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opinion on Lyman rifles wanted

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My .02 cents!
I started out with a custom built .40 cal full stock tack driver my uncle had made. He gave me that rifle and I thought that was all I would ever need. Well about a year later and multiple rifles to choose from my wife told me to pick one and she would buy me a gun for a wedding gift. I watched this web site and researched as much as I could about the GPR. I then jumped in with both feet and made the decision to get one. RH in cap .50 cal is what I chose. I am fortunate enough to live close to the log cabin shop in Ohio and made a trip to feel, fondle and fine tooth the thing off the shelf. Just had to get my hands on one before I made my final decision. I loved how it fit and felt. They do take a little getting used to if you are not familiar on how they sit in you arm when shooting but, once that is figured out all falls into place, or at least it did with me.
I played with this rifle for quite some time before anyone at my club knew I had it. I upgraded the triggers and put the Lyman peep sights on it(for me its first time ever for peeps). I put a lot of faith into this new rifle and I started to use it in matches. With a wide range of novelty targets and paper matches, I slowly crawled up the points list. End of year came and I peaked at the top of the board, Very luckily and by the skin of my teeth made first place in Novelty and second in paper scores.
Shoot off for top gun came and it was between top novelty and top paper shooters. When the smoke cleared and scores were tallied, Somehow I beat the top shooter in paper on paper to take the title of top gun for the year at my club.
I know a lot of this doesn't mean much to you all but, to me this was how I came to love my 1st GPR and she is now called "Gift". She sits right next to the 2nd one I bought last month. That's right 2 identical beauties, only difference is the sights on the new one will be open iron sights to compete at other clubs and matches that don't allow peeps.

To answer you question with my opinion... get one and you will not be disappointed!
 
This is what a GPR 54 does to George with 70 grains.
A deer wont stand a chance IMHO.
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bkyrdshooter said:
My .02 cents!
I started out with a custom built .40 cal full stock tack driver my uncle had made. He gave me that rifle and I thought that was all I would ever need. Well about a year later and multiple rifles to choose from my wife told me to pick one and she would buy me a gun for a wedding gift. I watched this web site and researched as much as I could about the GPR. I then jumped in with both feet and made the decision to get one. RH in cap .50 cal is what I chose. I am fortunate enough to live close to the log cabin shop in Ohio and made a trip to feel, fondle and fine tooth the thing off the shelf. Just had to get my hands on one before I made my final decision. I loved how it fit and felt. They do take a little getting used to if you are not familiar on how they sit in you arm when shooting but, once that is figured out all falls into place, or at least it did with me.
I played with this rifle for quite some time before anyone at my club knew I had it. I upgraded the triggers and put the Lyman peep sights on it (for me its first time ever for peeps). I put a lot of faith into this new rifle and I started to use it in matches. With a wide range of novelty targets and paper matches, I slowly crawled up the points list. End of year came and I peaked at the top of the board...

I can not get used to peeps. I scored a left hand Lyman with peeps, .50 capper, and cannot get it to shoot. Never liked peeps. Maybe I should put some on a .22 and run a brick through and get used to em? Ever hear of anybody couldnt use em? Is it just me?
 
For me they did take some time to feel "right". I just stuck with it and talked with people that use them for tips and pointers. Once I could see what they could do and getting more comfortable with them they have grown on me. I still like the open iron sights and use them o other rifles.

I have found every rifle I fire does exactly what I tell it to do. the issue is no matter what gun or what sights are used, if you don't hold it where you want it shot, the shot will go where it is held.
 
Hmmmm........my ol man was a cop and always scored excellent and swears he never aimed his pistol but only "pointed" it :hmm: (extension of the arm thing)

Maybe he was right? I have it now, MUST try this. I know its dead on using the fixed sites it came with
 
I don't know what a 91/30 is but if you meant to write, 30-30, the answer depends on the powder load.

A .490 diameter, 180 grain, patched roundball loaded into a .50 caliber rifle over a 90 grain load of 3Fg powder will have a muzzle energy of about the same as a .30-30 using a 150 grain bullet.

The recoil is not like shooting a .30-30 though.

Modern rifles using smokeless powder give a very sharp smack or whack to the shoulder when they are fired.

A black powder muzzleloader on the other hand gives a very strong, hard push when it fires.

The difference is in how the projectile is accelerated down the bore.

