.54 Lyman Great Plains Rifle Review

[Coinneach]

When she first came to me.View attachment 242527

IMHO there's nothing more elegant as a Hawken Rifle / GPR devoid of Brass furniture and having the appearance of Hawken reality.

 

[Packrat]

Thanks Ed for your comments. The riffle as I was told had been in storage for a long time, hardley shot. , I only shot it half a dozen time. Packrat

 

[longcruise]

75 yards or less, it certainly will be for an east coast white tail

I tend to differ on that. I observed first hand over two days two kills on mature mulie does. One with a GPR, RB, 80 gr 2f goex, 180 yards through the lungs ball uner the skin on the far side. Deer walked about 50 feet.

The other a TC Hawken, 54 cal, RB, 80 gr 2f goex, at 30 yards, IDENTICAL hit. Ball under the skin on the offside. Deer walked about 25 feet.

I'm not an advocate of the mysterious magical killing power of the RB. Just reporting what i saw with my own eyes.

I neglected to include in my review that I found a some smaller cuts in a few somewhat damp cleaning patches. At the advisement of Chorizo, I purchased some lapping compound and cutting oil, then lapped the barrel. This particular GPR was made in 1991 and has obviously only been fired a very few times.

I've built four of the 54 GPR kits and they were all serious patch cutters. It's the way those barrels left the factory. I was at the time into firelapping of modern guns and so applied it to the GPRs and they were all cured.

You accomplished the same thing with hand lapping which is probably the simpler way of getting there.

 

[ETipp]

I've built four of the 54 GPR kits and they were all serious patch cutters. It's the way those barrels left the factory. I was at the time into firelapping of modern guns and so applied it to the GPRs and they were all cured.

You accomplished the same thing with hand lapping which is probably the simpler way of getting there.

Well its the impatient way of doing it anyway.

 

[chorizo]

I tend to differ on that. I observed first hand over two days two kills on mature mulie does. One with a GPR, RB, 80 gr 2f goex, 180 yards through the lungs ball uner the skin on the far side. Deer walked about 50 feet.

The other a TC Hawken, 54 cal, RB, 80 gr 2f goex, at 30 yards, IDENTICAL hit. Ball under the skin on the offside. Deer walked about 25 feet.

I'm not an advocate of the mysterious magical killing power of the RB. Just reporting what i saw with my own eyes.


I've built four of the 54 GPR kits and they were all serious patch cutters. It's the way those barrels left the factory. I was at the time into firelapping of modern guns and so applied it to the GPRs and they were all cured.

You accomplished the same thing with hand lapping which is probably the simpler way of getting there.

I do not doubt your experience, at all. The comment was more about the accuracy he said he was getting (6" group at 100 yards) That is a little sketchy for me for the size of a whitetail vitals....4" or less would make me more comfortable.

As for the killing potential of RB. Extremely adequate for most deer and most deer situations. I have killed several west coast blacktails (one out to 150 yards...a spine shot and dropped) and lots of 100lb pigs with a RB. Most go further than I like after hitting them. If you get them out of the barrel fast enough, the retained energy at further distances is more than adequate to make it inside of their vitals and make a kill. But in those places I hunted, a blood trail wasn't required to find wounded game. Open and easy tracking. If it is dense with lots of game track fouling the area, then I desire through and through to leave a blood trail.

I only sarcastically call it the Magic Round Pill of Death, because there are some who advocated it above all else. As I stated in a previous post, I love purpose driven hunting guns..design, sights and loads with the intended game in mind. A GPR hunting on the east coast with a RB for white tail fits that description!

 

[longcruise]

@chorizo yes, there's a difference in desired performance depending on conditions. The solutions don't always achieve the desired outcomes but that's the case across all hunting methods. I hunt with ML, bow and suppository guns and find that hunters using all three of those methods have the same desire for fast efficient kills. However, it just doesn't always go as expected and sometimes the "whys" can't be determined.

 

[chorizo]

@chorizo yes, there's a difference in desired performance depending on conditions. The solutions don't always achieve the desired outcomes but that's the case across all hunting methods. I hunt with ML, bow and suppository guns and find that hunters using all three of those methods have the same desire for fast efficient kills. However, it just doesn't always go as expected and sometimes the "whys" can't be determined.

You can increase your odds by using the appropriate equipment and loads for your conditions was my point, but as in combat, your plan only remains rock solid until first contact, then you improvise.

Prior planning prevents pee poor performance, but flexibility is the key to success.

 

[longcruise]

@chorizo agree absolutely. There's can be a difference in one's approach and conditions. As @ETipp described his hunting grounds.

