Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

I have the PA Pellet rifle. Im getting prepared to shoot it for the first time. After putting in the flint I test fired the flint to see if it worked good. Well let me tell ya that you gotta really yank on the trigger to get it to go.
Was wondering if anyone else has this problem and if there is anything I can do to make a Traditions trigger any softer.

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Take it back to the store... even if you've already cleaned it... just as long as it hasn't been fired.

Get another one & try it. If it doesn't soften, use your credit purchase towards another model or brand. If that can't be done, take the rifle to a quality gunsmith.

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

I would agree with Triple Se7en. Since it has not been fired, I would take it back and ask to test another one. If a different one has the kind of trigger I like then I would expect them to trade rifles.

If that can not be done then you have the option of calling Tradition Arms and seeing if they can fix the problem. I had to use them once many years ago with a hammer striking problem on a new Woodsman Hawkins, and actually they were very cooperative and took the rifle back and really tuned the devil out of it. This would be the option I would do because if they tune it up then you have the best of both worlds. Since they fixed my rifle it has been one of the sweetest shooting rifles I have ever owned. It is all a matter of mass production. Many times rifles get out of the factory that should have never passed their quality control inspection.

I have read on other posts about people taking the lock apart and polishing all the parts of the lock to remove any burrs or ruff spots, but to be honest with you, I do not think someone spending the kind of money we do on their product should then have to turn around and pay to fix their manufacturing flaws. Also once you take this measure, the rifle is yours.

Good luck. I know the frustration your feeling right now. I hope there is an easy fix. I would call Tradition Arms....

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Try taking the lock off and look for a small adjusting screw on the sear. My nephew had the same problem with his Traditions but we (I) fixed it in about 10 minutes. Use a little prudence and common sense and you should have it done in no time.

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Hey thanks all!
I bought it mail order and the store is a hundered some miles, so tuning it myself would probably be a good option. I wonder now if I can call Traditions and have them send me a new trigger assembly. The gun has a lifetime guarantee and they say to call them if there are any problems. I'll let everyone know what happens. I know that I didn't by the best gun made but I like it anyhoo. If I really get into this BP stuff I might look into a Lyman Great Plains. They look sweet to me but more money.

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

I've owned a few Traditions over the years. I still use my Deerhunter for hunting sometimes & my brassy Shenandoah looks pretty sweet hangin' over my fireplace with a powder horn dangling below it.

You will have to send them your entire rifle for inspection/repair. Insurance/shipping costs (around $15) is well worth it since they will very likely reduce the stiff trigger. Look the rifle over very thorough before you ship it... make them aware of any other problems like stock imperfections, loose ramrod fitting, hammer not seating perfectly square... etc..etc.

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Greg,

How are you?

Welcome to the wonderful world of flinting. Anyway, as RonK stated, there is a small screw on the trigger mechanism that you can adjust. Be careful, if you adjust it too much, the flint will not strike the frizzem hard enough to spark. I had the same problem with my Traditions Deerhunter. First I adjusted it too much, than I put it back with a little relief. It still is a little hard, but I'm now use to it.

Also, there is a metal clip on one of the screw, that gives tension to the ram rod, you have to place that back the way it was. Don't be afraid to take apart the gun, as you will have to do it anyway after you shoot it a few time to ensure it is oiled and clean.

Also, do you have any bore butter?? I use that to season the barrel prior to shooting, and use as a lube on the breech plug. You can attain the grease they sell for the breech plug, but bore butter works well. Place enough butter to cover the screw treads. You can also use Crisco but I prefer the bore butter. Don't forget to get that white/yellow cleaner as well for cleaning the barrel and gun in general, plus english flints. Don't ever forget to lube that breech plug, it you ever let it get stuck, you have to place the barrel in a vise and work it free. LOL

Any other questions, you can email me or hit this site.

Tom

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Well,I took your (a couple of you guys') advice. I disassembled the gun and looked at the lock assembly. It turns out that the little screw was backed out all the way and was doing basically nothing. I turned it in, tested the mechanism while it was out of the gun. I now have a sweet trigger on my cheap rifle. Oh and while I had the barrel out I removed the breech plug. I thought the barrel looked clean, until I cleaned it that is. I used a brass brush, some presoaked TC scrubber patches followed by a patch with alcohol. MAN THAT BABY SHINES NOW! I put some Permatex anti-seize on the plug and am ready to go shootin'. All I have left to get is priming powder and 777. Going to go searchin' tomorrow. It seems that everywhere I check, nobody has BP. They all tell me the same thing. "Check back, should have it in a week". or; "Waiting to get my license to sell BP". Whats up with that? Hoping to make it go BANG soon.

Thanks all!!
Thanks Tom!

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

livepbucks... glad to learn that the trigger problem was no big deal. Just a word of warning about using denatured alcohol to clean the barrel of your rifle...

Denatured alcohol will remove all traces of oil from the barrel that protect it from rusting. If you swab the barrel with alcohol, you must re-oil the barrel or it will develop a surface rust very quickly. I would suggest an oil with a teflon base such as Rem Oil or Birchwood Casey Sheath.

As for the black powder problem, I ran into the same thing where I live. I finally ended up ordering some on line from;

Powder Inc. a supplier of Goex and Swiss Powder

You can order as little as five pounds of the stuff delivered right to your door. The only thing is, the more you order the less per pound is your cost. They will let you mix your powder which is what I did. I ordered FFg, FFFg, and Swiss FFg & FFg. It might be an option for you because the cost is much better then some of the stores you deal with....

check them out. Again, glad to hear your rifle is all set to go. Now get busy and make some smoke......:D

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

I am under the impression that when you go to shoot you want a clean dry bore with no traces of oil. I hope to shoot in 2 days or less and store the gun in air conditioned space. If I put the gun away I will oil the bore. I just didn't see the value of oiling it and then swabbing the oil back out in a day or two. Powerbelts like a dry bore I'm told.

