FiveStrings
Member
I certainly have. I feel like yesterday I got to experience the pay-off from studying so much of the advice and information available on this forum over the past few years.
I’d been wanting to hunt the muzzle loader season since I relocated to these parts but, until this past season, did not have the rifle for it. I based my choice of what to get on what seemed like the oft-repeated recommendations of many of the knowledgable posters here and went with the Lyman Great Plains Rifle, .50 cal percussion. I saw this one for sale used on Track of The Wolf at the beginning of November and jumped on it. Not only was it the rifle I wanted, but it came already fitted with the Lyman tang peep sight and a fiber optic front site. The combination of my bad eyesight and the fact that I would be using the gun in mostly dim, overcast, snow-covered conditions made clicking “Buy Now” on it a no-brainer.
I did not have much of a chance to warm up with it before the hunting season started, so I went into the field with loads that were adequate, but not super accurate compared to what I thought the rifle should be able deliver. Over the course of a couple of more range sessions with it, always in lousy weather, I continued to experiment with different ball, patch, and powder charge combinations – trying to find the “sweet spot” load. I knew from reading here that every one of these guns was a bit different, and I just had to put in the time to learn what shot best in mine.
Up until yesterday the results of my experimenting were seriously frustrating. I just could not seem to be able to shoot well at all with a rifle that had a reputation for being extremely accurate. But two things happened when I took the rifle out yesterday (again in bad weather) to give it another try: first, I finally discovered the magic load, and second, I re-discovered how to properly shoot with a peep sight. The results were pretty dang satisfying (for me at least), and have really boosted my confidence in what I think I should expect from this rifle and from myself going forward. I can’t wait to get back out with it and shoot at some more challenging distances.
This is 10 shots at 50 yards. I patched over 3 flyers from the first 5. The second 5 were all in the zone. I’m feeling pretty good about this. I showed the target to my wife when I got home and got your basic “polite acknowledgment” – something along the lines of “bless yore heart”. So I thought I’d show you guys…..
I’d been wanting to hunt the muzzle loader season since I relocated to these parts but, until this past season, did not have the rifle for it. I based my choice of what to get on what seemed like the oft-repeated recommendations of many of the knowledgable posters here and went with the Lyman Great Plains Rifle, .50 cal percussion. I saw this one for sale used on Track of The Wolf at the beginning of November and jumped on it. Not only was it the rifle I wanted, but it came already fitted with the Lyman tang peep sight and a fiber optic front site. The combination of my bad eyesight and the fact that I would be using the gun in mostly dim, overcast, snow-covered conditions made clicking “Buy Now” on it a no-brainer.
I did not have much of a chance to warm up with it before the hunting season started, so I went into the field with loads that were adequate, but not super accurate compared to what I thought the rifle should be able deliver. Over the course of a couple of more range sessions with it, always in lousy weather, I continued to experiment with different ball, patch, and powder charge combinations – trying to find the “sweet spot” load. I knew from reading here that every one of these guns was a bit different, and I just had to put in the time to learn what shot best in mine.
Up until yesterday the results of my experimenting were seriously frustrating. I just could not seem to be able to shoot well at all with a rifle that had a reputation for being extremely accurate. But two things happened when I took the rifle out yesterday (again in bad weather) to give it another try: first, I finally discovered the magic load, and second, I re-discovered how to properly shoot with a peep sight. The results were pretty dang satisfying (for me at least), and have really boosted my confidence in what I think I should expect from this rifle and from myself going forward. I can’t wait to get back out with it and shoot at some more challenging distances.
This is 10 shots at 50 yards. I patched over 3 flyers from the first 5. The second 5 were all in the zone. I’m feeling pretty good about this. I showed the target to my wife when I got home and got your basic “polite acknowledgment” – something along the lines of “bless yore heart”. So I thought I’d show you guys…..
Attachments
Last edited:
