lyman .54 great plains charge
- Thread starter MosinRob
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Hi
Thirty grains is safe to shoot.
Somewhere between 31 and 800 grains your pistol will blow up and main or kill you.
What more can I say.
The Lyman .54 pistol is quite comparable to the S&W .44mag in power. What more could you want?
Thirty grains is safe to shoot.
Somewhere between 31 and 800 grains your pistol will blow up and main or kill you.
What more can I say.
The Lyman .54 pistol is quite comparable to the S&W .44mag in power. What more could you want?
Just for the record, the Lyman "BLACK POWDER HANDBOOK & LOADING MANUAL" 2nd Ed., shows the velocities and pressures for a .54 caliber 8 inch barreled single shot pistol shooting a roundball patched with .015 patches.
The loads they show range from 35 to 50 grains of GOEX 2Fg powder.
The velocities achieved with these loads vary from 792 fps to 939 fps with breech pressures ranging from 4,600 psi to 5,900 psi.
The book also shows the velocities and pressures produced by GOEX 3Fg powder in loads from 35 grains to 50 grains.
Using this powder produced velocities ranging from 909 fps to 1044 fps with breech pressures from 6,400 psi to 9,700 psi.
IMO, any of these loads could be used in your pistol but IMO I would stick to something around 45 grains max.
The barrel should be safe with these loads but with some single shot pistols the strength of the stock is not.
More than one single shot pistol has ended up with its stock damaged by someone who was trying to make a Magnum out of their gun.
Also, you will read about people using .018 thick patches in their rifles to get good accuracy.
Rifles are heavy and quite strong so ramming these tight fitting patch/ball combinations doesn't create a problem.
Pistols are another matter.
Using the butt of the grip to support the gun while ramming a tight fitting ball/patch can easily crack the stock.
I suggest that pistol shooters leave the tight fitting ball/patch to the riflemen and use patches more in the .010-.015 thick range.
Use the thinnest patch that gives good accuracy.
The loads they show range from 35 to 50 grains of GOEX 2Fg powder.
The velocities achieved with these loads vary from 792 fps to 939 fps with breech pressures ranging from 4,600 psi to 5,900 psi.
The book also shows the velocities and pressures produced by GOEX 3Fg powder in loads from 35 grains to 50 grains.
Using this powder produced velocities ranging from 909 fps to 1044 fps with breech pressures from 6,400 psi to 9,700 psi.
IMO, any of these loads could be used in your pistol but IMO I would stick to something around 45 grains max.
The barrel should be safe with these loads but with some single shot pistols the strength of the stock is not.
More than one single shot pistol has ended up with its stock damaged by someone who was trying to make a Magnum out of their gun.
Also, you will read about people using .018 thick patches in their rifles to get good accuracy.
Rifles are heavy and quite strong so ramming these tight fitting patch/ball combinations doesn't create a problem.
Pistols are another matter.
Using the butt of the grip to support the gun while ramming a tight fitting ball/patch can easily crack the stock.
I suggest that pistol shooters leave the tight fitting ball/patch to the riflemen and use patches more in the .010-.015 thick range.
Use the thinnest patch that gives good accuracy.
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My standard load in my home made Hawken style pistol with a patched ball has been 50 grains of 2 F. It was made from a section of rifle barrel with the two sides flats milled down to make it 1 inch wide instead of the 1 1/8 inch octagon it started out as. It also has a 5/16 steel rod bedded into the pistol grip the length. MD
The manual that came with my .54 GPP said that a PRB over 50 grains of 3F was the max load. I have shot that load in my GPP. It's stout.
20-30 grains of 3F is plenty except for deer hunting where Illinois law calls for a minimum of 500 ft/lb of muzzle energy. To get there with a PRB calls for the 50 grain charge.
I sometimes use 2F but the pistol seems to prefer the 3F.
20-30 grains of 3F is plenty except for deer hunting where Illinois law calls for a minimum of 500 ft/lb of muzzle energy. To get there with a PRB calls for the 50 grain charge.
I sometimes use 2F but the pistol seems to prefer the 3F.
To MosinRob,
Dear Sir,
I owe you an apology! :bow:
I was way too hard on you. Musta been the coffee!
My most sincere regrets, I see that you are a serious shooter and not some clown trying to make a .500 nitro express out on a BP hand gun.
Please keep up the great work, and tell us about your 50 yd. scores :thumbsup:
All the very best!
Fred
Dear Sir,
I owe you an apology! :bow:
I was way too hard on you. Musta been the coffee!
