average mark.
Heres my build along.
https://www.frontiermuzzleloading.com/t10471-traditions-st-louis-hawken-build
Traditions kits are a collection of parts that they cast off from their production line, because they were out of spec for production rifles.
Where do people come up with this? lol kit rifles are not drop in parts, slap on some stain and go shoot. The locks and triggers are ready to use, as is the brass. You are mostly working on the wood when it comes to a traditions kit. I go above and beyond with lock polishing and bedding, but if i am putting time into something, it gets done above the average mark.
Tidewater_Kid
New member
FrontierGrander,
I enjoyed your write-up and you did a really nice job on that kit. Those are currently on sale and I was think about getting one for Christmas.
TK
I enjoyed your write-up and you did a really nice job on that kit. Those are currently on sale and I was think about getting one for Christmas.
TK
Oliver Sudden
New member
Today a buddy brought over the same kit that Texas Reb first opened this post with. We looked it over and despite the short comings that I pointed out to him he was wanting to build it. So we began by looking the parts over.
The lock has no bridle and is very basic at best, but it will set off a cap. The barrel's bore is really pretty good and a tight patch shows no roughness at all. The wood is very plain will require minor inletting for the parts. Trigger guard doesn't come close to fitting the mortise cut in the wood and will require bending.
We began with the lock inlet and in short order had it in the stock. The barrel fit too tight and as he scraped the wood to seat it the drum hit the lock plate. To get the barrel any were near down the lock plate needed to be altered. Putting the trigger in the lock would not go into quarter or full cock. Wood was added to the trigger mortise to space it out and the barrel was shimmed up as well. This allowed the lock to function correctly although the hammer doesn't center on the nipple well. The brass plate that goes between the front half of the stock and the rear half would fit as designed be we reshaped it to reduce the slab sided look the stock would have.
So far we have just over 4 hours in it and it has been one problem after another. This is the third one of these kits that I have had hands on and if it wasn't that I'm helping a buddy I'd toss every part but the barrel and butt plate. I'm confident we will get it together and it will shoot safely and probably be accurate. Not a good kit for a beginner is still my opinion. I'll post a photo went it's done but he has his job and life to attend to and it may take a while to finish.
The lock has no bridle and is very basic at best, but it will set off a cap. The barrel's bore is really pretty good and a tight patch shows no roughness at all. The wood is very plain will require minor inletting for the parts. Trigger guard doesn't come close to fitting the mortise cut in the wood and will require bending.
We began with the lock inlet and in short order had it in the stock. The barrel fit too tight and as he scraped the wood to seat it the drum hit the lock plate. To get the barrel any were near down the lock plate needed to be altered. Putting the trigger in the lock would not go into quarter or full cock. Wood was added to the trigger mortise to space it out and the barrel was shimmed up as well. This allowed the lock to function correctly although the hammer doesn't center on the nipple well. The brass plate that goes between the front half of the stock and the rear half would fit as designed be we reshaped it to reduce the slab sided look the stock would have.
So far we have just over 4 hours in it and it has been one problem after another. This is the third one of these kits that I have had hands on and if it wasn't that I'm helping a buddy I'd toss every part but the barrel and butt plate. I'm confident we will get it together and it will shoot safely and probably be accurate. Not a good kit for a beginner is still my opinion. I'll post a photo went it's done but he has his job and life to attend to and it may take a while to finish.
FrontierGander,
I enjoyed your write up very much. You did a really nice write up and build. I especially enjoyed the way you finished both the stock and the way you aged the brass. I'm not much on shiny brass either and always preferred to use copper or poured pewter on my knives.
I enjoyed your write up very much. You did a really nice write up and build. I especially enjoyed the way you finished both the stock and the way you aged the brass. I'm not much on shiny brass either and always preferred to use copper or poured pewter on my knives.
