Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Lyman Great Plains Rifle = Junk

Years ago, I looked at several and wanted one because they were close to a real Hawken, as close as you can get in a factory piece.

Well I recently bought a left hand .54 caliber percussion model from Midway and my disappointment is palpable.

Wood to metal fit is terrible. The stock is stained so dark it looks like they painted black, then sort of wiped it off leaving the dark color behind. The lock appears to have been finished with a file, by a [bleep] and the barrel won't fit the stock until some wood is removed.

Midway won't take returns on muzzleloaders, so I'm stuck with it I guess. If it shoots well, some of my frustration will be negated, but it is still ugly as homemade soap.

I should have saved the money and put it towards one of W.B.Selb's rifles.

Live and learn.

Quality may have dropped off. The one I have (But haven't fired in years) was pretty accurate and the wood to metal was pretty good. I didn't have to do anything more to it to get shooting 'cept load powder, ball and cap. Shot great.

yea they all are ugly turds.

I would have liked to handle one before I bought it, but muzzleloaders are selling like used condoms since single shot centerfire rifles were declared "primitive weapons[". And left handed = nonexistent in LGSs.

Well I dunno if he’s still taking orders, but Mr. Selb builds a fine rifle. My old compadre had one of his rifles.

I have the Lyman GP “Hunter” Model in .54 Cal (Fast Twist) I was somewhat disappointed with this one as well, But after some Modifications, and tinkering with it i have learned to like it. The Crescent Butt Plate on mine was Sharp Enough to Gut, and Skin a Deer, That was 1 of the very first things i changed, I removed it, Rounded the Knife edge off, Reblued it and installed a Leather Lace Up Pad. The Rifling in my Gun is SHARP.
Back when I bought this one I really wanted a Green Mountain LRH .54 Cal Barrel (1:28 Fast Twist) To fit in a TC Renegade, or .54 Cal Hawken Stock, But the 54 LRH Barrels were LITERALLY Scarce as Hens teeth, I could find the .45s and 50s all day, any day, But NOT 1 single .54 GM LRH in nearly 3 Years of DAILY searching! I finally gave up and Bought the Lyman Plains, 1 week after Buying the Lyman i found a GM LRH in .54 Cal on Gunbroker, Brand new from an Estate, I hit the BUY IT NOW 👍

If it wasn’t for my Lyman GP “Hunter” Shooting so well, i could EASILY Let it go and never think about it again, But this Rifle Shoots INCREDIBLY Good, as good as ANY Muzzleloader i own (and that’s a BUNCH)



This is the kind of accuracy i get from mine at 50-60 Yards, from 450 Grain Bullets to 650 Grain, Hard or Soft lead it doesn’t matter, The Rifle FLAT OUT Shoots 👍 It will Hold it’s own with ANYTHING i have


Like i said, mine has SHARP Rifling, Looking down the Bore resembles Shark, or Alligator Teeth 😁 Cuts through my Patches and Scars the Jag

Sorry to hear that. Mine is a jewel and shoots bug hole groups. Everyone I know who has one loves them. And I agree a custom Hawken such as those built by Selb are much better , for four times the price.

I am happy that I got a TC Hawken used for 350 with tax. It is used, does not shoot as good as Idaho Lewis's group but it is good enough for now. I dont get upset with ugly guns as long as they shoot. I can't stand low quality craftsmanship however. They are made with CNC machines, how hard can it be? Stupid Italians, ( I'm Italian so I can say it without being called racist .) Take a 150 yr old Muzzloader and the craftsmanship is remarkable for that day and age. If it shoots , keep it. I also dont understand why they make the lands so sharp. It is not supposed to tear the patch.

I have one, haven't had a chance to shoot it. Didn't draw the blackpowder tag I put in for so there's not a lot of pressure this year. If I have time to sight in, etc I may take it hunting in regular deer or elk season. If not, no big deal. It's a .54 caliber flint round ball gun. I know what you mean, the butt plate is sharp enough to skin a deer with. Wood to metal fit isn't anything to write home about but doesn't look as bad as yours sounds. I would not want to shoot that skinny butt hooked metal thing on a gun meant for conicals. With lighter loads and patched round balls I think it'll be ok.

I'm gettin' to the point, though, that I could just about quit muzzleloading and never look back. I started out on TC sidelocks and they were pretty fine guns. The market has gone to hell, what's left is pretty low quality trash, unless you get into more more money than I think a muzzleloader is worth. I'm not interested in spending more for a muzzeloader to get what should be entry level quality than I have to spend on a bolt action to be in the top 5%. It's b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t. Now that I've moved 45 minutes outside the unit with a ML hunt instead of living inside it, my patience for dealing with b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t is dwindling fast.

(Oops, got distracted ... little fawn just ran by the window. Cool.)

I would, however, really like to kill an elk with a traditional muzzleloader before i quit, it's a bucket list item.

Tom

I will have to take a file to that cresent butt plate. The wood is about 1/8" proud around the action, including the top of the wrist, not sure if I want to deal with that.

Should have bought one 30 years ago I guess.

Here are my two "junk" GP rifles. The color is OK with me and the fit & finish is just fine. I've sold and traded off a lot of different muzzle loaders, but I'll never let go of these two.

not surprised, the rifles lyman has been turning out lately have been very poor quality. Even a friend of mine bought a GPR earlier this year and he had over 1/8" wood all around everything on the stock. The triggers on them as well are very poor.

Well, does the rifle shoot or doesnt it shoot? That is the question.
There is not a whole lot of choice out there for $500 gun is there? If so , I am all ears. I dont need another, but another would be nice.

Buy the kit and make your own. - it’s what I did... sucker shoots too.

The $500 factory built lyman is no more LOL. My buddy paid $650 for his.

The GPR stock has an oil finish. Wipe it down with denatured alcohol. That will lighten the color somewhat. Then lightly go over the stock with 220 grit wet-dry sand paper which will lighten the color further. Don't sand into the low spots to avoid worsening those low spots. Then wipe the stock down with Ballistol.

Replace the Lyman double set triggers with the Davis Deerslayer double set trigger. The stock trigger is okay if shooting with the rear trigger set.

The sear spring is way, way, way to stiff/strong for shooting with just the front trigger (unset). Replace it with a lighter spring. Some ink pen springs are of the correct diameter but most are too large.

The wood on my GPR is not perfect but I can live with it. Mine is an accurate Flintlock.

I've got a couple of Lyman GPs. One fast twist and one slow twist and have good accuracy with each. I find them as good or better than my TC sidelocks and certainly better than the entry level sidelocks by most other makers. If you want better quality step up to a Pedersoli. I got a great Pedersoli flintlock a couple of years ago new for $550 at Cabelas. Good deals can be found if you are diligent without stepping up to a custom gun. Right now the ARs and long range guns have captivated the market so you can find a used sidelocks most anywhere. If you know what to look for you can find a lot of good deals on used guns out there.

Sharp rifling problems can be solved with a tight-fitting patch on a cleaning jag and some valve grinding compound, plus a couple of hours of lapping. Harden the frizzen and use a good quality English flint, and/or just install a Chambers "gunsmith" lock with the side plate contoured to match the shape of the factory lock plate. Real BP shooters use "rocks what'll spark"- - - -not percussion caps!
Jerry

I got a Lyman .50 flint GPR kit back in the 80s. It still is a great shooter. I didn't stain it but went with the natural wood.

I only have one eye, the left one. I don't want to shoot a right handed muzzleloader, flint or percussion, left handed. That limits the selection bigly.