Lyman Plains Pistol - My first target shoot

[Frontier's]

Sat down with the Lyman Plains pistol .54cal today and first start with 40gr 2fg Gearhart-Owen black powder, .020" spit patch, .530 round ball. They loaded nicely without having to hammer them down the bore. Looks like I will need to tap the sight over to the right a bit to center it. 40gr 2fg grouped ok, but then I lowered it to 30gr 2fg and it REALLY came together and shot very well. Next, I'll try 3fg and see how it does.
I also lapped the bore last night to smooth out any burrs that the lyman barrels are famously known to have.
Target was shot from 25 yards.

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

Good shooting. They are a great shooting gun. Love mine.....

 

[rafterob]

Looks like you are dialing it in. I shoot 25 grains in my .50 caliber pistols with great grouping so I'm thinking you're in the right area with that 30 grain charge.

 

[Grimord]

I shoot 40 grains of 3f in my Lyman .54. I get 2" groups at 25 yards from the bench, but I need to put different sights on the gun cause my eyes just won't focus on that small rear sight that comes with the gun.

 

[Frontier's]

oh man the front and rear sights are horrible! Its like lining up 2 Cadillac's. I need a much finer sight. I'll deal with that later.

 

[UtahFlintlock]

This is a good report. I picked up one in.50 using some Christmas gift cards from Midway. I have yet to get it out to the range.

 

[Patch@Ball]

Sat down with the Lyman Plains pistol .54cal today and first start with 40gr 2fg Gearhart-Owen black powder, .020" spit patch, .530 round ball. They loaded nicely without having to hammer them down the bore. Looks like I will need to tap the sight over to the right a bit to center it. 40gr 2fg grouped ok, but then I lowered it to 30gr 2fg and it REALLY came together and shot very well. Next, I'll try 3fg and see how it does.
I also lapped the bore last night to smooth out any burrs that the lyman barrels are famously known to have.
Target was shot from 25 yards.

I was wondering if your Lyman pistol came with the clean out screw that you have in there now. The one I have it takes a Allen wrench to remove. Thanks

 

[Frontier's]

Yes thats factory. I dont ever remove it though. They usually are froze into place and snap off, making it look ugly.

 

[Patch@Ball]

Thanks

 

[Crow-Feather]

Sat down with the Lyman Plains pistol .54cal today and first start with 40gr 2fg Gearhart-Owen black powder, .020" spit patch, .530 round ball. They loaded nicely without having to hammer them down the bore. Looks like I will need to tap the sight over to the right a bit to center it. 40gr 2fg grouped ok, but then I lowered it to 30gr 2fg and it REALLY came together and shot very well. Next, I'll try 3fg and see how it does.
I also lapped the bore last night to smooth out any burrs that the lyman barrels are famously known to have.
Target was shot from 25 yards.

Nice group. Was that 2 or 3 yards. (Chuckle)
Seriously now. My lyman shot better with 3f and a .18 patch. If the patch doesn't fit tight enough to impress on the ball, the ball won't spin and the pistol will be inaccurate. 3f has more pressure and will help obturate the ball into the patch. Lyman makes an accurate pistol. Powder type, patch thickness and ball size all need to be tried to find the most accurate load.

 

[Musketeer]

...40gr 2fg Gearhart-Owen black powder

Lemme stop you right there. You still have actual Gearhart-Owen powder?

 

[Frontier's]

yep! My buddy had a couple 25lb bags of cannon powder from 1974 and i took it home, processed it down and screened us a bunch of 2f - 3f and a few lbs of 4fg. We split it between us. Extremely consistent stuff! I screened our powder 3 times and the best spread I have gotten over a chronograph was 22 FPS. Very good consistent powder.

 

[Are. M.]

Fwiw: I only use 25gr 3f in my .50 trapper pistol. A .490 ball and ~.018 pillow ticking leave me with a 7-ring two handed group at 50 yds, so I think backing off that powder charge will work for you.

Good luck,
RM

 

[Notchy Bob]

That's good shooting, @Frontier's !

I have one of those in .50 caliber. The pistol is capable of very good shooting, but I have two problems with it. One is with the sights. The front sight "blade," if you can call it that, is extraordinarily thick, and presents a broad, rectangular profile that resembles a large, black door when you are trying to sight the pistol. In fact, the front sight completely fills the rectangular notch in the rear sight, making aiming a real challenge. Considering that Lyman made their name manufacturing and selling gun sights, you would think they could come up with something better for a pistol that carries their brand. I know the sights could be replaced or the rear sight notch could be opened up, but I didn't want to change the factory set-up because it might hurt the re-sale value.

I'm thinking I might sell it because of design issue #2, which is that godawful grip. There's nothing to be done about that except re-stock the pistol, which would not be cost effective. The grip extends too far back, making for an over-long trigger reach for me, and the cross-section of the grip is almost perfectly circular. Not very attractive or ergonomic.

The lock, trigger, and barrel on mine are excellent. If it had better sights and a more ergonomic grip, I would love it. As it is, my hat's off to those who shoot this pistol as well as Frontier's, Grimord, and B P Maniac!

Notchy Bob