Somewhat satisfied with Lyman

[laney1566]

Perhaps Tru-Oil. that is what I finished my stock with. Not sure how it will react though. As far as treating the wood and storage.....I take bore butter and work it into my hands and then rub the entire gun with my hands. I'm not looking for a shiney gun. Hasn't hurt my wood.

 

[FallingCrows]

I have a Lyman Deerstalker .50 cal in left hand that I've had for about 8 years and I'm some-what satisfied. I found that the Lyman brand of nipples, the sights, and the ram rod are far below quality so I replace them with ones from Mountain State Manufacturing/Cain's Outdoors.

As far as fit and finish I'm a little more than 'some-what' satisfied. All though the blueing is wearing off after 8 years, the stock is in excellent shape and is holder up after years of use.

I shoot T/C 350 gn Maxihunt bullets with 80 gn of 2f real BP and get a 3" to 4" inch group at 50 yards. But after reading info on this forum, this is all going to change. I'm switching over to PRB.

Would I buy another Lyman? Yes, but only because they make left handed affordable ML's. If I could find a T/C cap lock in left hand I'm would choose it over the Lyman.

 

[hilbily]

I just got my kit for Christmas, 54 cal GPR percussion. Only thing that I can say right now is that Lyman's' Customer Service is one of the worst I have seen. When I opened the box one of the four escutcheons was missing, I did however have 16 screws to put them on. I called the dealer that it was purchased from and they said that Lyman would need to be contacted and they would be happy to take care of it for me. I told them thanks but I would try to save them the call, they told me if I had any problems to call them back and they would help. So I called Lyman and told them that when I opened the box that part was missing. The girl told me that they would be happy to send me a new one and then tried to tell me the price. I asked why it was going to cost me when it wasn't in the box. She said that this is common and that she thinks the dealers open the boxes and take stuff out. She also said that I could not prove it wasn't there and that is why I had to pay. At this point I was starting to get mad. I muttered that I should have gone with T/C and her response was "well, you still can". I don't know what happened then but she put me on hold and then came back and said they would send it to me free of charge. This is my first experience with Lyman and when they call me a liar and the dealers thieves unless this kit turns out to be the best things ever, they have lost me as a future customer. I am getting the part free of charge but the way that I was treated just baffles me.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

That's a terrible tale! Sorry to hear of it! But their may be some truth to what the woman said...some tinkerers do break stuff, and they lie to the dealer about it! Then someone at the mail-order house is told to "rob" a part to make someone else happy, and the never-ending tale takes shape, especially at this time of the year. I'm not saying that she was polite, or that you were handled correctly by her, but she was probably truthful. And exasperated from all of the years' worth of horse-trading and parts "missing" that comes to a head this time of year when lots of product left on the shelves with forgotten "missing" parts comes to light. That's part of the reason that the DEALER wanted to deal with the distributor (Lyman).

What you should have done was just have the dealer make good on it as he tried to, or ask the dealer for a new one altogether. The DEALER sold you an incomplete bag of goods (probably mail-order). Lyman dealers (especially those with walk-in brick & mortar operations with finished guns on the shelf) stand behind their stuff. And the folks that pay a few bucks more for the pleasure of fondling the gun and inspecting it prior to the sale get EVERYTHING that comes in the box.

Mail-order just works that way...not just at Lyman and especially not just for firearms! Sometimes the best price isn't the best deal.

Hope that you like your new rifle and enjoy shooting it in good health for the New Year!

Dave

 

[paulvallandigham]

Please write a letter with this information addressed to the president and CEO of the Board of the Lyman. You can get the name(s) and address by calling the 800 number, again. If you remember the woman's name, include it.

NO head of a company wants his customers treated the way you were treated. They need to get rid of this lady or at least move her out of that job.

Thanks for sharing that story with all of us.

 

[hilbily]

Thanks for all the comments. It is nice to get feedback from those not invovled, helps to put things into perspective. I am hoping that it was just an isolated incident. Once I get that part I will start working on the kit and keep everyone updated with my progress.
Smokin .50 you are right I should have let the dealer handle it. They treated me so well that I thought I would try to save them the hassle, next time I will let them handle it.

 

[steve nagy]

It is interesting to hear about your Lyman. I directed a friend who just started in trad ML to a Lyman GPR. Called him after he got the rifle and he noted that the keys did not fit properly and had to call the dealer to get that corrected.

I like the looks of the Lyman but my perception is that their QC is not that of T/C. It is worth noting that the lack of accuracy of my T/C Renegade nearly pushed me away from traditional muzzleloaders. The rifle was fine but I found that the 1-48" twist was more mediocrity than a compromise. I traded it for a Uberti Santa Fe .53 Hawken copy and realized just what a good black powder rifle with a proper twist barrel can do when using a PRB.

I now have a rifle from a small time gun builder who I can talk with and go directly to his shop and discuss my concerns. The monetary cost is higher than a production gun but well worth it to me given the expertise I have gotten with the purchase of a custom rifle. The wing nut behind my rifle has enough inconsistencies that I want my weapon to be dead nuts consistent.

I hope that your experience gets better and you do get out to the field with your rifle. Good luck! :thumbsup:

 

[cowpoke1955]

Sorry to hear that. Should have asked to speak to the supervisor. When I got my .54 GPR flint kit three years ago, I had an issue with the primitive rear sight and one of the barrel wedges. All they asked was the inspector's number that was marked inside of the box. They sent me new parts immediately at no charge.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Good luck with the rest and let us all know what you're up to and how she shoots :thumbsup: .

Happy New Year!

Dave

 

[d.thomson]

I have been very satisfied with my Lymans. I have a flint.54 GPR that I got as a Kit and it went verry smoothly and I just picked up a use GPR cap in .54 that shoots way better than I do. Now if I can find the brouse button I could post Pics.

 

[d.thomson]

I have used tung oil on stained stock with no problem. about 10-15 coats hand rubed in and a finish that looks three feet thick.
F.K.