How good are the Lyman perc GPR .54 rifles?

[mtech]

How good are the .54 GPR's?

 

[necchi]

Well, do you prefer Blondes, Brunettes or Redheads?

 

[William O.]

It depends on what you're comparing it to. For instance, compared to spitwads the GPR's are great. Are you asking how good they are accuracy wise, fit and finish, historically accurate, etc?

 

[Harms Way]

I had one about 13 years ago,... loved the look and feel,.. And the rifle was a really good shooter. and quite accurate.... I had no intentions of ever letting it go, but my father-in-law made his desire to have it very well known...

He is a great Father-in-law,... and a very good friend.... And as much as I wanted to keep the GPR, I gave it to him that Christmas... Every time I am over to there house, I peer into his Gun Case and see it still sitting there in pristine condition...

He told me recently,... "It has your name on it,... your going to get it back when I'm gone" So as much as I am looking forward to having it back,.. i hope it's many years from now.

In my humble opinion,... A wonderful rifle,I really enjoyed mine.

 

[George T.]

Well mine is a 50 but I love it. Other than it being blue it is very well made. Metal to metal and wood to metal fit is very good. The wood in mine is very nice. Now the real kicker is that it shoots PRB's very well with both 75 and 110 grains of 2F. We have a 12 inch gong on our range that is painted white. I have not missed it yet with the hunting load in several shots. With my old eyes I'm off to knock on wood! Geo. T.

 

[Little Wattsy]

How good are the .54 GPR's?

(Sorry for the pic again) but the .54 GPR is just that good! 2nd to NONE in production guns!

 

[mtech]

Thanks,
I might have to try one!

 

[cowpoke1955]

I bought my .54 GPR percussion about 35 years ago. Shot it in a lot of muzzle loading competitionand did very well with it. When I retired, my wife bought me a .54 GPR flint kit. On a very good day I have been able to shoot a three shot group as small as 3/4" at 100 yards. For a production gun, there are none better :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

I gotta thank you for that Wattsy.

A lot of people would probably pass on that one, but it takes a kind man to recognize when something is hurting and then put it down.

I figure one of those tree huggers probably got it hooked on that Jenny Craig weight loss plan or Weight Watchers. I sure hate to think they got it eating tofu but something like that must have caused it to loose all of its weight.

I know you and your family didn't get much to eat off of him but I bet he was a lot easier to carry out of the woods than one with a lot of meat on the bone.

I guess this just proves one of the other benefits of using a .54 that isn't mentioned very often.

That big ball is more likely to hit something as its passing thru a skinny critter like this one.
Why. One of those .45's would just go thru him like he wasn't even there.

:grin:

 

[smokymountainmike]

I have a 54 caliber percussion GPR I've had for about 20 years. Its been a good rifle and is accurate. I've used it to hunt with and it has killed a bunch of deer. It was my favorite muzzleloader until a bought the 54 caliber Pedersoli Rocky Mt Hawken. The GPR is a great gun it dosent stack up to the Pedersoli in fit and finish. The bottom line is cost. Now days the GPR can be purchased for around 500 or so and the Pedersoli will set you back around a thousand dollars.

 

[fleener]

The .54 GPR was my second ML. The wood they use is usually very nice. I still have mine 25 years latter, but I have not shot it for years. The accuracy is not bad, but not great either.

For me it was a great rifle to start with, and then I transitioned in shooting rifles that I have made and other custom rifles.

Price is good, quality is good, no reason not to get one.

snapper

 

[nkbj]

Personal opinion, I really enjoy the GPR in flint and percussion. Got a .40 in percussion, using a second hand south paw GPR as an affordable means of trying out shooting a fast twist small bore.

Which reminds me that I really need to find a tang peep for Little Sheba.

 

[BrownBear]

How good are the .54 GPR's?

Generally excellent. I've seen small problems with individual guns now and then over the years, but Lyman has always been good for a fix.

Probably the biggest flaws are the trigger and the primitive sight- both easily fixed by owners. The adjustment screw between the triggers is too short and needs replacing, and the accessory primitive sight that comes with each gun is too narrow for the dovetail in the barrel- another easy fix.

Oh- a couple of minor headaches. The grease they coat the bore with is a bugger to get out, but easily removed with the right solvent (e.g., brake pad cleaner). The muzzle and rifling are generally sharp enough that it take 100-200 shots to smooth up, as they meanwhile cut patches and affect accuracy. Every GPR I've known starts out with mediocre accuracy, but after 100-200 shots turns into a tack driver.

 

[BillinOregon]

Wattsy, those are some fine harvests with your GPR. I have always preferred the Lyman to the TC guns. The lines are closer to an original plains rifle and the stocks always fit me so much better than the little piece of wood TC used.

 

[ebiggs1]

Really need to know what the comparison is with. But.................

1. TC Hawken
2. Lyman GPR
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. Traditions
10. CVA

If that is what you are thinking.

 

[Little Wattsy]

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Little Wattsy]

Wattsy, those are some fine harvests with your GPR. I have always preferred the Lyman to the TC guns. The lines are closer to an original plains rifle and the stocks always fit me so much better than the little piece of wood TC used.

The fit is night and day for me between TC and Lyman. Lyman fits like a glove. TC is made for a scope I would guess, I LOVE thier brand but the only TC I hunt with has an after market stock with more drop in it.
And thank you.

 

[Harms Way]

I am not sure if this was "tongue-in-cheek",... But I have two T/C Hawken's in .50,&.54, I like the fit, balance, feel of the Llyman GPR much more,.. And in my particular experience, My old GPR was far more accurate.... Of course it could have just been the "loose nut behind the trigger" :grin:

And I am in total agreement you with CVA being the bottom of the barrel in my own experience,.. But in another thread I mentioned a rifle I picked up at a garage sale that was a CVA... And general conciseness was... That this particular rifle was in deed a very accurate rifle..
( I have not shot it yet in the two years I have owned it, but the price was way dirt cheap).

I am told it's the CVA Mountain Rifle

 

[ryoung14]

They cost a lot more than they did 15 years ago, but there's a good side to that. They seem better built in terms of fit and finish. I think Lyman realized that if they upped the price, they'd better do something about product quality.

My first .54 GPR was from the late 90's. It's a very good shooter, but a sad specimen fit & finish wise. Went back for warranty work two or three times, I forget which. Still have it. Still shoots good. I still shake my head when I look at it.

My second was a .54 GPH (fast twist version) built about 6 or 7 years later. Much better built and quite attractive.

My latest Lyman product is a .54 Deerstalker that arrived a few weeks ago. Cost probably half-again what Deerstalkers were going for a dozen years ago. But for all that, I'm satisfied. The little gun is about perfect to my eye.

I'd say go for current production if you can and either inspect before buying or buy with right to return.

 

[Chris Hayes]

My go to gun is a .54 GPR. I wouldn't trade it for love nor money. It is a mid 90's manufactor, and after replacing the sights, and lapping the barrel (which is just me), I have won many a shoot with it at my club. It will flat layway the deer too!