what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

I'm thinking about getting a traditional 50 or 54 cal ml. i have been hunting with a in line for 6 years now. i love it. just wanting to get some opinions on some of the rifles out there and which ones would be a good on to start with.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

lyman great plains rifle. If you want to shoot patched roundballs, Go with the bigger .54 caliber. Gives a bigger hole and thump at the recieving end.

midsouth sells the Kits for $300. I bought one and love it.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

A good rifle is a T/C Renegade in .54 caliber. It is a do it all rifle and there are some excellent drop in barrels you can purchase for it down the road if you find you like the traditional route. They are accurate, easy to take care of, and a great customer service. Keep watch on the auction sites. Good used ones are on there and can often times be had for around $175-$250. And since you're starting with traditional, stick with the percussion cap models for now. Later, you can play with flintlocks.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

that was my next question. percussion or flint lock. i was leaning toward percussion but wasn't sure. what about the twist. what peep site would you use on either gun.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

+1, I bought my TC FL on Gunbroker for $300 delivered. The gun was like new. Lyman or TC, get the percussion unless where you want to hunt allows FL only, which is my case in Penna, where I hunt FL with my brother. Chap Gleason

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

I have a Lyman Trade rifle. Percussion in .50,.... I shot a friends Great Plains Rifle by Lymanand am now wishing I had bought the Great Plains. His is the 1:60 twist and is incredibly accurate with patched roundballs. The Trade rifle is 1:48 twist and is accurate with RB, but not like that Great Plains. The Trade Rifle shoots conicals better, though. I like the .50, but like Fg said, I'd get the .54 if hunting was my main goal.

Lyman does make a version of the Great Plains in a faster twist for conicals.
It's called the Great Plains Hunter and the twist is a fast 1:32. Also available in .50 or .54
I bought my Trade Rifle here....
http://www.dnrsports.com/acatalog/Lyman_Muzzleloaders.html

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

Again I have to agree with Cayugad. Either the T/C Renegade or the Hawken are both excellent rifles and good used ones are fairly easy to find. Only one additional comment. Check your state's regs for hunting. Some primitive seasons only allow the use of flintlocks (PA for one). If the percussion is legal I would suggest you try that first. The flinters take a bit more getting used to and are a bit more finicky if not loaded (frizzen) properly. Most of the 'delays' you hear about are from people filling the pan too full and getting a fuse type effect.
I don't even own an in-line anymore. All my MLs are sidelocks (and all are T/Cs).

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

i went through a bunch(two hawkens,renagade,cvas,ect)before i found my favorite its a t.c. white mountain carbine 50 cal. before you buy another hold one of these little rifles.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

i have looked at them they are good looking guns. haven't found a Tc renegade yet. I'm looking to go new i have around 900 saved to buy a new gun. i was going to get a new center fire in 270 or 30-06 but decided i would get a new traditional ml instead. i think I'm leaning toward the Lyman great plains in the 1 in 60 twist. shooting the patched round balls sounds like fun. but i want to find a renegade to look at. what about the Tc Hawkins. will the renegade or Hawkins shot the patched round balls OK. i have two 50 cal in lines so if I'm stuck with shooting patched balls in the Lyman , renegade, or Hawkins not that big a deal for me.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

I would agree on the carbine. I just bought a 21" Green Mountain FL barrel for my TC Hawken ($95 via phone call, got it this week), for what I need (deer drives), this is the perfect weight and length. Another option is to put together a complete gun from parts. A gun that has been ruined on the barrel and lock can be had for say $50 or $60, buy and L&R lock and a TC Barrel and you have a new gun, that is a shooter.Just some ideas for you to consider TC FL and Percussion are pretty interchangable. Also consider an RMC Sports AccurSporter, they are beautiful looking and shooting, but they are $600 new (I want one of those).
Chap Gleason

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

Right now, Thompson Center (new) make the Hawkins and Renegade in .50 caliber. They normally sell for around $500.00. If you like a more modern looking traditional, then you have the T/C Firestorm. While they have a 1-48 twist and will shoot roundball well, and conicals for the most part. I just hate to pay that kind of money for a new one. Fox Ridge Outfitters sell the Renegade and Hawkins new, but in the big bore calibers of .54 and .58 caliber. Again, with the 1-48 twist.

If you want a roundball rifle, then the Lyman Great Plains Rifle with the 1-60 twist would be good. It will shoot roundball real well for you. You might also look at some of the David Pedersolli. They are sold through Cabela's and called the Blue Ridge line. Again, great rifles, well made, nice shooters. But expensive. Careful of the Pedersolli and make sure they have a hooked breech or cleaning them is a whole different experience with flush kits, etc.. I like a hooked breech rifle. They are easy to clean. The Lyman are all hooked breech as are the Thompson Center.

