traditions tracker 209?

[hunt12ga]

My dad has been a traditional muzzle loader enthusiast as long as I've been around. My first deer I shot was with his CVA .45 Kentucky percussion rifle. It has taken all the deer he has shot.

Since then, I've gone off on the in-line route. I shoot an Optima, and he's been eying it for several years. He finally even openly admitted that "I guess that would be nice." His eyes aren't what they need to be to shoot his brass blade sights on his Kentucky anymore. He likes my fiber optic sights.

I saw a Traditions 209 Tracker for $99 at a local store. I thought about picking it up for him for Father's Day/birthday. He wouldn't want much more than that spent on him. He only shoots his gun once or twice a year, either at deer or to discharge it after an uneventful season.

I just wondered if any of you have any experience with this gun. I'd like to hear what you have to say about it. The reviews I've seen have been good so far. Thanks in advance for anything you can let me know about it.

rw

[cayugad]

Any of the modern inline rifles will shoot out to 100 yards it seems. I do not know too much about the Traditions Tracker.

[jaybez101099]

A guy in my club has one. Its a plunger style I believe..... he loaded 2 pellets and a powerbelt. The man always killed deer even though I never seen it on the range he seemed happy with the gun. And for that price you could put a 2x7 nikon on it and have a 100yd killing machine.

[oldsmellhound]

I have a fair amount of experience with the Tracker. I do not own one, but both of my hunting buddies have one, so I have a pretty good idea of what they are like.

Pros:
1. Very accurate - both my buddies can shoot silver dollar-sized groups all day long at 100 yards. They've always shot XTP's - either 240 or 250 grainers. I don't know how they shoot with other types of projectiles, so I can't testify to that.
2. Reliable & easy to use
3. Cheap

Cons:
1. Cheap- meaning they look and feel cheap
2. Open breech plunger-style means that it is exposed to the elements - my friends have never had problems because of it, but it can be an issue
3. More difficult to clean than a break-action

Overall I would say that they are decent guns for the price. Of course there are lots of better rifles out there, but for your friend's purposes, it should work fine. My friends have killed a couple of truckloads of deer with theirs and have no major complaints.