Finally took the plunge with a GPR

[TimJ]

Hello,
A few years ago I hung around here some taking in info but just kind of drifted away from the idea of getting into muzzleloaders. Then yesterday I was at Our local Sportsman Warehouse closing sale and saw a bunch of orange boxes. Opened the one out for display and there was a perc .54 kit. They also had a bunch of .50s but it only took me about 2 seconds to decide if I was getting one I'm going big. Asked what the price was with the discounts they are running and the scanner said $254. Dang, who has the strength to pass that up?!?! I think I done good.
If you have a Sportsmans closing near you I'd recommend checking them out. I sure hate mine is closing because it is the only place locally with fly tying stuff but hey I'm stocked up on that for a while too. :grin:

Now I have to wait at least a few weeks to start working on it because of turkey hunting and getting the garden put in. That will give me a little more time to research how I want it to look but it's tough to wait. I know there is only so much I can do with this type of kits but I want it to look a certain way, I'm just not sure what that is yet.

I do have some questions, on the stock can I get rid of some of the 'belly' without making it look too thin or causing problems? Also are decorative things like a silver moon, star or eagle at least a little bit traditional on plains rifles?

Tim

 

[Dave Young]

You will like your new GPR! I just browned everything on mine and used tru oil on the stock with no stain and it looks real good. My friend did the same thing, only he left the nose cap and the barrel key plates silver, and didn't brown them, and it sets it off real well.

 

[Birddog6]

The GPR in a .54 is a great rifle.

I don't see a problem you building it. You have from midnight to 6 AM to work on it, get yer butt in gear !!! :grin: Should be done by the time turkey season is over. :rotf:

As for changing it, I suggest ya build it as it is. More times than not, guys changing the looks of the kits they build usually make them look worse (IMHO)and sometimes awful, and also they take any resale value or trade value out of the rifle buy changing or adding things. Built it as it is, do a clean job in building it & go have fun with it. After you have been into these rifles & get acclimated to them, then go for a real build from parts, study them & then decide what you want & additions to trim one up. But stepping into one ? not a good time to add or take away things, do it as the kit is.

I would buy a Hot Shot nipple for it. It is a Metric thread so be sure you get the one for a Lyman.

Have fun

:thumbsup:

 

[TimJ]

Yeah, you make a lot of sense about not changing it too much. I'll probably stick with the overall shape. There looks like plenty of wood to remove just to get good fit with the metal. I may still make the cheek piece smaller but I do a lot of wood carving so that part I think I can handle.

I don't like all the writing on the barrel but I do know my limitations and won't try removing that.

Tim

 

[Old40Rod]

I would buy a Hot Shot nipple for it.

I second that.

 

[Birddog6]

Just keep in mind that most Hawken type & Plains type ML rifles were utility type rifles & seldom had any carving & frills.

Good Luck ! :thumbsup:

Keith

 

[TimJ]

I would buy a Hot Shot nipple for it.

I second that.

Where are you finding them?
I've done some looking on the web and only seem to find the T/C Hot Shots not any metric.

Tim

 

[bucktales]

These guys have em. :thumbsup:
the gunworks

 

[TimJ]

Thank you

 

[AeroncaTAL]

Tim,
I have to respectively disagree with Birddog. You can make modifications to the Lyman kit and still retain the look of a Plains rifle. The cheek piece is definately one area where you can go to work on it. The Lyman stock is massive, and it has alot of wood that can be removed. I thinned the stock of my GPR down and IMO improved the look of the Great Plains. I also cut and inletted a "hunter's" star on my cheekpiece. All these modifications were fairly simple, enhanced the appearance, and most importantly, taught me much about what goes into these things. here's my GPR:

Good luck, and keep us posted!
Scott

 

[Birddog6]

Scott: Oh I think you rifle looks great & you did a superb job inletting the star on the cheek, etc. It was just my opinion (and you know what opinions are), I was not pointing any fingers. Your work exceeds most newbie work on a rifle as well, as yours is very tastefully done. :bow: Most guys just grab a chisel & just start wacking the H out of them & they no longer resemble what they were supposed to look like.

However, for me, I just prefer a Hawken to look like a original Hawken, or as much as it can, and that is a plain heavy stout utility rifle with no frills. But that is just me & just one opinion......


And that is Not to say there were not fancy Hawkens either, as there are basically very few to view, there could have been lots of them. Were there as many Hawkens to view as old Tenn. rifles (for example) we would have a Much better look at what was really there, rather than fokelore & a few historical documents & etc.
I never ever thought of a fancy Tennessee or Southern rifles until I went to a CLA show.

 

[Little Wattsy]

You'll love it!! Keep us posted on your progress.
:hatsoff: :hatsoff:

 

[John Alden]

I got one in .50 cal for the same price (they were out of .54s). Should be a fun project. Looks like getting started will be the hardest part. Keep us posted - John

 

[grizzy adams]

dat smoke pole is sweet , i like it , where did you get the inlay on the stock ? , did you do dat or something and where can a person get inlays and are they hard to do. All the ones i found are small like a inch long etc . I like to put some on my hawken but dont know where to start at , any sugestions .

 

[the11]

I love the star on the cheekpiece! I am building one of these right now. I bought a patchbox kit from totw, and have it (mostly) installed. I considered putting something in the cheekpiece, but was not sure if I should or not. Is the hunter's star pc for this type of rifle? What else might have been used?

Maybe I should post some pics of what I am doing.

 

[AeroncaTAL]

You can get inlays at places like Track Of The Wolf or Muzzleloaders Builders Supply. The hunters star inlay for my GPR I cut myself from German Silver stock. Don't know whether it is PC or not for a plains style rifle; at the time I didn't really care. I would recommend buying an inlay from one of the places I mentioned rather than cutting your own design. It was a lot of effort to cut it.
Scott