Hawken woodsman or lyman plains rifle?

[Jfoster]

I dont want to start a war over this question but im wanting to see what yalls oppinion would be as to which would beat auit me. I have had a few of the woodsman style hawkens and theyre just dandy but i want to finally get a left handed one so ill enjoy it more. Im tore between a hawken woodsman style in LH if i can find one, and a lyman great plains rifle in left hand. The hawken can take both PRB and maxi hunters which is noce for the variety of it. The lyman is a 1:60 twist and says its for PRB. Idk how well maxi hunter would work. I hunt in a lot of open field but take to the woods from time to time, especially when huntin hog and such. So the hawkens shorter barrel may be handier there, but im not sure if the lyman would be any hinderance. I plan on only shooting PRB as it is but may throw some maxis from time to time. I like the looks of the lyman profile and longer barrel compared to the hawken, mostly because of the bulky rear sight on the hawken. I dont ever use a patch box so its not a game changer that the lyman doesnt have one. I also like that the lyman is a double wedge. It just looks right and more period correct to what would be made and used from the hawken bros out of st louis during the RMFT era. So what say yall? Any first hand info from those who have used and shot both? Btw i can find a LH lyman much easier than i can a quality LH hawken. Thanks yall.

 

[ccmountainman]

You might want to look at the Great Plains hunter then.
Faster twist for more bullet options.
http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/muzzle-loaders/great-plains-hunter.php

Course it may not be available in L/H you'd have to check that

 

[Jfoster]

I looked into that one before. No left hand options that ive found. Im still tore. I keep kicking both of them around.

 

[bubba.50]

likely wouldn't do for serious target shootin' but, my .54cal roundball twist Great Plains Rifle was plenty accurate enough for huntin' with both Lee R.E.A.L. bullets & T/C maxi-balls.

 

[ccmountainman]

Yes there is a LH option per this Lyman parts data sheet. http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/muzzle-loaders/pdfs/lyc-ml-gp.pdf
Chart at bottom of page 1 right side
item 17k and 17l
page 2 shows a left hand stock 26a
left hand lock 5b

 

[bubba.50]

Midsouth Shooters Supply has left-hand Great Plains rifles in .50 & .54 cal roundball twist and left-hand Great Plains Hunter in .50cal shows as $505.00 for yer choice & all bein' in stock.

 

[galamb]

Both are decent rifles.

The Lyman is a little more rifle than the Traditons - and what I mean is the Woodsman has a 28" barrel, is about 44" long (overall) and weighs a bit under 8 pounds (7 lbs 11 oz, not loaded).

In comparison the GPR has a 32" barrel, is about 49" long (overall) and weighs a little over 9 lbs (9 lbs 4 oz, not loaded)

So the Woodsman would be more compact, lighter/easier to carry in dense woods and over long distances BUT being lighter, particularly if you choose to shoot conicals (or max loads), the "felt" recoil would be more severe.

There was a time when the quality of the Lyman would probably have been superior, but reports of late indicate that they are pretty much on par with each other.

One is made in Spain and the other in Italy - so no "domestic edge" - both have metric threaded parts.

I do like the Woodsman - horsed around a bit with one - it handled and shot nice but if you are looking for a rifle a little more indicative of an original, the GPR does look quite a bit more like a rifle that was built for the "western frontier" back in the day.

 

[William O.]

I would get the Lyman Great Plains Rifle in .54 with the 1/60 twist as the barrel is a bit lighter than the .50 and therefore less nose heavy. A .54 RB will do the job on most anything if you put it in the right spot.

 

[Jfoster]

Thanks for the info on midsouth. Didnt know about them. The 505.00 one is for the 1:32 twist which is too fast for my taste, but they have the 1:60 for 528.00 that i may jump on. Thats the best price ive found yet. And its left handed. Decisions are getting harder. Lol

 

[brjanes]

Check gunbroker and armslist.I have seen a few left hand Lyman rifles on both and somewhat cheap too.You can also find left hand hawkens.

 

[bubba.50]

there's a nice lookin' left-hand Great Plains for sale right here in the firearms for sale section for $375.00

 

[Ken Cormier]

Lyman :thumbsup:

 

[Bill M.]

Buy the left hand Lyman that is in the classifieds now.

I have a couple of the TC Hawkens. I think the Lyman is a better rifle across the board.

 

[William O.]

Buy the left hand Lyman that is in the classifieds now. I have a couple of the TC Hawkens. I think the Lyman is a better rifle across the board.

I'm eyeing that one as well and I've got plenty of rifles as it is.