lyman 50 cal flintlock kit - Page 1

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - lyman 50 cal flintlock kit

Posted: 4/22/2013 6:40:41 PM EDT

looking at purchasing a lyman plains rifle in 50 cal flint. I want a kit to build a rifle and then try and deer hunt the old way. I do know a little about muzzleloaders. from what I have always read 1in60 twist is for round ball, 1in 48 is for a conical bullet and 1in28 is for a saboted bullet. the plains rifle has a 1in60 twist. will it shoot conical bullets well? has anyone shot whitetail deer with a round ball with success. and finally should I go with the 50 or 54 cal.

Posted: 4/22/2013 10:08:28 PM EDT

[#1]

That is going to be a patched round ball twist. I have a .50 Dixie "Poorboy" and used to shoot in competition with it. The longer the bullet the faster you will need the twist to be. What can be done for accuracy is to find ball that is close to your bore size. I have used .495 & .498 balls, and know guys that used to shoot .500 round balls. They had to use a mallet to start the ball and it would end up looking somewhat like a patched conical bullet. Not going to be a quiet load or fast reload for you beating a over sized plug into your barrel. A .50 or .54 will kill deer just fine if you are good with open sights and single shots.

Posted: 4/23/2013 5:53:09 AM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
looking at purchasing a lyman plains rifle in 50 cal flint. I want a kit to build a rifle and then try and deer hunt the old way. I do know a little about muzzleloaders. from what I have always read 1in60 twist is for round ball, 1in 48 is for a conical bullet and 1in28 is for a saboted bullet. the plains rifle has a 1in60 twist. will it shoot conical bullets well? has anyone shot whitetail deer with a round ball with success. and finally should I go with the 50 or 54 cal.

Pretty near every deer shot in N America from the begining of time until about 1840-1850 was shot with a round ball. They work just fine.

Either the .50 or .54 will work just fine on deer. Only go the .54 if you want a little more power "just because" or if you think you might use it for game bigger than deer at some time.

Posted: 4/23/2013 6:34:01 AM EDT

[#3]

What he said. And that will make you a fine rifle.

Posted: 4/23/2013 12:21:46 PM EDT

[#4]

ok thanks for the input.

Posted: 4/23/2013 6:23:03 PM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:

Quoted:
looking at purchasing a lyman plains rifle in 50 cal flint. I want a kit to build a rifle and then try and deer hunt the old way. I do know a little about muzzleloaders. from what I have always read 1in60 twist is for round ball, 1in 48 is for a conical bullet and 1in28 is for a saboted bullet. the plains rifle has a 1in60 twist. will it shoot conical bullets well? has anyone shot whitetail deer with a round ball with success. and finally should I go with the 50 or 54 cal.

Pretty near every deer shot in N America from the begining of time until about 1840-1850 was shot with a round ball. They work just fine.

Either the .50 or .54 will work just fine on deer. Only go the .54 if you want a little more power "just because" or if you think you might use it for game bigger than deer at some time.

Yep, and by folks not wearing sentblocker, or having to hide up in trees...... ROFL

Im a 54 type guy, just cause I wanna have bigger balls than Jerimiah Johnson!

Posted: 4/23/2013 7:01:58 PM EDT

[#6]

Pennsylvania primitive season is flintlocks and patched round balls. Lots of deer are taken with the round ball.

Posted: 4/24/2013 5:47:20 AM EDT

[#7]

I built a Lyman Great Plains in sidelock a few years ago. Take it slow and you can turn out a really nice rifle.

Posted: 4/26/2013 7:25:19 AM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
Pennsylvania primitive season is flintlocks and patched round balls. Lots of deer are taken with the round ball.

Yup, i got one three years ago in Sussquehanna County. It was a small four pointer and the ball passed through cleanly, entry and exit wounds were about the same size. i got both lungs and ripped a chunk out of the heart. The deer made one huge jump and two big bounces and fell over dead. I was impressed.
I will never doubt the round ball again!

ETA details; Traditions flintlock, 50 caliber, .490 patched round ball (175 grains), over 80 grains of FFF Goex, 4F Goex in the pan. Range-about 45 yards, beautiful side-on shot, almost as if the thing wanted to die.

