Nope not well at all. If I didn't have super bright pins on my compounds I couldn't use them either. I shoot my traditionals instinctive. Tried that with compounds but I just can't shoot instinctive with a vertical hold. I have to shoot canted. BUT, if those sidelocks are drilled and tapped, maybe I could affix a 1x scope. Those I can still use quite well.

I'm kinda on the same page with you Bud... I had a Traditions Ebolt 209 inline years ago that was a good shooter. The Mrs. bought me one of their .50 cal. flint Mountain pistols a few years back and it was junk right out of the box IMO so I sold it. I know folks who have some of their flint rifles and they're happy with them but I've never been impressed with any of their sidelocks.

BPS

Between yesterday and today, my elbow on my right side is fried from all the reloading..

Pictures of the percussion model.

That stocks a little boring for my taste. Just not enough "pop". Love the color on that barrel though.

animals wont know the difference! I hope to paint mine red with blood lol

100% true there bud. But around 60% of my firearms are collection pieces and another 30% are dang purdy and will probably be collection pieces in a decade or 2. I'm old and old school. I was raised in a time when making a rifle was as much an art as it was building a functional and high performance tool. Most of today's rifles just don't crank my critter gitter anymore. Too generic. No personality whatsoever.

They do look well made SH. Even though the wood doesn't have a lot of fancy grain. But the finish and fit looks really nice.

Yes they look functional enough. I guess I'm just a bit of a snob when it comes to wood stocks. I like a stock that just flat out brings a smile to my face every time I look at it. It doesn't have to be like Turkish Walnut (one of the absolutely most beautiful stock woods out there) but for me, if non laminate, just something with some character, some pop if you will. Some of MD's other rifles are an example. He has some that, although they are made with fairly cheap wood, they still have some nice grain and he did the colors to make that grain stand out and beg for attention. Those 2, while yes they appear to be fine functionally, are just flat.

If I were him, I'd strip them down and redo the finish. He has the ability to make even that straight grain look much better. I've seen his finish work. It's a hell of a lot better than that boring finish on those.

no stripping to be done! I may get a kit down the road and build one up but as for the factory rifles, they stay as they are LOL. I like their dark color, almost looks like aged linseed oil finish.

My only complaint is that they should have made all the hardware steel and not mixed and matched. That would have looked much nicer. In fact IMO they should have left the patch box off all together.

Now, next week, because of my foot surgery coming up on Tuesday, I will be down in the man cave. I'm going to bed all the tangs on my sidelocks. Do one rifle at a time. That should eat up a lot of my time. I may also do a lot of reloading. I have 600 9mm and 500 .45ACPs to load up.