Lyman plains pistol

[Mr Hawken]

So after a long wait i finally ordered my pistol.Any recommendations on loads? I ordered it in a .54. This will only be used for targets as by law it cannot be used for hunting.

 

[Zonie]

Paper targets are pretty easy to kill so I'd start off with a .530 diameter lead roundball patched with a .010-.012 thick patch.
My starting powder load would be 25 grains just to see how well it worked.

If it was too feeble I would move up to a 30 grain powder load.

If the shot patches show signs of burning thru where the ball met the bore I would increase the patch thickness to .015.

As a side note, Lymans BLACK POWDER HANDBOOK & LOADING MANUAL tested a .54 cal single shot pistol (probably the same one you have) and their powder loads start at 35 grains.

35 grains of 2Fg GOEX resulted in 309 ft/lbs of muzzle energy.
35 grains of 3Fg GOEX resulted in 407 ft/lbs of muzzle energy.

Their max load tested was 50 grains and this load with GOEX 3Fg powder gave a MV of 1044 fps and 537 ft/lbs of muzzle energy.

 

[cynthialee]

I got nothing to add to what Zonie said.

Pity you can't hunt with that pistol. It certainly could do the job.

 

[George T.]

I have not shot one but I love their rifles. Are all handguns illegal or just black powder? That thing will knock a divot out of something. Geo. T.

 

[M. De Land]

In my .54 pistol I use the 50grain load of 2F and it is accurate. The reason I believe this is so is because I used a piece of rifle barrel and the twist is slow for a pistol so the increased velocity seems to help my gun. I need to shoot and test it more with slower loads as that is way to much steam for a target load.
I used it for Kids day some years ago at Birchwood range and a hundred or so kids shot it with that load all day long. The 4 plus pound weight certainly helps.
For some reason the kids really lined up behind the bench to shoot this big horse pistol. Quite a few girls did as well. MD

 

[Mr Hawken]

Any handgun is considered restricted in Canada regardles of what powder it burns.It sucks but that will never change.Any idea about how many shots before i remove the coating in the barrel lyman uses?

 

[F.G. Ford]

What coating????
Fred

 

[Many Klatch]

You will probably find that 25 to 35 grains will be plenty of powder for poking holes in paper.

Many Klatch

 

[jbtusa]

I use 30 gr. of FF in my .54 and I consider that a hot load for targets, but it's accurate. You're gonna have a lot of fun with that little pistol!

 

[rafterob]

They may use some kind of packing "grease" you need to wash the barrel thoroughly before shooting it. There is no coating that needs to be shot out, but the Lyman barrels have a reputation of being a little rough from machining when new and may cut the patches. That will wear off after it is shot in well (100 shots or so).

 

[Ken Rummer]

The rod that came with the pistol is not very useful for either cleaning or loading unless you have vise-grips for fingers.
I recommend a pistol loading rod from Track of the Wolf. It looks like a short starter but is long enough to get to the bottom of the barrel for cleanin and loading and has the big wood ball on the end so you can get a grip on it

 

[CaptainKirk]

30 grains of Pyrodex P does quite well in my .50 Plains Pistol behind a .490RB and a .015 patch

 

[BillAlvord]

In NY it is legal to use the .54 pistol. I have a Lymen Plains and although I have never killed a deer with it, I wouldn't be afraid to try if I had a clear shot at a resonable range. I'm not the worlds best shot but would be confident at 30 or 40 yards with 50 grains of pyrodex.

 

[BSchroe]

I have a Lyman Plains percussion pistol .50 caliber. Like 30 grains fffg , .15 pillow ticking , a .490 ball .It was a kit which taught me a great deal about this pistol as I put it together .A fine piece .


Lyman used to make a Lyman Plains flinter . How did they do ?

 

[RADeO]

Welcome to the forum BSchroe.:hatsoff:

Why not post a greeting in the "Welcome to the Camp" section?