Lyman Great Plains Hunter Question

[DouginAlaska]

So I'm new to black powder and bought a Lyman Great Plains Hunter from a guy in Oregon and had it shipped up here. I've been reloading since I was ten years old but haven't dealt with black powder rifles, and by the way, I'm an old guy now. I have no info on the rifle, the guy I bought it from didn't have the manual. It's a really nice looking rifle but I have no idea if I can shoot sabot bullets or need to shoot round balls. I've watched videos showing how to determine the twist rate. This is a 50 cal rifle. If I do the twist rate check with a jag and patch, what size jag and what size patch do you guys suggest. Should I use a shotgun cleaning ramrod? I use a bore snake for cleaning my shotguns. Thanks much for your help, I appreciate it!

 

[necchi]

Good ask, honest.
No worries to check the twist rate, the Hunter is 1-32, a fast twist. It's made to shoot conical or "sabot rounds" (that aren't discussed here in detail, it being the traditional forum).
The breech plug stays in place, so bore snake won't work. Cleaning methods vary, but all are easily done,, the different techniques can be found with simple searching.\ but are basically soapy water with rinsing and drying.
Jags for these rifles are listed by caliber and are made undersized within caliber spec to allow a .010-.015 fabric patch to form the rifle bore.
(common cotton fabric, nothing special),
You'll get more answers here, just keep looking. You've found a good place,, folks will help with all your questions,

 

[ETipp]

Good ask, honest.
No worries to check the twist rate, the Hunter is 1-32, a fast twist. It's made to shoot conical or "sabot rounds" (that aren't discussed here in detail, it being the traditional forum).
The breech plug stays in place, so bore snake won't work. Cleaning methods vary, but all are easily done,, the different techniques can be found with simple searching.\ but are basically soapy water with rinsing and drying.
Jags for these rifles are listed by caliber and are made undersized within caliber spec to allow a .010-.015 fabric patch to form the rifle bore.
(common cotton fabric, nothing special),
You'll get more answers here, just keep looking. You've found a good place,, folks will help with all your questions,

Great reply!

 

[ETipp]

So I'm new to black powder and bought a Lyman Great Plains Hunter from a guy in Oregon and had it shipped up here. I've been reloading since I was ten years old but haven't dealt with black powder rifles, and by the way, I'm an old guy now. I have no info on the rifle, the guy I bought it from didn't have the manual. It's a really nice looking rifle but I have no idea if I can shoot sabot bullets or need to shoot round balls. I've watched videos showing how to determine the twist rate. This is a 50 cal rifle. If I do the twist rate check with a jag and patch, what size jag and what size patch do you guys suggest. Should I use a shotgun cleaning ramrod? I use a bore snake for cleaning my shotguns. Thanks much for your help, I appreciate it!

Doug, the two most important aspects with muzzleloaders are proper loading and proper cleaning. You don't want to hurt yourself or your rifle by improper and/or dangerous loading practices. And its extremely important to properly clean your ML after shooting it. Unlike other types of rifles, one time of not cleaning well after shooting can ruin it. Many different ideas people use to clean but IMO nothing beats good ole soapy water and oiling the bore after it is dried. Its also a good idea to go back a few days afterwards with another oiled patch. Just have to ascertain all the oil is removed before loading the next time. This is especially for the flash hole/channel. And always dry fire a cap or two before loading to clear the channel. One other tip that many do not do is after pouring the powder down the barrel and prior to loading a projectile, with the muzzle pointing upwards, lean the rifle over on the lock side, take your hand and wrap on the butt stock a few times. This will help settle powder into the flash channel and reduce misfires by a large percentage.

Necchi is correct when he said to do some searches. Tons of information to be had on the net to fill in the gaps. And IMO some of the best and reliable information can be had right here on this site.

 

[embrr2]

Look at Lyman online, I just looked they, manuals listed for GPR and GPH. There are several different ones.
Keep scrolling down way down there.
Good luck
Ed

 

[DouginAlaska]

Thanks much for your help guys, I appreciate it!!!

 

[nkbj]

Besides getting buffalo rifle performance, with the GPH you should be able to plink with light loads and thin skirted hollow base bullets.

 

[user 56894]

Great reply!

I may be a winner

 

[yotyfox]

The hunter model has a fast twist barrel and was designed for a sabot and/or heavy conical bullets so you will be fine shooting them. I have found that they also shoot PRB's accurately, but you will probably have to keep your powder charge in the 50-70gr range.

 

[Louisk]

Anyone know if Lyman GPH barrels are still available?

 

[yotyfox]

Lyman is out of the black powder business and I don't know if Investarms is offering a fast twist barrel (I am only aware of their 1:48 as their fastest twist). You may want to contact some of the traditional muzzleloader suppliers and see if they have one. Also keep an eye on the gun auction sites as they often show up there.

 

[user 50393]

Barrels for the Lyman do exist. New ones can be a bit spendy, but 'used' ones can be had. The barrel is easily removed and can be swapped out to round ball (1:64) in either .50 or .54. Green Mountain did have barrels for the Lyman at one time. It would be nice to find a .32 or .45 for the Lyman. Here is one source: Lyman Great Plains Hunter Rifle. Also: Muzzle Loader Barrels|Black Powder Muzzle Loader Supplies

 

[treebone]

Track of the Wolf has Lyman barrels in stock and there are others sites also that list them in stock as noted in my reply above.

 

[Urban Coyote]

https://www.lymanproducts.com/user_manuals/user

Try this link. You will need to scroll down until you find the manual pages for the GPR

Hope this helps.

 

[leadhoarder]

If the barrel says great plains rifle it is slow twist. IF it says great plains hunter it is fast twist.

Investarms barrels that are the same except for their markings are still available from Track of the Wolf and muzzle-loaders.com but may or may not be in stock at any given time.