Traditions NitroFire Muzzleloader

Blame it on Hollywood movies and network television shows about mountain men; my obsession with Davy Crockett when I was a fake-coonskin cap-wearing youngster or my adventures while muzzleloader hunting, but I’ve always been fascinated with front-loading rifles, better known as muzzleloaders.

I’ve owned a couple of caplock rifles in .50- and .54-caliber and am particularly fond of full-stock flintlocks and the half-stock percussion facsimiles of the famed Hawken rifle of the plains and Rocky Mountains. They’ve made a lot of smoke and sent a lot of lead downrange over the years, and I’ve even spent a few nights in the high lonesome with one or two of them close at hand.

But technology soon left me in the dust with the strong move toward in-line muzzleloaders capable of far better long-range performance and the use of modern powders and substitutes. And now, Traditions Firearms has teamed up with Federal and Hodgdon Powder to produce a state-of-the-art muzzleloader not even Crockett himself could have imagined.

Traditions NitroFire

When you invent a breakthrough charging technology, you need something to shoot it, so Federal enlisted the help of the muzzleloading experts at Traditions Firearms who produced the new NitroFire rifle series.

Offered in 10 variations, each NitroFire is bored for .50-caliber bullets and feature 26″ fluted and tapered barrels made from ultralight chromoly steel to save weight — something hunters of all ages and geography will appreciate.

All NitroFire muzzleloaders are also fitted with Traditions’ new Elite XT trigger system, designed with a rebounding hammer, captive half-cock position and a manual cross block trigger safety. The trigger allows the action to be opened even with the cross-bolt safety engaged so the rifle can be loaded/unloaded, providing a clear view of the chamber. There was nothing like that on the old frontier!

NitroFire models are coated with Premium Cerakote and sport an all-black stock as well as a variety of camo patterns, including Mossy Oak Breakup Country, Go Wild Rockstar and Realtree Edge.

Models are also available with and without sights/scopes, though all are drilled and tapped. For those shipped with optics, basic 3-9×40 Duplex riflescopes are factory-installed and boresighted, while two other models feature SIG SAUER Electro-Optics’ 3.5-10×42 Sierra BDX and Leupold’s 3-9×40 VX Freedom.

While cleaner than traditional black powder front-loaders, Traditions provides a solid aluminum ramrod with a “Quick-T” ramrod handle with every NitroFire and has additional cleaning accessories available.

With an MSRP ranging from $549 to $1,220 depending on model, I suspect had Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone and even Lewis and Clark gotten their hands on a Traditions NitroFire, they would have been impressed.

For more info: www.traditionsfirearms.com, Ph: (860) 388-4656

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