Kit percussion or production flinter

[Marinekayak]

Okay, I have a situation. I have been bit by the blackpowder bug. I have been a competitive shooter for 40 odd years and just decided bp is the way to go. Got a Traditions side hammer a mountain rifle and love it. Need another. Have settled on .54. Cant decide between a Lyman GP percussion kit or a cabelas/perdosoli frontier flinter in 54. Eventually want to do both. Build a kit and get a flintlock. Any input? I shoot both paper targets and hunt so it would be dual purpose hunter and shooter. BTW to all the traditions haters. Im originally from CT before i moved to the great state of virginia so I love traditions. Walking into the factory and getting direct support is a big plus.

[midland man]

Flintlock :)

[sharps4590]

Hmmm...sort of a tough, but fun, decision. I had a Lyman GP in 54 and it was a fine rifle. Would still have it but I upgraded to a truly historically accurate Hawken custom rifle in 54. I don't do business with Cabela's so I'd be looking elsewhere for a flint longrifle. I expect there is other retailers who handle the same Pedersoli rifle. Track of the Wolf usually has some nice rifles.....and usually a nice price as well. I pretty much got away from production muzzleloaders a couple decades ago. Kits...boy, a fella has a multitude of choices from some fine outfits. TOTW, Pecatonica River, Jim Chambers, TVM and others.

Have fun with the decision. I suspect either way you go right now you'll enjoy.

[Edward]

Check out Jim Kiblers colonial 54 kit ,get that one /it"s a keeper !

[charlie b]

I would get the Pedersoli now. For a production rifle I think they are the top of the heap. I currently have a Lyman GP Hunter. While nice (and I love it for my use on the range), it is not a really high quality piece.

When you feel like building one then you have a lot of choices. Traditions, Lyman, Pedersoli and Dixie gun works are the 'production' kit guns. All are decent. Being on a budget I would go with Traditions or Dixie until my skills warrant the price of custom rifle components.

If I wanted to build a real gem I'd go to TOTW or Pecatonia (or several others) and pick my components. They all have packages but you can select the exact lock, trigger and barrel you want as well as wood quality. They will cost (a lot) more if you go top line stuff but you end up with an heirloom quality rifle that will shoot well.


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[Nobade]

TVM is hard to beat as far as dollar/value. If you don't want to build your own. For a production gun I agree, pedersoli is making some good stuff now.

[arcticap]

I was recently reading about a few complaints with some Pedersoli flinters & others involving the design of their patent breech.
It appears that after swabbing, they may be more prone to misfires.
Perhaps some folks are wet swabbing and pushing debris down into it which interferes with ignition, and the result is that they can't get many shots off in a row.
Others have worked through the problem using a different swabbing regimen, such as swabbing after loading or using a brush instead of a wet swab.
But it seems that several people have blamed it on the narrow patent breech of some Pedersoli & other flint models.

In this case it was a Pedersoli Kentucky flintlock, then another person mentioned a similar problem with his Pedersoli Frontier flintlock and a Traditions Shenandoah flintlock.
All apparently are flintlocks with a patent breech design.

I would probably be careful which Pedersoli flint model to choose.
Here's the thread on the muzzle loading forum posted under flintlocks titled "patent breech trouble":--->>> https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/patent-breech-trouble.112327/

P.S. Traditions in Old Saybrook, Connecticut is more of a warehouse than a factory.
They're importers, not manufacturers.
But it's still a lot of fun to visit their small company store if anyone happens to be in their area just off of Interstate 95.