Hey, I am new to blackpowder and I've been reading this messageboard for a while. I plan on buying my first rifle in the next month or so (Traditional of course) and I have pretty much narrowed it down to two.
The two choices I am left with are the lyman Deerstalker and the Lyman Trade Rifle .50 cal and flint. I've been doing a lot of research and it appears that for this price range you really can't beat the Lymans, the only other rifles I have seen in this range are Traditions and they look like they are poorly built. So my real question is, what is the real difference between these two rifles? Both have a 1 in 48 twist and they both have what appears to be primitive iron sight, the only difference other than looks that I can see is the Trade Rifle's extra 4" of barrel length.
If anyone has any information on the performance of these rifles I would be thankful. I am particularily interested in the Trade Rifle as I believe it looks overall more attractive and its slightly cheaper than the Deerstalker.
The prices I have for these rifles are as follows;
Deerstalker .50 cal Flint: $259.16
Trade Rifle .50 cal Flint: $252.68
These prices are from
www.dnrsports.com, if anyone has any better prices let me know.
