Lyman Plains Pistol 54 safe to bore it out to .62?

[5knives]

Doubt if it's a good idea, but I'm not having much luck in finding a .62 flint pistol, they seem to be drying up fast.

got to thinking I might want to have a .54 reamed out to .62 smooth, could give up flint for percussion and I've always liked the look of the Lymans.

So, thought I'd ask, someone here must have a lyman and could tell me how thick the bbl. walls are.

All I want is a .62 smoothbore, loads would be light to medium.

Don't want to leave it .54 because my Uberti Hawkin (circa 1984) is a .53, and I want as few different size balls and such as possible. .521 and .530 are just too close together for my old eyes.

All opinions and comments welcome!

(I just know I'll regret saying that!)

Thanks in advance.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

You can get a .62 caliber pistol from Tennessee Valley Arms. You can even get it as a kit. I value mine highly as it is able to handle ball as well as shot. And the barrel was built as a .62 and is safe with any reasonable load. All parts are high quality and some options are available.

 

[5knives]

thank you kindly Mr. Russ T. Frizzen,

I had not found them. I will definitely look into that option.

I had and have a deep and nagging suspicion that drilling out a .54 might not be one of my better ideas!

May be wrong, but I suspect the Lyman Pistol might well be contracted out to one of the Italian companies and therefore no better (or worse) steel than anything else.

Thank you for the prompt response!

:hatsoff:

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

Using a Lyman Plains Pistol in .54 caliber...

The barrel is 15/16" across the flats.

So approximately, it would be 0.9375 - 0.545 = 0.3925
0.3925 / 2 = 0.19625 barrel wall thickness

Boring it out to a .62 caliber smoothbore would leave you with

0.9375 - 0.620 = 0.3175
0.3175 / 2 = 0.15875 barrel wall thickness

I hope that's close enough to help you. IMHO, it should be thick enough for any "reasonable" load.

BUT... I think it would make more sense to take a section of .62 cal barrel, get another breech plug/bolster, and make another barrel assembly for it.

Do you already have a .54 cal Lyman pistol; or are you thinking of buying a Lyman Plains Pistol in .54 caliber and modifying it to suit your needs?

Are you wanting to shoot single .600 cal. (325gr) or .610 cal. (340gr) round balls, OR shot loads, OR both? I still think it would be able to handle it.

If your heart is really set on flint and .62 smooth bore, then you ought to start off with something closer to that actual design.

Here's a .58 cal flint lock pistol kit from DGW

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?products_id=965

Good Luck!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[5knives]

Thank You Mr. WV_Hillbilly ,

I appreciate the specs and the reference.

I'll bounce those measurements off my favorite nephew the M.E. and get his opinion, I'd expect it to agree with yours.

No I do not have the Lyman and could not find one locally to measure.

It just seemed like it might be a quick way to solve the dilema.

Checked out the Tennessee Valley web site, and I do really like the looks of that pistol, Price is a tad higher than I had hoped for but then so was the trade musket.

(No I won't start my usual rant about how the world started to go to Hades when gasoline got to be over a nickel a gallon.)

The more I think on it the more I think I'll have to check my finances, and get on the phone to Tennesse Valley about speecifics, delivery time and etc.!

Thanks again for the information!

I appreciate it!

:hatsoff:

Regards,

 

[Rat]

I think it would work ok, and would certainly be safe with mid range loads. In the long run, you probably would be more happy with a .62 that was "born" a .62. But really nothing wrong with the basic idea. Actually, a Plains Pistol would make a nice .58", they are nice pistolas.

I took a section of .58 rifle-musket barrel once, which was rather thin-walled being off the muzzle end of the barrel, breeched it and put it in a flintlock pistol stock and lock that was originally a .45, and it worked pretty good. I never fired over 40 grain loads though.

A cap-lock is not a bad idea for a gun you will carry in a holster, possibly a bit safer....or not? (I always hear about people warning not to carry a flint pistol in a holster...but I'm not sure how it would fall off half cock any more than a cap-lock)

If you are not building a carry-gun, then flint for sure! That's why I went with a Plains Pistol, I prefer flintlocks, but for a serious back up pistol, that again would live in a holster on my side I went with a cap gun...and a bit more "eloquent" than a revolver I think. ?? (definately more POWERFUL)!!!

Then again, if my Remington Navy is not "eloquent" I don't know what is! That's a beutiful gun. (but definately not powerful when it comes to things that claw and bite)

Anyhow, I don't see any bad ideas here.

Rat

 

[Deadeye]

Bored out a 14/16" .45 cal. barrel to .62 about 25 yrs. ago.
Still have it and it shoots great, never had any problems.
You'll reach the point where recoil is more than you want way before you reach any danger from too thin a barrel wall. :imo:

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

Some more ideas...

You could always use a modern 20 gauge shotgun barrel, whose wall thickness is much thinner, but it is MUCH better steel. You could mate that .62 cal (20 gauge) barrel section up to the existing barrel (which doesn't have to be a .54, could be a .45 or .50 even--you're just needing the breech part of the barrel anyway) and you'd have a very strong gun. Providing that you used a decent method of mating the two barrels up.

OR you could...
Try to find one of those cheap old Kentucky style percussion pistols. I mean cheap, like as inexpensive to buy, NOT as in poorly made. You can do LOTS of neat things if your imagination is good, AND you are a good machinist or gunsmith (or hopefully know one who is both).

Even MORE Power?...
I've got an ongoing project to turn an old .45 Kentucky style pistol into a .729 caliber smoothbore pistol--using a section of a modern 12ga shotgun barrel. It will make an extremely potent "hand cannon" once it's completed. A nice load of about 100gr of FFg pushing approx. 2oz of #4 buckshot (41 pellets), which is roughly equal to the factory 3" magnum 12 gauge load.

Obviously that gun and load is not for the recoil sensitive. It can always be custom loaded to just about any power level you desire. A single .710 cal round ball (535gr), birdshot, buckshot, buck AND ball,fletchettes... "almost" whatever my heart desires.

You are only limited by your imagination and your finances as the saying goes. If you're clever, you can find ways to stretch the finances to get what you want--providing your imagination (and cleverness) takes up the slack. Just remember that the pistol you end up with is probably not something that any one else is going to want. BUT they won't have anything like it either. It is uniquely your's. You can put as much, or as little into it, as you need or want.

Have fun, but be safe!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

This site seems to have almost exactly what you want.

http://www.possibleshop.com/pistol-kit.htm

It's even available as kit or finished/in the white.

I don't know what your financial limits are for your project, but the kit versions they sell aren't too out of line.

Has anyone else gotten a kit from this place? I'd like to know for myself as well, as I've never dealt here personally.

Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[buck]

5knives

Have you talked to Jackie Brown? I have a 62 smooth flintlock pistol from him. His website is: www.jackiebrowngunmaker.com