Are "Traditions" percussion rifles any good?

[mattri]

Are the Traditions percussion rifles any good?

I have read that certain muzzleloader/blackpowder pistols are made by companies that re-brand them for others so whether you buy a brand x, y or z they're actually all the same gun.

Do we know who makes the Traditions rifles, their barrels?

Do they have a common footprint that matches any others, TC, Lyman etc?

Do they shoot?

Thanks, Matt.

[BigAlofPa.]

Traditions are made by Taurus. I have an older flint lock love it. My neighbor bought a new traditions flint lock last year. It has fiber optic sights. Real nice rifle.

[SSGOldfart]

Yes Sir I'm not sure who made them but the few I have work great,I hunt with them a lot too. :???:

[mattri]

Thanks for the replies, their Hawken looks interesting. Anyone know what the fit/finish is like? Accuracy?

[Jniedbalski]

My traditions rifle the break action and the in line bolt work very good. The barrel on both look really well made. My traditions 44 mag single shot has a lothar walther bbl factory. And they shoot really good

[mooman76]

They are a base model gun generally well made and accurate. They have improved over the years. They were Spanish made and as far as I know still are. Allot of companies quit marketing them but use to go by allot of names. Makes a good entry level starter gun.

[LAGS]

I have a Traditions Hawkins Kit.
So far I am pleased.
But like others said , it is more of a Starter Rifle for muzzleloaders.
But so far I am pleased.
The reason I bought the Kit , was so I could do a little more work to make it more my style.
I am looking to do a Lichtenberg Fractural burn pattern on the light colored wood stock and brown all the metal parts rather than slow rust bluing the metal.
The only thing I don't like is the Plastic Sights.
But those are going to be upgraded anyway , so that doesn't matter.

[BigAlofPa.]

Took mine out to the gun club today. Mines a buckskinner. It was nice to get out. Before the storm. Mine has steel sights too. Here is a pic from when my LGS had it on his site.
273288

[megasupermagnum]

I cant say if they are the same rifle or not, but I'm fairly sure CVA and Traditions are made in the same place in Spain. They shoot, some fairly well. They are bottom rung guns though, not all that great quality. They usually make a serviceable rifle for a fair price. Lots of people use them with no fault, just don't expect Thompson Center quality.

[mooman76]

CVA did come from the same place in Spain but they quit marketing side locks quite some time ago. I'm hearing that Traditions more or less took over when CVA quit. In fact the same parts were interchangeable for the most part.

[mattri]

Good informarion thanks.

I understand that the TCs/Lymans are a better quality but how so, what is better, how?

[LAGS]

The TC's and Lyman's just look feel and work like they are better quality.
But not as good as parts like L&R locks.
But the Traditions work well for what quality they are.
I have a bunch of ML's including Lots of TC's ,a few Lyman's , the one Traditions and a higher quality flintlock.
IMO.
The Traditions is a good starter rifle even for hunting.
For the current price new, they aren't too bad of deal , either finished guns or the kits.
But I have found lots of GOOD deals on used Traditions that I picked up and sold to friends that wanted to get into Black Powder shooting on limited budgets.
They were all very happy with them.

[megasupermagnum]

I really like the feel of TC's. They are a solid gun, everything fits together like they should. I find on CVA/Traditions often there will be something less than perfect. Maybe the barrel doesn't fit super right in the stock, maybe the wedge doesn't fit right, maybe the lock doesn't fit right, etc. Sometimes you get a good Traditions, and sometimes you get a bad TC.

[arcticap]

Traditions guns are made by Ardesa in Spain.
Some of their guns in Europe are sold as Ardesa but you don't find many of those in the US.

Some folks get great accuracy from their guns and have posted some nice targets.
https://ammoterra.com/company/ardesa-s-a

[Prairie Cowboy]

I cant say if they are the same rifle or not, but I'm fairly sure CVA and Traditions are made in the same place in Spain. They shoot, some fairly well. They are bottom rung guns though, not all that great quality. They usually make a serviceable rifle for a fair price. Lots of people use them with no fault, just don't expect Thompson Center quality.

I very much agree. I've seen some Traditions Hawkens with misaligned nipple drums that can not be struck squarely by the hammer. Just poorly placed lock positioning.

