I'm interested in building a traditional BP firearm from a kit, and was curious if this particular kit has the potential to be a good, entry level project. I would be interested in putting one together, but would like to know what other members thought of this pistol, and if there are other options that would be better at a similar price. I've never done a kit of any kind, or finished the metal of a firearm, but have made a few knives, and have basic metal, and wood working tools. I am pretty excited to have found this forum. This is a noob project, and I hope I'm not detracting from this particular sub-forum, I just am trying to find a starting point to get into building Black Powder firearms. I certainly have a lot to learn, and really respect the views of all of you on this forum.
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Lyman Great Plains Pistol Kit
- Thread starter Zane S.
- Start date
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It is an Assembly.... not to be mistaken with actually Building a pistol from parts. Basically ya clean it up, brown/blue it & finish it.
Take ya 8-16 hrs to complete & have helped several kids do them, it really should not be an issue.
Personally....... I would not do it. I suggest ya go for the Rifle kit, as it is something you can shoot later on & actually hit something & also use it to hunt. Most of the people I have known that built these pistols, shoot them a couple times & then they sit in the gun cabinet from then on.... :idunno:
Rasp, metal File, sandpaper, Exacto knife, screwdriver, 0000 steel wool, some stain (if ya want) and some Tru-Oil & you are ready to go at it.
Keith Lisle
Take ya 8-16 hrs to complete & have helped several kids do them, it really should not be an issue.
Personally....... I would not do it. I suggest ya go for the Rifle kit, as it is something you can shoot later on & actually hit something & also use it to hunt. Most of the people I have known that built these pistols, shoot them a couple times & then they sit in the gun cabinet from then on.... :idunno:
Rasp, metal File, sandpaper, Exacto knife, screwdriver, 0000 steel wool, some stain (if ya want) and some Tru-Oil & you are ready to go at it.
Keith Lisle
I have to agree, a rifle would probably be the more practical, logical, choice, also I will be careful to use better terminology 
assembling is what I plan on doing, assembling a kit. I thought a pistol would be easier to do, but I do hunt some, and a rifle may give me more mileage. But I do a lot of informal plinking as well, much more plinking than hunting.
assembling is what I plan on doing, assembling a kit. I thought a pistol would be easier to do, but I do hunt some, and a rifle may give me more mileage. But I do a lot of informal plinking as well, much more plinking than hunting.
Whetrock said:
First, welcome to the forum! You are at the right place! This sub-forum is exactly the place for the question you have.
If you already have a rifle(s) and were choosing this because you want to plink with a pistol, it should be a good introduction to some of the basics of finishing a gun. Clearly kits of parts require much more work and allow making a firearm that looks more like an original would have, but for the price, this should produce a nice useable pistol.
You might also want to consider the Traditions or Pedersoli pistol kits. More variety to choose from and you may like one of those styles better...or not. Worth a look and then pick whatever you like best of what you've seen.
https://www.traditionsfirearms.com/category/Pistol-kit
http://www.davide-pedersoli.com/ti...idt_70/pistols-muzzleloading-kit-pistols.html
Good luck in your selection and the project. Hope to see pictures posted when complete!
Last edited by a moderator:
A word of caution about the "kits" from Track of the Wolf, Pecatonica River and others that supply "kits" that are a step above the typical Big Company kits.
By Big Company I mean Traditions, Lyman, Pedersoli....
The Big Company kits are pretty much like most people think of kits.
The parts are almost fully machined so putting them together isn't difficult.
The wood needs sanding and finishing. The metal parts usually need some sanding and polishing and a few parts might need a bit of wood cut away here and there for everything to go together.
Even a person who has not done a lot of wood work or metal work can end up with a pretty good gun when they are done if they take their time (and ask us questions before a problem really comes up).
The TOTW, Pecatonica River, Chambers etc kits are just a box full of roughed out parts.
None of them fit together without filing, fitting, drilling and threading and a host of other things.
Someone who has never worked with metal or wood will usually have problems.
This is not to say that only builders with a lot of experience should build them but it sure doesn't hurt to have some before trying one of these "Advanced Box Of Rough Parts".
By Big Company I mean Traditions, Lyman, Pedersoli....
The Big Company kits are pretty much like most people think of kits.
The parts are almost fully machined so putting them together isn't difficult.
The wood needs sanding and finishing. The metal parts usually need some sanding and polishing and a few parts might need a bit of wood cut away here and there for everything to go together.
Even a person who has not done a lot of wood work or metal work can end up with a pretty good gun when they are done if they take their time (and ask us questions before a problem really comes up).
The TOTW, Pecatonica River, Chambers etc kits are just a box full of roughed out parts.
None of them fit together without filing, fitting, drilling and threading and a host of other things.
Someone who has never worked with metal or wood will usually have problems.
This is not to say that only builders with a lot of experience should build them but it sure doesn't hurt to have some before trying one of these "Advanced Box Of Rough Parts".