Thanks for your help, Cayugad!
If I'm making a mistake, certainly let me know because I'm brand new to this. Alot of different advice out there though.

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

UPDATE!!!!
I'm like a kid on Christmas! I found some 4f Goex at a store 15 minutes from my house. It's ironic because my uncle used to own the store and it was the last place I looked. They charged me $13 for a pound. Then I bought a pound of 777 for, oh what was it?..........$23 a pound!!!
Stuff better be good for that price.

Wish me luck!

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Here is the number at the Traditions repair shop in Old Saybrook. I am pretty sure they can hook you up with one of their gunsmiths. They are very helpful when I stop by or call so give them a try if you need help. 860 388 4656

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

livbucks,

Goex, never used it, so let us know how you make out. Also, I usually use 2f in the barrel and 4f in the pan. 4f is a finer powder than 2f and I'm not sure how that will work in the barrel. Also, I picked up my Triple 7 at Gander mountain when they were having a sale on 2f loose powder, $16 per pound. Not a bad price.

Tom

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Hi Tom, Good Monday morning!
The Goex is BP ffffg for the flash pan. The 777 ffg is for the barrel. Goex is authentic BP. What brand do you use in the pan?

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Hey Greg,

I don't know...I use 4f Black Powder for the pan powder, only because when I first got my rifle, I picked up 2f and 4f in black powder. I don't recall if it stated something else on the plastic container. I'll take a look at it tonight when I get home. I guess I just assumed black powder is black powder, probably not the case.

Thanks, I'll let you know. When are you going to do some shooting with that new ML?

Tom

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Well Tom, I wanted to tonight but it is pouring down rain and it is expected to for a couple days. hope to shoot it some evening this week. Goex is the brand of BP. It is real BP. Only 3 ingredients in BP.

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Goex FFFFg will work great in the flash pan as your priming powder. Of all the black powders out there, Goex, Swiss, and others, I use Goex. If your rifle seems like it is having a slow ignition with the Triple Se7en as the main charge, I was told to drop a little (like 5 grains) of the Goex in first to help the Triple Se7en ignite.

I am thinking of buying another rifle today. I guess all the other rifles need company...:D It is a .50 caliber flinter. It sure looks like a nice rifle....

Good luck shooting yours...

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

cayugad,

You mentioned throwing in 5 grains of BP with the Triple 7, to help with the ignition. I have been using the pellets in my in-line, 50 grains each, using the 209 primer. No problems there.

Last year, I used the loose Triple 7 in my flint, 100% 80 grains with no problems getting ignition. Now when I had shot Clean Shot, the 2f grain was very coarse, and would not shoot well so I mixed in some Black Powder, since I know BP worked fine, probably about 10 to 15 grains in with the Clean Shot, and it would shoot great. I put the BP so it would go in the barrel first, so it would be near the touch hole. I had also heard you should not mix powders, but my gun shot file that way so I did it anyway.

If I were you, I would try Triple 7 in the barrel without the 5 grains of BP, but using BP 4f in the pan, and let us know your results since mine have been excellent. Shoots fine....

Tom

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

love to know how you make out with the pa pellet. my wife is letting me get a flintlock for my birthday in august, and the pa pellet is on my shortlist (along with the deerhunter, buckskinner and maybe the hawken)

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Tomster... I agree with you. I would try the triple Se7en without the black powder first also. I am saying if there seems to be slow ignition with the flash pan lighting the triple se7en, then I would dump the black powder in first and then the triple se7en on top of it....

My friend who is an avid flinter recommended 5 grains. I see you even suggest as much as 10-15 grains with the clean shot. Living in Wisconsin, where it gets real cold, were shooting Triple Se7en powder one afternoon him and I. I noticed he would dump some of the priming powder in the barrel first and he explained that it makes the ignition time a LOT FASTER.

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

So let's see.
If I have ignition problems, I'll shoot a push of my pan primer down the barrel before loading 777. Seems easy enough. A small price to pay for reliability when my dream buck comes by. If I don't have problems then don't bother doing it. Sounds like some good advice. Thanks!

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

You know, it's proibably not a bad idea to do that. One other reason I can think of, if I only use 4f BP for pan powder, how many years will it take before I burn all of my 4f BP. I know that BP powder can last for years, but at this rate, it could outlast me. So I will also try it this year, and dump 5 grains of BP 4f first, then Triple 7, 75 grains to complete the load, since I usually shoot 80 grains.

Thank you for the recommendation and I'm willing to try something new. Also, what will it cost me, some BP that I already have.

Tom

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

OK, I checked out my Black Powder and I have Elephant Black Powder. They state that they have been making BP since 1866, on the plastic container. Is Elephant BP any good? It was $13 per pound, a few years ago.

Tom

RE: Hard Trigger on Traditions
 

Tom

As a comparison against Goex or Pyrodex, you'll need around 10 more grains to get the same velocity as Goex or Pyrodex at 70 gr.... about 15 more at 100. I've read that more than once in forum discussions on Elephant. I also thought I read this past spring that Elephant is "no more".

Trigger issue resolved
 

Thanks for starting this message thread. When sighting in my PA Pellet I was frustrated with how much trigger pressure was required.
Thanks to reading this thread, I have found the trigger adjustment screw. All good now! 👍