Breaking in a new Lyman Plains Pistol

[fenders]

I am very new to ML rifles, and have zero experience with A ML pistol. I have a new Lyman .50 cal pistol ordered. I will read the instructions of course, but am curious if anyone has advice to offer while I attempt to dial it in for accuracy. Recommended powder charge, ball, patch etc? My markmanship skills will need practice for sure, I'm not a half bad shot with a rifle, but a pistol will be a challenge for sure, based on my military experiences with a .45 and 9mm.

What is a reasonable accuracy expectation for this pistol at 25 yards?

 

[Bob Riegl]

:wink: There is nothing to do to "break-in" your new Lyman pistol. Outside of a clean up and barrel swab, remove the nipple and check for obstructions, Replace the nipple with some anti-seize compound. The Lyman manual will suggest a set of loads from lowest to the maximum---choose one in the middle range load it up and enjoy. As far as 25 yard accuracy---not to worry it's not a bench rest gun! Pistol shooting is an art in itself and must be practiced, try two handing it and/or benching it for your first attempts. If your range permits, set your targets at 15 yards and proceed up to the 25 yard mark slowly.---Enjoy..... :v "Doc"

 

[rafterob]

Once you get it sighted in, you can expect good accuracy to 25 yards with groups opening up at 50.If you are getting a 6" group at 25 yards with some in or near the center ring, you're off to a good start. Try 25-30 grains goex 2 or 3f. .490 ball and yer typical pillow tick patch .015-.018 thickness. I use crisco for patch lube, its a good cheap place to start. When sighting in you should use a steady rest or bench rest. You may very well have to file the front sight down if it shoots low at first. You can certainly expect to hit the bull once in awhile if yer holding everything just right. Great fun to shoot.

 

[Zonie]

fenders:
Dixie Gunworks catalog mentions that the Lyman Great Plains Pistol has a .500 diameter bore with .516 diameter grooves in it.

I mention this because of several things.
While there is no doubt that a .490 diameter ball with a .018 thick patch is an excellent choice for a .50 caliber rifle it may be a bit hard to load in a pistol.

With a rifle you've got a great big mass of weight and lots of places to get ahold of it while starting the patched ball.
With a pistol it is fairly light weight and the short barrel is the only thing that is easy to get a grip on.
Depending on the direction of the grips wood grain, resting the pistol on a hard surface can shatter the stock if too much power is needed to start the patched ball.

In any case, you will have to use a short starter to get the patched ball started into the muzzle.
After it is started, pushing it the rest of the way down with the ramrod is pretty easy.

I mention this because when using a short starter it is hit with the palm of the hand to drive the patched ball into the bore. That imparts a lot of impact load to the grip if it is resting on a large hard surface.

What all of this is boiling down to is I recommend that you take a piece of carpet or several rags folded one, over the other to rest the pistols grip on while you short start the ball. This will help protect the stock.

Also, with .516 diameter grooves in the barrel a .495 diameter ball patched with a .010-.012 patch will be easier to start and it should seal the bore fine with pistol loads.

I agree with gettogun that 25-30 grains of powder will work very nicely for target work.

Have fun.

 

[fenders]

Appreciate all the info guys. I ordered some .490 ball and a couple different type patches in the .015 range. I'll be careful not to bust the grip if it's too tight.

 

[rafterob]

That ball and patch combo is a pretty tight fit and my palm takes a beating on the short starter. I ran out of .490 balls and had to use some .495's with the same pillow ticking patches- I thought I was going to break all the bones in my hand let alone the pistol grip just trying to get those buggers down.

 

[cmdrted]

I Have the 50 cal it takes 490 and waly world ticking, same as the rifle version. The barrel is essentialy a piece of the rifle barrel cut down to pistol length. I always wondered if a replacement lock and barrel could be done> I really like the triger on the plains pistol. As for loads 30 3f at 25 is pretty accurate and doesn't seem like it wants to twist out of your hand. Enjoy!

 

[Ken Rummer]

I have both 50 and 54 barrels for my GPP. Both will shoot 1" at 25 yds. Load is 5 gr 3F under Lyman max with .490/.530 ball, wal-mart ticking and Hoppe's lube. They are great pistols. I was never able to shoot 5 rd groups this tight with my 22 revolvers.

Pistol ramrods are ok for seating the ball but are difficult to get a grip on when pulling a cleaning patch out of the bore. I recommend buying a pistol starter & cleaning rod, I believe from Track of the Wolf that is 10" long and 7/16 in diameter with a big round wood ball on the end. You can drive the prb all the way down with a palm smack and have something to grip for cleaning. It has a 10-32 hole so you can attach useful tools as needed. This made my range trips much more pleasant.

 

[PreglerD]

I'll follow the recommendations of Zonie! Furthermore try a maxiball with a charge of 30 grs FFg. Will work very well too.

Regards

Kirrmeister