The Kentucky models have a crude lock internally, poor inletting, floppy triggers, and the stock is made from stained beech. Accurate barrels though.

[lead chucker]

I have a Traditions 50 flintlock deer hunter with the fiber sights and plastic stock. It was my first flintlock. I can hit a 12 gauge shot shell at 50 yards with a patched round ball most of the time. That's using a good rest. The lock isnt as fast as my pedersali 32 flintlock. Not sure if i spelled that right. Im goint to get a better lock of it. Lots of fun to shoot and light weight.

[sharps4590]

Hawkins? Never heard of that other than as a character in Treasure Island. Sure isn't a muzzleloading rifle. Maybe talking about "Hawken?"

Traditions, depends on your tastes. They seem about the same as the old CVA to me and the CVA's I had were all good shooters. About as historically accurate as a 283 Chevy engine in a '57 Ford but, good shooters.

[toot]

where is TAURUS, located?

[megasupermagnum]

where is TAURUS, located?

I've never seen a muzzleloader from Taurus.

[fifty four]

Bought a Traditions "Kentucky" kit after trying one that a buddy had picked up, second hand. Kit went together with no trouble and is accurate and reliable. Whatever else one can say about them, and I'm not doubting anyone's negative experience, those rifles are great shooters.

[Whiterabbit]

My traditions 32 is a great shooter. As good as my custom 32 with a 42” Rice barrel. At half the cost and zero build work.

[Hanshi]

I've owned and hunted with two Traditions rifles (.50 and .32) and shot both for many years. I was completely satisfied with them. They were splendidly accurate but left home a while back (money needed).

[Jeff Michel]

Before you commit, I would suggest that you go and handle different brands of rifles. Sometimes it will boil down to which fits YOU the best. A T/C sidelock will be tough to find at most gun shops being long discontinued. But they are nice. Same can be said of a Lyman Great Plains. Pedersoli makes a very nice long rifle in .50 or .32, flint or percussion. All three of these brands have one thing in common, they are all considerably more money than a Traditions. Fit is better, finish is better, better wood. Are the other brands I mentioned more accurate? I doubt it, I've missed with all of them. I know a number of people who have a Traditions and they are completely satisfied as hunting appliances or for target work. I would mention that they may only shoot on an occasional basis, but they do the job and by what I've seen they do it pretty good. If your just starting and your hesitant to make a large expenditure, it's the smart choice. Once your into it and the bug bites you, trust me they'll be plenty more muzzleloaders that you'll drag home. Good luck.

[mattri]

Thanks for the info.

Accuracy and function definitely top cosmetics etc. I have had a few TCs in the past and they were good guns. I'd really like to do some shooting off a bench with decent sights and see what kind of accuracy can be wrung out of an old PRB, just debating whether to take the plunge and get an actual target rifle or start with something simple that I can learn with/hunt with etc while deciding if/which targetbrifle to pick up.

[cas]

CVA did come from the same place in Spain...

I've always said CVA is to muzzle loading what LEE is to reloading. Responsible for getting more people into it, and driving more people away from it, than any other company. :D

[Good Cheer]

This extended eye relief remedy for astigmatism would be even more fun if it was a scary black rifle flintlock.
The Traditions Deerhunter is too low cost to have an under rib so I exploited the opportunity with clamp on mounts.
http://i.imgur.com/pF0Ohbz.jpg (https://imgur.com/pF0Ohbz)

What I've found with the flinter Deerhunter and their flintlock Shenandoah is that they almost always always go boom. Very reliable. And the bores in Traditions barrels are typically top notch. The parts aren't hand forged by the banks of the Monongahela and the stocks aren't hand rubbed but they're functional muzzleloaders that typically will shoot as good as you load and shoot them.

