BP percussion hunting rifle question(s)

B

bakercity

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My "dark side" friends:
I reside in a state that holds a few muzzle loader deer hunts. Requirements are round ball, open ignition, open sights, .50+ cal. and of course a muzzle stuffer. I wish to hunt with a traditional BP long gun. With this said, my questions are (1) What brand of production rifle is suggested? (2) What cal. is suggested? (3) What length and twist of barrel is suggested to shoot patched round balls?
Regards
bakercity
 
LYMAN GREAT PLAINS RIFLE!!! in 54 cal 1:60" twist. The thing is AMAZINGLY accurate. The factory double set triggers are VERY nice. Its just a whole BUNCH of AWESOME SAUCE!!! yeah you could say I'm a fan!! :D And a .54 ball will kill anything on this continent.
 
+1 on the .54 Lyman Great Plains. It also has a 1:60 round ball twist. Its also about as close as you can get to the look of a real Hawken in a reasonably priced production rifle. I used a .50 for over many years and it will do the job but since I got a .54 I won't ever buy another .50 unless its at a giveaway price.
 
You get what you pay for when it come to traditional rifles. Lyman's are a good value and shoot Ball pretty darn good. Traditions are so-so as is Cabela's smoke pole. Those David Pedersoli's traditional's sure are (sooo) pretty for a store bought rifle. I won't comment too much about those custom built rifles some fellows here make and are willing to sell. Only to say: talent/gift or whatever someone would call articulate work. Yup!! Ownership of one of their rifles is the cause of that dreaded {Really do I have too!!} syndrome. {in Not wanting to expose their rifle too the outside air because their so gorgeous.}

A 54's Rd/Ball performance is better than a 50's for a couple reasons ("I've personally encountered these two.") Down range shock & awe and it's ball makes one heck-of-a blood trail which sure comes in handy on those late afternoon shots when getting down out of your deer stand goes from twilight to total darkness in a few steps to the ground. So there's my take on your thread's subject bakercity.

Post Script: Twist rates: 1 in 48 is a happy medium for either ball or bullet. 1 in 66 to 1 in 70 is perfect for patched Ball.

Barrel length: Let the manufacture decide that question for you. What ever barrel length the rifle comes with is the length you'll learn to get along with.
 
Requirements are round ball, open ignition, open sights,...
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Truly "open" sights (i.e., no standard/iron aperture sights as below:

a5dzjs.jpg


... or does the reg simply prohibit scopes ?
 
Bakercity Oregon perchance ?

OREGON'S MUZZLELOADER RULES

In any hunt series with a season designation ending in "M" and certain 600 series
hunts, the firearm must conform to the following standard as described in the Oregon Big
Game Regulations:

"Muzzleloader" is any single-barreled (double-barreled shotguns are permissible)
long gun meant to be fired from the shoulder and loaded from the muzzle with an open
ignition system (cap or flint exposed to the elements) and open or peep sights.

If that's the case [Oregon], the Lyman Great Plains, 50 cal. 1:60 (patched ball) twist married
up with their Lyman 57GPR peep sight (already drilled & tapped) is the Cat's Meow.

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/536/1/LYMAN-GPR-50-P
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/883/1/RS-57-GPR

~$650 togther.
Comes straight to your front door.
Heckuva deal
 
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50 is good , but IMO the 54 is better and compairing like barrels and rifles , should balance better .

If you are from Baker City OR drop me a line , ill set you up with some folks who shoot out at Durkee the first Saturday of each month.
That way you can shoot first hand everything from .36 cal all the way up to 72 cal .
Rifle range from CVA to TC and Pedersoli .
Also one of the premier ,custom muzzle loading makers and Master engraver , lives in Baker City . Jerry is always good for a long talk over coffee and most likely between he , I and the rest of the folks , we can set you up
 
For the money, the Lyman Great Plains guns are the best off the rack gun you can buy. If you're going to shoot a patched round ball, you want a Great Plains Rifle, which has a 1:60 twist. The Great Plains Hunter has a 1:32 twist. Outwardly, they look identical and the twist rate isn't stamped on the barrel - the only difference is one will be marked Great Plains Rifle and the other, Great Plains Hunter. The only problem I've encountered with them is they use two barrel wedges to retain the barrel. It's virtually impossible to get equal tension on both wedges, so one ends up falling out. Either buy a couple of tapered wedges, or tap the middle of the barrel tenons with a small hammer & punch so they pinch the wedge slightly when inserted.

