{"id":60617,"date":"2016-07-21T14:06:06","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T18:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=60617"},"modified":"2016-07-21T14:06:06","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T23:43:36","slug":"traditions-muzzleloaders-two-gun-review-pursuit-buckstalker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/traditions-muzzleloaders-two-gun-review-pursuit-buckstalker\/","title":{"rendered":"Traditions Muzzleloaders\u2014Two Gun Review, Pursuit G4 and Buckstalker"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pursuit<\/a>

A Traditions Pursuit G4 is on top and a Traditions Buckstalker is below it.<\/p><\/div>\n

To learn more, visit\u00a0https:\/\/traditionsfirearms.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To purchase a Traditions muzzleloader on GunsAmerica.com, click this link:\u00a0https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/Search.aspx?T=traditions%20muzzleloader<\/a><\/p>\n

It might be mid-July and it is for sure hotter than a 2 dollar pistol here in The South, but it is not too early to start thinking about the fall hunts. In most states archery is the first deer season, followed by a muzzleloader one. Here in Arkansas, we have a week before modern gun season and another long weekend in December that is only for guns that load from the muzzle. These are usually great hunting times with nowhere near as many other hunters in the woods. But finding the right muzzleloader, and getting it sighted in, takes a bit more effort and time than a cartridge gun. Traditions has a couple of great scope and rifle combo packages that can take some of the work out of it and add a little fun.<\/p>\n

A Bit of Work<\/h2>\n
\"After<\/a>

After you drop the pellets down, you hand seat the bullet. This is just one of the many steps in loading a muzzleloader.<\/p><\/div>\n

Most of us have sighted in our fair share of rifles. Most of the time it just takes a few clicks or screw turns to get everything lined up. Sure, you are going to fire a good number of rounds walking it all in, but when you are just opening the chamber or filling a magazine, it really isn\u2019t that much work.<\/p>\n

Those of us that shoot black powder have a little bit of a different story to tell. There are a lot of steps just to throw one bullet down range and then you also have to clean the barrel after every couple of shots to deal with all of the fouling black powder and the modern equivalents leave behind. You also really have to be mindful that you do each step the same way. If using loose powder, make double sure you are using the exact same amount. As little as a couple of grains difference can change your point of impact.<\/p>\n

Yes, it is work. But if you are going to be using this rifle to hunt you owe it to yourself, and to the animal, to do your work. One of the ways you can help take out a bit of the work is to use a rifle and scope combo. You at the least don\u2019t have to mess with mounts and bases.<\/p>\n

Traditions<\/h2>\n
\"Old<\/a>

Old School muzzleloaders.<\/p><\/div>\n

Traditions<\/a> has some historically styled black powder firearms in their portfolio, they even have miniature cannons, but they are mostly known for their in-line muzzle loaders. I have been black powder shooting and hunting since I was a teen. I was almost always using and shooting something historic or a reproduction of something historic. There\u2019s no telling how many miles I walked, lugging around either a flintlock Kentucky long rifle or a percussion-capped Hawken. There is something to be said about the nostalgia of hunting with these antiquated designs.<\/p>\n

It was about five years ago that I decided to try out some \u201cnew\u201d technology in the muzzleloader segment. Although there is nothing wrong with those old style rifles, there is a lot more right about these new ones.<\/p>\n

In-Line<\/h2>\n
\"New<\/a>

New school muzzleloaders from Traditions.<\/p><\/div>\n

In case you are not familiar with how these new fangled muzzleloaders work, let me go over the basics. On a historically styled rifle, the lock is off to the side of the barrel. The spark used to ignite the powder charge in the barrel has a long way to travel in these old rifles. If you are shooting a flintlock it is as primitive as it sounds. A rock (flint) hits a piece of steel to make a spark. That spark touches off a small charge of very fine powder that in turn sends fire through a small hole drilled in the barrel. The fire then ignites the main charge and the gun fires. There is a perceivable lag between when you pull the trigger and the gun goes bang.<\/p>\n

The percussion cap was a huge update to the flintlock, but the vast majority of rifles made with this still had the lock to the side still. The spark for the cap still had to bounce around and make about a 90 degree turn to reach the charge.<\/p>\n

Now, the in-line design fixes a lot of these issues. As you can guess from the name, the source of ignition is \u201cin-line\u201d with the charge. Most of these guns use shotgun-sized primers, too, so you get a nice big and strong spark.<\/p>\n

Shooting<\/h2>\n
\"Ram<\/a>

Ram it home. You want to make sure the bullet seats against the powder tightly. Try to use the same amount of force each time for accuracy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Traditions sent me two different rifle and scope combos to test out, a Pursuit and a Buckstalker. They are both fairly similar but do have some unique differences, as you will see below. All of the rounds were fired on a portable bench and from a sled. The distance was 100 yards. I used two Triple 7 50 grain pellets and Traditions 300-grain Smackdown sabot projectiles. For ignition, I used Winchester shotgun primers. I ran a patch down the barrel after every round and a brush and patches after every three rounds.<\/p>\n

I only chronographed a couple of rounds on these guns.\u00a0 Getting reliable results when shooting black powder and the equivalents is not easy. The muzzle blast on these guns is huge and will give false readings if you are too close.\u00a0 That said, with the loads I was using I was getting about 1,900 feet per second from both rifles.<\/p>\n

A quick word about the scopes on these rifles. They are branded Traditions and I am not sure who is making them. They are fairly basic but very usable. The glass is nice and clear for its price point and they held up just fine to the recoil. Better glass is always going to be nicer, but these are very serviceable and I would not hesitate to take them into the field as equipped.<\/p>\n

Buckstalker .50 Cal Black\/CeraKote With 3-9×40 Scope<\/h2>\n

The Buckstalker<\/a> rifles from Traditions are in their more budget friendly line. They start at just over $200 bucks for the base model with iron sights. But stepping up to the rifle\/scope combo like the review gun doesn\u2019t add that much to the ticket. Here are some specs that cover most of the Buckstalker line:<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Buckstalker has an extended ambidextrous hammer extension.<\/p><\/div>\n