My most sincere regrets, I see that you are a serious shooter and not some clown trying to make a .500 nitro express out on a BP hand gun.
Please keep up the great work, and tell us about your 50 yd. scores :thumbsup:
All the very best!
Fred
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Yeah, I think 3F makes a lot of sense in these short barrels even with the relatively big bore diameter.I need to run mine across the Oheler and see what it is doing velocity wise both with 2 and 3 F goex.I picked up one of the new Oheler 35's two years ago when they made a special run of them and haven't used it much yet. MD
MosinRob
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Not a problem Fred. I really didn't take offense to it. I increased to 30 gr the other day. It shot okay. I took it to the match today and I was not that happy. I missed my Sharpshooter by 3 points. I need to spend a little time with her. I was using a cast .530 rb with .018 patch and 30 gr goex ff. Funny thing is Im the only person who shoots prb out of the pistol. Everyone else shoots r.e.a.l. I dont want to switch cause its easy, I want my gun to shoot RB. So frustrated.
Hi MosinRob,
Have you polished the inside bore with "Scotch Brite, or valve grinding compound?
Also have you tried a lubed felt wad over the powder ( this will protect the patch and help consistancy)
Have you disassembled the lock and polished the sear, this will help trigger release.
All internal Lyman lock parts should be polished, to remove casting burrs.
Some shooters will adjust sights for a 6:00 hold to give a better sight picture.
Are you using 3f powder, it does burn better in a short pistol barrel. My .50 cal. shoots better with 3f.
I also epoxied ( JB weld )a steel bar in the grip to prevent cracking. The grip is a weak point on the Lyman pistol.
I hope this helps.
Practice with your pistol, it will shoot very accurately.
Fred
Have you polished the inside bore with "Scotch Brite, or valve grinding compound?
Also have you tried a lubed felt wad over the powder ( this will protect the patch and help consistancy)
Have you disassembled the lock and polished the sear, this will help trigger release.
All internal Lyman lock parts should be polished, to remove casting burrs.
Some shooters will adjust sights for a 6:00 hold to give a better sight picture.
Are you using 3f powder, it does burn better in a short pistol barrel. My .50 cal. shoots better with 3f.
I also epoxied ( JB weld )a steel bar in the grip to prevent cracking. The grip is a weak point on the Lyman pistol.
I hope this helps.
Practice with your pistol, it will shoot very accurately.
Fred
MosinRob
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Hey Fred, I have not done any of that lol. I bought my pistol and my rifle at the same time. Kind of focused more on the rifle and the pistol fell by. So now I have a great rifle it's time to get the pistol back up. I really have not done too much. Only trying different loads of ff. Have not tried fff in her. Also I went from .015 to .018. That tightened it up a little. I cant lower or raise the sights, they are fixed. I should throw some fff in her and see how she does. Right now POA is sights over target at 25 and sight on top of paper at 50. What will the scotch brite do? How do I polish the inside exactly? Sorry for the beginner questions. I've only been shooting for 5 months now, but I try to get as involved as I can and get things done right.
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Your bore will shine up on it's own from use but if you have any pitting or tight spots you should remove the breech plug and hand lap it with poured lead slugs charged with either aluminum oxide or carborundum grit in 280,320 and finish up with no less than 400. The lead slugs maintain bore profile integrity but pushing a scotch brite pad back an forth will only round off the land corners and never touch the groove corners.It will make it shine on top the lands but is no good for barrel profile integrity. MD
M.D. is quite correct, and lapping will smooth the barrel.
The only purpose of polishing a new barrel is to simulate many shots, which would remove any sharp corners on the rifleing.
Wrapping a bit of Scotch Brite on a dowel and stroking back & forth inside the barrel will help getting the barrel to shoot as an older barrel would shoot.
More expensive barrels are already lapped or smoothed up.
Fred
The only purpose of polishing a new barrel is to simulate many shots, which would remove any sharp corners on the rifleing.
Wrapping a bit of Scotch Brite on a dowel and stroking back & forth inside the barrel will help getting the barrel to shoot as an older barrel would shoot.
More expensive barrels are already lapped or smoothed up.
Fred
I have done what you described on several guns,some new and some old neglected ones and everyone of them shot better. Even went further and used steel wool after the scotch brite,then to Flitz after that,some times I have shot them with small loads with a patch with fine VG compound applied to it,works for me .
Bear Rider
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I have a .54 Lyman. It is quite accurate, provided that you clean well between shots. The rifling is shallow, and as a result the gun is quite finickey. If you are having trouble with accuracy, try different cleaning procedures and patch materials (both ball and cleaning) before you try "polishing" the bore.
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