Traditions lightning bolt
 

Im looking to get into muzzleloading preety cheaply. I was looking at the Traditions lightning bolt in .50 cal with the stainless barrel and camo stock. Have any of you had any experiances with this gun? Is it acurate, easy to clean, etc? I really like the looks and some of the features such as the removable muzzlebreak and at $189.00 the price isn't to bad either.
Thanks,
Nick Radovich

RE: Traditions lightning bolt
 

A friend gave me his Lightning Lightweight .50. It wasn't fancy enough for him, he had to get one of those Austin & Hallecks! Well, I put a cheapie Tasco Bantam 2.5X scope on the thing, and is it accurate! I shoot the 295-grain PowerBelt Aerotip copper-plated bullets in it with 90 grains of Pyrodex P. It shoots very well, is easy to clean, has an easily-adjusted trigger, and for the money is an excellent, lightweight, powerful rifle. It is rated to shoot up to 150-grains of Pyrodex pellets, but I have not used these max loads in it because I don't need them. I have not shot it beyond 100 yards, and probably never will. I hunt with caplock and flintlock sidelocks, and only use inlines at the range for fun, shooting holes in a piece of paper.

RE: The removeable muzzle brake: It works best after it has been removed!! This is a joke!

RE: Traditions lightning bolt
 

Another very high quality rifle to consider is the Knight Disc Rifle. With the current Knight rebate you can get the rifle for $179.95.

I am not saying that one brand is better or another brand is no good. What I am saying is the Knight is an established in line muzzleloader with an excellent reputation and customer service department. These Knights are normally excellent shooting rifles. If I did not have a Knight Wolverine I would be owning one of these myself.

Just another option to consider....

RE: Traditions lightning bolt
 

The problem with the Disc series is that you keep having to buy those damned discs , personally I don't like gimmicky crap like that . All I need is powder , bullet , and caps and I'm ready to go , try finding those discs after the season starts . In fact , I rarely see them in the store at all .

I've owned a Traditions Lightning Bolt for 4 years now , and it's one of my favorite MLs . Accurate , easy to clean , and very reliable . I've never had a misfire with it , and I still use #11 caps only with both pellets and loose . There is a common misconception that inexpensive MLs are junk , don't believe it . All of my MLs are Traditions and all have served me well .

RE: Traditions lightning bolt
 

Kevin1 I agree that Tradition's makes a good muzzleloader. Also the results you have with your Tradition's in line does not surprise me. I did actually buy a Tradition's Lightening a few years back. It came from Cabela's. When I opened the box the way the rifle was assembled and the way the bolt worked and the fact the rifle was hard to cock, did not impress me at all, and it was returned. It could have just been a bad rifle. I own two Tradition sidelocks, and both of them are great shooters.

I do feel that the Knight rifle though, is one of the best in line rifles out there. I have no experience with the small disc your talking about. My Wolverine II is a #11 cap ignition and it works just fine. It was my understanding that you could reuse the plastic disc for a certain number of shots. Like I said, I have no experience with them.

I own some very inexpensive muzzleloaders, ($39.95 for a .54 caliber CVA Mountain Stalker would fit here) and they are excellent shooters. I was only offering a different option for the original poster.

RE: Traditions lightning bolt
 

Kevin would rather forego the Timney trigger, Green Mountain barrel, 2-1/2"@100 yard guarantee & smoother bolt action of the Knight for a Traditions Lightning that was discontinued after one year?

I own three Traditions weapons. I wish all three were Knights.