Hunting rifle

[tntom]

I kinda new to all this but I'm looking for a 45 or 50 cal Hawken style rifel left hand. I don't want to buy junk but I'm not covered up with money eather. Please point me in the right direction.

Tom

 

[Little Wattsy]

A) get a .54 - you'll never regret it.
B) Whats your budget?
C) I would sugest a used TC Renegade or Hawken - Look on the auction sites and here on the for sale board. OR a Lyman Great Plains Rifle in a kit to finish yourself or used.

Your best bet in finding a left hand model will probably be a Lyman Kit.... My guess

 

[tntom]

A 54 cal would be fine with me. As far as budget I would like to stay around $500.00. How much work does a kit require? What about the Traditions Hawken

 

[Lonegun1894]

A Lyman kit is easy and my last one took me about a week and a half worth of sanding, staining, and metal finishing for an hour or two a day after work. That one I bought about a year ago and cost me right at $400 plus sandpaper and stain. You can't go wrong with these and they're great shooters. A TC is just as good, but the feel is different, mosre like a modern rifle with less drop in the stock than the GPR has. These tend to go for anywhere between $250-$400, depending on your timing, luck, and probably region. While I have a CVA also (made by the same people that make Traditions), and it is a good shooter, with your budget, I would pay the extra few dollars and get the much better gun that the Lyman or TC is over the Traditions. I also second the recommendation of getting a .54 over a .50. Forst off, you have a little extra steam should you ever need it, and second, and probably more beneficial to most of us, you get a lighter weight rifle since most manufacturers use the same outside profile barrel for both .50 and .54, but just drill a bigger hole down the front to make a .54. If you had said this was a target rifle, I might have said go with the .50 due to them usually being a little heavier and especially more muzzle-heavy than a .54, but you said hunting, so lighter weight overall while at the same time providing slightly better performance on game makes the .54 about perfect for the vast majority of North American hunting.

Just to stir the pot a little here, have you considered a rock lock yet? You know you want one, all the cool kids have em... :stir:

 

[Little Wattsy]

Here is from the manufacturer... http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/muzzle-loaders/great-plains-rifle.php

Here is from a GREAT retailer and one I would probably do.. http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/partdetail.aspx/628/1/lyman-gpr-54-pk

OR you can google to see what else is out there...

 

[cowpoke1955]

DNR Sports offer the .54 Lyman Great Plains Rifle percussion left hand for $479.99, which is well within your budget. I have two .54 GPRs, one percussion and one flint. They are great hunting rifles. They are deadly accurate out to 100 yards.

 

[nmdd]

There is a CVA in the classifieds here on the forum...
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/pp-classifieds/showproduct.php/product/9047/cat/9

Fairly priced.... :hatsoff:

 

[tntom]

OK, Lyman Great Plains Rifle .54 cal 1 in 60 twist. Give me a starting point load please.
Ball
Patch
Powder

 

[Shifty]

I would start with .530 rb,pillow tick patch,mink oil lube or what ever bp lube you can get for the time being,70grns FFg Black Powder ,I know that you probly think that charge sounds light but you need to shoot the gun some any way,don't go past 25 yds for a few shots to see what it will do,and don't start messing with those sights untill you get to shooting some kind of resonable groups.Where are you located?

 

[Little Wattsy]

OK, Lyman Great Plains Rifle .54 cal 1 in 60 twist. Give me a starting point load please.
Ball
Patch
Powder

90 grains of FFg, a .015 patch, and a .535 round ball - touched off with a #11 CCI cap. Dead on at 25 yards = 3" high at 50 yards = daed on at 100 yards.

BUT in reality you will want to "work up a load" or start at 70 grains of powder and shoot a three shot group, up the powder by 5 grains, and repeat. Looking for the tighest groups out of THAT gun..

 

[hanshi]

That seems to be a really decent deal.

 

[George T.]

You will love this rifle! Dixie and Track both sell them. Mine is a 50 so I can not hepl much there! By the way a few years agi I got mine new off Gun Broker for $300. Geo. T.

 

[lewinskics]

I agree, you can't go wrong with the GPR. I own two, one flint and one percussion, both in .54. They are reasonably accurate, ruggedly well built and look the part of a plains rifle. Definitely a good value. The load info here is a good place to start- .530 ball, .015 patch and about 80 grains to start.

