.54 Lyman Plains Pistol

[pab1]

One of my favorite guns @DBrevit! I built mine from a kit. I've come up with two very accurate loads for mine using FFF Goex. Both use a .530 ball and .018" pillow ticking patch lubed with either Bumblin' Bear Grease or Trappers Pure Mink Oil. I use a 20gr load most of the time. It comes in at 655fps and has been an excellent small game load. I've taken snowshoe hare, grouse and cottontail rabbits with it. The second load uses 45gr of FFF Goex at 890fps. It packs a punch but I use the 20gr load most of the time.

 

[BigAl52]

Phil doesnt live very far from me. I had him build one from a kit for me. Phil is a great guy and does really nice work. Mine came out exceptional.

 

[user 43911]

Got a chance to go out and run some shots through the Lyman pistol today, this is how it went.
Powder is new Graf's 3f (made by GOEX), Graf's label stuff is still as dirty as I found a few years ago when somebody else made it for them (must cut a corner to offer at lower price).
Round ball is my cast .535 from a Lee mold, I shot a few .530's on another target and they shot the same.
Patch material, I had some 10 thou linen and some loose weave 20 thou, I will have to find my good stuff as the patches were shredded.
The 3 shot group, I did not have the guts to shoot at the target more than that for fear of trashing it.
I used a drop tube I made and dropped 5 grains of GOEX 4f followed by 30 grains of Graf GOEX 3f, Iv'e done this is the past if I have poor patch material or stubborn gun.
The other group, more normal group that still took more concentration that I remember it should, both freehand and rested showed a right tendency so I knocked the rear sight over when I got in the house (it was clearly off to one side before I shot it), the targets shown are part of the first and only 20 fired from the gun, looks very capable and I will try and refine the load in the next few weeks.

P.S. Cleaning, I love hook breech.

 

[brazosland]

Nice shooting.

My experience is the barrels take a little break in to smooth them out a bit.

My .54 prefers a .530 with a tight patch. My hunting reloads use the same ball with a thinner patch for speed. Twice I have had to reload quickly to finish wounded porcine combatants attempting to retreat from the field and sacrificing their honor.

My hunting load in my .50 and .54 is 35 grains of Goex 3F. That load will abuse the patch a bit, but when I use a paperwasp nest over the powder and under the ball that problem is solved and groups are tighter as well.

 

[user 43911]

The Graf's 3f powder is dirty in this gun, two shots is all that can be shot without cleaning. The 3 shot group was wiped between each shot with clean patch and alcohol/lanolin mix.
This type of pistol is hard to best (price, style,brand,hook breech etc) but I'm jonesing a flintlock pistol, may see this Lyman pistol in the classifieds.

 

[fourbore]

I see the Great Plains is for sale to be replaced with a flint lock. I am shopping and curious what you are looking at. It is a shame the Lyman GP does not come in a flint version.

 

[user 43911]

I see the Great Plains is for sale to be replaced with a flint lock. I am shopping and curious what you are looking at. It is a shame the Lyman GP does not come in a flint version.

It is a shame, I had thought of fitting a Lyman trade/GP flint rifle lock and cut down rifle barrel then fitting to pistol wood and having a Lyman flint pistol, all barrels are 15/16 hook breech. Then I thought na.

I had been looking at Pedersoli Harpers Ferry .58, .54 Kentucky, continental target/dueling .45, all from Pedersoli, for starters I purchased a Queen Anne listed on this forum

 

[Tinhorn]

Brazosland, get out the mill/bastard files and get to it! I had a total hip replacement (Fancy-schmancy titanium) and was trapped in the house for weeks, drivers' license pulled, stupid pain pills, etc. Had all the time in the world to draw-file a Keystone Profile William Leman .56 roundball barrel for my John Browning Mountain Rifle. I did the breech, under rib, and thimbles prior to surgery, and used the next month to file it out, 1/2 hour or so each day. The wife didn't even complain about the steel crumbs in the carpet...… Sweet girl, has no taste in men! And at Jed Smith Rondy in northern Cal, it hit 2 shots through the head of the squirrel hunt target, 1 hole group. You can make a nice job of it, and fit the under-rib real nice, too. A machine shop may not be able to do that, but you can! Great thing about profiling your own barrels- you can dream up whatever profile you need. My Keystone was sort of a copy of the Smith and Wesson Mod. 29 top rib/bottom rib idea. Wide on the top, narrow at the rib on the bottom. The balance is better than factory Browning, too TinHorn