Lyman Great Plains Hunter question

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I am looking at buying a Lyman GPH .50 calibar 1:32 twist. But before I buy it, there is a few things I would like to get a better understanding about.

The first being, if i have to remove the barrel everytime I clean it, won't that mean I would have to re-zero the rifle each time?

Secondly, is a 1:32 twist good for heavy lead conical like the No Excuse bullets? I live in oregon and with state regs and my own personal preference, that is the style bullet Ill probably be using.

I appreciate any and all input. Thanks in advance.
 
No need to sight in each time. Drop in barrels line right back up. 1:32 should be really good for conicals. Idaho Lewis has that same gun n it shoots conicals great
 
Also I believe that’s the gun with the knife edge butt plate known to have injured people depending on how it’s shouldered. Remedied with a dremel and leather butt pad. Just something to be aware of
 
The Lyman GPH is an Awesome Shooting rifle, like willfish4fud stated, Point of impact is Not effected by Removing and Replacing the Barrel for Cleaning.

I hated the Crescent Butt Plate on my Lyman GPH, it HAD to Go!! I used a Dremel tool with Sanding Wheel to Remove/Round off the RIDICULOUS “Knife edge” Reblued the Metal, I added a bit of Memory foam in the Crescent and Slipped a Leather Cimmaron Lace up Pad on it, I really like it now :lewis:

The Top of the Crescent Plate is UNREAL Sharp, when i say “Knife Edge” i mean it! Here is a guy that got “Bit” By one. I TOTALLY understand the “proper” Hold for the Crescent, Just Forward of the Bicep, NOT up in the Shoulder. BUT some of us Simply don’t like it, and don’t shoot them Well, Me being one of them Guy’s!

Check the Top of this Butt Plate Out, RIDICULOUS!!
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Result of improper Shouldering
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My Fix
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My Rifle
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This Rifle will shoot like this Every outing if i do my Part, i have Shot bullets from 450 to 650 Grains in this Rifle, It is NOT picky, it shoots them all equally well :lewis:
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Wow, those are great looking leather pads and they certainly look necessary! What kind if sight is that on your rifle? It looks like it would be better than the factory dove tail setup.
I think I've im pretty sent on buying this rifle at this point. Is Trackofthewold.com a good place to order through?
 
Wow, those are great looking leather pads and they certainly look necessary! What kind if sight is that on your rifle? It looks like it would be better than the factory dove tail setup.
I think I've im pretty sent on buying this rifle at this point. Is Trackofthewold.com a good place to order through?

For the Price, The Lyman Great Plains Hunter is a Great Rifle :lewis: If a more Traditional looking Rifle is what you prefer, and Obviously a faster Twist Bullet shooter, The Lyman Great Plains Hunter is 1 of the VERY few Readily available guns in this Configuration this day n age. There are a few others if a guy has the Money. Track of the Wolf is good, But Muzzleloaders.com is Quite a bit Cheaper on the Same Gun, You have to Back order it looks like, I have dealt with these Guy’s (Muzzleloaders.com) and they were Good :lewis:

Muzzleloaders.com Lyman Great Plains Hunter .50 Cal
https://www.muzzle-loaders.com/rifles/lymantm-great-plains-hunter-percussion.html

Here is the Pedersoli Missouri River Hawken, This is a Rifle i would LOVE to Own! 30” barrel, 1:24 Twist .50 Cal, Green Mountain made a “Sharpshooter” .50 Cal Drop in Barrel at 1 time that was this same Twist Rate, i have yet to find anyone besides Toby Bridges that has 1, and have never seen 1 of these Show up for Sale, They are VERY Rare to come by, Green Mountain made a Line of Fast Twist “Bullet” Barrels years ago to Drop in the TC Hawken, and Renegade Stocks, Called the LRH (Long Range Hunter) the .45 Cal is 1:30 Twist, the .50 and .54 is 1:28 Twist, The “Sharpshooter” being 1:24 Twist

https://www.muzzle-loaders.com/pedersoli-missouri-river-hawken-rifle-50-cal-s-206-50.html

Here is another Rifle i would LOVE to Have! This thing looks COMPLETELY Setup and Ready to Hunt, I really like the looks of this Gun!!
https://www.davide-pedersoli.com/sc...aditional-hawken-hunter-rifle-percussion.html

 
The Pedersoli Hawken hunter does look to be set up and ready to rock. I like the factory ghost ring sight way more than the dovetail. Do you think that the 1:24 barrel will be that much more accurate than the 1:32 on the GPH? $800 for the Pedersoli is a bit more than I wanted to spend on the rifle but I am a firm believer in the "buy once, cry once" approach.
 
I found pedersoli in stock for $650. I think it was Dixie gun works. Was last week or two. More accurate?? Don’t know. Less accurate?? Nope. So many things come into play barrel harmonics, bullet material, blah, blah. But I’ll bet it’s a shooting sucker. Buy it n let’s find out
 
They are .50 Cal. Min, same as us

Personally i would look SERIOUSLY at the Pedersoli Hawken Hunter, That Gun has READY TO HUNT all over it! And Pedersoli is a ROCK Solid Company, i have yet to hear anything bad about them.

I paid close to 600 for my Lyman Great Plains Hunter, the Stock Buckhorn Sights that come on them are HORRIBLE at best, I bought the Lyman 57 GPR (Made for the Lyman GP Rifles) Which is a Tang Mount Peep, it costed me another 110 Bucks, Then a Globe Front Sight at 45, I am 155 Dollars in my Sight Setup. There i am at 710, Then ad 40-50 Bucks for a Nice Lace up Pad and you are easily in the Lyman GPH for 750 bucks

Back when I bought my Lyman GPH, Had i of Known I could have Bought the Pedersoli Hawken Hunter for the Same Price, or even cheaper than the Lyman, I would have owned the Pedersoli Hawken Hunter NO QUESTION!!
 
