Any Lyman Plains Pistol fans here?

[Khulb]

Or, what suggestions are out there as to a good reasonable, Flintlock pistol?

 

[tbob38]

I have two Lyman Plains 54 cal. pistols. One was subject to the recall so I sent the barrel to Lyman. Turns out that they didn't have any 54 cal barrels (until December), and offered either a 50 cal barrel or a complete 54 cal kit. I chose the 54 kit and am going to try browning the barrel. Am very interested in loading stands at this point.

 

[Cleats]

I got my Lyman Plains 54 cal. pistol a few days ago. I plan on deer hunting with it this year. To those who hunt with this pistol, how to you carry it in the woods? I would prefer some type of holster because I often climb into a tree stand and don't want the gun to get bumped or in the way while climbing. I'm not finding holsters that fit this. Thanks.

 

[Bad Karma]

I got my Lyman Plains 54 cal. pistol a few days ago. I plan on deer hunting with it this year. To those who hunt with this pistol, how to you carry it in the woods? I would prefer some type of holster because I often climb into a tree stand and don't want the gun to get bumped or in the way while climbing. I'm not finding holsters that fit this. Thanks.

You may need to make your own. Perhaps patterned after a chest rig for modern pistols like the Alaskan rig.

 

[jonathan butcher]

I too am looking for a holster for mine, not much luck so far.

I got my Lyman Plains 54 cal. pistol a few days ago. I plan on deer hunting with it this year. To those who hunt with this pistol, how to you carry it in the woods? I would prefer some type of holster because I often climb into a tree stand and don't want the gun to get bumped or in the way while climbing. I'm not finding holsters that fit this. Thanks.

 

[jonathan butcher]

I got this one from a fellow member not long ago, really nicely browned and finished,

 

[Grenadier1758]

Nice looking pistol. What happened to the ramrod?

 

[jonathan butcher]

Nothing whatsoever! What you're seeing is a strand of the shooting bag fringe placed just so, making it look the ramrod is broken. If you expand the pic really close up you can see the strand of bag fringe. I couldn't have planned that shot in a million years!
Below is a pic of just the pistol.

Nice looking pistol. What happened to the ramrod?

 

[Enfield1]

I got my Lyman Plains 54 cal. pistol a few days ago. I plan on deer hunting with it this year. To those who hunt with this pistol, how to you carry it in the woods? I would prefer some type of holster because I often climb into a tree stand and don't want the gun to get bumped or in the way while climbing. I'm not finding holsters that fit this. Thanks.

I crafted a holster for my Lyman Plains .50. It is a very simple “rig”, just kind of a leather loop afixed to a fat leather belt that holds it in a cross draw fashion on my left side to be drawn right-handed. My pouch and horn hang on my right side, so it seems to work well. I know that it came with a large metal clip to hold it on a belt, but I did not attach it only because, cosmetically, I prefer it without it.

 

[jonathan butcher]

Would love to see a pic of your holster.

I crafted a holster for my Lyman Plains .50. It is a very simple “rig”, just kind of a leather loop afixed to a fat leather belt that holds it in a cross draw fashion on my left side to be drawn right-handed. My pouch and horn hang on my right side, so it seems to work well. I know that it came with a large metal clip to hold it on a belt, but I did not attach it only because, cosmetically, I prefer it without it.

 

[Enfield1]

Would love to see a pic of your holster.

I am at work, but I will see if I can get a photo here, this weekend.

 

[Dale Lilly]

I'm a big fan of them. Fine accuracy and looks good. These are ones I built from kits with a bit of extra fiddling.
IMG_0249 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

Love that octagon to round "fiddlin'" Polecat

 

[Enfield1]

Would love to see a pic of your holster.

Here ya go. I tried to be period correct. I guess someone could have made a holster like this.

 

[jonathan butcher]

Nice job! Totally servicable and looks good enough for rendezvous! By the way, where exactly did you get the belt ? I've been looking everywhere for a 2-3"in width leather belt w/ iron buckle, no luck whatsoever!

Here ya go. I tried to be period correct. I guess someone could have made a holster like this.

 

[Enfield1]

Nice job! Totally servicable and looks good enough for rendezvous! By the way, where exactly did you get the belt ? I've been looking everywhere for a 2-3"in width leather belt w/ iron buckle, no luck whatsoever!

