Joined the GPR club!

[aprayinbear]

:thumbsup:

Finally joined the GPR club. I put together the .50 cal percussion kit. No fancy inlays, no major changes, but I did use an aged finish on the barrel and other hardware, and finished the stock with mahogany stain and oil. I know its not historically perfect, but it sure looks great in my eyes. And wow!, she is a shooter. I love the weight and feel of her in my hands. Even with my aging eyes I've been able to shoot some pretty decent groups. Can't wait to get back to the range. I wanted a gun I could use for off hand target shooting and I think I made the right choice indeed! I chose the .50 because it's cheaper to shoot and probably a little less recoil when out for a day of shooting at the range.

I've found that she shoots quite well with patched (ole' tee shirt) .490 ball and FFF black powder. CCI #11 caps fit real tight so I have to make sure they are well seated or I'll get a ftf. At 25 yards she shoots a few inches below center. I want to try shooting a 50 before adjusting the sights.

I know there are 100's of these fine guns out there, but she still seems special to me. If you are considering one, I'd definitely say go for it. You won't regret it.

Happy Shooting! :v

 

[killer]

looks great. i shot mine for the first time this weekend. they are great guns.

 

[flinthead]

I like the finish on your stock! Next paycheck I am going to pick up a very nice used GPR, if it isn't sold before I get there.

 

[Mulebrain]

Well made, great guns!

I have the same rifle in .50 and a flinter in .54.

Who cares about historically correct! Your having a blast! :thumbsup:

 

[NRAJOE]

Nice...I want one.

Handled a couple Lymans at Cabela's bargain cave...liked the way they felt.

 

[Snakebite]

If I were going to buy a production gun, it would be a GPR. The one's I've seen have all been shooters. Historically Correct?? I have a book which has a lot of plains rifles from the 1840s up, and IMO, the GPR is a half stock plains rifle, just as advertised and from the outside appearance, would fit right in with an 1850s plains rifle. Shoot it and have fun. That's what it's really all about. :hatsoff:

 

[Mongo40]

I also finally finished mine last week, put it all together Sunday morning, went to a shoot at the club that after noon and got 2nd place with it, think its a keeper.

 

[cowpoke1955]

They are a great gun, not to mention for a good price. My first black powder rifle was a .54 GPR percussion. I bought it almost 30 years ago and she still shoots straight. My wife bought me a .54 GPR flint kit a few years back and it is a real tack driver. When you get done with the range, that GPR makes a fine deer rifle. Congradulations :thumbsup:

 

[JPShelton]

Welcome to the Fraternal Order of the GPR!

I have a factory built .50 and for me, it was love at first trigger squeeze. I had been led to expect 4" to 5" groups at 100 yards with a traditionally styled caplock rifle. I wasn't prepared for three consecutive shots making nice clover leaf patterns on the target paper, but that's what mine has been doing for going on two decades.

Early on, I replaced the factory nipple with an aftermarket unit. I also had an extra hole drilled and tapped into the tang for the now-discontinued T/C Creedmore sight (which I didn't care for as much as I thought I would). This was mated with a Lyman globe front sight.

I made a blade front sight out of steel and German silver. This is currently on the rifle along with the factory "primative" back sight. I still get great acurracy at the 100 yard line as I did with the Creedmore style setup, but this current arrangement is more appropriate for close quarters deer hunting around my Tahlequah, OK hometown. I also had the snail clean out hole slightly enlarged to accomidate a bigger, more tool-friendly plug screw.

Mine shoots real well with a CCI #11 Magnum cap, a volumetric 70 grain charge of Pyrodex P, and a Hornady .490" ball patched with pre-cut blue striped pillow ticking patches lightly lubed with Bore Butter or olive oil.

It shoots about the same with an equal charge of FFFg Goex.

It gets pretty good groups with a volumetric 60 grain charge of FFg Triple 7, too.

If the original poster enjoys his GPR even half as much as I've enjoyed mine over the years, he is sure to consider the capital outlay required to purchase it to have been money well spent.

-JP

 

[Billnpatti]

:2 I'll have to add my two cents worth to what each of y'all have had to say about your GPRs. I, too, have a .50 cal. caplock GPR and mine is a very good shooter, too. They are a sweet gun that shoots a lot better than I do. :grin:

 

[dbutch]

Nice looking rifle, could you share what type-of aged finish you used on the metal? I have one and really like the finish on yours,Congrats on the new rifle it looks like fun!

 

[jbtusa]

Great choice for a shooting iron! The GPR's are phenomenal shooters for a production gun. I found that I like the primitive rear sight the best. Enjoy!

 

[cmdrted]

I can only echo what others have posted. Excellant rifles, I have both flint and percussion in 50 and can keep them in a quarter at 50yds off the bench. The better news is they both take the same diameter balls and patches to do it. Also if you are just hunting paper, 50 gr of 3f is mild and accurate at the same time. My only "gripe" ith the GPR is the trigger gaurd is awkward for my short wide hand, it hasn't found a postion of comfort yet for offhand shooting. I have a replacement assortment ordered from TOW and Eekbay to see if I can make a great rifle perfect!

 

[R.M.]

cmdrted
I had the same problem with the trigger guard. I've replaced it with one from TOW with some major changes. It's not totally finished, so I can't say that it's any better, but I suspect it is.

 

[aprayinbear]

To achieve the aged finish on the metal I used supermarket bleach straight from the bottle. I applied the bleach cold and liberally with a cotton rag. Since it was not necessary to submerge the barrel, it was not necessary to plug the muzzle and vent when applied. I was just careful to avoid those areas.

I wanted to avoid boiling the bleach as is often recommended and found that the cold bleach was plenty corrosive.

After applying, I let the bleach do its work on the metal for about 30 minutes. If necessary it is easy to add another coat or touch up a small area as needed. Afterwords, I rinsed in water, dried with a clean cloth and then carded the rust with gun oil and steel wool. Very easy, no messy fumes and I love the results.

For the lock I just used steel wool to remove most of the bluing which left a nice gray, burnished finish. Once again I followed with oil and wiped clean.

As for the stock; I thought about trying to age the wood, but settled on a clean finish with a warm lustre. I think it really matches the metal and so far anyone who has seen the gun loves the results. For the stock I used some dark mahogany stain I had laying around which seemed to even out the walnut coloring without making it too red. Once it was dry I added several coats of Lundmark floor finish (tung oil). I was a furniture maker for many years and in my opinion Lundmark is the best of the "oil finishes" (it's also cheaper). I think Lowes sells it. If you want a glossy finish you'll have to use more coats then some of the other brands, but Lundmark penetrates much deeper and tends to better show the grain of the wood. I completed the finish with steel wool and wax.

Hope this helps..... All the best! :hatsoff:

 

[Bob J]

Mongo40 - That is a really nice lookin' GPR! Thanks for posting the photos :thumbsup:

 

[Bob J]

Beautiful job on the GPR! Great lookin AND great shootin' :hatsoff:

 

[Houchins]

You did a fine job :thumbsup:

 

[dbutch]

Thanks for the metal finish info!