I am new to bp and am looking for a rifle... The only side lock I see that will shoot modern bullets is the Lyman great plains hunter with a 1/32 twist... I was wondering what others have experienced with a 1/ 48??

Some of the 1-48 will shoot conical bullets. Some much better then others. Also you have to ask, what range will they shoot conical bullets accurately. For instance my 1-48 twist Renegades shoot REAL conicals very well but after about 75 yards the accuracy really falls off badly.

I have a Lyman Great Plains Hunter with the 1-32 twist. It does shoot sabots, round ball and some conicals very well. But I have yet to test it at any distance. A suggestion I might offer ... a older traditional Renegade for instance you can find a drop in 1-28 twist barrel that shoots conicals very well. But you are putting a lot of money in that adventure as the rifle will run around $300 for a nice one, and the barrel (depending on the seller) $125 -$200 but remember $200 was their new sale price. The reason they are high is they are no longer being made.

Are you considering inlines? Or are you set on a traditional style?

of course the 1:48 guns will shoot conicals. I've shot up to 450 grains in a 50cal with the 1:48 twist and had amazing accuracy.

I had a Lyman Great Plains Hunter 1:32 that shot T/C Maxiballs and 320 gr REAL bullets really well out to 75 yards. That's as far as I ever shot them.
A while back I used to shoot 250 REALs out of my T/C Hawken 1:48 and took a few deer with them.
But each muzzleloader is different and likes different bullets and powders/charges. That's the fun of BP. Getting to play with them and see what each one likes.

I recieved a tc scout in trade and thats what got me going.... Want to hunt elk but i like the look of the side lock...I would like to be able to kill an elk at 150 yards.. Have been an archer for 30 years, just can't chase as well anymore.

dewflicker,

I have 2 T/C Scouts. One is a carbine and the other a rifle. The first one I bought used from a local shop and having no knowledge of these guns, I called T/C and picked one of their service techs brain. He told me that the Scout has a 1:32 twist and was designed to shoot their MaxiBall bullet. He was right about that, both of mine shoot the 370 gr. Maxi very well and I've taken deer with both. My wife shot a nice doe at about 65 yards this past fall in our early ML season with the rifle stoked with 80 gr. of FFFG and a Maxi and it was a bang/flop deal! I use a bore button (1/8" felt wad) between the charge and the bullet for better accuracy.

BPS

My .50 caliber New Englander has 1/48" rifling. It shoots the 320 grain and 370 grain Maxi-Balls very well.

i won't hunt with the 370 grain Maxi-Balls because they are a loose fit in that gun. The 320 grain bullets are a much tighter fit.

My TC renegade shoots Hornady Great Plains 425gr conicals really well. I've read that a lot of 1/48 TC's seem to group these well. I use 100grns of 2F Goex behind them, that was the first load I tried and it shot them so well I didn't even try any other loads.

I shoot the GPH with the 1/48 twist with no problem for me. I mean I was designed for that purpose by lyman. I also have a 1/60 barrel that I switch between depending on my fancy some times I just want to throw some patch and balls around.

I had a TC Renegade that shot the maxi-ball better than a PRB. Which really upset me, but it was what it was.