lyman .50 cal

[evan]

I just got a used .50 cal lyman great plans rifle with a 1-66 does any body know if I can shoot conical in it. Thanks Evan

 

[Rebel]

You can but they may not shoot very well. It is designed for round balls.

 

[J.D.]

The right conical might shoot very well, but why do you want to shoot conicals? Round balls shoot very well and are more than enough for deer sized game.
J.D.

 

[bwhoffman]

Evan,
You can, but the conicals really like a little faster twist, such as 1:48. you might try the "ballets" on the market by, i think, buffalo arms. I have not tried these but others I know have and claimed good reults in their 1:60s and 66s

my $.02,

Brett

 

[halfstock54]

if you know anyone who has them, give Lee REAL bullets a try. My .54 Lyman GPR loves them.

 

[swquiro]

If you try the REAL bullets I suspect you will get better results if you use the shorter ones. The .50 cal has a short one and a long one. Good luck.

 

[evan]

thanks for the info, but I could not find lee's real bullets anywere on the internet. I called lyman and they said use only .459 ball with 10,000 patch, but i still would love to use something heavier than a ball to hunt with.All our deer have one foot in the water here in central florida and I really need to stop the dear dead in his tracks or it will run to the swamp and it's gone forever.

 

[Rebel]

A round ball will punch through a deer too. If a conical goes all the way through without expanding it isn't any better, maybe not as good as, a round ball that goes all the way through and does expand some. You can only kill them so dead.

 

[Catof9tails]

I have a 50 Lyman GPH with the fast twist and it does leave two leaking holes in a deer using hornady sabots or powerbelts. I like to shoot for the heart and deer drop within 25 to 50 yards. I also have a 54 Cabelas with 1:48 twist and only shoot roundballs with it. That gun took it's first doe last fall using roundball and she dropped in her tracks. I've never done that with a modern rifle.

If it were me, I'd go with roundball since your rifle has a slower twist. I'm sure you have heard this before, but shot placement is the key no matter conical or roundball. Just make a lot smoke and practice as much as you can. Those roundballs are my favorite bullet in the 1:48 twist and they do the job on the deer.

Just my thoughts,
Catof9tails

 

[evan]

let me ask this question if you all don't mind.

I called Layman and was told my Lyman to only shoot patch and ball thru the .50 cal great plains. the ball they rec. was a .495 with a 10,000 patch. problem is the only patch I could find in any local gun shop (all of two) was a
"ox-yoke all day wonder patch" for calibers .40-.49 so my question now is does anybody know if this will work. (The .49 patch that is) thanks for all your help. I am new to this muzzleloading thing, but want to really get into it.

 

[evan]

hey this is evans son thanks for riten my dad back

 

[Catof9tails]

If it were me, I would start with a .490 roundball and a .015 thickness pillow ticking (cotton) lubed patch. Depending on your location, patches can be hard to find. You'll need to shop around. Some folks will shop at Walmart and use a micrometer to measure pillow ticking and make their own patches. I use CVA .015 dry cotton patches that are good for .50-.58 calibers. I lube them myself with TC Natural Lube 1000 Plus. It works for my me and my rifle.

Hopefully, Musketman, Rebel, Zonie, or Roundball will stop by with more info. I'm able to buy most of my stuff local, but they may have a web address or other tips that may help your out.

Just a reminder, practice safety and stay within the specs. Good luck with your Lyman 50.

Just my thoughts,
Catof9tails

 

[Rebel]

The Ox Yoke patch should be ok. You can always go to Wal Mart or JoAnns fabrics and get pillow ticking or #40 drill cloth to use as patches and cut your own. Either a .490 or .495 rd ball will work in the rifle. Mine did good with a .495 but others have better luck with the .490. Only way to know for sure is to try both and see which one works the best. Iused 80 grs of Pyrodex RS, a ptllow ticking patch and Hornady .495 rd ball in mine with a CCI #11 magnum cap, and a HotShot nipple. Hope this helps.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Even though those patches say .40-.49 thay are more than large enough for a .50 if you pay attention to centering them on the muzzle. If you cut patches at the muzzle as I do you will find they are much smaller than those .40-.49 precuts.

 

[Lone Carabiner]

If your'e concerned with lethality try a double PRB load. Old timers called it 'loaded for bear', I use it in my .50 but plan on trying Lee REAL out of curiousity.
:hmm:

 

[Zonie]

evan: The patch for the .40-.49 will work fine as long as you make sure it is centered on the muzzle as you start the ball. What is needed is for there to be patching material between the outside of the ball and the bore so if you press the ball down into the bore with your finger and there is over 1/16 of an inch of material still sticking out of the area where the ball and muzzle meet, it will work fine.

As for buying material at a cloth store there are several things to keep in mind.
First and formost, the material must be pure cotton. No polyester, rayon, nylon or any other man made material will work. Even a trace of it in the material will melt when the gun is fired and ruin the accuracy.

Second, you want a very tight weave material. Loose weaves like terry cloth just won't do the job.

You want material that is close to the right thickness. Something in the .015-.019 range.
New denum is usually too thick (IMO).
This is why folks around here talk about WalMart "Pillow ticking". It's the blue/white striped stuff and it works great.

If you buy some material it is recommended that you put it thru a wash cycle to wash the "sizing" out of it. Sizing is another term for the starch the cloth people put on it to keep it from wrinkleing. It also is rumored to deposit itself in the bore of your gun if you shoot it.

You should be able to find a suitable material for around $4-$6 per yard. A yard of material will make over 700 patches.

Have fun!
zonie

 

[evan]

This is Evan and I want to thank every one for your help............this forum is great

 

[omgb]

I have the same gun Evan. i discovered that if I use a .490 RB and one of Hornady's plastic cup/patches, I can get clover leafs at 50 yards with an 80 grain load. I also have another bullet from Hornady that is shot and fat. They say it will shoot from their RB guns but I have yet to try it. The nice thing about these cups is that they permit you to shoot hard cast .495 balls without having to pound the ball down the barrel, a real no-no for acuracy. They were 50 cups to a bag for something like $10. I like them. The ball stays put while carrying the gun. This is in stark contrast to the earlier poly patchs. These let the ball get loose from time to time which of course, can be a disaster if you didn't catch it. The horandy cups have stipples that really grip the ball.

 

[JackAubrey]

As far as patching material goes one can purchase pillow ticking at walmart or if you prefer Dixie Gun Works,The Log Cabin Shop or any of the other mail order houses.Best regards,J.A.

 

[Lone Carabiner]

Try a felt pad(wad)over the powder charge. Tightened my groups up, you can buy them or if you shoot a lot make your own with flet material from Durofelt and use a punch to cut them out.