Years, ago, Dixie Gun Works used to sell this belt. I am not aware if they still do. It came as just a plain leather belt, no holes. They sold this large hand-forged buckle, as well. Try Smiling Fox Forge. I think that they sell the belt and buckle that you are looking for, as well.

 

[Enfield1]

Nice job! Totally servicable and looks good enough for rendezvous! By the way, where exactly did you get the belt ? I've been looking everywhere for a 2-3"in width leather belt w/ iron buckle, no luck whatsoever!

I apologize. Smiling Fox was a “goose chase”, but I checked Dixie and they still carry the belts and buckles.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I bought a Lyman Plains Pistol in .50 caliber about 20 years ago, I think. I shot it several times over the first couple of years, but not much after that and none recently. That may change after watching the Black Powder Maniac videos! I found the pistol was capable of very accurate shooting... No issues with the trigger, lock, ignition, or barrel. However, I never really got used to the "cane handle" grip, and the front sight was so thick it completely filled the rear sight notch, shooting with a two-handed hold. Shooting with one hand, with the pistol farther from my eye, I could see just a little daylight on either side of the front sight blade, but I could not hold as steady shooting that way. I've been considering trying these replacement sights from Lyman:

They may be a bit tall for a pistol, but the bases should be a pretty close fit to the existing dovetails. They aren't very traditional, and I've considered just getting a silver blade front and "Kentucky" rear sight and trying to fit them to the gun instead, but I like the sight picture I get with a bead, and might be willing to try this combination out on the Plains Pistol.

Anyone have pics of their loading stands?

I built a simple loading stand out of pine shortly after I got the pistol:

Nothing fancy here. It was mostly knocked together out of scrap and some odds and ends I had on hand. I finished it with Danish oil. The loading rod is a stick of pernambuco, which is the preferred wood for violin bows. A buddy of mine builds high-end violin bows for a living, and he has given me a few of his scraps and cutoffs. That's the natural color of the wood, under a clear coat, sort of like well-aged cherry. Pernambuco is the hardest wood I have ever worked. The T-handle is a piece of deer antler, epoxied and pinned, and the fitting on the driving end is a commercial one I got from Track of the Wolf, threaded for 10/32 accessories.

The perspective makes the wood look really thick and chunky, but it's just regular 3/4" pine, except for the block that holds the pistol butt, which is 1-1/2" thick. There is a piece of heavy leather fitted down in the notch for the pistol butt. I took great pains to file flats in the notch for the barrel support, to exactly match the flats of the octagon barrel. I found this was actually sort of a waste of time. A simple, round bottomed slot would have worked just as well.

This is the back. Again, the perspective is a little distorted. The upright tapers slightly, from 5-1/2" at the bottom to 4" wide at the top. Without the taper, it looked really top-heavy and clunky. The "corner braces" were cut from 1" angle iron, secured with flat-head brass wood screws. If you go back and look at the first picture, you can see a pair of these angle braces under the barrel support piece, also. These homemade angle braces just suited my style (whatever that may be...) better than the commercial corner braces stamped out of sheet metal, or the cheesy-looking galvanized "L" braces with pre-drilled holes.

This stand works well for me. It's pretty crude when compared to some of the work the rest of you guys have shown, but it does what it needs to do. You wouldn't want to carry it around in the woods with you, but at a range with a shooting bench, it is handy. It's a good place to put the pistol, with the muzzle up and the loading rod in place to serve as a flag, when they call a "cold range" and everybody walks downrange to check their targets. It leaves both hands free while loading, also.

You fellows are an inspiration! I need to limber up my old Plains Pistol and get back on the range!

Notchy Bob

 

[jonathan butcher]

Excellent info!

I'm def going to buy a pistol stand like the one you made, the more I think about it the more it seems like a necessary piece of kit if you have a ML pistol

Second; the Lyman bead front sight appears to be just the thing my old eyes need! I can't bing myself to mount the rear sight though ( at least not yet), it just looks so, so... modern, asthetically changing the appearance of the rifle. Wonder if you can buy them separately ? And would it fit the front site dovetail of my Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken. Are all recenlty dovetails cut into ml barrels the same ? Unlike some of the more gunsmithing adept members, for me it's ' if it don't fit I must acquit !'

