Lyman Great Plains with .54 minie?

I want to purchase a Lyman Great Plains Hunter with the 1 in 32 twist in 54 caliber. Will Lyman's #542622 minie ball hollow base mold produce bullets that will work in this rifle? The Lyman website says the mold is designed for 1:48 twist and .540" bores. Thanks for your help!

My only experience with that particular bullet in a fast twist was with a 1:28 barrel of another make. A friend gave me a double-handful of the bullets lubed with Liquid Alox.

In a nutshell, they required fairly careful alignment to seat due to their large diameter. But on the plus side, try as I might I couldn't cause the bullet to shift off the powder, which is a problem with smaller diameter minies.

On the negative side, once I increased charges much above 60 grains of 2f, accuracy went south fast. The skirt was evidently over-expanding at the muzzle due to the higher charges. The lower charge might be a demerit for hunting if you were trying to stretch the range.

I've settled on a different style of minie that is working better for me (58 cal rather than 54, though the same design is available in .540). It's the Lee Improved Minie, which has a big wide nose (meplat) for better performance on game, along with a little thicker skirt for larger powder charges.

I haven't got around to using it on game yet, but it's super accurate in my 58's with 80-90 grains of 2f.

Thanks for the information. I'm recently getting back into muzzleloading again and I have been looking for something capable of taking deer at a longer range, possibly 250 yards. The Lee mold you showed me is availiable in both .533 and .540 diameters. Now comes the choice of which size to get. Is it more of a trial and error thing? At least the Lee molds are cheaper.

LeadPillPa said:

The Lee mold you showed me is availiable in both .533 and .540 diameters. Now comes the choice of which size to get.

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Lots of folks express concern that the smaller diameter might migrate off the powder charge in the course of a long day of field carry, creating a very dangerous air space between the powder and bullet.

I've never experienced that, but took it as good advice when I ordered the "oversize" version. It is a little more troublesome to get started, but I'm usually not in a hurry. If I was re-enacting and shooting timed events I wouldn't like it, but I'm not.

Lots of folks express concern that the smaller diameter might migrate off the powder charge in the course of a long day of field carry, creating a very dangerous air space between the powder and bullet.

I've never experienced that, but took it as good advice when I ordered the "oversize" version.

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I have personally observed this on two occasions. Once with the wife's .58 and a Lee target minie and once with a friends .54 renegade and a maxi ball.

I and others switched to rb only for hunting after observing the problem.

That's good first-hand feedback. I was concerned enough to switch to the oversize minies, and I actually carried it on a few hunts. I never took a shot, so performance on game is still theoretical for me. But every little while, especially after a passage through rough country, I would push the rod down the bore to check for movement of the bullet. Never happened, but a couple of hunts don't make a life story for me. If I use it again, I'll still be looking over my shoulder and testing the seating now and then.

Both these incidents were with the use of 1000+ for lube. I see other shooters here suggesting liquid alox to lube conicals. I think that good advice since it will not melt and grease up the bore and bullet like 1000+ does. Both those slugs may have stayed put with a stiff non-melting lube.

You may be right, and it might even vary with temp. I will add that oversize minies are a bugger to get started compared to the traditional undersize ones. Not a problem in my guns with coned muzzles, but not something you'd expect to use for fast reloads without the cone.

Leadpillpa:

Although I recently sold my Lyman GPH .54, 1:32, the Lyman .542, 425gr homecast minie was my most favored projectile backed with 90gr of PyrodexRS and a CCI Mag 11 cap.

Initially I water tank shot a few to see if the skirt deformed as it exited the muzzle, which did not occur. By comparing them to a pulled projectile, they fully engaged the rifling.

Actually I found that they loaded in the muzzle much smoother than some of the commerically available stuff.

:rotf: However, using them will provide a very clear understanding of what exactly causes recoil.

Osage

LeadPillPa said:

I want to purchase a Lyman Great Plains Hunter with the 1 in 32 twist in 54 caliber. Will Lyman's #542622 minie ball hollow base mold produce bullets that will work in this rifle? The Lyman website says the mold is designed for 1:48 twist and .540" bores. Thanks for your help!

Click to expand...

Have had fits getting good castings from Lymans 54 minie. May need to add a little tin to the mix to get it to fill out. That would let it be pushed a wee tad harder as well.

