Was thinkin about buying a Lyman Deerstalker or Great Plains Rifle in 54 Cal.
Would use the gun for deer and possible elk gun.
Could anyone give me some advice on these guns--as I currently only shoot inline ML's?
I've read that you can shoot both maxi balls & roundballs out of the Deerstalker?
Any help would be appreciated, Thanks in advance.

The GPR in .54 will be a serious deer gun. I've never hunted elk, but do know of folks that do with a .54 and round ball. Patched round ball in 54 will kill most anything with horns in the US.

A .54 caliber roundball is one of the best all around projectiles you can shoot given the proper range. Shot placement is critical of course. A .54 caliber is one of my favorite calibers.....

The lyman should do an excellent job for you.

I own both the deerstalker flint and actually two gprs. One flint and the other caplock. Both the deerstalker and the gpr are great rifles. If I plan on covering a lot of ground during the hunt I use the deerstalker for its portability. If I spend more time on stand I will take the GPR. This is the only consideration that I apply as they are both great shooters. I use roundballs for practice and hunt with either the PA Conicals or the Buffalo Ballets. Both rifles are very accurate with these bullets.

Thanks fellas! I'm kinda leanin toward the Deerstalker since it's a lot more portable/handy in brush and stalking.
Do the Lyman guns have spanish barrels?
Just wondering!

The fear of the Spanish Barrels might have been stressed too much. The Spanish barrels are simply not tested to as high a barrel pressure rating as other barrels from other people. I personally feel there is nothing wrong with them as long as you follow the guidelines of the manufacturer. I think Lyman is made in Italy by Investarms.

If your condsidering a Lyman do not overlook the Trade Rifle. It is the middle of the road of the Lyman line. Bigger then a Deerstalker but smaller then the Great Plains. They have a 1:48 twist like the Deerstalker, but a little longer barrel.

I also believe that if you wish, you can put a Green Mountian IBS barrel into the Trade rifle. This would allow you to customize the rifle for other hunts with speciality barrels. I really like the versitality of the IBS barrels in my T/C Renegade and Hawkins.

Mounting a Lyman 57 peep sight on one of the rifles makes for a very accurate long range shooting rifle in the event you are not allowed scopes where you hunt.

I have a GPR in .54cal percussion and it is a fine rifle. With a little work polishing the lock, trigger and bore and a bit of work on the sights, I have made mine into an excellent ball shooting rifle. The .54cal ball certainly does the job on big Illinois whitetails and I have no doubts that it will do an excellent job on elk, with a well placed shot from reasonable range.