Making a Lyman Plains Rifle Comfortable?

[Steel Horse Rider]

Last weekend I was finally able to do a little shooting and among my selections this round was a Lyman Plains rifle in .54 caliber. It has what I refer to as a "horned" buttstock that is supposed to wrap around the shooters shoulder but digs into mine pretty severely. Is there an better aftermarket stock available or should I dig out the files and go to work? I would remove the metal butt plate and modify the existing stock to accept an aftermarket recoil pad but due to the top strap that would require either a lot of wood work or a real short stock when finished. All suggestions will be considered.

 

[CraigC]

How are you shouldering it? Are you tucking it into the pocket like any other long gun or are you putting it a little further out on the arm, with the butt curving into your armpit like you're supposed to?

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Lyman Gpr is one of the most comfortable fitting guns for tall men. Where r u holding it elbow?

 

[Iggy]

Those old timers was called "arm rifles" for a reason.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

Craig nailed it. I am pulling it against my shoulder just like all my other long guns. I will try his method next time I shoot it. Do you hold your elbow further upward too so the bicep is parallel to the ground?

 

[4v50 Gary]

As CraigC suggested, sharp crescent shaped buttplates were shot off the arm, not the shoulder.

It's hard to change buttplates unless you have a shorter length of pull. Where the buttplate is was determined for a specific length of pull. You can't lengthen it but you can shorten it.

 

[mykeal]

You can't lengthen it but you can shorten it.

Actually you can, but it takes some serious skill and lots of patience. I saw a buttstock reshaped with a piece of wood in place of the brass plate at a rondy several years ago. He had hand carved a very light wood (or bleached a darker wood) to the shape of the brass plate on one side but about a half inch thicker, and reshaped the back side to a flatter style. At first glance the lighter wood made it look like brass, kinda. All in all it wasn't terribly attractive but it was a real exhibition of wood working skill.

 

[EljaySL]

Do you hold your elbow further upward too so the bicep is parallel to the ground?

That's classic shooting form for a reason. Lets you shoot on the arm, and gives you a better defined pocket for later rifle styles. It became more fashionable to drop the elbow later, and it makes sense if you're doing house entries with an AR-15, but you should get that elbow on up.