lyman gph 50 cal

[Tim Wilkinson]

my mind is wondering and i am interested in the lyman great plains hunter 50 cal..i think the faster twist barrel would be a nice conical shooter..any one have one of these rifles and care to comment??? i will definitely buy one if they are good conical guns.......plus it would give me a well rounded collection for my gun cabinet..32-45-54-58 cals in there now but 50 cal coming soon hopefully...plus an excuse to buy a 50 cal bullet mould for casting my own...thanks

 

[Vostok]

Timbo;

I have the GPH in .50 and .54 barrels. Great shooting gun. I also got the mould for the Lyman Plains Bullet. Really heavy bullet, but it is good Elk medicine.

Don't despair if you don't like the sights when you get the rifle. I put aftermarket traditional sights on both the .50 and .54 and browned the barrell and all the furniture so now it looks like a custom gun.

With the plains bullet 90 grains of ffg Pyrodex, and in the .54 I use 80 grains of the same propellant for best results.

If you are going to mould just be sure it is pure lead - which can be a trick to find. But it makes for a great hobby.

Have fun shooting it.

 

[Tim Wilkinson]

thanx man for the info...i am usualy a TC guy but saw a lyman here 'while back in a pawn shop
and was impressed with it....I use pure lead for all my muzzleloader conicals and soon i will have some RB moulds for my guns...and yes moulding your own bullets is a fun hobby...i have cast more already than i will probably ever use!!!
thanx again........

 

[redriverclerk]

I love my 50cal percussion GPR. I have the 1:48 twist, which seems to provide a good PRB group at 50yds. I've only had it for 6 months, so not a lot of chance to try multiple distances now that it's cold out. I'll be adding the 1:66 twist barrel soon, so I can see if there is much of a grouping difference between the barrels. Love the look and feel of the gun, but I too have changed sights.

 

[bmues]

Does the Lyman GPH shoot RB very well with it's 1 in 32 twist? Everyone always seems to talk about the GPR but I can't find details about the GPH and shooting RB with it. Any input is appreciated. TIA.

'SnappinCaps'
'.45 Cal. Kentucky Percussion'
"Let's go pop some more caps!"

 

[Vostok]

Snappin Caps:

I should be able to answer that question in about a month. I'd like to try PRB in my .54 1:32 twist barrel. Business and life won't let me get back on the line for about a month but I'll let you know how it goes.

Take Care,

 

[bmues]

Thanks Styr. I saw one available today for around $300. What I found when searching is, this looked to be a fair amount below retail for a brand new Lyman GPH. I'd have to look it over better to see what kind of shape it was in for sure. I just gave it a quick glance over for model and caliber. My dilema is I couldn't shoot it at our club shoots if it doesn't shoot RB very well. Our club only allows RB to be shot for our shoots. Club shoots is my primary BP shooting for now. Hunting may come later as time, hopefully, becomes more available as the kids graduate.

'SnappinCaps'
'.45 Cal. Kentucky Percussion'
"Let's go pop some more caps!"

 

[paulvallandigham]

I am going to predict that that fast twist barrel will shoot RB only with very light loads. That is okay for target shooting, since the ball only has to go through paper to score. But, even with light loads, the barrel will be very sensitive to even minor changes in the powder used. I would use FFg powder rather than FFFg powder for this purpose, as the coarser powder is more foregiving about variations in powder volume used. Try starting at about 30 grains, and work up by 5 grain increments from there. Work for small groups, not elevation. You can always change the sights to bring the load to POA.

 

[bmues]

Our club shoots steel targets so I couldn't go to light on the load. The GPH possibly isn't a good gun for me to get right now then. Since I'm not planning on hunting with it. From what I read up on it, it does sound like it should shoot conicals real well.

'SnappinCaps'
'.45 Cal. Kentucky Percussion'
"Let's go pop some more caps!"

 

[Rat Trapper]

The Lyman Great Plains hunter with it's 1-32 twist is intended for conicals. The regular Great plains has the round ball twist.

 

[Tim Wilkinson]

yes, that is why the GPH appealed to me... the faster twist of the GPH rifle -vs- the slower twist GPR rifle...I am craving a good conical shooter. All my TC's have 1-48 twists..the 1-32 twist of the GPH should be great with conicals!!

 

[capt jack]

I have a GPH barrel on an old Cabalas hawkens rifle , and have been shooting it for some-time , trying to find THE bullet and load combo for that barrel. I have tried ALOT of different conical and {bad word]--Sabots , with fair to poor results.

My best results by-far , has been a 370 gr. maxi-ball , cast in pure lead ,Alox lubed , 20 gr. of cream of wheat over[hears where I get cussed out]80 gr. of Black Mag powder!

Guys , I've burned almost a case of Swiss in my other guns this year , but in THIS barrel , this is the combo that works.This gun will shoot 1" groups at 100 yrds all day! :surrender:

Oh--Ampco nipple , Barrel spit wiped after each shot