The smokeless rounds are accelerated almost in an instant.
The black powder rounds are accelerated in a more gentle manner so they produce a more gentle recoil.

After you shoot a muzzleloader a few times, you'll see what I mean. :)
 
HighlyAdaptive said:
Just wondering. How much recoil does a .50 caliber have? Is it comparable to that of a 91/30 or is it more?


I think you would find the average 50cal muzzleloader much more pleasant to shoot than your Mosin-Nagant.
 
Cool. What I meant by 91/30 was a mosin nagant. Just wanted to know what the recoil was like since I'm taking my little one with me to the desert this weekend to test out my new kentucky rifle. I can just lessen up on the amount of bp I put in there to make it more manageable for him right?
 
I have video of my son age 2.5 shooting my ROA, 5 grains, dad behind him shot a coke can at 5-6 feet. Ball went in one side and rolled around, we poured it out. YA you can adjust the load. .50 with 25-30 gr will go bang, make smoke and NO KICK. Also will kill a squirrel or a man or child, SAFETY RULES APPLY. Have fun.

Oh BTW a .50 with 100 grains and a big fat conical will be worse than yer suppository rifle (in my experience, (light guns etc.) I ONCE shot my hawkin .58 with 120 gr and a conical. Note : ONCE
 
I am short and stalky and a bit long on the tooth as well. The Deerstalker .54 flinter fits me well and shoots very accurate. 80/90 grains of 2f is mild to shoot in the robust little rifle and it's plenty of power for the whitetails I hunt. It's a joy to hunt with in the hilly, snowy and thick areas I normally hunt. It's quick on target and hits hard with a patched ball. A great stalking and driving rifle.

In more open areas where the normal shots would be out to 100+ yards a GPR might be a little better. I have no GPR but I do have longer barreled rifles and the Deerstalker is my usual choice for hunting. Don't let it's 1/48 twist hold you up as it's every bit as accurate as the slower twist and you don't need to load a heavy charge to get it.
 
I owned a GPR back in the mid 90's.Bought it new. .015 pillow ticking patch and round ball, it was a deer killing machine. Best M/L I ever owned. Wish I still had it. Cannot say enough good about the Lyman Great Plains Rifle. :thumbsup:
 
Deerstalker: That's the one the purists bash for being non-historically correct. It has a rubber buttpad, which is a further anathema to traditional muzzleloaders. It's been described as a cheap, bottom-of-the-line, entry level muzzleloader. Additionally, it's too short to be of any accuracy at any distance. That's what I'd read & had been told by all the wise guys.

I wanted one anyway & the price for a .54 cal flint was right, so I brought one home.

.54 cal is easy to work up loads for & it took little range time to discover it likes 75 gr. 3F with a .018" patch around a .495" RB.

I got the rifle back when Dad still had the Grapefruit Ranch near Tucson & he'd give me all the culls so I could make juice. I always had a bunch left, so I'd take them to the range & put them out at the 100 yard berm to plink at. I got to the point where I'd explode grapefruit every shot, so I call this one my grapefruit gun. Today Dad & the grapefruit are gone, but I still use the little water balloons out at 100 yards and still annoy the big white hunters with their .300 Win Mags & big scopes by hitting what I aim at without needing a scope.

My other .54's all shoot every bit as well, but the Deerstalker doesn't suffer from any deficiency in accuracy with that short barrel.
 
The Deerstalker is short for sure but it isn't real light either. The rifle balances very well in the hands and it's a quick little carbine type of rifle. The grooves are deep enough for ball/patch accuracy. My normal load for it is 80 grains Goex 2f and a .530 ball which still loads nice with a .018 patch. It's a mild rifle to shoot because the rifle it self is a little beefy. Some have said they slim the stock down some but I like mine just the way it is.

I have handled a few GPR's but never fired one. The biggest difference I feel is the weight and length. They didn't come up to the shoulder nearly a quickly. I need that in a rifle in the conditions I hunt in. In slower more controlled aim it would be fine. The balance of the GPR doesn't fit me as well either but I am sure a larger and taller shooter would probably prefer it to the shorter carbine.

This rifle didn't need to tune anything like most of my other rifle did. The single trigger was great and the lock worked great with good spark. I did run a little oiled white scotch brite down the bore on a jag and smoothed up the crown a little before I ever fired it. Just enough to knock any burrs off the might be present. It was driving bulls at the start and hasn't missed a beat since.
 
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