Lyman Great plains rifle

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Longone posted this 17 November 2014

Looking for feedback on this rifle with a 1-60” twist. I have gotten hooked on black powder of late and thinking of getting one of these rifles to shoot RB. Paper hunting only. Longone

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onondaga posted this 17 November 2014

http://castbulletassoc.org/view_user.php?id=6699>Longone

That rifle helped me win 2 second places in the Postal Matches  here.  I have 2 barrels for my GP rifle, It came with the 1:60 and I got the 1:32 barrel as an accessory.  The Lyman Peep sight  accessory for this rifle is a seriously good investment for the rifle.

The Italian made barrel on this rifle is the smoothest loading barrel I have ever had on a ML rifle.

Rifle bench shoots under 1” at 50 Yards for me very reliably with Alliant Black MZ propellant and a spit patched RB.

Triggers on this rifle are top notch, crisp and easily adjustable to very light when double set.

Gary

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Longone posted this 17 November 2014

That's what I was hoping to hear. How is the quality of the wood? Does it at least have some figure to it? I sent some questions off to Lyman last week but have yet to hear from them. I was thinking because Winter is on our door step I might want to buy the kit and assemble it over the “non” shooing time of the year here in the east.

Longone

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onondaga posted this 17 November 2014

http://www.castbulletassoc.org/view_user.php?id=6699>Longone

The wood on my GP is stained very dark and only has modest figure. Wood is Walnut and American Walnut, I believe. The factory wood finish is not deep and a few applications of Johnson's Paste Wax  brings up the finish very nicely. Barrel and hardware are all blued deep and dark. Finish on barrel and hardware is to about 300 grit and not meant to be a slick shiny metal finish, this is a field grade hunting rifle with low visibility hardware.

I made a field ramrod to replace the pretty factory wood one, I used a dark fiberglass rod and Hawken cartouche hardware from Dixie Gunworks including a removable rod extension handle for bench use that has a drill, patch pullet and ball and jag combination. This set is still available from Dixie.

My GP rifle before I installed the Lyman peep to the tang:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XM48L4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XM48L4/ref=ohauisearchdetailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This site works fine with the original factory front site for me.

I hope you get a good price, the price has gone up over $500.00 on these now. Mine is so old I got it from Dixie for only $204.00 years ago.

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delmarskid1 posted this 18 November 2014

A good friend of mine has one and it shoots as well or better than the big buck custom guns in “over the log” matches. I wish I had bought one. They are not a short barreled rifle.

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Bud Hyett posted this 18 November 2014

Bought two Lyman Grat Plains many years ago on the recommendation of the salesman, both are .54 caliber and 1 in 60 twist. One shoots 90 grains of FFg and the other shoots 100 grains of FFFg with spit patch round ball. They carry well and point nicely, added venison to the the freezer when I lived in Illinois. 

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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Longone posted this 18 November 2014

Winter is closing in so I ordered a kit to assemble. Thought this would help the winter pass a little quicker. Thanks for the comments, I'll have to post how it comes out.

Longone

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Glenn R. Latham posted this 19 November 2014

Longone, you won't be disappointed.  Like Gary, I have both barrels, and the 1-60 shoots .500 diameter round balls very accurately.  Groove diameter seems a little larger than some 50s, about .527 in mine, but just get a tight patch and ball combo and shoot Xs. Glenn

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Longone posted this 19 November 2014

Now all I have to do is find some #11's to feed it. Should be a fun project in the weeks ahead. For me the idea that there were other barrel options and sights available was most likely what pushed me to order it. I have yet to decide whether the barrel should be plum brown or blued. Most likely that decision will be made after I see the stock and get some stain on it. Does anybody treat the inside of the barrel with blue or plum to help protect it?

Longone

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delmarskid1 posted this 19 November 2014

I've never heard of anyone treating a barrels interior on purpose. I've browned a couple by accident not cleaning/oiling correctly.

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R. Dupraz posted this 19 November 2014

"Does anybody treat the inside of the barrel with blue or plum to help protect it?"   I have never heard of that either. There is no need if they are taken care of like they should be. I have percussion rifles that have been shot a lot over the years and don't have a hint of rust or corrosion. And all with the real black powder.

