Update: Traditions St.Louis Hawken build

As stated, updates on this build will come and are here!

I started off by scraping the lock inlet large enough so the lock would slip in. Normally I have to do a lot of scraping and shaping but this one went in very smoothly with just a little scraping here and there and the lock popped right into place nice and snug. I cleaned up inside the lock panel with some 150 and 220 grit sand paper as well. Always remove any flaky wood chips/splinters! 

With the lock fit, I moved on to the barrel channel which needed some scraping and smoothing in order for the barrel to lay down flat. Traditions always leave an unmilled section in the barrel channel and so you will have to use either a file or scraper, even a sanding block and finish it off so the barrel sits down nice and even in the barrel channel. 

 With the Lock & Barrel now fit perfectly, I moved onto the nose cap which can be a pain in the butt, especially when it comes to drilling the holes! The nose cap may also have to be opened up with a file in order for the barrel to slip in between the nose cap. Lots of prep work on the inside of the nose cap! Remove as many of the burrs and casting marks as possible otherwise it can cause you issues fitting it to the wood. A double cut bastard file makes for easy wood removal as well.

Moving on to the Trigger guard, rather than inlet the wood, I decided to make it easier on myself and just removed a lot of brass on the rear section of the trigger guard until everything fell right into place. I also removed all casting marks left on the sides of the trigger  guard. Anything sticking out, WILL leave an imprint on the stock which can be seen by the naked eye. Slow Down - Take your time - Prep the part that you are working on!

Since this kit gun comes with plastic ( Eeeek!!) sights, I am installing real sights. I opened up the dovetail to a standard 3/8" dovetail and tapped in a German silver front blank sight that I will shape when the time comes. The rear sight (Plastic) is held on by 2 screws, So I will have to cut a new dovetail for the new replacement rear sight.

This kit also comes with a Derlin ( Plastic ) Ramrod which is great for swabbing the bore on the range and at home for cleaning, but that's about it. It is to light weight and flexy for any seriously snug load combos you may load into the bore. I replaced this wit ha 9mm Hickory Ramrod and screws on a .50cal Cleaning jag.