new to bp shooting

[REX]

new old man; I've been shooting and loading since the early 1960's, and I'm thinking about moving into bp, don't have a lot to spend on a bp rifle (retired and all) but was looking at the lyman left hand deerstacker flint lock as one possible option, not much choices for us that are left handed but in our right mind in this world.
Thanks for any sugestions or thoughts on this

Rex

 

[Maynerd62411]

Well, Gramps, I don't know about the flinter, but the Lyman Deerstalker percussion in a lefthanded is a fine shooter. My son, now 14, has one. He loves it, named it Lefty, and won't even consider taking anything else deer hunting. I looked at every left handed BP rifle I could find on the web and for the money, the Lyman was the one I ordered. I don't regret it for a minute. It got the boy interested in BP and got me a hunting partner.

 

[Mtn-Man2u]

WestCoastBPgramps, Welcome to the camp, I'm not a lefty, but if you check the Muzzleloading links when you sign in, you'll find alot of companys that do sell muzzleloading rifles in left or right hand and flintlocks and percussion too.
Hope you enjoy your time here !!! Mtn-Man2u

 

[papellet]

I have a left handed Traditions PAPellet in flint. It is a good rifle for the price, doesnt work well with pellets as advertised. Works real well with loose powder. I am also just ordering the Lyman Great Plains in left handed flint. I dont see the deerstalker in left handed flint, only percussion. Can you tell me where you saw that?

 

[musketman]

Hey, the great thing about left handed rifles is that you can duct tape them to an identical right handed one, and make a double-barrel rifle... :winking: :haha:

Oh, the many uses of duct tape... :winking:

 

[REX]

midway usa reloading supply shows they have 3 left

 

[Birddog6]

I don't see where a lefty would be any different than a righty in quality or shooting, other than the lock is on the wrong side ? :haha:

IMHO, the Lyman GPR & GPH are the best buy for the $.

 

You've been watching Red Green too much, mustketman.- HA!
: Of course, if they were light enough, to keep the weight down to around 11 lbs., a person could make a vertical cut just to the respective right and left hand side of the barrel, run a bead of hotglue and tape em together- 'el cheapo double. MUCH cheaper than having my brother make you one, THAT's for sure. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
:
Daryl

 

WCBPGramps- welcome to the fold. I've looked at a bunch of the repro's on the market lately and the Lyman Great Plains seems to be one of the best. I don't know about the one you've decided on, but the GP does look pretty good & it comes in left or right, fast or slow twist. For most game and target shooting, the .50 RB twist would be just fine, and for serious Elk and Moose hunting along with bear, the .54RB is about the best you can get in a repro, except for a .69 or .75 musket, that is. Trouble is, the big bores don't come in lefthand.
: There is a fairly Expensive English Sporting Rifle, cal. 69 on the market now, that looks promising, but it's right up there close to 'custom' pricing, I think.(my memory's a bit poor at times. I'm retired & tired too & BP shooting is thereapudic. My brother and I try to get out at least 1 day a weeks for plinking. We both need it & really enjoy the sport.
Daryl

 

[Zonie]

WestCoastBPgramps: Welcome ta our neck o the woods!

Now Ah could say jus get one o them Kodiak Express Double rifles in .72 caliber (ta make ole Mooskeetman happy) an jus shoot the left barrel buts ye war talkin like $930 mite be a bit high so' Ah looked elsewhar an found whar the Cabela's 2004 catalog is a sayin they gots a LH Lyman GPR in .50 cal at $399.99 in percussion.
They also shows a LH "Traditional Hawkens" in what looks kinda like a T/C Hawken fer $269.99 in .50 or .54 cal.

Last yars Dixie catalog are a showin what looks like the same gun but thar a callin it a DGW Hawken Rifle. Tha thin 'bout this un is it are a .50 cal LH Flintlock kit fer $265. (# FK1345) (Course, that's only good iffen ye are interested in a flintlock.)

Now maybee yer not a wantin ta build a kit, but as ole SpotShooter found, whan it comes ta buildin one o these thins, thar is more help fer ye rite here on this Forum than ye can shake a stick at.

