The Plains Pistol Graduates to .54" First Impressions.

@Ugly Sauce, your are having way too much fun with that new .54. Thanks for showing us what it is capable of doing. Nuttin' better than a Lyman plains pistol sized in your favorite caliber!!
 
Yes and thank you. The new barrel is just like getting a new pistol, on the fun-factor scale.!
 
Good morning @woodnbow. I have had Mr. Hoyt do just what you and @hawg and @Ugly Sauce are pondering. I had an extra Lyman plains pistol (LPP) barrel lined for .45.

It is a sweet shooter with round ball, REAL and .45 maxiball. Of course It has less recoil than the .50 given equal powder loads and pleasant to shoot in the Plains pistol stock configuration. One can get good target loads with much less powder and recoil with the .45. I also have a .50 & .40 rifled and a .62 smoothbore for the LPP. All are companion pieces for their matching rifle and smoothbore. I have my back-up round for each hunting/woods walking situation. Mind you that I have been working on acquiring these different LPP barrels and work for many years.

I highly suggest having Mr. Hoyt or other qualified person(s) line a LPP barrel in a smaller caliber for tons of fun at the shooting range or in the field.

Kind regards,
Dan
 
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Danaidh said:
and a .62 smoothbore for the LPP.
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Did Hoyt do the .62" smooth bore? I would have guessed .58" would be the furthest he'd take that barrel out to. ?

I've never considered going smaller on the bore, but a .36" (.375") sure would be a fine grouse/rabbit/small game pistol. However, a .440" ball is probably pretty gentle on the meat with a light load. ? I bet the .45" in the LLP barrel does shoot sweet. Target barrel for sure! What kind of sights do you have on it?
 
Love the 54 plains pistol! I built one as a companion to my Hawken a few years ago. I too had to widen the rear site for a better picture & usually shoot 60gr Pyrodex RS that I use in the rifle rather than carrying separate powders. I have shot that load through a chronograph & remember it being faster than I thought it would be(+900FPS)Fun stuff
HU1GmO9l.jpg
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Nasty Canasta said:
Love the 54 plains pistol! I built one as a companion to my Hawken a few years ago. I too had to widen the rear site for a better picture & usually shoot 60gr Pyrodex RS that I use in the rifle rather than carrying separate powders. I have shot that load through a chronograph & remember it being faster than I thought it would be(+900FPS)Fun stuff
View attachment 1147186
View attachment 1147187
Click to expand...

Oh yeah! I knew there was other cool Plains Pistols out there. Nice job on the stock. I like the way the sights are set up from the factory. You can leave the rear sight narrow for pure target work, or widen it to wherever one wants it. It is also tall, so it one takes too much off the front sight when sighting it in, on can just take a bit off the top of the rear sight. Very forgiving and user friendly.

I'm shooting 2fg in mine, but when packing it along with with my Jeager I'd just use the same 1.5fg that's in the horn. And I'm sure I'd never tell the difference if I used 1fg out of Bessie's horn. But, I think 2fg is close to ideal for it, considering the bore size and heavy charge. Or not!! :)
 
My holster for the .54/.50" Plains Pistol. I had this made at Hickman's Saddle shop in Post Falls Idaho. For this pistol, the "cant" and position of the belt-loop (not actually a "loop") is important, due to the gun being so muzzle heavy.
DSC07549.JPG
When holstered, the leather is between the cone and hammer, so it carries capped and half-cocked safely.
DSC07551.JPG
 
Ugly Sauce said:
Did Hoyt do the .62" smooth bore? I would have guessed .58" would be the furthest he'd take that barrel out to. ?

I've never considered going smaller on the bore, but a .36" (.375") sure would be a fine grouse/rabbit/small game pistol. However, a .440" ball is probably pretty gentle on the meat with a light load. ? I bet the .45" in the LLP barrel does shoot sweet. Target barrel for sure! What kind of sights do you have on it?
Click to expand...
When I was a kid my favorite grouse, rabbit and rockchuck gun was my 1860 Army. The 45 isn’t too bad on meat although I always tried for head shot’s which was often pretty easily done on fools hens.
 