[fastdadio]

I have a Traditions Buckskinner carbine that I bought close to 30 years ago. I originally bought it because my eye sight was getting worse and I refused to scope my TC Hawken. It's a 1/20 twist sabot shooter, which was kind of a new thing at the time and I wanted to try it. It holds 3" or better group at 100yds no matter how I load it. It quickly proved it's self to be accurate and reliable, and has become my favorite hunting rifle for our restricted, no centerfire hunting areas. Over the years, I have shot more deer with this rifle than all my other firearms combined. I have at least well over 600 rounds through it, and it still looks good, the bore is perfect, and it functions like brand new. What's not to like?
http://www.castbullet.com/shooting/buck.htm
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/885892280

[Rich/WIS]

Have owned their Hawken, Shenandoah and Pennsylvania percussion models. All were 50 cal and good shooters that killed plenty of deer. IIRC the Shenandoah and Pennsylvania were 1-66 RB twist and using .490 RB and .015 pillow ticking patches shot pretty much any load between 40 and 80 grs of either real BP or Pyrodex were deadly accurate. Think the Hawken was 1-48 but not sure, my buddy liked it so I passed it to him. In any event he killed a lot of deer with it. Still have a TC Hawken percussion and a semi-custom flint lock 45 long rifle but age and arthritis have severely limited my use of either.

[Woodnbow]

This extended eye relief remedy for astigmatism would be even more fun if it was a scary black rifle flintlock.
The Traditions Deerhunter is too low cost to have an under rib so I exploited the opportunity with clamp on mounts.
http://i.imgur.com/pF0Ohbz.jpg (https://imgur.com/pF0Ohbz)

What I've found with the flinter Deerhunter and their flintlock Shenandoah is that they almost always always go boom. Very reliable. And the bores in Traditions barrels are typically top notch. The parts aren't hand forged by the banks of the Monongahela and the stocks aren't hand rubbed but they're functional muzzleloaders that typically will shoot as good as you load and shoot them.
Col. Cooper would have been proud... we’ll done, and I’ll bet it shoots just fine!

[mattri]

Came across a TC Hawken for a price I couldn't say no to.
Thanks to all for the great information.

[fastdadio]

Came across a TC Hawken for a price I couldn't say no to.
Thanks to all for the great information.

Mind if I ask what you paid and where you live? Reason I ask is because I've considered selling one of mine, and prices seem to vary quite a bit by region. Loves me some Hawken, and I think you will too. But, I have 3. One is a .58, and it seems to be the one collecting dust over the years. If I do decide to sell it, I'll list it here first.

[Markopolo]

i have several break open traditions 50 cal percussion rifles.. i really like mine... easy to clean, simple to operate, and great insurance when powder gets scarce. uses 209 primers and i shoot my home made BP in em with wonderful consistency.. lee reals are awesome in there.. mine are scoped and are great meat getters... i think I bough my first one for $199 on sale in anchorage on a black friday many years ago.. flopped a 4x9 scope and used it for deer season.. after deer season went straight out and bought another one for me and one for my son...

great guns... Did I mention my large frame 44 i been carrying through the blood, the muck and the salt for 20 years is also a taurus???? whats not to like.. economical and sturdy...

Marko

[Nit Wit]

Since when has Taurus been made in Spain?
Nit Wit

[Hanshi]

I like that period correct scope, too. :bigsmyl2:

[fiberoptik]

Biden calls that a snipers assault rifle! I picked up one cheap and used. Haven’t had a chance to test it out yet. Was left loaded & has some pitting.


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[lead chucker]

I have a deer hunter, stalker cant remember what its called its a Tradition flinter with fiber sights plastic stock 50 cal. I like it, light weight short works good. The only thing i would replace is the lock its slow compared to my pedersali cub .32 big difference in lock time. So that being said i would think the lock on the cap version would be the same quality as the flint version I got mine from muzzleloader. com. I think i was all in for $279.00 the cap lock was less. Its the cheapest BP rifle i have and i can hit a 12 gauge shell hull at 50 yards with a rest most of the time. I would buy again for sure.

[lead chucker]

What Jeff Michel said. Once the bug bites you will always be on the look out for another one and another one and maybe one more or two or three. That's just they way it is. The wife doesnt need to know.

[lead chucker]

Biden, don't even get me started. A black power rifle. Yep full auto as soon as you pull the trigger it empties its self. Full auto single shot. Pretty soon you wont be able to have a loading block that hold over ten balls.

[Markopolo]

What Jeff Michel said. Once the bug bites you will always be on the look out for another one and another one and maybe one more or two or three. That's just they way it is. The wife doesnt need to know.

LOL at LC... them words will get ya in the dog house... Your wife still working at AC.. :kidding: