Lyman great plain which caliber?

Buster95

Buster95

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I'm interested in a Lyman Great plain percussion muzzle loader, for paper punching only (no hunting) which one is the best choice also patched ball or modern projectiles?

Modern projectiles:
Lyman Great Plains Hunter with 1 in 32" 50 Cal.
Lyman Great Plains Hunter with 1 in 32" 54 Cal.

Patched balls:
Lyman Great Plains with 1 in 60" 50 Cal.
Lyman Great Plains with 1 in 60" 54 Cal.
 
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For target only, downrange energy not an issue, so patched ball .50 caliber. Less recoil, less lead, prb are naturally accurate. Virtually no leading of bore. My 2 cents.
 
I am with tumbleweeds school of thought, lots cheaper to shoot patched ball, even if you buy the fancy swedged ones instead of casting your own.

Do not dismiss patched ball on game, just gotta put them where they belong and they do just fine, do not expect to do it at 200yds is all!
 
Buster95 said:
I'm interested in a Lyman Great plain percussion muzzle loader, for paper punching only (no hunting) which one is the best choice also patched ball or modern projectiles?

Modern projectiles:
Lyman Great Plains Hunter with 1 in 32" 50 Cal.
Lyman Great Plains Hunter with 1 in 32" 54 Cal.

Patched balls:
Lyman Great Plains with 1 in 60" 50 Cal.
Lyman Great Plains with 1 in 60" 54 Cal.
Click to expand...
Go with bold for reasons already stated.
 
I have a Great Plains Rifle but in flint. I get good accuracy with patched ball but I purchased one of Lees R.E.A.L. molds and got better accuracy with them greased up with shortening.
 
X2... Good choice to start with. Either .50 or .54 would be a good choice. I prefer .54 for longer range shooting and hunting with round ball. I have used both calibers with round balls for blackpowder shooting comps with excellent results.

Get Lyman's Black Powder Handbook and The Black Powder Handbook by Sam Fadala. Lots of years of experience and knowledge in those books. Most clubs have a BP section, go to some of there get togethers and they will be glad to teach you and help you with your needs.

Good luck and have fun.
 
My Great Plains .50 shoots excellent with PRB and a charge of 45 grains of black. It is cheap, and recoil is negligible. Very pleasant to shoot paper with. I have shot lots with a .54 in TC Renegade, and if you load that up with 100+ grains, you will be gritting your teeth every time you pull the trigger, after a day at the range. The .50 with a light load is so much more pleasant. And cheap... All in all, an excellent choice.
 
There isn't much difference between them. If you are casting your own, there is a recipe for accuracy when round balls are being used.

Slug your bore, measure the slug. Order a mold that will cast the balls .005 in smaller. Then, get patching material that is .010 in thickness. Then, play until you find the right balance of powder and load. Try both FFG powder and FFFG. My Lyman 50cal with 1-32 twist rate, prefers FFFG with round balls. With maxiballs, it prefers FFG.

Chris Wilcox gave me this formula over 40 years ago. It has worked well in 45, 50, 54 and 58 cal barrels. with slow twist rates and round balls.

By the way, I use alter linen for patching material. It can be tough to get but its thickness is always consistent at .010 in.

When you take into consideration the patch thickness, when the lubed, patched ball is started in the muzzle, it is slightly obdurated to take on the shape of the bore. Along with the tight fit, it will shoot true when you settle on a load.

It will get you on the paper at the ranges you shoot, even with a freshly scrubbed bore.
 
I have two. Great Plains Hunter in cap lock 54 1-32 twist for Great Plains 460 grain bullets which I cast. I prefer the 54 because I live in the interior of northern B.C. and hunt moose, bear, and mule deer. The 54 is everything a 50 is but just more better for knock down power. I load up the Hawken with 100grains of Holy Black, touch er off and it will knock your glasses side ways and take your hat off your head. I call it Old Knock em down. It shoots better than I can. Also have a Great Plains Hawken in flint lock with a 1 in 60 twist in 54. I changed the lock out to a RPL and the touch hole to a White Lightning touch hole liner. There is no delay in lock time. I built this one from a kit, it also shoots better than I can. I like standing off hand at 100 meters and ringing the gong. Could care less about group size. If a man can hit a 10 inch gong anywhere at 100 meters it is minute of moose. Both my fiftyfours could care less if I use 2f, or 3f, .018 patch or .020 patch, 60 grain up to 100 grains of holy black in the Great Plains flint lock. The same goes for the 54 Hawken Great Plains Hunter. It could care less about load, or bullet style or weight it just shoots like a house afire. I love them Lyman Hawken rifle guns, they shoot as good as 10,000 dollar museum quality rifles. Some of em come with defects that need to be corrected but they are for the most part simple fixes and anybody can undertake the corrections as they are not rocket science. Your milage may vary

Cheers & Tighter Groups: Eaglesnester

"Did the Indians put U here?" "Twernt Mormans."
 
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