lyman deer stalker or t\c white mountain carbine

[3dmuzzy]

I have a chance to buy a lyman deer stalker or t\c white mountain carbine.Both guns are new,any pros, cons how does each one shoot any sugestions would be helpful.

[jeager106]

What caliber and how much?
I've had both, still have the Lyman.
Both shot well enough, the Lyman a bit better than the T/C.
The T/C was a .54 and shot the Maxi ball well, but the 21" barrel was LOUD.
The Lyman's 24" is gives a little better sight radius, it's a 50 and shoots a wide range of bullets and sabot/bullets very well.
With charges under 70 grains the D.S. .50 shoots the r/ball quite well.
Tough choice as they are about the same.
If $$$ is an issue and the Lyman can be had significantly less than the T/C I'd go Lyman.
I got mine last year unfired for 140 bucks.
If interested I have a .50 T/C mossy oak 21" in about as new shape for 175 bucks + 20 bucks shipping.
It too was unfired and I  tossed a couple rounds downrange wiith it.
It's mossy oak all over so don't lay it down in the woods as you'll never see it again. :-D
I don't want the mossy as I have a ton of rifles and use my custom flinters now. :-)

[fffffg]

guns are very personal, and  low cost brings  good deals and less quality..  for a begining muzzeloader i would try one and see if you get the bug..  i personally dont like short bp guns,. the biggest problem with inexpensive guns is ignition problems..   pattent breaches seem to be the cause of this in some guns.. the pattent breach is a narrowing at the trigger end. its narowing makes the flash channel longer.. if you get too much wipe liquid in the patch it gets back in the flash hole area somehow..  expensive guns take alot of care in this area..  also cheap guns have sharp edges on the rifling and if it cuts patches you have blowby and fliers.. lyman and tc are both descent introduction guns..   so you get what you pay for and there are ways around all problems..  as to barrel length i personally like longer barrels with a taper then flair on the end. this reduces weight and improves hold, especially on hangfires or flintlocks that have been shot many times and are starting to get slower ignition during the day.  (after a good cleaning and new flint  tho your back to good ignition.). long barrels and heavey guns always shoot better than short barrels and light guns..   but they are all alot of fun and will kill deer if they have enough powere and you get close enough..   so go for it but be prepared to get a couple more if you get the bug.. if you want to see some nice guns for the heck of it go to " track of the wolf" with your search engine,  and look at thier custom guns for sale. you dont need to spend that much for a gun, but its fun to look.. with some research you should be able to get a very nice gun for about 1200. but its a little early for you to jump into that, when you dont really know what you want.. my first nice gun was a chambers swamped barrel 16 guage smoothbore flintlock  ( http://www.flintlocks.com/)  . in fact i just orderd my second kit a  edward marshal  .58 cal flintlock..  930 dollars for parts i have to put together myself..  bet these guns are fantastic..  but again abit much for first time out..  get one of the ones your looking at, i persoannally would get the one with the longest barrel.. ...  good luck and have fun...  dave..

[fffffg]

sorry should have left out the parentheses..    http://www.flintlocks.com/  dave.