cabela's timber ridge for optima?

old fart · November 9, 2009, 11:57 PM

i have two optima's that a friend wants, he has a couple of timber ridge rifles from cabela's he says he will trade plus some money. the timber ridge rifles are still in the box not fired, how good are they? i have never owned a traditions muzzleloader. he's offering his two rifles for my two rifles plus give me $150 dollars, ya'll think thats ok. thanks for any help.

simonkenton · November 10, 2009, 08:33 AM

I bought a Traditions cap and ball pistol, I am happy with it.
It is made by Pietta and is high quality.

I don't know who makes the Traditions rifles, might be CVA, if so they ought to be pretty good rifles, not the best, but decent quality.

arcticap · November 10, 2009, 09:20 AM

Your rifles are worth about $200 each while the Timber Ridge rifles are worth about $90 each.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...set=ISO-8859-1

Quality aside, there's a $110 disparity for each Optima that you trade unless your Optimas are used or his rifles include a scope and mount.
We don't even know which Optima model that you have or their condition. The deal may or may not be fair depending on the condition of your Optimas and how much that you like them or want to get rid of them.

About the Timber Ridge:

The Timber Ridge rifle is a bare bones entry level model with mixed reviews. Traditions seems to have simply changed the name of their Tracker 209 rifle for Cabela's and they don't even have fiber optic sights.
They can shoot good but some folks complain about them being more difficult to cap than other models costing just a little more.
They're based on the conventional striker bolt design which isn't bad, but that design was easier to prime with a capper when they were made to use #11 caps.
Otherwise the design is fairly reliable and the actions are solid and can shoot accurately.

There are 5 user reviews on the 2 following product pages:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...dexId=cat20815

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...dexId=cat20815

old fart · November 10, 2009, 10:21 AM

my optima's are the older models from 2004, they are very heavy and i was looking for something lighter. i have not shot one of the optima's but the other has been, it has a scope but my friend says i can keep the scope and rings off it. he' always wanted a break action, i just want something lighter.

old fart · November 12, 2009, 04:21 PM

i went ahead and traded, i checked around and most i got offered from shops were $100 each. and had some other friends that offered $150 each, and i figured that was probably top dollar on the net. too seeing how they run $199 most places. so instead of selling and buying another and be down a gun( i like two cause in case of problems with one i'll have one to fall back on) i traded so i would have two and money for supply's. i know their not as good as a optima but i just need one during hunting season and hopefully these will do. i'll shoot them tomorrow and let ya'll know how they do. thanks for all the help.

TomADC · November 12, 2009, 07:43 PM

From one O.F. to another if your happy with the deal, then it was a good deal!!

arcticap · November 13, 2009, 04:53 AM

Quote:

i know their not as good as a optima

You never know, you just might have gotten the better end of that deal.
You'll have to come back and tell us which one of you got the biggest deer!

old fart · November 13, 2009, 11:23 PM

well i went and shot the timber ridge today, with 80 grains 777 and a 295grain powerbelt. i shot two different targets after my sight in, i do like that i can keep my back sights on even with scope attached. i shot a 5 shot group on each target, i got an average 1and1/2 inch group to no more than 1 and 3/4 inch. that surprised me that a low cost gun could shoot this good. all in all i'm happy with the trade, i got a lighter gun that will shoot good enough to get me a deer, now to get the deer to cooperate , thanks to everyone for advice.

November 10, 2009, 09:20 AM	#3
arcticap Senior Member Join Date: March 15, 2005 Location: Central Connecticut Posts: 3,166	Your rifles are worth about $200 each while the Timber Ridge rifles are worth about $90 each. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...set=ISO-8859-1 Quality aside, there's a $110 disparity for each Optima that you trade unless your Optimas are used or his rifles include a scope and mount. We don't even know which Optima model that you have or their condition. The deal may or may not be fair depending on the condition of your Optimas and how much that you like them or want to get rid of them. About the Timber Ridge: The Timber Ridge rifle is a bare bones entry level model with mixed reviews. Traditions seems to have simply changed the name of their Tracker 209 rifle for Cabela's and they don't even have fiber optic sights. They can shoot good but some folks complain about them being more difficult to cap than other models costing just a little more. They're based on the conventional striker bolt design which isn't bad, but that design was easier to prime with a capper when they were made to use #11 caps. Otherwise the design is fairly reliable and the actions are solid and can shoot accurately. There are 5 user reviews on the 2 following product pages: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...dexId=cat20815 http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...dexId=cat20815 Last edited by arcticap; November 10, 2009 at 10:09 AM.

November 9, 2009, 11:57 PM	#1
old fart Senior Member Join Date: May 24, 2009 Posts: 405	cabela's timber ridge for optima? i have two optima's that a friend wants, he has a couple of timber ridge rifles from cabela's he says he will trade plus some money. the timber ridge rifles are still in the box not fired, how good are they? i have never owned a traditions muzzleloader. he's offering his two rifles for my two rifles plus give me $150 dollars, ya'll think thats ok. thanks for any help.

November 10, 2009, 08:33 AM	#2
simonkenton Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Posts: 891	I bought a Traditions cap and ball pistol, I am happy with it. It is made by Pietta and is high quality. I don't know who makes the Traditions rifles, might be CVA, if so they ought to be pretty good rifles, not the best, but decent quality.

November 10, 2009, 10:21 AM	#4
old fart Senior Member Join Date: May 24, 2009 Posts: 405	my optima's are the older models from 2004, they are very heavy and i was looking for something lighter. i have not shot one of the optima's but the other has been, it has a scope but my friend says i can keep the scope and rings off it. he' always wanted a break action, i just want something lighter.

November 12, 2009, 04:21 PM	#5
old fart Senior Member Join Date: May 24, 2009 Posts: 405	i went ahead and traded, i checked around and most i got offered from shops were $100 each. and had some other friends that offered $150 each, and i figured that was probably top dollar on the net. too seeing how they run $199 most places. so instead of selling and buying another and be down a gun( i like two cause in case of problems with one i'll have one to fall back on) i traded so i would have two and money for supply's. i know their not as good as a optima but i just need one during hunting season and hopefully these will do. i'll shoot them tomorrow and let ya'll know how they do. thanks for all the help.

November 12, 2009, 07:43 PM	#6
TomADC Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2009 Location: San Diego County Posts: 795	From one O.F. to another if your happy with the deal, then it was a good deal!!

November 13, 2009, 11:23 PM	#8
old fart Senior Member Join Date: May 24, 2009 Posts: 405	well i went and shot the timber ridge today, with 80 grains 777 and a 295grain powerbelt. i shot two different targets after my sight in, i do like that i can keep my back sights on even with scope attached. i shot a 5 shot group on each target, i got an average 1and1/2 inch group to no more than 1 and 3/4 inch. that surprised me that a low cost gun could shoot this good. all in all i'm happy with the trade, i got a lighter gun that will shoot good enough to get me a deer, now to get the deer to cooperate , thanks to everyone for advice.