Disgusted with Plains Pistol

I recently bought a .54-caliber Lyman Plains Pistol and a friend bought one in .50-caliber.
We are both pretty disgusted because ”” no matter how close to a target we stand ”” the bullets end up landing all over the place.
A veteran shooter said we should have known better than to have bought such crappy guns.
We didn't think they would be lousy shooters because Lyman also makes the Great Plains Rifle, which many black-powder guys say is a good shooter.
Oh well, you live and learn, I guess.

:hmm: Sorry to hear of your problems---I have one in .50 and it may not be what I would select to shoot target matches with, however mine is quite capable at 25 yards. If you are shooting one hand or two hand consider you are both beginners and there is a considerable learning curve to using a pistol successfully. Bench resting is also problematic as well, trigger control, sight picture, and patience are necessary for any pistol to be shot with any degree of accuracy. Additionally the gun should eventually be sighted in for a distance such as 15-25 yards. Check for looseness in the gun parts, read something about sight picture with iron sights---shoot at the bull from a consistent point and watch to see any tendency toward grouping. Of course your loading procedure with patch, ball and powder, coupled with determining the best load to use, start with 50grains of .495 ball and .010-.015 patches and a lube, start the ball and seat firmly. Good luck :thumbsup:

you could have an experienced hand gun shooter ,shoot both pistols and see if the results, are any different than yours, then you would have a good idea :thumbsup: if it is the pistole`s or perhaps the shooters :thumbsup:

I'm betting on technique, more likely shooting than loading. That doesn't rule out the potential for a lemon to sneak through QC, but it's really unlikely for two to do it.

I don't own a Plains Pistol, but have shot several and found them superbly accurate. But I'm a long-time handgun hunter, and in my youth I shot competitively for many years. Recommendations for working with your sight picture and some thoughful bench shooting to get your confidence back are right on the money.

I have a plains pistol with both barrels .50 and .54. Both shoot just fine.
Old Charlie

Maddog: Like the others, I tend to think the problem is not with the gun.

Many people, especially those who have shot pistols which recoil heavily develop some problems with pistol shooting.

I'm not sure what the distance was and you mention trying several different ones, but if it were me, I would start at 5 yards. Yup, 15 feet with a target that is at least 12 X 12 inches (larger is better).
I would also load the .54 with a light powder load, say 25 grains and shoot at least 5 shots.

While I was shooting those 5 shots, I would use moderate grip pressure and keep my eye on the front sight. When the front sight lines up with the rear sigth and the fuzzy bullseye seems centered with the sights, lightly squeeze the trigger without tightening up the rest of your hand. Only the trigger finger should change it's pressure.
Do not try to second guess when the gun should fire. It should come as a complete surprise to you.

Most "wild" shots are due to the shooter either knowingly or subconciously tightening their grip or "pushing" against the recoil rather than just letting the gun "do it's own thing" without any assistance from you.

Try it. Your success may show a marked improvement.

zonie

i have a .45 cal. kentucky flinty and had the same problems...all over the place. in fact the most accurate shot I had was with the ramrod! oops. I still haven't figured it out yet...but the advice I got was to use a lighter load...like 25 grains, the same patch, lube and ball everytime. I had the hardest time finding the patch and ball after I shot and guys were wondering what i was looking for in the mound behind the target ( :bull: ). kidding, but the slightest change could mean a few feet or a few inches. I am still in the process of narrowing it down.

how heavy is the trigger pull on your guns?

Zonie has some good advice stated above!
I shoot both a trapper and a wm parker, and what works for me, repeatedly...is...
I shoot a light load, 15 gr 3f in my .50's with a good fitting ball/patch combo (.490 and .015(mic'd))
Granted, I have set triggers on both of these, but my tecnique works equal well when shooting other's lymans and such.
My biggest battle was my grip. Zonie nailed with the light grip and trigger finger squeeze. I shoot 2 handed and my off hand is merely a wrap for my triggerhand and applies no pressure to the gun so that I do not pull my shots.
I use the same grip and proceedure time and again(repeatability).
the light load is getting me sub 3 inch groups out to 35 yards. your results may vary from the info responded here.

One thing you might try, and it worked for me on other guns, is try using your middle finger on the trigger and see if it makes a difference. this gives you a little support above and below the trigger axis as opposed to most of your muscel movement below the axis and the index finger slightly counters the natural left pull of a normal grip. merely an experiment that worked for me when I was shooting 44mags at 75yds on rock chucks.

Sumpin taint right... some of the best pistol shooters at our monthly trail walk shoot GPPs. I've never heard anyone complain about their accuracy.

And if you aren't shooting them off sandbags with a steady rest, you don't really have any way to conclude its the pistol. I'm a lousy pistol shot, but I can hand my pistol to just about anyone and they can knock a drop of dew off a gnat's moustache.

What loads were you shooting... powder type, charge, patch type, size and ball type and size?

I have a 50 cal. and the first 4 shots are very, very accurate. Once the barrel gets fouled, I have found the accuracy goes sour.

You didn't mention what load you were using. Most BP pistols shoot best with a lighter load. I have a .54 Bondini that is very accurate with a 20 grain load.

Pistols generally have a faster twist barrel, about 1:28 or tighter, than a rifle so they will stabilize the ball with a lighter load. Heavier charges have a tendency to fly all over the place the same way a fast twist rifle will open a group with heavier charges and patched round ball. Add to that the problem of operator error with the heavier charges and its a wonder anything gets hit.

I would go with what Zonie said. I've seen people who could not hit beans with a pistol become decent shots using variations of this method.

skeet said:

I have a 50 cal. and the first 4 shots are very, very accurate. Once the barrel gets fouled, I have found the accuracy goes sour.

Click to expand...

sounds like you found your "wipe" point.
wipe every 4 rounds!

I have a .50 Cal. Garner with a WE Rayle Barrel. The thing would go wild after 10 shots. I was using a .490 with a .015 40 Drill Cotton patch. I backed it up a flinter with 30 Grs. of Wano 3f. The shooting was done at 25 Yds. one hand.

I finally went to a .495 with an .018 pillow tick and HBP+. The gun will shoot all day no change. I have tried some 40 Gr. loads no problems. :thumbsup:

It would be surprising to get two lemons that close together. Mine will shoot very well with a variety of loads and bullet/ball combinations with powder charges ranging from 20 -40 grains or volume equivalent of black powder, pyrodex or h777, balls of either .490 or .495 with patches ranging from .010 to .015-inch or even with the 250 grain Lee REAL bullets.


fairly typical 25 yard one-hand group

The lock is a smaller version of the Great Plains Rifle and has the intermediate fly but no set trigger. With mine and others I have heard about, it is possible to manually set the trigger and come up with a "hair" trigger pull. Being very careful to keep the gun pointed down range, you can hold the hammer with the off thumb and eas the trigger back until you feel the sear ride out of the full cock notch and rest on the fly.

I have a 50 cal. Plains Pistol and have no issues with it. Using a rest it shoots very well at 25 yards. Without the rest it another story but than it is the shoot and not the pistol.