Howdy,
Who here has put together one of those traditions 50 cal caplock kits? Is it any good? Thinking about starting one and using it for ML season here in Nebraska.
As always, thanks for the input!
Olon
One member frontiergander has built many kits for himself and others.
He even has a Facebook page about it named Black Powder Kit Gun Builders.
While he loves and prefers to build kits, he has said that you never know what you will get in a kit.
From my readings, some work out great while others are problematic because parts don't always fit as they should.
There's Traditions, Lyman and Pedersoli kits.
Without experience, a kit can become troublesome which means that buying a factory finished gun is way less risky.
At least Traditions guns provide some guarantee that parts will be replaced if a person really runs into trouble.
Lyman probably does too and maybe even Pedersoli will but not so sure how easy that is.
But it can take time to get a kit part replaced such as a stock.
And it can be a lot of work to finish, especially if there's problems.
I can see a newbie builder trying to build a cheap model like a Deerhunter, but it can still cost more in the long run than buying a finished gun due to needing to buy finishing materials and tools.
I would strongly recommend that a newbie buy a finished gun.
Sometimes even a used creampuff is more than worth it because you know what you're getting.
Which models are you interested in?
Have you visited any local shops to check out used guns?
frontiergander builds beautiful kit guns and he does like his Traditions, so my advice is not based on his advice.
But can be why some folks ask him to build their kits.