Ye also mite remember that Dixie is usually kinda high priced an Cabela's is a gettin that way so thar are other places ta look afore ye plunk down yer cash.

Now ye might be tempted ta get an In-Line (don't mind em boo's, they jus do that ta make sure thar voices still work). Now at the risk o gettin disagreed with, Ah'm a gona say they wont shoot inexpensive round balls very good. In fact they won't shoot round balls worth a darn! They war designed fer Sabots and the like, which is ok, but most of um sebots an the bullets whats ye put in um are expensive.
Some of um are high priced enough they make my .25-06 look cheap ta shoot. In fact they make ma .43 SPanish look cheap ta shoot!!
Iffen ye are thinkin bout an in-line check out that Forum area fer talk bout keepin costs down. Also remember, most Black Powder muzzleloaders end up wantin a sidelock.

Wal, thats about it from har fer now. Good luck.

 

Westcoastgramps:
You might be in your right mind now, but after you breath in some white smoke from real black powder you won't be, you'll be just as nuts as we are and you'll likely start talkin' like thet thar Zonie feller. ::
It just so happens that I have 3 Lymans, a GPH in percussion, A GPR in flint, both .54s and a .50 Deerstalker cap gun.
The Deerstalker I picked up from www.auctionarms.com, for a mere 140 bucks UNFIRED! I really didn't want a 1:48 twist as I had no luck in the past getting the things to shoot either ball or bullet with any good accuracy. Well this little Deerstalker fooled me good. It will shoot patched roundball with 50 grains of 2fg into one ragged hole at 25 yards, and with most any bullet it will shoot into about 2.5" at 100 yards with the issued open sights.
Both the T/C rifles and the Lymans are good buys and T/C has the best warranty in the business, however I'd vote for Lyman as the best bang for the buck. (little play on words there what?)
As a first time muzzle gun buyer you might consider going to the cap lock as the flinters can be fussy if everything isn't perfect with the gun.
What ever you decide on get what YOU want.
Everyone here will be happy to give you advice, and some of it is really usefull. :bull: ::

 

[REX]

thanks for all your input, I've always wanted to shoot a flint ever since the wife and I took our motorhome trip to the east and visted all the spots envoled in both the revolution and civil wars. the wife gave me a $$$ limit and after all your input and looking on the web, I've made a choice.
Went to Dixie gun works and ordered a FK1345 DGW Hawken left hand flint rifle kit in 50cal, (looks like the mfg is the same for lyman deerstarker) figured I could hide out in the shop and see if I can build a fine looking and shooting flint.
if you know of any pit falls I might come across or have any tips to help, it would be of great help.

Rex (westcoastbpgramps

 

"Best bang for the buck" was as far as appearance there.
: BTW - by the 1840's the average weight of a 1/2 stocked Hawken rifle was 11 pounds, in .53 cal. with barrels 1 1/8" and larger. Some went as high as 15 pounds.
: Of the present 'repro's on the market, for the price, the Lyman Great Plains Rifle is about the most pleasing to the eye, and from the posts I've seen, it is also a good shooter.
: Being able to buy replacement barrels, etc, from outfits like Green Mountain & Track is also a 'good' feature.
Daryl

 

[2172]

Gramps, bought the Deerstalker, lefthanded, in Oct, the GPR lefthanded, both flint, in December. Both well worth the money. A gunsmith buddy did a little polishing of the Deerstalker lock, and I had some lock problems with the GPR that you'll learn of if you look back in these exchanges..fixed it with advice from this group. Fired it yesterday about 20 times with no problem. I actually like the Deerstalker the better of the two, but it isn't very traditional looking, and that's sorta important to me..Hank
PS...midsouth shooters supply is the best (cheapest) source..

 

[Zonie]

IMO the thing to remember about the Heavy Hawkens is they wern't really meant to be carried very far on foot.
When the horse is doing all of the work that's fine but for hunting on foot the lighter guns (such as you see on the commercial market now) are much more practical.