GPR right out of the box?

[bowjock]

Well I caught the bug and got me a lyman GPR....will have it in hands by Thanksgiving Day. Now what I would like to hear from you fellow flinters, what would you do to the gun, before shooting it the first time.

I have seen post on lapping the barrel, tuning the lock...and others, so please feel free to give me your ways of wonder for making this a shooter and a keeper

It is in 50 cal. :hmm:

 

[cptleo1]

Clean the inside of the barrel as best you can

Then do it agian.

Then go shooting

 

[Dave Poss]

Congrats! The Lyman is a good gun. Chances are you will not need to do anything other than clean it good and put in a good , sharpe english flint. Just a suggestion, but don't believe the hype that you need 110 grs. of powder to shoot the rifle.I'd start off with about 50 to 60 grs. of 2f and see how it shoots. I used 3f in my 50 and it worked great too. As a 50 cal., you have a choice of either.Good luck, I know you're going to like shooting flint.....once you get used to it! :imo:

 

[BambiSlayer]

A Lyman is a good choice so your on your way now. :thumbsup: First thing clean the barrel good, get a wire bore brush for its cal. wrap some 00 steel wool around the brush and run in bore a few times.(takes any machine burrs off). #2/Take 1/6" drill bit and open the touch hole. #3/Get you some good english flints to use. Use 3f in the bore 50-90grn(lighter load target)and 4f in the pan. Assuming you have a 50cal,try both .490 and .495 RB with a .018 ticking patch(spit lube) learn about moosemilk later for lube. Balistol works the best for me as barrel oil after cleaning. :imo: :thumbsup:

 

[cayugad]

Other then reading the manual a couple of times and making sure I understand all the limits and working functions of the rifle, I would clean the devil out of it.

The whole idea of lapping a barrel is very serious business. Lapping is something you do as a last resort. You can always take metal out of the barrel but it is a lot harder to put it back in.

After I had the rifle nice and clean, I would get to the range and shoot some roundball out of it. Good luck with your new rifle. you picked a great one.

 

[2172]

I pretty much agree with Bambislayer, except I've begun to use 3f as my priming powder as well as my main load. If you have a problem with trigger pull, you can take a turn off the sear spring, but don't do it until you've shot the gun some..it may wear in on its own. Some of us have had a problem with the gun going only from full cock to half cock when using the set triggers, but going the full distance if using the front "hunting" trigger. disassembling the lock and cleaning the daylights out of the innards, plus lightening the sear spring has worked for some of us...good luck with a good gun...Hank

 

[Birddog6]

Clean the barrel but Do Not attempt to lap it. Shoot it 300 times & you did the same thing, you learned the functions & quirks of the gun, & you didn't screw up a good barrel like lots of guys do.

I suggest using a Brass or SS Range Rod with a bore guide on it for all shooting at the range & cleaning. DO NOT use a fiberglass rod, period.

If it is a .54 cal, try a .535 ball & a ,015 Oxjoke patch or a .017 pillow ticking patch & some liquid lube such as Lehigh or whatever. If that is too tight try the .530 but all the GPR's I have messed with would handle .005 under caliber size with a .015 patch or thicker. I use 65 grains of FF Goex in mine for target & 75 grains of the same for deer hunting.
If it is a 50 cal go the same thing with .005 under caliber on the ball size & the load is basically the same. Start at 60 grains & go up & you will find a load it likes best.

I suggest ALL shooting be done off sand bags with a good bench to find an accurate load for the rifle. You cannot find a good group off hand, regardless of what the next door neighbor claims, even tho he has most likely excelled in everything you have ever asked him.. ha ha ! You need to know exactly what the RIFLE is doing, not how shakey YOU are. You would be amazed how many guys have brought me rifles to shoot that "Will not group" and I put it on the bench in front of them on sand bags & it cuts 3 shots at 50 yards.... and then the usual remark of "Well, it wouldn't do that yesterday".... Use the Bench & Bags & get the rifle to group, then work on your performance...... If it won't group on the bench, you have not found the correct ball/patch/lube/charge combo & there is No Way it will group offhand.

If it is a .50 or .54 flintlock I could drill out the vent liner to a .078125 (5/64th) & cone it in the inside & outside. (#2 centerdrill)You will see a trememdous difference in the lock time speed by doing so. Some drill them out to .0625 (1/16") but I like miy vents large & fast. If you need detailed instructions on this send me a email with you snail mail address & I will mail it to you.(too many pages to email) [Email][email protected][/Email]

3F in the pan will perform just as good as 4F and will do even better while hunting, (ask any lockmaker) as it will not absorb moisture as easily as 4F. 4F in wet weather = black mush usually, but 4F is handy in the small primer flasks at the shooting range. (In the old days the powder all came from the same horn)

Good Luck :winking:

 

[KyFlintlock]

bowjock,

Congrats on getting your flintlock! :thumbsup:

 

[trent/OH]

Better make that a 1/16" drill bit. A 4mm hole will probably let your powder charge leak out onto the ground.

 

[madstone]

Lapping the bbl is not to be done w/o good reason. It will improve the accuracy slightly, of any rifle with few exceptions, though. I've lapped lots of ctg guns!
Only to remedy pitted bores and to smooth the ball/patch's progress up the bbl. The abrasive "lapping" does remove some metal! The "lead lapping", of yore, merely smoothed out the surfaces of the lands and grooves.
One thread asked why soft iron barrels shot better than newer steel bbl's. The steel was hard to machiune to as smooth a surface with hawkins' primitive tooling.
Some BP bbls were so soft they shaved the flats on the octogons with drawing knives! They shot out quickly, but were crowned and freshed regularly.

 

Birddog and Bambislayer pretty much have it all, except that 0000 (NOT 00) should be used inside the barrel. It only takes about 10 swipes if snug to get rid of the hairs left on the lands from cutting the rifling. Doing this will save 300 shots of aggravaton as the patch can be cut by the lands until they're smoothed.
: Use 4-ought - that's 0000 wool NOT double, or 00.
: 00 is too aggressive in my opinion. It MAY not do any harm, but 0000 definitely won't harm the bore. I've used 0000 steel wool as a normal de-leading for all of my BP ctg. rifles when testing lubes. It will not harm the bore in the least.
: For me and my guns, 1/16" is plenty large enough for the vent. If ignition with 4F isn't fast enough, then think about a White Lightening liner. They are already coned "properly" on the inside & don't need it on the outside which is a poor place to have it- IMHO.