flintlock pistol kit

[Battis]

Any opinions on the Traditions Kentucky .45 Cal Flintlock Pistol Kit? I've never owned a flintlock and it might be time (long winter).

[Hickory]

A flintlock will either make you a better shooter or bring to the surface any bad habits you may have.

[Battis]

I've had percussion pistols but never a flintlock. Looks interesting.

[Bent Ramrod]

I put (I think it was) a CVA flintlock pistol kit together once. The parts went together without a lot of fitting and it was a fun project. The gun looks good, if rather plain. I would think the Traditions kit would be as good or better.

I’ve never shot it. The lock looks good and functions well, but it’s kind of cheaply made (I think the kit was made in Spain) in that it didn’t have a bridle. The only bearing for the axle on the tumbler is the hole in the lock plate. It works fine, but I couldn’t imagine it would stand up to a lot of shooting.

You might take a look at the back of the lock, if you plan on having it for a shooter.

[kens]

I dont know the Traditions kits. But I do have a flinter rifle. Flintlocks can help you shoot better though,
that is, if you can shoot a flinter without flinching, your getting pretty good.
Then afterwards when you shoot a modern gun, it is so easy to do good with it.

[JWFilips]

The Lowly CVA Flintlock Pistol got me started into My long time Building of Custom Firelocks!
My Wife bought it for me in 1980 I assembled it Shot it and then spent the next 6 Months studying 18th Century Pistols
I Tore it apart and rebuilt is as a custom 18 th C Pistol the best I could with the parts I had.
That Summer I went to the 1st Annual Chuck Dixon's 18th C Gunmakers Fair and I was hooked in to custom building!
BTW I took a few close up woodchucks with it!
http://www.jimfilipski.com

Just realized I haven edited that site in years It is now 37 years

[Edward]

Looking at some of your work (awesome)I need to find me one of those kits , just need to live to 120 yrs/Ed

[JWFilips]

Well I don't know much about kits But you may find something on Track of the Wolf
After that first trip to Dixon'd Gunmakers Fair it was only custom builds from scratch for me!
Then in the later part of the first decade of 2000 I got roped in to building custom guns for a Rev War Jaeger unit.
So They drop shipped me the Track Of The Wolf Jaeger rifle "components kits" and I custom built these to fit each member and their likes and dis-likes ( a few are shown on my site) Some of these folks families came from 17th century Germany and had relatives that were gunsmiths so I spent more time researching their lineage to lean of the style Jaeger they would have fought with in the Rev War!
I am old now and Hung up in casting & shooting Modern rifles Low and Slow ( Low Node Shooting as I like to call it) With all my modern rifles

I still do have about 5 builds of 17th & 18th C guns started in my workshop....some using rare components! I hope to finish them before I'm finished

[JWFilips]

When You build a Flintlock from Scratch- everything is laid out from the barrel ( you know where the touch hole should be and that determines were the lock mortice is cut and so on and so on!

When you build a "Kit" You are locked in to the Lock Mortice ( Most often misplaced) determines where the barrel and components go! That is bad ( causes you to notch breech plugs or place the touch hole too far forward ( Bassakwards working!) That is not how a long gun should be built! The trick is to know how to correct it ( inlet the barrel farther back or move the lock mortice and fill in their mistakes with an inlay of wood)

[william l evans]

Check out Jim Chambers Flintlocks and their pistol kit.

[Dimner]

Any opinions on the Traditions Kentucky .45 Cal Flintlock Pistol Kit? I've never owned a flintlock and it might be time (long winter).

Have you shot a flintlock before and have enough experience their foibles? Personally I would not recommend a flintlock 'kit' as a first flintlock. Those kind of locks are finicky at best. My very first flintlock, which was a well built pedersoli about drove me to therapy sessions. Took me hours to get all the variables understood before I could get reliable ignition. I was self taught though. I probably would have ended up committed in an insane asylum if I tried a kit for my very first flinter.

If you do proceed... here's a trick I learned. Some of this mass produced muzzleloader companies sell their rifles in a flintlock version and a caplock version. If you want to go a halfway route, for lower dough, you could just order the lock (flintlock) and swap it out on the rifle you already have. It would be a fun project.

[Battis]

I'll check into swapping out the lock work on some rifles I have. Good idea.
I've never fired a flintlock. From what I understand, it's worth it to get a good one.