Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

hello, new to muzzleloading. just picked up a shenandoah. so far Im a lil disappointed. the gun specific info in the owners manual is poorly described. How the heck do I remove the barrel on this thing???? It says I need t remove the screw at the top of the barrel tang which I did. and than some pins needs to be tapped out? where the heck are they?

also... when I set the double trigger at full position. I pull the trigger and it falls back to the half cock and not fire. and the cleaning rod doesnt go all the way in the holder. sticks out about a inch past the barrel.

any suggestions??

thanks. Kane

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

Welcome to the forum. It is good to have you here.


The thing a lot of people should remember is, not all rifle barrels SHOULD be removed from the stock. You have one such rifle. I realize that the rifle is a beautiful rifle, but they do not have a hooked breech. You are basically taking the rifle apart each time you take the screws out and knock the pins out. The pins by the way are located along the side of the rifle. The pins go through the stock and into the barrel lock wedges. If you take them out a lot, the eventually do not hold the rifle secure to the stock and your accuracy suffers a great deal.

The reason to remove the rifle in most cases is for cleaning. So your real concern should be.. how do I clean the rifle? Well you need a flush kit. http://www.octobercountry.com/products3.php?productid=801

Leaving the rifle secure in the stock you remove the nipple from the bolster or in the case of a flintlock the vent liner. The one end of the flush kit then screws into that nipple port or the vent liner opening. The tube end of the flush kit is then inserted into a bucket of hot water with soap in it. You then dunk a patch into the water and start swabbing the barrel with the wet patch and ramrod. This action creates a syphon action and will draw the water up into the barrel and basically flush the fowling out of the barrel. The barrel does not come out of the stock.

After that some solvent patches and then some dry patches the the rifle is cleaned. You then protect it with the method of your choice.

As for your trigger, it sounds like you need to reset it, or that something is actually broken in there. I would guess it is set too light and that when you cock it, the set trigger is not holding. Can you cock the rifle with it staying in the cocked position? If you can, and then you hit the set trigger moving it to the half cock position, it need to be reset. Also some rifles do require the set trigger to be engaged. Try this, pull the set trigger first, and then cock the rifle. Does it go to the full cock position? If not the set trigger is the problem. It should tell in your manual how to fix that . Otherwise call Tradition's rifle company on the phone and have a tech talk you through it.

As for the ramrod, it is not uncommon for some to stick an inch or so out past the end of the barrel. Is there a cleaning jag on the end of it that is giving it the extra length? If not, this might be the style, or the ramrod wedge is bent wrong. If you push on it, will the ramrod actually go down further or is it as far as it will go? If so you might have to pull the stock and adjust the ramrod wedge or the channel is clogged with something or by something. The ramrod wedge on some rifles is a small piece of metal that put tension on the ramrod as it slides over it to keep the ramrod from falling forward as you carry the rifle. It they are bent too far out, they can become an obstruction in the ramrod stock channel. Also sometimes they are on backward and need to be turned around.

Its hard to tell without the rifle in my hands.

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

Hey Cayugad, Thanks for the reply. Im in wisconsin too. Kenosha County. so whats the trick to removing these 2 pins from the stock with the least wood damage? cant believe they dont have this designed better.

I did as you instructed. pulled the set trigger than cocked the rifle to the full position. The rifle will hold back to full cock when the set trigger is used but when I pull the main trigger the hammer only falls to the half cock position and thats it. the only way the hammer falls as it should is when I dont use the set trigger.

Basically the ramrod feels as though its in as far it it can go. Theres definately something holding it up

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

Before you knock the pins out of that rifle, call Tradition's and explain all that is going on with that rifle. Let them talk you through the whole procedure. They might have you just send the whole rifle back and then they can do all the work and make sure everything if fixed.

I don't understand why this happened to me,but almost every CVA rifle and Tradition'srifle I have purchased came from the factory... for a better word, defective and had to be sent back. My CVA Staghorn was the one rifle that came and has worked just fine. My inline Tradition's E-Bolt had the trigger or cocking mechanism bad and went back and never returned. My Tradition's Woodsman Hawkins would not fire a cap consistently and had to go back for tuning. My Tradition's Pioneer has a cracked stock, which they refused to fix because they no longer make the rifle. My CVA Hawkins would not shoot accurate. They discovered something was wrong with the barrel, and they replaced the rifle. I then sold it. My CVA Stalker came with a 12+ pound trigger pull and had to go back twice before they got it right. My CVA Mountain Stalker came with a hammer that would not hit the nipple square, and I had to bend that instead of sending it back.

I've looked at your Shenandoah rifle a couple times but do not own one. They balance beautiful and pull real nice. Still, I always get the hooked breech model rifle, although my next flintlock will be a pinned rifle. For the kind of money you paid for that rifle, call them and demand they get all these things fixed... The trouble with you knocking the pins out is, you break it, its yours. I just would not do it at this point. If the rifle was ten years old or something it might be a different story, but with a new rifle, they would have to get it right for me.