As a hunting sidelock i bet that Pedersoli Hawkens Hunter would rock. Not as heavy as some and has a recoil pad instead of an axe head :D

$650 at Dixie is the best price im seeing. muzzleloader DOT com wants nearly $750. Might see if they can price match or close. If its close go with them. Cherry's is $715...i think.
 
I see they make a left-handed Percussion and Flintlock Pedersoli Hawkens Hunter model also. Being I live in PA and in most counties, you are forced to use a Flintlock during the late ML season, that might be tempting as soon as I can scrape up some cash.
 
Well I thought I knew which rifle I was going to buy, I was going to order it this afternoon in fact. But I feel I own more research and thought into this decision. I really appreciate everyone's input. I am so new to all of this, it would have been impossible to figure this out on my own. I wish there were more information about the Pedersoli hunter online but it seems to be fairly new? I'll probably make a decision in the next few days. I'll let you all know what direction I end up going. Thanks again for everyones help!
 
In general, Pedersoil makes some of the best quality and safest imported muzzle loaders you can buy. There is no EU law that they have to proof test MLs they ship to the USA but they do it anyway.
 
Well I pulled the trigger yesterday and bought my first muzzleloader. It was a hard choice between the Lyman GPH and the Pedersoli Hawken Hunter. But in the end, I went with the Lyman. I know yall were probably looking forward to some first hand info on the Pedersoli and to be honest, it probably would be the faster and less expensive route to get to where i want. But when it really came down too it, I just wanted the Lyman more than the Pedersoli. I really can't explain why, the Lyman GPH just sort of spoke to me lol. I love the way it looks; very much a traditional looking rifle. And if it costs me a little extra money to get the Lyman where I want it to be (sights, butt pad ect) i think i will still be more happier with it in the long run. Thanks again for everyone's input, I really appreciate it!

As a side note, I also wanted to ask, assuming I have the correct sized bullet loaded, is there any danger of the bullet drifting off the powder when walking around in the woods or similar activity? Perhaps if carried loaded with the muzzle pointed downwards? Ive been reading about the danger of shooting a bullet when its not seated on the powder properly and wondered if it were possible.
 
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Short answer is yes. Bullets can move off the powder. Idaho Lewis has a video where he shows it happening. Worth a watch. A bullet like the Great Plains by hornady has one band that’s wider than others that makes for a tight fit in most cases but still loadable.
They hold good in my .50.
If you continue to research here you’ll learn about soft lead bullets and those with harder alloys etc. and there’s always sabots. Others will chime in with more alternatives. Congrats on the new gun
 
As a side note, I also wanted to ask, assuming I have the correct sized bullet loaded, is there any danger of the bullet drifting off the powder when walking around in the woods or similar activity? Perhaps if carried loaded with the muzzle pointed downwards? Ive been reading about the danger of shooting a bullet when its not seated on the powder properly and wondered if it were possible.

Congrats on the New Lyman GPH, They are a Fine Rifle :lewis:

My Lyman GPH is the Trickiest Rifle i own For getting good snug Bullet fit, Reason being is mine has REALLY Sharp Riflings, I have not attempted to Measure the Depth (Groove Diameter) But they appear quite Deep. When you Try and Push a Soft lead bullet down a Bore like this, the Soft Bullet “Strips” Through the Rifling, it starts good n tight, But about halfway Down you feel the Bullet Starting to “Give up” and by the time you hit the Powder there is hardly any resistance left, Sometimes there is NONE. A harder Bullet is the Answer i came up with to Combat this a few years back, After Some tinkering I settled on 1-40 (8.5 BHN) as it is stil reasonably Soft and Performs very well, I can also buy it already made, Stamp certified from Buffalo Arms. I wish they offered something in the 6 to 7 BHN as I believe it would be even Better? But since they don’t, i chose to not mess around with Mixing and Trying to make it. Trying to Duplicate each Pot of Lead would become a Nuisance in my opinion.

You DEFINITELY want your Bullet to stay put on the Powder, if a bullet slips off the Powder Charge and you Shoot, it is very possible you could “Ring” your Barrel (it might be internal only and not seen from the Outside of the Barrel? But would be felt with a Patched Jag) From what i read this is more likely to Happen the Farther the bullet gets from the Powder Charge (Muzzle end, like a Short started ball) I have not personally seen this, nor do i want to! But i have read quite a lot about it, it is a very real thing! It’s definitely not worth chancing it. This is my BIGGEST pet peeve with Hunting with my Slip Fit Paper Patch Bullets, if i were gonna sit on a Stand and Stay put they would be fine, But i would NEVER trust a Slip Fit Bullet on my Style of Walk Hunt. Same goes for a Grease Groove Bullet that Strips/loosens. I make DARN sure that my Hunting Bullets are a Steady, Solid Push to the powder, The ONLY way my Hunting Bullets will move is when i pull the Trigger :lewis:

Here is a New Brass Jag, i use Thick Cotton Patches, The Rifling stil leaves a Mark. Give you an Idea how Sharp The Riflings are in my Lyman GPH, Doesn’t hurt accuracy in the least, This Rifle shoots Grease Groove, and Paper Patch bullets equally well, From 450 to 650 Grains. But she Definitely has some SHARP ALLIGATOR Teeth Rifling :D

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