Lyman Great Plains Rifle kits - experiences?Canadian source?

Ol' Smokey

Ol' Smokey

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Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
I am looking to get myself a traditional percussion gun, for messing about and possibly deer hunting. I currently own a Lyman Trade gun that is fun, but it is a flinter, and it has 1/48 twist. I prefer 1/60 for optimum patched ball performance.

A basic gun is fine. The GPR seems to fit the bill, but I would like to customize it a bit with a few upgrades, and finish the metal with browning.

I have looked at every Canadian retailer's website, and the rifles are rare, and no one offers kits.

TOTW sells them, but their prices are higher than other US retailers, and the charge a lot for shipping. By the time the kit arrives here, it will cost more than the finished gun.

Has anyone put one of these kits together?

Is .50 OK, or should I consider .54?

In the future I might go for a nice semi custom rifle, if I find that I am bitten by the bug. It will need a lot of research, though, as many of the custom makers seem to be variable in quality and professionalism in their business practices.
 
Great kits, I built one around 22 years ago and it's seen steady use. I've shot and handled several others both kit and complete rifles over the years. I've been impressed with all of them.

They aren't as involved as building one from parts (ie from TOTW or one of the other parts suppliers) because the basic inletting is done. However, you still have to complete the filing and polishing of the lock and hardware - and brown (or blue if you want); barrel is finished but you still need to brown (or blue) it. Or leave them all in the white if you'd rather. Stock is rough shaped and requires sanding and your choice of finish.


These are a well built kit and are an excellent entry into the field. I didn't start another kit until last year but vastly improved the skills between that first GPR and now, with the lessons learned on the GPR still in the brain and the new project is looking quite good, with me having to do all the inletting (as opposed to the GPR).


Highly recommended, if you can find one. IMHO, don't buy a kit to save money. Buy a kit because you're interested in building the rifle. And dollar for dollar, these are a lesser cost kit than buying the parts from TOTW (well in my experience anyway but I didn't look at saving costs) - but the quality is that of a higher cost kit. The GPR will last several lifetimes.


Contact Lyman directly (they do sell direct) - exporting & importing these is a non-issue so they may be able to export one to you directly?


Wholesale Sports used to bring them in (but no longer does) - may be worth asking some of the stores if they can't just special order you one.

Good luck
 
I'm not sure but Ellwood Epps may have these in stock. It's worth a call to check, 1-705-689-5333, they are a sponsor to this forum and are great people to deal with. Good luck with the kit.
 
I just asked my local store, who checked with the distributor: a minimum of 8-12 weeks if I order today.

Why the hell is it that no one stocks stuff in Canada?

I will be ordering one from the US, I guess. I tried shopping Canadian, but was yet again unable to do so. I really don't have a lot of sympathy any more for the industry here when they complain about people buying from the states.
 
I will echo what North Coast big bore said. I built one about 30 years ago, and I enjoyed the project. More importantly, I really like the rifle. I have had zero trouble with it, and I truly believe that it is a great value for the money. I didn't shoot much for a lot of years, but have been shooting it off and on again for the last year. I learned some stuff since the '80's, and now that I have got a proper patch/lube/ball combination, and started weighing balls, it shoots pretty damn good. I did a thread a year or so ago outlining my progress, if you're interested. A much better source of knowledge is a guy named Dutch Schoultz. If you google him, he publishes a "book" (pamphlet, really) that really tells you how to get the best out of your prb rifle. OBTW, re: .50 vs .54, I vote for the .50. It has enough jam to kill a deer at sensible ranges with a heavy load, and yet it shoots excellent with 45 grains of FFG, which is nice and easy on both the shoulder and the wallet. As always, YMMV.\
Glen
 
Ol' Smokey said:
He he, will do.

So far, I've decided that I want to brown the metal bits, and upgrade the lock (ordered at the same time as the kit.

Does Tapco make tactical stuff for that rifle? LOL!;-)
Click to expand...

Sure, use a Red Dot with a dovetail mount on there, it's a standard size. LOL ATI might make you a custom folder.


Lots of browning solutions out there, you can even concoct your own. easiest though, if you're already ordering from Track, is to grab some of their Laurel Mountain forge browning solution
 
Just an update.

My 50 caliber percussion kit arrived a little more than a week after I ordered it from TOTW! Great customer service.

Looks good, the inletting isn't bad. Barring the unforeseen, it should be a fun winter project!
 
Black powder up this neck of woods is most modern inline
Due to fact that the guns are cheap and made In
High numbers to meet demand,

I have a thompson hawken 50 cal percussion
If you check all the dealers that deal Thompson
I garuntee they don't have a hawken style gun!
But could order one, but if u asked for a Thompson
Impact, or omega, they'd have one
As Far as the plains gun, only complaint I had
Was frizzens are soft, had mine hardened, and fine
After, also the agate flint they come with is junk
Get some English flints, other than that, mine was
Accurate and reliable, I bought mine through lebarons
But at that time all they had was finished guns
I paid 587$ for it shipped here
 
Smokey,I am new to black powder and have been looking at the GPR as well .Only I was thinking of getting one ready to go right out of the box.Do you know if there would be any import/export issues with the rifle vs the kit?Good luck with your project...
 
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