Traditions Kentucky; trigger mod

[stan57]

I got a reasonable deal on a R2020 Traditions Kentucky percussion rifle last week. It's finished better than I could have done with a kit, and I just wanted a low-cost PRB plinker:





I haven't been able to get to the range yet for various reasons (maybe tomorrow), so I took the time to look it over and tweak it a little.

The hammer is not concentric with the nipple, but not enough to hamper cap ignition - I've popped a few to verify. I know how to heat & bend, but I'll just leave it as-is for now since it goes bang every time:



The main thing I did was tighten up the floppy trigger. I took a few pics and thought y'all might be interested. It did tighten it up quite a bit.

 

[stan57]

After removing the trigger, I could see that the bridle was splayed out and the trigger pin was a sloppy fit in the trigger.



I tightened up the fit of the bridle to the trigger by squeezing it together in a vice:

 

[stan57]

Then, to tighten the trigger pivot, I replaced the sloppy stock pin with a #1 X 3 taper pin. I worked it back and forth a little to get a good tight running fit, then marked the ends, and trimmed to length, and cold blued:

 

[stan57]

Finished mod:


If the trigger needs tightening later I can just loosen the bridle, push it in a little tighter, and re-tighten - so it has some built in wear compensation.

I put a dab of AR15 trigger grease on the pivot pin and where the trigger touches the sear. I had removed, disassembled, cleaned and lubed the lock earlier. A check with the trigger pull gauge indicated 3 pounds or so. I'm happy with that for now:

 

[stan57]

That's all I'm going to do to it for now. I'll post a range review after I take it out.

 

[stan57]

Range test: 50 yards, 80 F, blustery hurricane Ian crosswinds, only time for 5 shots! 50 grains 2F Goex, .490 Hornady balls, CCI#11's, various patches.



Shot #1 was the first patched round ball I have shot in over 30 years!

The last upper 3 were with pre-treated Traditions .015 patches. No sight adjustments for now

stan57 out.

 

[snapbang]

Stan, Have no doubt that a PRB will kill deer just fine. In all my years of hunting deer I killed most with a muzzle loader and most of those a PRB. So I encourage you to think of trying it as a hunting gun as well as a plinker. Nice job on the fix. Enjoy

 

[deermanok]

As long as the caps go off ok, I wouldn't mess with bending the hammer.
I used the same trigger assembly on a flintlock rifle I put together earlier this year. Mine's a bit sloppy as well.
I may have to take your idea to modify my trigger.
Thanks for sharing.
Pretty good shooting there too.

 

[stan57]

Deermanok, I put a .013 shim between the hammer and the lock plate, and it lines up better with the nipple now. Still off a little, but much better. The tumbler is wobbling in the lock plate hole and this straightens it up.

 

[deermanok]

Deermanok, I put a .013 shim between the hammer and the lock plate, and it lines up better with the nipple now. Still off a little, but much better. The tumbler is wobbling in the lock plate hole and this straightens it up.

I had to shim a hammer on one of my rifles. It was way too far left to bend.