Finally Broke In My Lyman GPR

[pab1]

I put together a .54 cal Lyman GPR kit a few years back. I really like this gun and have a lot of range time with it but for whatever reason I only took it out hunting a couple of times. I hunted with my flintlock .62 Renegade smoothbore yesterday and planned on using it today also. Right before I went to bed last night for some reason I changed my mind and decided to use my GPR today. I quickly switched everything in my pack and shot bag over to my .54 gear and went to bed.

I got up early and hunted this morning. I spooked one deer but didn't see anything else. This area has some thick patches of brush. The deer usually see you long before you see them. I went back out in the evening and picked a spot on a rise with a good view and made myself sit down. This is very hard for me since I prefer to spot and stalk.

After about an hour I heard a deer blow on the other side of some brush I was backed up against about 15 yards behind me. I slowly turned and saw a doe bounding away. I put a cap on and positioned myself for a shot in case she returned. Pretty soon her head came poking out of the thicket she'd disappeared into about 70 yards away. Just a few steps forward and I'd have a shot. She had other plans and after a few seconds she vanished.

I kept watching where the first doe had been and a few minutes later another doe blows from about the same spot the first one did. She was bounding toward the same place the first one had gone to. I whistled and she stopped at what I later measured to be 51 yards. The gun was still ready so there was no delay. I hit her high in the shoulder and she dropped in her tracks.

I recovered the ball under the hide on the opposite side when I was skinning her. It expanded to .851" and weighed 209 grains (.530, 224 gr ball). It definitely did some damage to the shoulder on entry and feels like it broke some bone on the other side too. I'll know how much more bone was impacted when I cut up the meat tomorrow. I was using 95 grains of FFF Goex. It was a great way to finally break in my GPR!

 

[Ben K]

Awesome! Rifle looks great, food looks great! :thumbsup:

 

[Britsmoothy]

Good for you, sounded intense :thumbsup:

Watch your rammer don't get damaged sticking out like that bud .

B

 

[pab1]

Thanks guys!

Watch your rammer don't get damaged sticking out like that bud .

I always cut them an inch to an inch and a half longer than the end of the barrel. Gives me a little extra to hang onto. If I cut them any longer than that, they do tend to get snagged on brush.

 

[Spikebuck]

Congrats! She's a hog!!! :hatsoff:

 

[Patocazador]

That's a stout load for me but it obviously works for you.
Congrats on the nice doe.

 

[George]

Good job. That's a big doe.

Spence

 

[pab1]

That's a stout load for me but it obviously works for you.

This is my elk load too. If I were limited to deer I would probably back off the powder charge a bit.

Thanks guys!

 

[mr.flintlock]

Congratulations on a nice deer! I have always liked the performance of a 54 caliber rifle.

 

[robinsroost]

Congratulations on a successful hunt. That was a great narrative and a nice photo. That is a nice fat doe and she will make some great eating. Keep yer powder dry........robin :bow:

 

[ny griz]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Congrats.That's the way to break er in. :hatsoff: Griz

 

[pab1]

I just finished cutting and wrapping the meat which gave me a better look at how the prb performed. It was a high shoulder shot and the ball entered right on the spine/ridge of the scapula, creating a large wound channel and several large bone fragments. It then hit a rib dead center, breaking it. It clipped the bottom of the spine which deflected it slightly forward and at a downward angle. Finally it broke a rib on the opposite side, going through it at about a 45 degree angle and stopping under the hide. All that contact with bone and it only lost 15 grains. Gotta love the prb! :grin:

 

[Britsmoothy]

Yep, as daft as it sounds, modern hunting bullets are only ever trying to copy a round ball :thumbsup:

 

[James Stella]

Very Nice.

 

[segner05]

I just finished cutting and wrapping the meat which gave me a better look at how the prb performed. It was a high shoulder shot and the ball entered right on the spine/ridge of the scapula, creating a large wound channel and several large bone fragments. It then hit a rib dead center, breaking it. It clipped the bottom of the spine which deflected it slightly forward and at a downward angle. Finally it broke a rib on the opposite side, going through it at about a 45 degree angle and stopping under the hide. All that contact with bone and it only lost 15 grains. Gotta love the prb! :grin:

Pab1,

I'm curious as to how much meat you lost due to taking out so many bones.

 

[pab1]

I'm curious as to how much meat you lost due to taking out so many bones.

Not sure of the exact amount but it wasn't much. There was some bloodshot meat where the ball passed through both shoulders.

 

[Rat Trapper]

That's a stout load for me but it obviously works for you.
Congrats on the nice doe.

No it isn't a stout load for a 54, just a normal hunting load.

 

[Howie1968]

Paul, great job on a great harvest

 

[Patocazador]

No it isn't a stout load for a 54, just a normal hunting load.

It's 10 gr. more than what I shoot out of my .54. That classifies it as 'stout' for me.