GoodCheer:

Have you had a chance to try that little pouring trick, for me it meant the difference from maybe one keeper in a hundred, to maybe four culls in a hundred.

But remember, first the mould has to be almost as hot as the lead.

As stated, pouring balls is easy compared to those big, pointed, hollow butted, fancy bullets.

For what its worth, adding tin or other alloys will increase the casting difficulty.

Osage

GoodCheer said:

Have had fits getting good castings from Lymans 54 minie. May need to add a little tin to the mix to get it to fill out. That would let it be pushed a wee tad harder as well.

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Heat, heat , and more heat, will help, as will a fast fill. Filling too slow will cause the lead to start setting before the mold is full.

BrownBear said:

My only experience with that particular bullet in a fast twist was with a 1:28 barrel of another make. A friend gave me a double-handful of the bullets lubed with Liquid Alox.

In a nutshell, they required fairly careful alignment to seat due to their large diameter. But on the plus side, try as I might I couldn't cause the bullet to shift off the powder, which is a problem with smaller diameter minies.

On the negative side, once I increased charges much above 60 grains of 2f, accuracy went south fast. The skirt was evidently over-expanding at the muzzle due to the higher charges. The lower charge might be a demerit for hunting if you were trying to stretch the range.
I've settled on a different style of minie that is working better for me (58 cal rather than 54, though the same design is available in .540). It's the Lee Improved Minie, which has a big wide nose (meplat) for better performance on game, along with a little thicker skirt for larger powder charges.

I haven't got around to using it on game yet, but it's super accurate in my 58's with 80-90 grains of 2f.

Click to expand...

The best solution for blown skirts with heavy powder charges is to have a new base pin made to throw a thicker skirt. This is a simple job on Lyman style moulds but is a little more complicated on a Lee mould which stays attached to the mould blocks. Unlike RB'S one size does not fit all; morepowder = thicker skirt, less powder = thinner skirt.

Osage said:

GoodCheer:

Have you had a chance to try that little pouring trick, for me it meant the difference from maybe one keeper in a hundred, to maybe four culls in a hundred.

But remember, first the mould has to be almost as hot as the lead.

As stated, pouring balls is easy compared to those big, pointed, hollow butted, fancy bullets.

For what its worth, adding tin or other alloys will increase the casting difficulty.

Osage

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Not yet Osage. A chemical plant down around Houston had me tied up all day with a steam turbine repair.
Think maybe I'll try swapping pots and see if the temperature gets high enough. The one currently being used for straight lead pot is a good twenty years old. The one being used for high alloy content is newer and may get the metal hotter. We'll see!

runnball said:

The best solution for blown skirts with heavy powder charges is to have a new base pin made to throw a thicker skirt. This is a simple job on Lyman style moulds but is a little more complicated on a Lee mould which stays attached to the mould blocks. Unlike RB'S one size does not fit all; morepowder = thicker skirt, less powder = thinner skirt.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Yeah, I had considered that, but decided I didn't like the tiny meplat on the Lyman minie. That was the big reason for the switch to the LEE Improved minie and it's huge meplat. It's just a prejudice I developed over a couple of decades of sticking game with handguns. The larger meplat for a minie is theoretical at this point, because I haven't gotten around to taking game with it yet.

If you try to use a faster powder behind a bullet consistent accuracy will be lost regardless of the amount, its as if the powder in the skirt becomes a grenade as it exits the muzzle.

For what its worth, PyrodexRS works very well with big lead bullets.

Osage

If you're hunting at long ranges you might want to consider one of the Lyman receiver sights. If your rifle has a small filler screw between the two tang bolts then the sight will bolt right on. Otherwise you have to drill and tap one hole. I have one on my .50 caliber GPR and I love it.

I just picked the gun up yesterday. Haven't even shot it yet. I've been checking out the receiver sight they make and took notice of the tapped hole and plug on the tang. I don't have a mold yet. I'm compiling all this great info you all have been giving me. Thanks! The deer normally are at a range of 200 to 225 yards from my stand & rest. That currently may be a bit far for this gun. From what I'm reading, it will takes lots of experimenting and practice, but that's all fun to me. I know a guy that has a scope on a .50 Renegade and he shoots that far. If I ever went the scope route it would have to be one of the Malcolms I keep seeing. My wife did ask me what I wanted for Christmas yesterday!