Drop in barrel

[The Hungry Hunter]

I have a GPR in 50cal. Those drop in barrels, I would like to get a 54cal. barrel for it. Are those so called drop in barrels ready to shoot? All I have to do is put the 54 rifle barrel in the stock and go for it?? It will be used for der hunting here in NY. round ball. Should I get the GP barrel or the GM barrel drop in?

 

[nkbj]

Can't do better for .54 than a Lyman replacement barrel.

 

[Vic Price]

I've looked at these as well for my GPR and the GM "drop in" barrels are ready to drop in with various rifles that use one barrel wedge, however - the GPR uses two barrel wedges to secure the barrel to the stock, so the drop in must have a second underlug installed. Whoever you buy the barrel from - tell them you have a GPR and they will likely quote you a price to modify the barrel to fit your rifle.

 

[necchi]

TraderVic is right, the GM I.B.S. drop-in is made for the single wedge half stock type rifles so modification for the Great Plains is required.

The Great Plains barrels will drop right in,,
,,usually there is some minor fitting/adjustment needed for a real nice snug fit. The barrel "hook" might need minor file work to adjust height of the hook and/or depth. And the Wedge Tennons might need to be closed a bit with a nudge from a small hammer,(some guy's bend the key's).

They use a heavy packing grease in those barrels that is not water soluble, so they need a good cleaning inside an out with a solvent/brake cleaner or other,,

All this is kitchen table stuff.

 

[The Hungry Hunter]

Thankyou for the information

 

[The Hungry Hunter]

Or would I be better off just purchasing another GPR in 54cal.

 

[Mad Professor]

If you don't want a lyman barrel check TOTW.

They used to have GM barrels set up to fit the GPR

 

[Vic Price]

Some time ago I purchased a second barrel for my GPR and it makes more sense to me to have a second barrel to use in one stock than a duplicate gun, which is a more economical approach as well. The second barrel is for shooting conicals as it has a 1:32 twist and shoots them quite nicely. On a similar note, I've considered a second GPR - but in a flintlock. Besides this, I do believe a Great Plains Pistol would go handsomely with my outfit too.

I checked the TOTW website for the GM barrels and they don't specifically list the GPR as they used to. My guess is they can easily modify a GM drop in barrel for your GPR quite reasonably. Why don't you give them a call this week and see what they say?!

Just some random thoughts as I ramble on.......

 

[William O.]

Cost wise it is much cheaper to buy just the GPR barrel as they are made to be interchangeable and a true drop in fit. You will find that the .54 barrel is lighter than the .50 making the rifle less nose heavy. As with any new Investarms/Lyman barrel, the bore may need some final polishing in order to achieve the best accuracy, so don't be discouraged if you don't see that until you've got 100 or so shots through it. You can of course speed up that process using different methods but that is another topic all together.

 

[George T.]

As I'm sure you know the GPR has two barrel wedges. Any barrel you buy that is a drop in for it will as well. Can you be patient? If so watch Gun Broker and the classifides here. I just bought a like new GPR barrel off of Gun Broker for 82 dollars. It has the Dicie Hunting combo sights also. Ay $317 from Lyman I just waited. Geo. T.

 

[Lonegun1894]

I have three GPRs, and the barrels interchange easily. My one ML GM barrel is a .54 smoothbore that they used to offer for the TC hawken, and when I was buying it, I told them that it was going to be mounted on a GPR, so they went ahead and modified it for me and it fits perfectly. I don't remember the exact cost of the modification, but want to say it was between $20 and $30 on top of the barrel price and that was about 5-6 years ago. Now the Lyman GPR barrels shoot great, but I wanted a smoothbore too so went ahead and got one when they offered it. Lucky too as they quit making them shortly after, but they do still make various other barrels that can be made to fit your GPR if you want something other than the standard Lyman offering.

 

[cowpoke1955]

Dang Hungry, everyone needs another rifle! Get the .54 and keep the .50 as a loaner rifle for a friend or family member. The .50 will also make a great back up rifle for .54, just in case. I bought my .54 GPR percussion almost 35 years ago and never had a problem. The .54 has the same 2 in 60" twist barrel, ehich is deadly accurate out to 100 yards. A .54 caliber round ball will handle any game you will come across. Besides, a srcond rifle will make you feel netter :thumbsup:

 

[Black Jack]

Dang Hungry, everyone needs another rifle! Get the .54 and keep the .50 as a loaner rifle for a friend or family member. The .50 will also make a great back up rifle for .54, just in case. I bought my .54 GPR percussion almost 35 years ago and never had a problem. The .54 has the same 2 in 60" twist barrel, ehich is deadly accurate out to 100 yards. A .54 caliber round ball will handle any game you will come across. Besides, a srcond rifle will make you feel netter :thumbsup:

What he said. You need two rifles hanging on the wall (or in the safe, or wherever) and this is the perfect excuse.