First shots with new .54 GPR

[dbk84]

UPS just dropped off my new GPR yesterday and it was nice out and I had a little time so I fired it for the first time, I only had about 30 yards to work with but that didnt matter I just wanted to see what it was going to feel like. My load consisted of .530 hornady round ball patched with pre lubed 0.15 patch, traditions I think, and 60 gr. of pyrodex RS. It shot good, all three shots were about 6 in. low and a hair to the right, and almost touching. Anyway I recovered my patches and they were cut or torn from the shot Im guessing. Is this normal and if not how do I fix it. The rifle shot good regardless and was alot of fun. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
Coldcreek

 

[mpriester]

Keep shooting it. others have had the same problems. the bores are rough and the muzzle is sharp. it will get better. i polished my bore with 0000 steel woll and coned my muzzle and now i could re use my patches if i took a notion too.most will say shoot atleast 100 shots through it before attempting to work up a load. it seems these guns like a fairly stiff load. mine seems to like 80grs. of 3f and 90 to 100 grs of 2f. mine shoots flat out to 100yds with 100grs of 2f which is what i will probably use for hunting. be patient your gun will shoot. of all the posts i have read on these rifles not one has been said to not shoot well.

 

[BrownBear]

The cut patches are pretty standard fare for a new Lyman barrel. The crowns are usually pretty sharp, plus the new lands cut. Shooting 100-200 shots usually takes care of it, but lots of folks attack the bore with scotch bright pads or steel wool on their jags. I'd rather shoot.

That's pretty fair shooting alreay, but it will just get better and better as you go through those 100-200 rounds. I'm betting groups will tighten more when you up the charge to 80-100 grains of that RS or 70-80 grains of P. Just my experience with GPRs in both 50 and 54 caliber. You are likely to run into some nipple fouling and slow or failed ignition with Pyrodex, but picking and cleaning the nipple every half dozen or so shots will solve it. I don't have any problems after dozens of shots with Goex, either 2f or 3f. Other than that I don't see any big difference. Others here will be boxing your ears for stooping to Pyrodex, but smile and ignore them if Pyrodex suits your needs.

One other thing on that Lyman. They pack them with some kind of grease in the bore that's next to impossible to clean out with normal cleaning. Pick up a can of brake pad cleaner and run a few patches of that through the bore. It will remove the grease easily and leave a sparkling bore. that really eases loading, while improving accuracy a bit in my experience.

Have a ball. You've joined a "fraternity" of happy GPR users here at the site, and lots of us will chime in as you have problems to solve or questions. Won't be many (or any) of those, but the solutions are easy and help is close at hand, should they occur.

 

[dbk84]

Thanks smokepoling and brownbear, as far as the packing grease is concerned, luckily I read a previous post of yours BrownBear and read the part about the brake clean and grease issue, and you were right the whole rifle was covered, anyway I think I would rather just shoot it than lap the bore, it will give me time to get to know the rifle better. Also I would have went for real black but the local sporting goods store dosent carry it and frankly I couldnt wait to shoot it, way to excited. anyway I will just keep shooting it and having fun, anymore tips on these rifles is welcomed, Im all ears. One more thing after I cleaned it with hot soapy water and then flushed it with boiling water and set it off to the side to let the heat evaporate the remaining water away, I hit it with an oiled patch for rust prevention, when I ran the patch down the bore and pulled it back out it had a rust colored tint to it, right after I cleaned it. Is that something to be worried about?

 

[mpriester]

it may still have some grease in it or it didn't dry right away. i wouldn't worry too much about it. what did you oil it with? i don't remove my barrels, i use a bore flush kit and a .38 caliber swab to clean the breech. works great.

 

[dbk84]

I used just regular rem oil, after it was dry, also after the boiling water it seemed to dry out rather quickly, I wouldnt think it could start to get rusty that fast, but I wasnt sure so. Maybe it is still some grease still in the bore, I used brake cleaner on patches till they came out looking as white as they went in.

 

[fredrader]

Boiling water dries too quick and Flash Rusts the bore..Most people I know Just use hot tap water and flush the bore with alcohol and let the brl set a little while muzzle down to dry any water left in there..Run a couple dry patches then oil it up..

 

[morehops]

You're gonna like your GPR the more you shoot it. mine even cuts cleaning patches too. I've also cleaned exactly the way you do but run dry patches down before oiling. I get the brownish color too but use a high quality gun oil down the bore - and a bore light shows a bright bore after meny years of shooting. Shoot more, worry less.

 

[mykeal]

fredrader put his finger on it. Probably flash rust. If you're going to use very hot water take his advice about drying the bore with alcohol to prevent that.

 

[cowpoke1955]

Everyone has given you some excellent advice. The only thing extra I do is to shoot some WD-40 down the bore, followed by a dry patch after drying the bore and before running an oil patch. This will remove any moisture that is left. Don't forget to run an alochol patch down the bore before you reload next time. This will get rid of any remaining oil. After 30 years, my .54 GPR percussion bore shines like new. You will be amazed with the accuracy out to 100 yards. I loved mine so much my wife bought me a .54 GPR flint kit about 3 years ago. Both rifles shoot great with a .530 ball, pillow ticking patch lubed with Ballistol oil and 80 grains of FFg Goex. This will mormally give me a one ragged hole group at 50 yards. Almost the same results at 100 yards with 90 grains of FFg. Welcome to the club :thumbsup:

 

[dbk84]

That makes sense with the flash rust and all, I guess I will just use normal temperature water, thanks guys. Now how do I get the flash rust out of the bore, or is their going to be a certain degree of flash rust no matter what? When I shine a light down the bore it is bright and shiny.

 

[BrownBear]

If you've got a nice shiny bore, the flash rust is gone. I used to use hot tap water, and was getting sick of fighting the flash rust. I've been using room temp water followed by oil for about 5 years now and never another rust issue- flash or otherwise.

One good rule of thumb I follow though: One day after cleaning I run a lightly oiled patch and check for rust. A week later I do it again. Call it a nervous twitch, but I'm just never quite satisfied that I got it completely clean and dry the first time around.

 

[dbk84]

Okay thats pretty muchly what I was thinking, but I will hit it with another oiled patch just to be sure in the next couple days just to be on the safe side. Im also going to have to look into buying cleaning patches in bulk cause Ive already about used up my first bag of 100 patches! Thanks again guys for the advice.

 

[BrownBear]

Im also going to have to look into buying cleaning patches in bulk cause Ive already about used up my first bag of 100 patches! Thanks again guys for the advice.

Head down to the fabric store and pick up some 100% cotton flannel. The money you spend on a bag of 100 precuts buys enough flannel to cut a bazillion of your own.

 

[Ivoryhunter4]

As said a 100 shots or so will take care of the problem, try to use a pillow ticking patch instead of the softer linen, I am finding I can now load a .535 ball with a .015 patch easily which I was unable to do in the earlier break in period, they are a very good, accurate rifle.