I'm a .54 cal guy, but I have GPR's in both .50 and .54, percussion and flintlock, and the mulies around here can't tell the difference. ;)
 
On those wedges, if they aren't "captive" already I cut a slot in them and pin them so they don't come all of the way out and get lost.
 
GPR

One of the neat things about the GPR is that extra barrels are readily available. If you try .54 and get a yen for a .50 barrel with a faster twist....you can make the addition. It only takes money.
Pete
 
If ranges are rather short (<75yds) maybe the slower twist isn't exactly necessary.

I have a Lyman's Deerstalker (.50 cal) with the 1:48" twist. It does rather well at 50 yds, though I haven't worked on much as far as an accurate hunting load, but have been breaking it in with a 70 grn 3F charge and .490" ball.

This gun has a 24" barrel and weighs 7.5 lbs, much less than the GPR/GPH. I bought this for my first BP gun as I figured most hunting is done within 75 yds, and a shorter, lighter rifle would be more friendly for stalking if I so choose/find myself (usually blind hunting here on a lease).

I must admit that I don't care as much as I thought I would for the fiber optic sights. Easy change out though...

The recoil pad has made the 100 grn charges with a PRB nothing, as well as the 320 grn Lee REAL conical with 70 grns nothing. I figured with the conical and that charge it ought to be similar to a 45-70 Gov't with a 300 grn pill, but it is minimal.
 
What powder....... Goex?

The nice thing about the 1:48 is the versatility of the barrel. It's made for the shooter with only one black powder rifle, that wants to shoot a wide range of bullets. For it shoots roundballs, conicals and lighter weight sabots pretty well.
 
Goex Olde Eynsford, which is much the same as Swiss. And that not dissimilar from Triple 7 (all 3F). Not the same as regular Goex, which I wouldn't consider to be worthwhile.
 
Not the same as regular Goex, which
I wouldn't consider to be worthwhile.
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While I use Swiss 1½ for my large-caliber (375+) BPCR work, I find GoEX 1,2,3
and 4Fg to be entirely satifactory for all my muzzleloading/C&B applications.

What failings have you experienced ?
 
I purchase/carry one powder to use between my .44/.45 cal pistols and .50 cal rifle. As I want a fair amount of power out of the minimal capacity a revolver, as I intend to hunt with them, Goex just wouldn't cut it.

My Ruger does better with 35 grns of 3F Olde E or T7 and my Remington does better with 30. If I used Goex I'd get no more than 225 ft/lbs or so and that just wouldn't sit well with me. I'm guessing I'm getting over 300 ft/lbs with the little bit of chronograph data I've seen, and maybe a good bit more (~400 ft/lbs with my 195 grn WFN bullet from the ROA). I base this off of Mike Beliveau's testing with 2 ROA, 3 projectiles, and 3F Goex and T7 (another powder I use that gives very similar results vol for vol to Swiss and Olde E).
 
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Baker City .
yes , i got your e-mail
i would agree with the others that the GPR would be a good choice .
i dont know if your interested but for the cost of a GPR your very close to the cost of parts for a semi of full custom .
if you interested in that option , i would be willing to guide you through building your own rifle in my shop in Payette
 
CAPTCHEE

Thanks for your offer to help me at your shop. I'm not sure just what direction I will go . I drove to LaGrande today to talk with "Bull" and look over his inventory at the store. Just my luck, he was closed and never answered his cell either. I sure enjoyed my time at the Durkee shootin site last Saturday.
Bakercity
 
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