I agree exactly with what FrontierGander said. "These kits aren't bad at all". I have the Kentucky pistol kit. I expected a fair amount of wood work, as well as some metal trimming, bending,etc. ,depending on how we want to fit the various parts. They are not drop all the parts back in, such as with my already built Traditions Hawken Woodsman rifle.
FrankenMauser
New member
There's a difference between a kit requiring fitting, and a kit that's a collection of crap parts.
Just a short list of bigger issues with the kit I recently fought:
(There were many more "small" issues.)
A pertinent quote:
Just a short list of bigger issues with the kit I recently fought:
(There were many more "small" issues.)
I had to reengineer the trigger assembly and make a new spring. The thimble needs to be rebuilt - from scratch. And more...The stock was inletted too deeply for the tang.
The front and rear sight screw holes are drilled but not tapped.
The sight screws, themselves, are almost 1/8" too long for the application - if the holes were actually tapped.
The thimble is for a round barrel, not the provided octagon barrel, and fits about as well as Merle Haggard at a Black Panther party.
The thimble screws are also too long and the holes are not tapped.
The ramrod channel is drilled offset.
And, to top it all off, the trigger assembly is bound up with paint and the crappy spring keeps falling out (it's supposed to be staked in).
A pertinent quote:
4V50 Gary said:The reason why Trinidad State has its first year bench metal gonne smithing students build the Traditions Trapper is that it is a POS. They wanted us to have a hard time with the kit and many of us did.
FrontierGander
New member
oh i remember you now with that kit. I highly suggesed that you send it in to traditions for replacement. Deerhunter correct?
Ive had zero trouble with their kits and actually have one waiting for me at home to build over the winter. Along with a friend wanting to build another kentucky kit for himself.
No suh thing as a tang inletted to deep. Thats a beautiful things to have as bedding the tang is the best thing one could do with a sidelock.
This one rifle of yours however is not common and should in no way scare folks off. They offer many great kits.
As for the trapper pistols, I'd certainly have no problems. If the guys at the college can not build something thats 95+ % complete, I wouldnt want them touching my personal rifles. But since I live near that school and have used their gunsmiths in the past, I know Bill does solid work as he drilled, tapped two of our mosin nagants and did a fine job.
Ive had zero trouble with their kits and actually have one waiting for me at home to build over the winter. Along with a friend wanting to build another kentucky kit for himself.
No suh thing as a tang inletted to deep. Thats a beautiful things to have as bedding the tang is the best thing one could do with a sidelock.
This one rifle of yours however is not common and should in no way scare folks off. They offer many great kits.
As for the trapper pistols, I'd certainly have no problems. If the guys at the college can not build something thats 95+ % complete, I wouldnt want them touching my personal rifles. But since I live near that school and have used their gunsmiths in the past, I know Bill does solid work as he drilled, tapped two of our mosin nagants and did a fine job.
FrankenMauser
New member
When the tang inletting is so deep that the tang sits 1/4" above the bottom of the slot when the barrel is bottomed in the barrel channel (which can't be deepened, due to lock and ramrod channel locations), it is, in fact, too deep.No suh thing as a tang inletted to deep. Thats a beautiful things to have as bedding the tang is the best thing one could do with a sidelock.
Never say something is impossible - especially when companies are trying to shave every possible penny from a design, or are in a race to the bottom (a competition to offer the lowest possible price point in a market segment).
Just look at Taurus and Remington. Within the last 20 years, they've both offered firearms (not kits, but complete firearms) that were so broken, unsafe, and/or unreliable because of cost-cutting measures to get them into production, that the models got slapped with a 100% recall order and all production ceased. Every single one that was produced was recalled without a replacement in production. They had to re-engineer the entire pistol before being able to restart production and offer replacements to the original buyers.
(Remington R51 and Taurus PT-138 [pre-Millenium, pre-pro], if you are not up on the failures.)
I did contact Traditions about my kit. Their only offer was to send me another trigger assembly, which wouldn't have really done any good since it was a bargain-basement design to begin with.
FrontierGander
New member
Well regardless, stick to factory build rifles in your case.