Nasty Canasta said:
Love the 54 plains pistol! I built one as a companion to my Hawken a few years ago. I too had to widen the rear site for a better picture & usually shoot 60gr Pyrodex RS that I use in the rifle rather than carrying separate powders. I have shot that load through a chronograph & remember it being faster than I thought it would be(+900FPS)Fun stuff
View attachment 1147186
View attachment 1147187
Click to expand...
That’s a fine looking LPP!
 
@Ugly Sauce, on the .40 barrel, I have a set of lyman aftermarket sights with a folding rear sight for holster carry. I do not have a picture but the rear has a white arrow just under the sighting V and the front has a white bead. Fantastic accuracy with little recoil. Currently, the .45 barrel has factory sights. They work fine for me for now.

@woodnbow, the .62 was not bored by Hoyt. I had a local machinist bore it for me. I went through some proof testing with heavy loads strapped to a tire while maintaining a safe distance. All worked out well and it is a companion piece for my .62 fowler. It is also mucho fun shooting carpenter bees on the wing using spent polishing media.
 
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Danaidh said:
@Ugly Sauce, on the .40 barrel, I have a set of lyman aftermarket sights with a folding rear sight for holster carry. I do not have a picture but the rear has a white arrow just under the sighting V and the front has a white bead. Fantastic accuracy with little recoil. Currently, the .45 barrel has factory sights. They work fine for me for now.

@woodnbow, the .62 was not bored by Hoyt. I had a local machinist bore it for me. I went through some proof testing with heavy loads strapped to a tire while maintaining a safe distance. All worked out well and it is a companion piece for my .62 fowler. It is also mucho fun shooting carpenter bees on the wing using spent polishing media.
Click to expand...
I have seen a 15/16” tc barrel bored smooth at .62 by Bobby Hoyt. Don’t know if he’s done it as a matter of course but he’s done it once at any rate.
 
That's what I'd love to do with the trashed short TC barrel I have.

One thing I still don't understand, when you remove the breech plug, and bore the barrel out bigger, how does the breech plug go back in? Doesn't that eliminate the threads in the barrel?
 
Ugly Sauce said:
That's what I'd love to do with the trashed short TC barrel I have.

One thing I still don't understand, when you remove the breech plug, and bore the barrel out bigger, how does the breech plug go back in? Doesn't that eliminate the threads in the barrel?
Click to expand...
Nope, 3/4-16 threads minor diameter is larger than .62”. I think…
 
Ugly Sauce said:
That's what I'd love to do with the trashed short TC barrel I have.

One thing I still don't understand, when you remove the breech plug, and bore the barrel out bigger, how does the breech plug go back in? Doesn't that eliminate the threads in the barrel?
Click to expand...

Why would you have to remove the breech plug?
 
Mr. Hoyt will only bore out a barrel to a caliber that is safe. Some T/C barrels have deep dove tails and screw holes for the sights that restrict the amount that could be bored out to. I have seen some of his .60 & .62 barrels, but they were smooth bores.
 
Fyrstyk said:
Mr. Hoyt will only bore out a barrel to a caliber that is safe. Some T/C barrels have deep dove tails and screw holes for the sights that restrict the amount that could be bored out to. I have seen some of his .60 & .62 barrels, but they were smooth bores.
Click to expand...

My understanding is that he will smoothbore a barrel larger than a rifled barrel. The location, and depth of the rear sight screws and dove tails do vary quite a bit on the TC barrels. I have two, and they are quite different. I don't know about the Lyman rifle barrels, but the Plains Pistol barrels have a very shallow dovetail for the rear sight. Dang, got to find me a money bag so I can send him a barrel. !!!! But how to decide which one??

I've got a big money bag in my front driveway, in the form of a snowmobile. But no one will buy it. Every time I post an ad, people offer me half or less of what I'm asking. wow. Not going to give it away.
 
Ugly Sauce said:
That is bow-handle wrap from Three Rivers Archery. It is very tough and stays put.

For heavy loads I find it is a must. It does do a great job in that respect. I would kind of like to make a wrap out of some good buckskin I have, for a more "rustic" look, but I'm not sure if I can figure out how to cut it so it fits right. Trial and error I guess.
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Thank you for the information sir. Sorry to be so late in responding but things have been a bit hectic of late.
Next project will be to pick up some bow-handle wrap!
 
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