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

Should be 3 pins total holding the barrel on, along with the tang screw and the 2 nose piece screws. Just use a little punch and once they are almost out, pull them with either your fingers or plyers.

As for your trigger falling to safety notch, you'll need to adjust your triggers and get them tuned properly. If the triggers are set to light, the slightest pressure will send it to the half cock.

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

The gun did have some problems. I sent it into Traditions for repair. Great service! and they even sent me a free padded gun case upon return. I dealt with a gunsmith name Jeff B. He replaced the fly on the tumbler.

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

Glad that its fixed. Jeff b Also repaired a stripped screw on my lock.

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

hey cayugad.

The link for this Black out cleaning kit you suggested I get from October Country. Which one do I get? There are (3) to pick from.

Thanks Kane

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

The Traditions and the CVA share the same nipple size, so I am guessing you would get the one numbered.. 24-6100 6x1 CVA.If you want, give them a telephone call and they will be sure to get you the right one. That is going to make cleaning the rifle a lot easier, and make the barrel more stable by not having to remove pins. I think there is a cleaning kit like this offered by Traditions..yes here it is;

http://www.traditionsfirearms.com/eShop/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=A1363 and we know that one should work since it is made for the rifle you have.

I've also heard of people making their own from a drilled out nipple and some fish tank plastic tubing found at a pet store. All they do is find the tubing that is the same size and they expoxy that onto the nipple.. personally I am too lazy to go through all that and I would rather spend the five bucks. Good luck with your rifle.

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

Thanks alot. suggestions have been helpful!

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

I almost bought a used one from the local gun shop for $275 but after looking at the pins it was apparent someone removed them without sufficient care and the wood was somewhat dented. I passed and that turned up great as the next week I found a White Stainless 97 with a laminated stock and a stainless scope in a hard case with sabots and bullets for $325 delivered. Am waiting to see if the condition of "Great" was really true. I am still waiting for my White T-Bolt to get a barrel installed and with the White company looking sad at this time I may have to rely on the 97 for a while to shoot big conicals. I would much rather have the White but did not expect to fall into that kind of a deal as they usually get bought before I get to them. I missed the Sportsmans Warehouse deals and kicked myself for being slow.

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

well... so far Im not at all impressed with this gun. in fact... very disappointed! Got it back from the Traditions gunsmith and it appeared as tho the hammer problem was fixed. He replaced the fly on the tumbler. So I ran out the Gander and bought this cleaning tube I needed. Came home and gave the gun a nice bath. Got it all ready to take up north and shoot for the first time. After cleaning I decided to fire a few caps and realized the hammer still has the same problem. Its not nearly as bad as it first was but its still a problem. Hammer is cocked, set trigger, fire and the hammer only falls to half cock. maybe1 or 2outta 10 times this will happen. does it sound like theres still a problem with the tumbler or this a normal thing until the gun breaks in?

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

I read of some rifles that usedto have to be cocked different with a set trigger. Try this. I am not saying it will work, but its worth a try. The hammer is down mind you. Now pull the set trigger FIRST with the hammer down, and now cock the rifle. The set trigger should still be on, and I think this will cause it to pass the half cock position in the fly.

Then again, this might not work at all. I hope it does.

I had the same thing kind of happen to me with a CVA rifle. I sent it in because the trigger broke at #12 pounds. They fixed it and sent it back with a #3 pound break. Cock it, and the hammer would suddenly fall on its own. Like the time it was in the gun rest cocked while I was adjusting my ear protection and suddenly it fired. I was not touching it of course. Sent the rifle back and they have it fixed right this time.

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

my mountain rifle still does that now and then. I think its just the fly sticking. its gotten a lot better and rarely ever does it. Give it some time to break in.

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

Im heading up to Necedah for turkey hunting. I leaveMonday afternoon!!! Ill be bringing the Traditions along with some other guns I need to sight in so Ill see how it performs. Hopefully its just a break in issue.

RE: Traditions shenandoah 50cal
 

There are lots of turkey around Necedah. When driving through the refuge onHwy 80southbound towards Necedah one afternoon, I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting a car in front of meand a large flock of them. The person in front of me was not so lucky and he smoked three or four of them right in the road. I felt kind of bad because there were some that were injured but not dead. And of course, if you touch one of them out of season the DNR will eat you alive, so I drove on.

Every time I go through that area I see lots of turkey in the grass ditch lines, out in the field edges, and walking through the hardwoods.. Good luck with your turkey hunting. I use to hunt them over near Reedsburg, WI in Sauk Country.

If you get the lock off, be sure it is nice and clean back there and spray some silicon on the fly and lets hope it cures itself.