Other rifles to look at, are the Traditions line of rifles. They have some real classic style traditionals and some more cost friendly styles. Check their web site. Some of them are beautiful rifles but again, some of them are pinned and not hooked.

Something to keep in mind, the rifle is just the first on many expenses. Roundball, short starters, cappers, range rods, #11 caps, nipple wrench, wedge puller, powder, bore brushes, cleaning jags, all of that has to be kept in mind.

In your case and with what you just said, the Lyman Great Plains in .54 caliber with a percussion ignition system would be a real good way to go...

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

A good rifle is a T/C Renegade in .54 caliber, I do believe it is the best for hunting. I have two barrels for mine the 1-48 twist 28" and the 1-66 32" I use for hunting. Lee

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

are the double set triggers that much of an advantage.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

what is pinned and hooked breech. the only experience i have in ml is with the modernin line. been hunting with them 6 years.

most of my other ml stuff will work with these ml as well right. so i would only have to get #11 caps,nipple wrench,wedge puller and 54 cal bore brushes and cleaning jag.


if i was to go with the Lyman what would be a good peep site for it.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

I do not know about a good one to start with. But I believe the Lyman is a good one to finish with. Tom.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

If you look at a Traditions Kentucky or Shennendoah rifle, they are pinned.The pins go through the escutcheon plates on the stock and through a barrel wedge on the bottom of the barrel, the pins then lock that barrel to the stock. You can remove them but it is not recommended because the more you remove the pins, the more it can effect the accuracy of the rifle. Instead you get a flush kit, remove the nipple, replace that with the flush kit and clean the rifle with the barrel still in the stock. A hooked breech barrel on the breech end has a hook that locks into the tang of the rifle. The front of the barrel is then held in the stock by a wedge. You remove the wedge pin, unhook the breech and the barrel comes out of the stock which makes for a lot easier cleaning. No flush kit needed, just an old coffee can and some dish water. You can pump that water through the barrel and it will wash out the fowling.

If you were to go with a Lyman get a new Hot shot nipple. The ones that normally come on the rifle just seem to have problems. A new one is a couple dollars and it will solve a lot of headaches right off the bat. Then some CCI MAGNUM #11 cap or some RWS Dynamite Noble 1075 caps are my favorite. If not, some Remington will do. Just do not get the Standard CCI caps. They are junk. Some powder in loose form. A powder measure. Some patching material or pre made patches. Some patch lube. Some roundball. Bore Brush. A wedge puller. A nipple Wrench. A straight line capper. Cleaning and loading jags. A short Starter - Round ball type. And that normally will get you shooting. And some patches. Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning, gun oil. .... I am sure you have a lot of the stuff already in your inline box...

A good peep that will fit right on the rifle is a Lyman 57 SMT peep. That is a target peep. Very accurate and easy to use. They are a little expensive, but are top quality. Or you could go with a Veerner Tang peep of some sorts. I personally do not like them as I have no intention of shooting extreme distances with a roundball.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

what about the double set triggers are they that much of an advantage. are the Lyman 57 grp receiver sights any good. i also want to thank all of you for all your help.


who makes the hot shot nipple.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

the double set triggers are nice. I am not sure if they offer an advantage or not but its a nice setting to have. I prefer a single trigger for target shooting.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

The double set triggers are nice. Especially on the target range or when your hunting and you SEE the animal coming and have time to plan the shot. When you engage the rear trigger it makes the front trigger very light and crisp. Almost like a hair trigger. So you do not have to concentrate on trigger creep or pull as much when making the shot. I use mine in the field as most my shots are ambush type shooting where I see them coming and get ready to do the deed.

The single triggers on many rifles are excellent. I have a Lyman Trade Rifle with a single trigger and it has to be one of the best triggers I ever used. Then I have a CVA Stalker that the trigger is a real nightmare. Its been sent back to the factory twice and still is not right. Single triggers work fine on target ranges as well because you get used to them. Like anything else, you get to know them and adjust for them.

I've never owned a Lyman 57 peep but have shot them. I even considered them for a inline rifle of mine but instead went to a 1X scope. I know a person with a Lyman 57 peep that shoots conical bullets out to 200 yards with amazing accuracy using the Lyman 57 on an inline rifle. I do not think I would be able to do that. I have used peeps. Their one draw back is low light shooting. Then people claim to take the aperture out and use the ghost ring. With my luck that would be the last you'd see of the aperture. In fact I removed one very high end peep from a rifle for that very low light shooting reason and went to a 1X scope.

RE: what traditional ml would be a good one to start with?
 

I started out many years ago with a left-handedversion of a Kentucky rifle, single trigger, made under Gander Mountains name back when they had their "mail order catalogs", long before the internet. I found it it was actually made by Lyman and it is a shooter with patched roundballs. I later purchased a left-handed Renegade that shot the conicals extremely well so I actually like both of them and don't think you'll do wrong with either of these two companies.