Welcome to the dark side.
Quote:
|
1. is assembly pretty straight forward or is there a lot of sanding and fitting you have to do to get the stock to fit the receiver?
|
Traditions kits are pretty straightforward. 95% of the work will be in finishing the wood and metal. It may be necessary to do some minor inletting but it will not be an issue. That said, if you do need to do any carving be sure to use very sharp tools. Dull tools screw up more work than poor skills.
Quote:
|
2. are you supposed to stain, lacquer, or oil the stocks?
|
That's personal choice. It depends on the wood you get. However, with the inexpensive Traditions kits I recommend you plan to stain and finish with tung oil, Tru-Oil or boiled linseed oil. And plan on several coats of oil, at least 6. You'll be tempted to stop after 2 or 3, but it's a labor of love so be patient and keep going and you will be rewarded.
Quote:
|
3. what would be the longest practical range for these?
|
100 yards. Some say you can shoot conicals to 150 yards with the Traditions barrels but I think that's a stretch. Round balls are limited to 100 yards, period.
Quote:
|
4. with most centerfire long arms firing soft lead is frowned upon because it fouls the barrel, can I expect to have to de-foul after shooting a number of mini balls or round balls? are there tips and tricks to avoid this(besides shooting factory jacket rounds)
|
Lead ONLY! Don't use jacketed bullets in a muzzleloader. If you shoot round balls they will be patched so the lead will never touch the barrel. If you shoot conicals they need to be lead so they expand to engage the rifling. Black powder velocities are significantly lower and leading is not an issue.