I received a Traditions Kentucky rifle as a Christmas gift. I have a couple of questions maybe someone can answer. The trigger rattles around, making so much noise it would make it useless for deer hunting. It almost seems like there should be a spring behind the trigger to hold it in place. The other issue is the ramrod, if I tilt the gun forward it slides out completely on it own. From what I can tell its a cheap piece of would that'll probably break when I need it most. So any ideas on how to tighten it up. or a good replacement. My old CVA has a fiberglass ramrod but its not the same size.

The trigger assembly should not rattle that bad. I would call Tradition's tech support and ask then about it. I am sure it is something simple but it should be looked at before it breaks at an inoppertune time.

As for the loose ramrod, if you were to knock the pins out of stock and barrel, on the bottom of the barrel is a tension spring or metal lever. Sometimes all you need do is tighten the screw holding them or bend them a little so they put pressure on the ramrod when you put it back under the rifle.

As for a wooden ramrod, I never trust them after one decided to attack my hand one afternoon on a stubborn load. I usually get a good fiberglass one that will not break. The last one I got was called a wonder rod and you could bend it in a knot if you wanted to. Make sure it has female ends on both ends so if necessary you can put a jag on one end and a t-hand on the other end.

Give Traditions a call at 860 388 4656. i live near by their store and they are very accomodating.

A friend of mine had a Traditions Hawkin muzzloader and it wouldn't fire most of the time. It turned out that it had some sort of a burr or obstruction in the flash hole. He shot a couple of deer with that gun, but had several others get away due to the gun not firing. The cap would make a loud bang and the deer would be off and running. Needless to say, he sold that gun (cheap). Sorry to say, he has been away from muzzloading ever since. I am going to try and persuade him to buy another, quality gun and try it again. I may even have to loan him my TC Whitemountain carbine. I have shot many deer with that gun and never had a misfire. It is a short, lightweight carrying gun. I have a TC reciever site on it and it is deadly out to 75 yds or so. I shoot 100 grains of 777 and a 385 grain Hornady Great Plains bullet. I have never had to track a deer shot with this combination. I had a big doe come under my treestand this year. It was 3 days after Christmas and I was hunting the late season. She appeared 10 minutes before the end of legal time. I almost felt bad shooting her, since it was so easy of a shot. She dropped like a poleaxed steer. No thrashing, or anything, she was dead immediately. It was a spineshot, straight down. I have shot other deer at farther distances and had the same results. I guess what I'm trying to say here, is buy a quality gun and you won't be disappointed.

Pretty simple... return the rifle! Get another from stock... or get a store credit to purchase something else.... or get a refund & shop elsewhere.

Welcome NewEngland!
The Traditons Kentucky is a pretty nice rifle IMHO. I've shot them and they can be good shooters.
Seeing's how this was a gift.
Just give Traditions a call and give them an opportunity to get things squared away.
Perhaps with a bit of tinkering, you will find yourself in possession of a nice rifle.

I have a Traditions Hawken .50 cal that I purchased relatively inexpensively. While the gun is not as fancy as some, my gun is a real shooter. I suggest giving Traditions a chance to handle the situation.

Again... let me expand as to why I think you should return the rifle to the store. It's likely that the screw holes are overbore/reamed-out for the trigger assembly to give it such a loose/sloppy fit. It's also possible that the two very narrow stock pins in that two-piece stock are mis-aligned. If they are misaligned, you will eventually crack that wood stock in 1-2 places in front of that trigger... on the bottom-side of that stock. That's where the wood is shaved to it's most narrow thickness.

Traditions Inc is famous for repairs over replacement parts. If they will guarantee you that the back-side stock-piece will replaced instead of wood filler-repaired/re-drilled, then sending it back is an option. I own three Traditions & I don't trust their service department for free replacement parts. They would not even give me a free 39-cent bolster/drum screw when I told them their's was 'thread-defective" on my similar one-piece stock Traditions Shenandoah barrel. They will also demand that you cover the shipping costs.

Take the rifle back! Inspect the next one for pin alignment & trigger guard tightness.

I agree with giving Traditions a call to either fix or replace the rifle. I own two Kentucky style muzzleloaders, both of different name brands and trigger configerations. One is a single trigger and the other has the extra "set trigger" but between all three triggers, none of them rattle like you have described. As my grandpa was fond of saying, "Not tooo good".

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