hey guys. i'm shooting a lyman[investarms] 58cal.first how much powder should i use?when i shoot with a round ball and have 80 grains of powder i'm dead on at 100 yards.when i shoot a grait plains bullet 525 gr it drops very fast.my question is how much powder can that gun safely handle to strieghten that bullet out?or i'm i beating a dead horse?the round ball wieghs 280 gr and i'm sure its deadly on deer.thanks for any suggestions.

Don't know about the 58 cal., but I shoot a Lyman Great Plains 50 cal. and I use 75 grains with a round ball. I believe max for my 50 is about 125 grains. Max is max no matter what type of bullet you shoot. I will let someone with experience with the 58 cals. help you with a max load. When you go to the great plains bullet, you are just about doubling your bullet weight over a round ball. You will have much more drop.

There shouldn't be much difference in drop, but a round ball and a Great Plains Bullet don't shoot to the same point of impact in my T/C Hawken flinter. The GP bullet has double the ballistic coefficient of a round ball. I think you'll have to resight your rifle for the GP bullet. Hornady's data is with 90 grains of FFg or equivalent. Lyman's might be different.

Sight-in at 100 yards with both the round ball and GP bullet, then check the rise or drop at 50 or 150 yards.

Bye
Jack

hey guys. i'm shooting a lyman[investarms] 58cal.first how much powder should i use?when i shoot with a round ball and have 80 grains of powder i'm dead on at 100 yards.when i shoot a grait plains bullet 525 gr it drops very fast.my question is how much powder can that gun safely handle to strieghten that bullet out?or i'm i beating a dead horse?the round ball wieghs 280 gr and i'm sure its deadly on deer.thanks for any suggestions.

I shot 60gr BP with a 500gr minni ball 200-300 yards in a 1863 Zouave and it works for me N.P.

I shot 60gr BP with a 500gr minni ball 200-300 yards in a 1863 Zouave and it works for me N.P.
Hi Smokin. I've built Hawkens with Green Mountain barrels and 100-120gr. FFg works well in the 58cal. and the ball. The Lyman could handle that but.....I'd go with what the manufacturer states for a maximum. Always go with the manufacturers max and don't exceed it. With the heavy conical and Hornady's max of 90gr. FFg you could knock over a pick-up truck. :D It would shoot a good bit lower than a ball but not exceedingly so. The point would be to shoot the projectile that the rifling twist dictates. What's the rifling twist? The slower twist would be for ball. A 58cal. ball within the limits of a muzzleloader which ethically would be about 100yards and stretched to about 120 yards maybe would knock them deer for a loop for sure using 100-120gr. powder if the rifle has a manufacturers max. that high. Personally I like at least 110gr. FFg for the 58cal. and the ball for hunting deer. I used a 54cal. rifle shooting the ball for years and usually didn't shoot very far but.....I have shot deer at 100 yards with it and it would shoot clean through them with side shots at 100 yards. A 58cal. would do that for sure at 100 yards too with from 90-120gr. FFg powder depending on the manufacturers recommendations. It's best to always follow the manufacturers recommendations for max. loads. I have a 58cal. Investarms new in the box and the papers may still be in there and could look them up if you don't know the max. loads.

rifle i could use that max data.is it possible im over shooting the bullet whith 100 gr?it happend with my round ball at 90 gr so i dropped it to 80 gr and it flew perfect.

rifle i could use that max data.is it possible im over shooting the bullet whith 100 gr?it happend with my round ball at 90 gr so i dropped it to 80 gr and it flew perfect.
Joe, the pamphlet in my rifles box about loads says that max is 110gr.FFg fer the ball and max is 100gr. FFg fer a 460gr. maxi ball(conical). If you have that 1-48 rifling twist it's a gamble as to whether or not a ball will be accurate or a conical will be accurate or both will be accurate or none will be accurate. If you like the conical bullets then just sight in for 100 yards and see how high it hits at 50 yards and aim lower at 50 yards. That way it doesn't seem like the conical is really dropping much. If you're not getting the accuracy you want with the conical then take care in loading it straight. Try a hollow based bullet too. That may make ammends for the deep rifling the gun has that may be too deep for a bullet.(overly deep rifling grooves for the bullet can cause gas blow by at the muzzle that kinda makes the gun shoot like it has a bad crown) Take Care Bud

thanks rifle i guess i made up my mind to use the round ball.it shoots so well at 50 and 100 yards maybe an inch or to differance.i just love big things when it comes to guns.

hey guys. i'm shooting a lyman[investarms] 58cal.first how much powder should i use?when i shoot with a round ball and have 80 grains of powder i'm dead on at 100 yards.when i shoot a grait plains bullet 525 gr it drops very fast.my question is how much powder can that gun safely handle to strieghten that bullet out?or i'm i beating a dead horse?the round ball wieghs 280 gr and i'm sure its deadly on deer.thanks for any suggestions.

Hi Joe..I have a Lyman plains rifle in .58 cal..I load it with a .575 rb,90gr.Goex 2f and it 'll knock a running buck right over backwards at 50 yards...I built mine from a kit back in '79...it's a shooter! Enjoy yours...