My dad just gave mea .54 Plains Pistol that he has never shot (But it is used) and I have no idea what to buy, It says black powder only, ButI have no idea how much to put in it.Any information willhelp (thanks)

If no one else has the answer for you on powder charge here..........contact Lyman's customer service and see if you can get a manual for it.

As far as what you need for shooting, I'd suggest some 3fg Black Powder, with 3fg 777 or Pyro"P" powder as alternates. You'll need shooting patches and lead balls (.530" size I believe), and ignition caps (unless it's a flintlock). You'll also want to lay in a big supply of cleaning patches - 2" round cotten patches are ideal for cleaning. For the time being you can clean it with warm soapy water, patch dry, and then use some sort of oil to protect it while not shooting - but patch that oil out of the bore before you shoot it the next time.

According to my Lyman's and Investarms manual for the .54 caliber Plains Pistol the max charge is 50 grains of Goex fff. And a large notation there: DO NOT EXCEED THE MAX LOAD AMOUNTS. To shoot the single shot Plains Pistol make sure it is clean in the bore of the pistol. Pick the nipple and make sure you have a clear fire channel. You did not mention if this was a flintlock or percussion cap but I will take for granted it is a percussion cap pistol.

Once you're sure the bore of the pistol is clean, put a cotton cleaning patch on your loading rod and push that to the breech of the pistol. Now pop two or three #11 percussion caps. Pull out the loading rod and patch and check to make sure the cotton patch is charred. This will tell you how well the fire channel is. If the patch is charred you are ready to load the pistol.

Take your powder measure (never load a pistol from the can or container that the powder comes in) and measure out 30 grains of Goex FFF or Pyrodex P powder. Dump that down the bore of the pistol. Tap the bottom of the pistol with your hand to settle and level the charge of powder in the breech. Now lay a pre-lubed .54 caliber patch over the muzzle. Set a .530 diameterroundball ontop of the patch. With a short starter rod, set the ball into the bore of the pistol. Now use the pistol's loading rod to full seat the .530 roundball on to the powder charge. Now place a #11 cap on the nipple of the pistol, take aim and let fly.

You will also need some black powder solvent and a .54 caliber cleaning jag to properly clean the pistol. Pick the nipple between shots. Also if you find the pistol hard to load swab the barrel with some isopropyl alcohol and then a few dry patches to get the fowling out of the barrel. You might also want to pick up a new nipple for the pistol. For some reason people love to dry fire those pistols and the old nipple might be damaged and not work right.

Even though their manual says you can go up to 50 grains of FFF powder, there is really no need to go that high. 30 grains will be an excellent shooting load. They are a lot of fun to shoot out to about 25 yards.

This information is from the Lyman and Investarms manual. Are you aware of the make of the pistol? Also if you run Adobe, you can download the manual for the pistol from the Lyman site in most cases....

Hi Grizz welcome to the forum and bp shooting you will love your Plains Pistol I love mine. To shoot this accurate and VERY POWERFULL hand gun you will need lots of implements of the trade unless you already shoot other black powder guns. There are kits you can buy that will save you a lot of money but you need at least the following equipment to start.

1- cleaning jag for .54cal

2- 2F or 3F black powder or the equivelent

3- powder flask to load your powder measure

4- powder measure to measure the powder and charge the gun(someone already told you not to charge from the flask)

5- ball short starter to start the patched ball into the barrel

6-lubed patches cut for .54 cal guns and .530 balls( you will have some other balls and patches to choose from but start here)

7- Patch worm I use them to fetch lost patches and to clean the very bottom of my breech.

8- A high quality blackpowder solvent

9- A high quality black powder lube and protectant

10- No. 11 primming caps if this is a cap lock

11- Last but in no way least you need a copy of the manual for that gun. This is mandatory especially for a "real newbie" read it a few times make sure you have everything go to the range and have fun.

Oh I forgot old cotton teeshirts and other thin cotton scraps that are clean to cut into cleaning patches for your rifle you use a lot of them so make your own and put the money you save into more bullets or powder.


If I missed anything guys pipe up lets get this kid shooting.

Thanks a lot for the information! and the welcome thats a nice plus when first posting a forum and I have a feeling the pistol will be lots of fun. THANKS