I bought a Lyman Plains Pistol in .50 caliber about 20 years ago, I think. I shot it several times over the first couple of years, but not much after that and none recently. That may change after watching the Black Powder Maniac videos! I found the pistol was capable of very accurate shooting... No issues with the trigger, lock, ignition, or barrel. However, I never really got used to the "cane handle" grip, and the front sight was so thick it completely filled the rear sight notch, shooting with a two-handed hold. Shooting with one hand, with the pistol farther from my eye, I could see just a little daylight on either side of the front sight blade, but I could not hold as steady shooting that way. I've been considering trying these replacement sights from Lyman:

View attachment 38626

They may be a bit tall for a pistol, but the bases should be a pretty close fit to the existing dovetails. They aren't very traditional, and I've considered just getting a silver blade front and "Kentucky" rear sight and trying to fit them to the gun instead, but I like the sight picture I get with a bead, and might be willing to try this combination out on the Plains Pistol.



I built a simple loading stand out of pine shortly after I got the pistol:

View attachment 38627

Nothing fancy here. It was mostly knocked together out of scrap and some odds and ends I had on hand. I finished it with Danish oil. The loading rod is a stick of pernambuco, which is the preferred wood for violin bows. A buddy of mine builds high-end violin bows for a living, and he has given me a few of his scraps and cutoffs. That's the natural color of the wood, under a clear coat, sort of like well-aged cherry. Pernambuco is the hardest wood I have ever worked. The T-handle is a piece of deer antler, epoxied and pinned, and the fitting on the driving end is a commercial one I got from Track of the Wolf, threaded for 10/32 accessories.

View attachment 38629

The perspective makes the wood look really thick and chunky, but it's just regular 3/4" pine, except for the block that holds the pistol butt, which is 1-1/2" thick. There is a piece of heavy leather fitted down in the notch for the pistol butt. I took great pains to file flats in the notch for the barrel support, to exactly match the flats of the octagon barrel. I found this was actually sort of a waste of time. A simple, round bottomed slot would have worked just as well.

View attachment 38630

This is the back. Again, the perspective is a little distorted. The upright tapers slightly, from 5-1/2" at the bottom to 4" wide at the top. Without the taper, it looked really top-heavy and clunky. The "corner braces" were cut from 1" angle iron, secured with flat-head brass wood screws. If you go back and look at the first picture, you can see a pair of these angle braces under the barrel support piece, also. These homemade angle braces just suited my style (whatever that may be...) better than the commercial corner braces stamped out of sheet metal, or the cheesy-looking galvanized "L" braces with pre-drilled holes.

This stand works well for me. It's pretty crude when compared to some of the work the rest of you guys have shown, but it does what it needs to do. You wouldn't want to carry it around in the woods with you, but at a range with a shooting bench, it is handy. It's a good place to put the pistol, with the muzzle up and the loading rod in place to serve as a flag, when they call a "cold range" and everybody walks downrange to check their targets. It leaves both hands free while loading, also.

You fellows are an inspiration! I need to limber up my old Plains Pistol and get back on the range!

Notchy Bob

 

[jonathan butcher]

Notchy Bob, what do you think of these two stands - could either be modified to work ?

 

[Notchy Bob]

Jonathan, thank you for your comments!

The stands you have pictured are really nice looking. However, I think they could be improved with a "butt holder" (for lack of a better term) to secure the butt and keep it from sliding away from the upright, or to the side. You can use a hole saw of the same diameter as the width of the pistol butt to form the bottom of the slot in a piece of 1-1/2" stock, and then make two saw cuts in to make the hole into a slot. Put the pistol in the stand and move the "butt holder" piece around until you get it in the right place, then clamp it, turn it over, and drill it and secure it with wood screws coming up from the bottom.

I can't really tell how wide the slot is in the barrel holder for the stands which are pictured... The foam "dummy" gun obscures it. It needs to be wide enough to accommodate the barrel of a half-stock pistol, or the forend of a fullstock, but I wouldn't want it much wider than necessary because the pistol will flop around if it isn't held securely.

The hinge on the upright initially looks like a good idea, enabling you to fold your stand up for storage or transport. However, I am a klutz, and if there is any way to make it fold up while it is holding a pistol, I will find it. If it were me, I would try to think of a way to lock it in place, either permanently (as with corner braces or "L" braces, or a plate on the backside) or temporarily, with a latch of some sort. Trunk latches mounted upside down might work, as the back of the upright appears flush with the back edge of the base.

Those are my thoughts. Other opinions are welcome.

Notchy Bob