BP pistol hunting question

[catom]

I just purchased my first BP. It is a lyman plains 50 cal. pistol for target but was wondering about its abilities for hunting. The mfg. suggest a max load of 40 grs. I wanted to try shot in it for rabbit and/or turkey if I can get a good pattern despite the riffling (maybe with shot cups)? Has anyone tried this, would it be powerful enough? Also, would 40 grs. and round ball be a reasonable choice for whitetail deer at close range? (I already know that I need it on my permit to shoot it or own all components to fire it in NY).
Thanks

 

[higene]

Hunting with a Lyman Plains Pistol

I have a Lyman .54 Plains pistol. I shoot 50 gr fff BP or substitutes including 777 with a 225 gr patched ball. At 50 grains it is getting pretty snorty (about like a .44 Mag). Mine is real accurate. I would hunt rabbits with patched balls and any load that is accurate. I don't know about deer but a 225 gr ball at about 1000 fps seems like enough gun for the job. I would stick to bow hunting ranges.

I have never tried shot in my Lyman. I have a Howdah 20 gauge and shot cups didn't work well in that. I also have homemade Missouri canoe gun in 12 gauge. I would not hunt rabbits with the Howdah, I would use the canoe gun.

I would say that the max charge on a Lyman Plains pistol is more limited by the pistol grip configuration (a TC Parrot has a better grip for heavy loads) and your pain tolerance than the breech configuration. A Lyman Plains Pistol has the same breech as a GPR which will safely shoot 100 grains of powder. I would NOT recommend filling it to the brim and topping it off with a patched ball, what I am saying is that I have exceeded the manufacture's specs by 20 grains and all body parts are in tact.

Bottom line - I would hunt anything I could hit with the pistol at 25 yards. I do Not think shot would be an effective hunting solution.

My opinion is worth exactly what you have paid for it.

Good Luck

Higene

 

[mykeal]

50 grains is the absolute maximum you should use in a GPP, and even that's too stout for me. The problem isn't the perceived recoil, it's the effect of the actual recoil on the stock. Shoot more than 50 grains and you will eventually crack the stock. And in my opinion, even 50 grains is risky. I know, it hasn't happened yet, but I think you're just marking time.

As regards using shot pellets in the GPP, it can be done but effective range is about 10 feet. The GPP has a rilfed barrel; shot pellets will exit the barrel as a rotating column and form a donut-shaped pattern with a large hole in the center. After about 10 feet the pattern becomes diffuse and is essentially no more lethal than individual bb's. That's the reason shotguns are smoothbores.

But, I suspect you're going to try it anyway, so here's what you do: load 30 gr fffg and cover it with a thin card made of heavy paper, like an index card; this is called an overpowder card. Then cover that with a 1/8" thick dry felt wad, called a cushion wad. Load about 1/2 to 5/8 oz of No. 6 lead shot and cover that with another card, called an overshot card. This load will be effective for snakes at close range. Beyond that you're just causing painful injury.

Finding the proper diameter cards and wads will be a bit difficult. Some sutlers do carry .50 cal rifle wads that will work for the cushion wad; you'll probably have to make the overpowder and overshot cards yourself. Nobody makes a .50 cal shot cup, so that's not an option.

Personally, 40 gr is not a load I'd try for whitetail, even at longbow ranges. You'd need a nearly perfect heart or lung shot for a one shot kill and anything less is unacceptable to me. I'm not a good enough shooter to take that shot and risk just maiming the animal. As far as rabbit is concerned, .50 cal will leave you with little edible meat unless you take a head shot only. .36 cal is really the maximum rabbit gun, and .32 cal is the optimum size. I do know a guy who uses a .40 cal custom long rifle, but he's good enough to always get a head shot even at 50 yards; very few of us are that good.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

I've tryed shot in my .50 Hawken CVA, about 30' at a cardboard target the pattern was about 3' circle with few shot centered. if ya got lucky maybe bag a squack. I have done so with my .50 rifle however at about that range.

 

[TomADC]

Guy on the Marlin board shot a deer late last year with a Walker one shot one kill.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

You may need to check your regs where you will be hunting. You can hunt deer with a 40 grain powder load and your GPP in Maryland and for fall turkey, but not for spring turkey for example.

LD

 

[grimjaw]

I get scared using 40gr in my Pedersoli Kentucky pistol. I don't want to think about the risks of more.

With at least a .50 cal, you might get away with bow hunting ranges as a previous poster mentioned. I once asked on here if anybody had used conicals in a Kentucky. I think mec had done so, but I don't remember what kind of velocity he was getting out of the larger bullet.

jm

 

[catom]

Thanks for the good input. I was already thinking of using more than 40 gr if I found it necessary because the 54 cal can go up to 50 gr and both guns have the same outer dimension for the barrel. You are right in guessing that I will try shot in it. I had seen teflon bags that are used for steel shot in rifled barrels. I thought that these might tighten the pattern with lead shot. If not I have thought of making my own (shot cup) by making a paper tube just smaller than the bore and the length needed to just fit the shot. I would still use over powder/over shot cards and a wad. The reason I am so interested in shooting shot is because of our regs. You can hunt turkey with a pistol but it must shoot shot What gun is that other than a sawed of shotgun with a pistol grip which would fall under further regulation?

 

[arcticap]

What gun is that other than a sawed of shotgun with a pistol grip which would fall under further regulation?

There's large caliber smooth bore pistols. Here's one example and they also sell others:

http://www.middlesexvillagetrading.com/P1857EIG.shtml

http://www.middlesexvillagetrading.com/19thcenturyPistols.shtml

 

[kanook]

I don't remember how much powder fits in for a max charge, but I do remember hitting this one at 50yds with a round ball. (he doesn't remember though)

It's kinda like archery hunting with a blackpowder pistol

 

[higene]

Some Ideas

Here are some things that I work with.

I don't know anything about turkey hunting, but I thought that they used full and Xfull chokes which these don't have.

Higene

 

[scotjute]

Have a Lyman Plains Pistol in .50 ca. Use 30 grn.s of fffg in it. It is very accurate out to 35 yds. Only used it for target. Never tried any different loads in it.