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Longone posted this 19 November 2014

I have a T/C Hawken flinter that got me started and with a bore scope it looks as if the inside of the barrel is blued. Might just be the “seasoning” from black powder. I was very surprised to see just how smooth the interior of the barrel was, I half expected to see a lot of tool marks. One thing about black powder is it cleans very fast with hot water, not a chore at all.

Longone

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R. Dupraz posted this 19 November 2014

After trying the traditional hot water method as well as all the “magic” expensive cleaners, all I use is 50/50 Ballistol and water to clean. And straight Ballistol to store. Except for the 12 gauge double. Then it's soapy water first for the crud, then the Ballistol treatment.   Just checked one of my Hawkens that hasn't been fired for two yrs. the other day and the bore shines like new. Actually better cause the bore was lapped when I built it.

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admiral posted this 21 November 2014

all my T/C's (1 Hawken, 2 Renegades) look to me to have blued interior barrel surfaces

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Bud Hyett posted this 21 November 2014

Browning or bluing the inside of a barrel might be counter-productive. Both are controlled rust processes and will leave the surface slightly etched. That might not be good on the patch going down the barrel.

I've had a new Colt Combat Commander with a blued interior from the factory. Using a Ransom Rest,the pistol shot five inch groups with jacketed Sierra or Remington bullets. The pistol shot two feet groups at fifty yards with cast bullets (After three ten shot groups, Ed Doonan went back into his shop and got a yard stick to measure the cast bullet groups.) 

I have always felt that the bore was rough from the bluing. Ed and I played with it for an afternoon trying different powders, seating depths, and crimps with similar results. This pistol was accurized by a quick sale.

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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onondaga posted this 21 November 2014

http://www.castbulletassoc.org/view_user.php?id=6699>Longone

You had questions about the figure of the wood with the GP rifle. You mentioned you will be getting the Kit to build the rifle. I don't know your skill level in applying stain to a stock that you have finished, I can take a plain straight grained stock and daub stain in patterns to make a plain jane stock look silly pretty. This is not hard at all if you have practiced.

I will also recommend Birchwood Casey TruOil for your final finish. I hand rub each coat in small areas and rub hard enough/long enough to drive the TruOil into the wood and make it warm and tacky before moving to the next area. Six coats this way gives  a beautiful deep finish that is much more attractive and durable than a factory finish.Here is my GP rifle next to a stock that was plain jane maple that I finished:

You can also see the mounted Lyman Peep in these pictures. The Maple stocked CVA Mountain Rifle kit rifle was stained with Poision Sumac stain that I make. Metal was plumb browned with Birchwood Casey Plumb Brown and final finish on maple is 10 coats TruOil hand rubbed.

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onondaga posted this 21 November 2014

Blue or brown inside a barrel is non-consequential. If you just have to remove it, a few 10 grain charge  round ball shots with the shooting patch soaked with Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and Rust remover will leave the bore shiny and remove blue/brown in the bore.  After cleaning a ML bore I use a bore mop and apply Johnson's Paste Wax into the bore. Then after dry, buff with a clean mop. No cleaning is necessary before shooting a waxed bore ML. Just pop a couple caps, then load and shoot.

Gary

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 21 November 2014

geeeze guys ... if you keep posting eye candy i might just make it thru this winter ... global warming and all !!!

ken

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Longone posted this 21 November 2014

Thought I posted this but can't find it, this is what I'm up against. Lots of reading to do before I go to it. 

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onondaga posted this 22 November 2014

http://www.castbulletassoc.org/view_user.php?id=6699>Longone

If you enjoy finishing that kit 1/10 as much as I would, you will have a blast working on it......jealous here!

Gary

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Longone posted this 22 November 2014

Reading through the instructions It is a bit more involved than I thought it might have been, but I'll tackle it slowly and have a lot of questions for sure. Like how does the nose cap attach? And what's the best way to remove the pin, if that is what holds the nose cap in place?

Longone

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