 

[William O.]

I would start with 60 grains of 2f Goex black powder, a .530 round ball (RB) and a pre-cut/lubed .015 shooting patch. Set you target at about 40 yards, give or take depending on how well you can see your hits.
Shoot three times at the same spot on the target without adjusting your sights. While sighting in I suggest swabbing your barrel between each shot so you can return the bore to the same condition as the previous shot, but you don't have to. Increase your powder charge by 5 grains and shoot another three times while aiming at the same spot, then repeat. Your groups should start getting tighter together at some point, then as you increase the charge they'll start opening up again and you've found the "sweet spot". For my .54 the sweet spot is 85 grains but what works in my rifle may not work well in yours so it's best to treat them as individuals. Only after you've found a good powder charge will you start to change things like patch thickness or adjust your sights. The GPR comes with an adjustable and primative rear sight and it's up to you to choose which one you like the best. I've found that I can't use the adjustable type and always went with the non-adjustable on all the GPR's that I've owned. By going with the .54 over the .50 you're getting a lighter barrel that doesn't feel as muzzle heavy although I don't believe there's any difference in accuracy. One thing to remember about new Lyman barrels is that most leave the factory with sharp edges on the rifling and they have a tendancy to cut and sometimes shred the patches while not giving you the best accuracy until some polishing occurs. This can be accomplished simply by putting 100 or so rounds through them or a number of other ways to speed up the process. If accuracy isn't as good as you think it should be after working up an accurate load then just give it some time and I think you'll be quite pleased with the results.
As for finding a store that sells traditional black powder such as Goex, you must ask for it as they can't advertise it plus it must be kept in a locked container. Many times you will have to ask the manager of the gun department specifically for Goex or some of the other brands such as Swiss or KIK. Do not use smokeless powder of any kind or let someone in the store point you toward the smokeless powders because they don't know what Goex is or that you need traditional black powder. This BTW happened to me at Bass Pro Shop a few years ago. Anyway, you'll also need to other things like a powder measure, cleaning jag unless one is included with your new rifle, shooting patches and possibly a range rod for easier loading. Get one with a free spinning T handle that offers a good grip. The range rod needs to be longer than your ram rod and be made of something other than wood. You can buy them or make your own and there is quite a few examples of them here on the forum. You may also want a short starter but it isn't neccessary. Get stuff made of metal and not plastic as it lasts longer and isn't so prone to breaking. Plastic see-through powder measures are junk IMHO, get something that will last a lifetime. Also, never pour powder directly from the can or powder container directly into the barrel, always pour into a powder measure, then into the bore. I've sure that there is some additional advice that I've overlooked but hopefully this will get you started. Welcome to the darkside! :grin:

 

[tward2]

I recently completed a Traditions .50 Hawken kit and am perfectly happy with it. Cost me around $300 but you can find better deals online. If you put the effort into the woodwork and finishing process, you will be pleased.

 

[rafterob]

If you got $500 go for the Great plains Hunter if you want to save $100-150 get a Traditions Hunter Hawken. I have the Traditions and it is well built, accurate and reliable. If tromping around in the woods I take my Traditions over my CVA Mountain rifle because it is lighter and shorter. Much like the difference between The GPR and The GPH.

 

[BrownBear]

Much like the difference between The GPR and The GPH.

Huh?

They're the same length and weight. Do you mean the GPR vs the Deerstalker? There's the kind of difference you cite between those two.

 

[rafterob]

OOPs, I really meant the Lyman Trade Rifle not the GPH.

 

[cowpoke1955]

The Lyman Trade Rifle is another option. They have a 28" barrel with 1 in 48" twist with the same quality as the GPR. DNR Sports offer them in .50 and .54 percussion and flint for $359.99. Just something else to check out. By the way, the GPR and the Trade Rifle comes with an adjustable rear sight and a fixed primitive rear sight.

 

[BrownBear]

OOPs, I really meant the Lyman Trade Rifle not the GPH.

Another good comparison! I thought I knew what you were meaning, and I was close. My only concern was someone reading who didn't know the Lyman lineup.

Thanks for the comeback. :hatsoff: