It Ain't Easy Being a Muderator!

[Zonie]

I sure had my work cut out for me this weekend.
Not one, but two gunshows in town at the same time!! :shocking:

All of those shows, and I still have to sit down and Muderate here!!!

Well, the largest show didn't have anything I was interested in, or could afford, so I just bought two bottles of Birchwood Casey Colonial Brown stock stain. (They quit making this about 5 years ago, but I like the red/brown color so if I see some, I buy it).

At the second MUCH smaller show, I thought about you folks!
There it was, a .50 Cal Lyman Precussion GPR with a refinished stock.
The refinishing was very well done with the grain filled and a nice soft satin finish. The rest of the gun was in 99% condition with only one bearly visible scratch across one flat on the barrel.

So I says to myself "I really don't need a .50, but darn, that is nice."
"The price is fair."
"The folks on MLF are always talking about these guns and how well they shoot!"
"I've never owned a GPR."
"The guy says these 200 round balls, two tins of caps, a bore brush, a jag and the nipple wrench are thrown in too."
I owe it to all of those nice people on the forum to buy this so I will have first hand experiance with it!"
" Well, I am the muderator on the Precussion Forum and this is a Precussion gun".

"I'll buy it"

Now, I'll have to go to the range next weekend and work up a good load or two.

Life isn't easy being a Muderator, but someone's got to do it.

PS: I hope you folks can find a nice gun at a fair price at a show in your area too.

 

[jtmattison]

The sacrifices you have to make for the forum :shake:

Have fun with that GPR. They're a great gun.

Huntin

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

Talk about taking one for the team! You da man! :bull:

 

[IronMan]

:thumbsup: :master:We bow to your sacrifice. Someone has to Stand in the Blast and take the hit for the team. As has been said "You Da Man"

IronMan

 

[Stumpkiller]

Now don't be tackin it all full of stars & moons, and fishes, and shamrocks, and curley squiggles and such.

This kind has a heavy barrel so it don't need the extra 12 pounds of trade goods displayed on it.

::

 

[jim gray]

We are honored to have such a fine self-sacraficing moderator who is willing to go to these lengths for our enlightenment :master:.

I think you might like the GPR, eventhough it is a factory made gun. :haha:. Mine is a flint, but judging by it, the percussion is probably a fine shooting rifle.

 

[Trina]

yup Zonie dont go addin no fancy nick nacks to that gun.. they are great just the way they are...
I like yur line of thinkin...bout that gun though... since Im muderater down in the camp gear/cookiing section.. I probably oughter buy a new dutch oven or two... just so I can give good advice on them.... just wait till I tell hubby I need a couple a more... :haha: :haha: :haha: :crackup: :crackup: Im sure he will want to thank you :crackup: :crackup:

Oh I just had the best Idear of all.. well actually this is all yur doin...I could co murderate the buildin bench and then I would have a good reasons to buy new parts and make another gun.... Zonie, you are just the smartest man... :master: :master:

 

[Zonie]

"...Now don't be tackin it all full of stars & moons, and fishes, and shamrocks, and curley squiggles and such. ..."

Ah, come on Stumpy. You know how much I like those doo-dads.
Why, the second thing I did (after smuggling it into the house) was to get my book HAWKENS RIFLES The Mountain Mans Choice out and there on page 32 is Mariano Modena's rifle with a Patch Box with pierced sideplates and what once was 5, not 4, but 5 5 pointed stars inlayed on that gun. (4 are missing but the inlet for them is still there).

Jus funnin with you guys!
Actually, my wife didn't even notice the new gun, and probably never will.
I don't plan on doing much of anything to this rifle except shooting it.
If the previous owner hadn't done such a nice job of finishing it, I would have started inlaying a steel Pineapple Side hinge patch box I've been keeping for years.
The finish is so nice, I don't want to screw it up, so, it will stay just plain. :boohoo:

This gun is also an example of how nice a muzzleloading bore and exterior can be kept. The Italian proof marks indicate it was made in 1985 and the bore is still bright.

 

[[email protected]]

Zonie, we really do appreceiate the great lenghts you go thru fer us....and all the sacrifice....and everything!!!

HOW CAN WE EVER REPAY YOU???

**** WV SCROUNGER *** :redthumb:

 

[Dave K]

Zonie, I got to know! I have a 50cal. GPR that I bought used about 1980. You mentioned that the proof marks on yours said it was made around 1985. How can you tell? I often wondered what year mine actually was made. Is there a ser. no. reference too?

 

[riarcher]

Zonie,
WWWHHHOOOOOO,,, Thank you!
(Someone had to do it. :says

 

[Bob J]

Zonie-
Enjoy the GPR, they're fun to shoot :front:

 

[Zonie]

Dave K: In the section called Muzzleloading Links are several different things to pick from dealing with proof marks.
One of these is for Black Powder replicas.

There will be a rectangular box on your barrel with either roman numberals or letters in it.
This quick link to our material on Italian Proof marks is here:

-->CLICK ME<--

It should tell you which year your gun was proofed. ::

 

[Dave K]

Hey, that was easy enough! Mine was proofed in 1979 (AE). Thanks!