Posted: 5/8/2013 9:16:54 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
I built a Lyman Great Plains in sidelock a few years ago. Take it slow and you can turn out a really nice rifle.

Was there a lot of fitting needed to seat the lock, or is most of the work need cosmetic i.e. sanding, staining and blueing?

Posted: 7/14/2013 5:56:51 PM EDT

[#10]

I have a percussion cap plains rifle. I used a ball and patch on an Ozark white tail doe at about 30 yards. It worked very well, deer ran about 30 yards and dropped. I tried some conical and sabot slugs, but the ball seemed more accurate. As you said the twist rate favors ball.

Posted: 7/18/2013 4:59:52 AM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:

Was there a lot of fitting needed to seat the lock, or is most of the work need cosmetic i.e. sanding, staining and blueing?

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
I built a Lyman Great Plains in sidelock a few years ago. Take it slow and you can turn out a really nice rifle.

Was there a lot of fitting needed to seat the lock, or is most of the work need cosmetic i.e. sanding, staining and blueing?

Most of the tough work is done, the majority of your time will be final fitting and finishing. A great reference for a build is "The. Art of Building the Pennsylvania Longrifle" by Chuck Dixon.
Well worth the 25 bucks and shows you how to build with minimal and traditional tools.

Posted: 9/24/2013 6:00:49 PM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:

Most of the tough work is done, the majority of your time will be final fitting and finishing. A great reference for a build is "The. Art of Building the Pennsylvania Longrifle" by Chuck Dixon.
Well worth the 25 bucks and shows you how to build with minimal and traditional tools.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
I built a Lyman Great Plains in sidelock a few years ago. Take it slow and you can turn out a really nice rifle.

Was there a lot of fitting needed to seat the lock, or is most of the work need cosmetic i.e. sanding, staining and blueing?

Most of the tough work is done, the majority of your time will be final fitting and finishing. A great reference for a build is "The. Art of Building the Pennsylvania Longrifle" by Chuck Dixon.
Well worth the 25 bucks and shows you how to build with minimal and traditional tools.

QFT

Posted: 9/25/2013 8:47:11 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

...has anyone shot whitetail deer with a round ball with success?

View Quote

Just about everyone who shot a deer before conical bullets were invented.

Posted: 9/25/2013 9:12:39 PM EDT

[#14]

When you start working loads get a variety of patches in different thicknesses. That can affect accuracy. Also, change only one thing at a time (powder charge, powder type, patch and lube) as all of them can affect accuracy.

For more info try muzzleloadingforum.com

Posted: 9/26/2013 5:05:13 AM EDT

[#15]

investarms arms makes the rifle for Lyman out of Italy . They are a great muzzle loader.

Forget about sabot or mini's out of 1x66 twist they will not group well at all.

The other post stated about patch thickness etc. That is spot on. Even different type of powder will give you better results. Try Goex in 2F and 3F. Some like 2F some like 3F

Posted: 9/26/2013 6:10:21 PM EDT

[#16]

There is a LOT to learn about Flinchrocks!! but once you learn the tricks and such they are a freakin' blast!

You WILL learn the meaning of follow through.

A .54 round ball will kill pretty much anything it hits.

I would just go to walmart and get some pillow ticking .015 and stick with that, vary the ball size and powder charge to get your accuracy, (.490-.495 for .50 cal .530-.535 for .54 cal). wash the ticking before you use it. Mink oil from track of the wolf is great patch lube for hunting, Ballistol, 7 to 1 mix with water is great for range work. Swiss is the best powder, but expensive, GOEX is very close second.

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/index.php?

http://www.americanlongrifles.org/forum/

You will be reading for weeks!

And thanks for going "Traditional" you will never regret it!

Good luck!

Posted: 12/16/2013 6:12:33 PM EDT

[#17]

I'm in the middle of building a "Deerstalker" kit, and all the parts and stock seem of decently good quality.

I'm eager to test it once finished.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - lyman 50 cal flintlock kit

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