help sighting in my GPR

[brandon ferro]

first of all im new toBp shooting and today was the first day sighting in my GPR its a 54cal and i was shooting both 530 and535 with 80grains of pyro RS shooting off a bench at 50yds and was geting bucket size groups and i tride everything i could to get some consistancy out of that gun i alternated from 100-80grans and ball size and the resuts were the same i neeeed some heeelp THANKS

 

[cynthialee]

I was told by the guys around here to start out with a small charge and increase by 5 grains at a time until I find the load out that gives decent grouping.
Be sure you have tight patch and ball combo also.

(I am pretty new to black powder rifles myself.)

 

[smo]

My GPR likes 100grn 3f it's a flintlock. From what i've read most GPRs shoot better with havier loads. Just stay at it,stay down on the rifle and follow through with the shot. :thumbsup:

 

[plinker]

With a new or new to me rifle, I start at 5 or 10 grains under caliber (45 or 50 grains for your 54 caliber) and change patch thickness until I find a combination that loads with some resistance but not so much that I have to drive the patch and ball in. Then, once I have a good patch, lube, and ball combination I start working up in 5 grain increments with 3 shot groups wiping after every shot. When the load has been found try it and the one on either side of it on several occasions to make sure it works consistantly.

 

[necchi]

First, I hope you cleaned that new barrel before shooting it really well, I mean till a white patch comes out white.
They have a packing grease in the bore and all other working metal parts that really heavy.
If any of that stuff is left in there it turns into a hard following that quickly fills the grooves.

If that was done we can move on too few common troubles.

Sometimes the factory fit of the barrel in the stock isn't that great. Be sure the hook is in the tang properly so the barrel lays flat.

The two wdges need to fit in with some resistance, they are part of what holds the barrel down.

Those are the typical mechanical troubles.

What where you useing for patch?

 

[jethro224]

Another thought that comes to mind besides what necchi said is the sights. Are they moving around?
The GPR comes with a pretty tall front sight and the adjustable factory rear sight tends to get sloppy when it is up high.
I adjusted the rear sight down to about half way and then filed the front blade down to shoot where I aimed. That made mine shoot better.
Later I swapped out the adjustable rear for the fixed rear and that made it MUCH better!

I had one that I had to loosed up the tang screw, then put the barrel in the stock, and finally re-tighten the tang screw to get the barrel and tang to line up right.

 

[screamin]

530 ball, .022 or .023 patch should work well. Or maybe the 535 ball with an .018 patch. 90grs of RS should be close too. Really tho, the best thing you could do is get Dutch's system
http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/

I shrank my groups down to 1 1/4" at 100 yards. All balls touching at 50. But that was with a Lyman 1:48 twist barrel so ymmv

 

[Big John]

New GPR have sharp lands....wrap oooo steel wool around your jag tip and pump up/down the barrel approx. 100 times, should be good to go. 90-100gr. of pyro should be good.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Several things already mentioned to be considered. 1. Lands sharp edgeas cutting patches, to check recover used poatches and check for cutting. 2. Packing grease fillling lands, clean well with brake cleaner (acetone ) AVOID getting cleaner on wooden stock! 3. To loose of a fit ball/patch combo. 4. Loose rear sight . As you can see there are several things to be considered. :idunno:

 

[brandon ferro]

THANK guys and gal for the help im going to try all the stuf youall told me

 

[50cal.cliff]

First thing to learn about muzzle loaders is any change can make a change!

Too me that was the first lesson I learned. For consistency you need to become regimented.

And never consider one thing has made a difference until you have fired at least a half of dozen rounds.

Also if you are looking to find out if a change made a difference shoot from the bench position. You want everything as absolutely steady and repeatable as it can possibly be to figure out where the problem is!

What I am trying to say is when you are changing powder increments you go up 5 grs. like the lady said. While you are trying that 5gr. increase you don't change anything else. You don't change lube, you don't change patch thickness, you don't change wiping practices, etc, etc. You keep all things except for the powder increase the same.

What you may not realize is that any one change can and usually makes a change on POI, (point of impact)!

When I first started shooting I started with a sub and I could not seem to get good consistency! I switched to real black and liked it's performance better. But I still was not pleased with my consistency. I tried experimenting with a 5 gr. increase in powder until I found something me and the rifle begin to agree on. Then I changed my lube and I liked it better.

Now days I know when I shoot what I want to shoot for a powder load, patch thickness and lube, I also have a wiping procedure I use I wipe every third shot when shooting at the range!

So I pretty much know if I ain't hitting consistently when at the range, it ain't the gun it's me. I either had too much coffee or not enough! :wink:

 

[ebiggs1]

Assuming you did clean the gun thoroughly and the mechanics of the rifle are good, including the sights, you have to start recovering your patches. You need to examine them to see what is going on.

IMHO, 100 grs is way too much. 90 may be good, particularly as a hunting load and 70 to 80 should be good for paper punching. Even less most likely.

My suggestion: :thumbsup:
70 grrs of Pyrodex RS or P. (maybe 65 grs of P)
.018 pillow ticking patch lubed with Bore Butter of sufficient size to cover the RB.
Hornady .530 RBs.
CCI or Remington caps, magnum not required.

 

[Rifleman1776]

THANK guys and gal for the help im going to try all the stuf youall told me

A lot of good tips so far. And I endorse them all. But, still I am bothered by your description of "bucket sized groups". Even with the wrong load ball/patch combo, foot in yer mouth, etc. Off the bench you should be getting better results than that.
Loose sights could explain a lot. But, if that doesn't prove to be the cause you need to look elsewhere. Take Dutch's advice and eliminate what isn't causing a problem to narrow down onto what is.
The answer may be in your shooting. We have all had those 'bucket sized group' days.
Other matters to consider are your balls. Are you using hard lead? I believe that could give inconsistent results. I don't like Pyrodex because it can cause inconsistent ignition. (meaning delay, flinch, etc.)
Try real bp if you can get some. Swab between shots.
Best, if you have an ml experienced friend, bring him with you.
Good luck. Let us know what happens.

 

[brandon ferro]

I was also wandering if tryed from closer ,like 35yrd would it be easyer to find the troblem

 

[jdkerstetter]

People, he's shooting two different 530+ grn' conicals over 80-100 grns' of powder at 50yds! Bucket sized groups are possible....off the bench, so is a serious flinch!

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[necchi]

he's shooting two different 530+ grn' conicals,

It's a 54. He's trying 530 and 535 ball.

 

[jdkerstetter]

manure! I should've finished my coffee first. I'll blame it on the Nitric Acid fumes....too long in the shop last night. :slap: I deserved that!

Thanks, J.D.