 

[SPQR70AD]

Wearing the Lyman 57 peep up grade

did you blacken the inside of the hole you drilled making the peep bigger? cause the metal will be shiny. I get a tiny brush or toothpick and use flat black paint

 

[ETipp]

Getting this back on track, here’s a pic of the Lyman 57 sight aperture drilled out to 107 thousands. The best I could do with my phone. Its smoother than what it looks in the pic.

Larger apertures have proven to be superior for this ole boy, especially in lower light conditions. They flat out work.

 

[ETipp]

did you blacken the inside of the hole you drilled making the peep bigger? cause the metal will be shiny. I get a tiny brush or toothpick and use flat black paint

Yes I tried to do so with a sharpie. However, I have some black paint that I intend on following up with.

 

[SPQR70AD]

Yes I tried to do so with a sharpie. However, I have some black paint that I intend on following up with.

I had flat black spray paint sprayed some on carboard wiped some on the tiny artist brush. have to move quick cause it dries fast on the carboard. also I counterbored the hole slightly with a bigger bit before drilling. the concave supposed to let more light in cause when I look at any peep it always has that

 

[ETipp]

I had flay black spry paint sprayed some on carboard wiped some on the tiny artist brush. have to move quick cause it dries fast on the carboard

I would think that flat black would be best. That's what I intend on using.

 

[TDM]

You did good @ETipp!!! That’s a fine rifle.

 

[ETipp]

You did good @ETipp!!! That’s a fine rifle.

Thank you, TDM, for the kind words. I absolutely love this ML.

 

[bley49]

I have a Lyman trade rifle (flint) in .54 that's very accurate with round balls. Now I'm looking for a GPR.

 

[ETipp]

I have a Lyman trade rifle (flint) in .54 that's very accurate with round balls. Now I'm looking for a GPR.

I hope you can find the one you like.

 

[bigted]

Sight wise I consider those peep sights the best for this old man as well. I also consider taking our the insert and using the ghost sight my best answer to finding and hitting stuff out past the end of my nose. I also have built a couple Lyman GPR’s and find them to be maybe the handiest hunters I know of. Drop at the heel is about perfect [unlike the TC Hawkens]. The 15/16ths barrel is light enough to feel just right in my paws. The triggers [with a little polishing] tend to be practical and very useful. My go to is polishing the interior of the barrel with scotch bright patch’s till a mirror finish is obtained. Then with some 600 followed by 1200 grit paper on my thumb at the muzzle cures the tearing of the patch before it even gets down the barrel is very wise and needed to do. All in all a really nice balanced rifle in 54 cal that has a very respectable weight round ball with enough steam behind it to send it whistling downrange lickity split .

all in all I feel the GPR was the perfect hunter. The do all rifle even tho maybe not HC but close enough for this pilgrim.

 

[ETipp]

Sight wise I consider those peep sights the best for this old man as well. I also consider taking our the insert and using the ghost sight my best answer to finding and hitting stuff out past the end of my nose. I also have built a couple Lyman GPR’s and find them to be maybe the handiest hunters I know of. Drop at the heel is about perfect [unlike the TC Hawkens]. The 15/16ths barrel is light enough to feel just right in my paws. The triggers [with a little polishing] tend to be practical and very useful. My go to is polishing the interior of the barrel with scotch bright patch’s till a mirror finish is obtained. Then with some 600 followed by 1200 grit paper on my thumb at the muzzle cures the tearing of the patch before it even gets down the barrel is very wise and needed to do. All in all a really nice balanced rifle in 54 cal that has a very respectable weight round ball with enough steam behind it to send it whistling downrange lickity split .

all in all I feel the GPR was the perfect hunter. The do all rifle even tho maybe not HC but close enough for this pilgrim.

I concur. Its been many moons since I owned my first ML, a .54 Renegade. So it would be difficult to make a fair comparison. Other than the longer barrel of the GPR, that's about all I can remember to compare. I do believe my GPR is more accurate. I know I love the looks of the GPR, always have.

For this neck of the woods, I am very happy with my GPR. Now I just need to put a couple deer down with it and see how that goes.

 

[Dale Lilly]

I built a percussion .54 GPR about five years ago. Health has made it so I can no longer hunt, so I just fondle and clean, and wish I could go, but my hunting days are past. I had lots of good and successful days so I will not complain. About the GPR, this was my second build, the other in the 70s. I proved to be a terrific hunting machine and punched lots of holes in paper. I think it is one of the best, factory made, ML guns. I am a bit prejudiced in favor of Hawken styles and have several. You should love your GPR and find it a great woodsman's rifle. Have fun! Polecat