 

[Zonie]

No problem! At's what us muderators do ta make the big bucks har. :crackup: :crackup:

Gettin back to this GPR, I suspect it will shoot low.
Whoever owned it last has the rear sight cranked up to the point that the screw is loose so the little folding leaf is just kinda floating there. I'm glad he wasn't a member of this forum, or he would have known these GPRs all seem to need to have the front sight filed down.
If he knew that, he most likely wouldn't have been selling it.

Speaking of the rear sight, it is one hel of a lot nicer than the humungous thing on my box-stock TC Hawken.
I do wish the box of stuff I got with this gun had the non-adjustable rear sight in it. Maybe they didn't offer those back in 1985?
In any case, I'll stick with the adjustable buckhorn for now. Maybe change it later on.

The Front Sight!! I know each of us have different ideas of what one of these things should be, but for me, I think it is about 1/2 inch too wide! ::
OK, it's about 1/16 inch too wide for my liking.
This thing measures .126 wide!! That's over 1/8 of an inch!!
I'm a shoot to the point of aim person and the bulls eye I use is about 3.10 inches in diameter.
A .126 wide sight, about 38 inches from my eye (when I'm aiming this gun) will cover up a bulls eye that is 3.15 inches in diameter if it is 50 yards away.
I guess I could just wait until the entire bottom half of the black dot dissapears behind the sight and then touch her off! ::
No wonder some of you folks are having trouble hitting that little 3X5 card. You have to wait until half of it disappears and then fire!
If I thin it down to about 1/16 wide with a gradual side taper, the tip of it will only cover about 1 1/2 inches of the target at 50 yards, and will still be wide enough for me to see.
I like seeing a little light on both sides of the front sight as I look thru the rear sight notch. (That could be why my best 50 yard groups are about 2 inches??) IMO, if the width of the front sight totally fills up the rear notch, I loose track of exactly where the front sight, and the rear sight really is pointing. It looks like one continous black bar to me when it does that. I can't aim 1/2 inch wide black bars accurately.

Did I mention the hammer isn't centered on the nipple? It is too far towards the center of the barrel, making the nipple seem too far out.
As I've mentioned before, up to a point, this will not effect a thing. We will see at the range this coming weekend.

Another thing I noticed is the edges of the rifleing grooves at the muzzle are quite sharp.
I can't help but wonder if some of the cut patches some of you folks are seeing out of your GPR's isn't caused by this. :: Sharp edges at the muzzle have been known to cut patches and this would cut them right where the ball meets the bore.
I think I'll just take a little 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper on the end of my finger to dull these edges up a little.
Let's call it preventive medicine.
I'll reblue the area with some instant cold blueing. (No, I'm not so PC I would refuse to use all of the stuff I have on hand to keep things looking tidy.)

The rear set trigger has one mean spring behind it! :shocking: It doesn't have to be that hard to cock to work OK, but for now I'll leave it alone.
The forward trigger had about 3/16 inch of fairly rough pull to it before it would release the set trigger.
It might be that these old triggers have longer adjustment screws, but by turning the screw in until the head almost touches the trigger plate, the rough trigger travel has been reduced to about a 1/16 inch pull. Not too bad for a factory gun. Sometime in the future, I think I will remove the trigger assembly and polish up the sear surfaces.

Too many things to do, so little time!!! First the gun show, then the shooting, then the tweeking the little things! Oh! Sorry!! We've been there, done that, havent we? ::

I'll keep you all informed of how things go.

 

I don't have the proof marks of mine right off hand, but mine was made right close to 1985, my dad bought it for me around 1988/9, and it came with a fixed rear sight that I still have, but have never put on the rifle.

You can still order the primitive rear sight that originally came with the rifle here: Lyman GPR Parts (as well as any other parts you might want/need/etc.)

 

[Bob J]

I do wish the box of stuff I got with this gun had the non-adjustable rear sight in it. Maybe they didn't offer those back in 1985?
In any case, I'll stick with the adjustable buckhorn for now. Maybe change it later on.

Zonie - i tried to send you a PM but it might not have gone thru; I have an extra fixed rear sight for my .54 GPR thats not being used. You can have it if you like.

 

[Zonie]

Bob J: I got the PM from you. Thanks for the offer.

Actually, thanks to several of you who offered their spare sights to me for free!
The members of this Forum have to be the best anywhere on the Net!!

I see other sites where the in thing to do is to slam or flame the other members.
I see this site where everyone is as helpful and generous and it totally blows my mind!!

Thanks again to everyone! :applause: :applause: :thumbsup:

 

[Catof9tails]

Zonie, you sound like a kid in a candy store, Hee Hee. I can't blame ya none, I'd be just as tickled to find such a gun as you described. I get a kick out of how you explained what you wanted to do with your new toy. But you can bet, your sins will find you out when the wife wonders what's up with all that new construction your doing, Hee Hee.

Good luck with your GPR. I'm sure you will be very satisfied. I don't shoot patch and ball ... yet, but my GP Hunter is fantastic! Have fun and make a lot of smoke!

Just the Cat

"And the Cat trots down the alley."

 

[Maynerd62411]

I see other sites where the in thing to do is to slam or flame the other members.
I see this site where everyone is as helpful and generous and it totally blows my mind!!

That's why we come here. :front: