Lyman GPR w/peep sights, musket caps...

[TexasMLer]

Hello,

I have a Lyman GPR and would like to improve the sights a bit. I am considering the Lyman 57GPR peep sight. Do any of you use this sight on your rifle and, if so, do you like it? Does it improve sight picture? Is it a good hunting sight?
I am currently using the adjustable rear sight that came on the rifle. I am open to suggestions.

Also, I was wondering if any of you had converted your GPR to use musket caps. Can it be done? Is it even worth considering? I haven't had a huge problem with misfires; just the occasional misfire only when using CCI #11 caps. It would be nice to prevent misfires altogether.

Thanks!!

 

[Maynerd62411]

I also had trouble with the CCI #11 caps. The paper would plug the nipple. I now use Remington #11 caps and I never have a problem. They seem to be a little "hotter" to me.
As far as switching to musket caps, the Lyman has the 6mmX.75 thread on it's nipples that can be a little hard to find .

 

[Zonie]

I think you will find any peep sight a little marginal for hunting in the early or late part of the day because it cuts down on the amount of light which gets to your eye.
On a moving target it also limits the width of view you get.
Of course if you are willing to give up a little accuracy, you can drill the hole out to a larger size. That helps a lot.

IMO the big advantage of the peep sight is it will make the front sight and the target a much sharper image. This is important if your eyesight is not what it used to be.
The peep sight can be faster to get "on target" because all your mind has to think about is the front sight and where you want to hit.

IMO the CCI #11 caps are "good" but if your having misfires, I would suggest buying either regular RWS or CCI Magnum caps.
The problem with changing to a musket cap is the hollow area in the nose of the hammer is not sized for them. Due to this, the alignment (or mis-alignment) of the hammer and nipple become critical with the larger caps.
My recommendation is to stick with the #11 and buy the CCI Magnum caps. They cost less than the Musket caps and are more available too!

 

I have and had and will have again Lyman No. 57 sites on my GPR their great for target shooting and hunting during the day but there not worth a darn at dusk for dawn. The reason I take them off, they are not allowed at the black powder shoots that I attend. When it comes to No. 11 caps if you are having ignition problems it is probably because the powder degrading because of lubrication around the nipple or the use of pellets "which he is a no-no and sidelocks" I hope this help you.

 

[TexasMLer]

Thanks for your replies!

DavidS
I also like the Remington caps for their reliability much better than the CCI caps. My problem is that the people who live near me caught on to that fact and tend to buy-up all of the Remington caps before I can get to the store! When I arrive at the store, usually only the CCI caps are left.

Zonie
I was afraid that the peep sight might limit visibility in the morning and at dusk but wasn't sure because I've never used them. Where I hunt it is always dark because of the thick canopy of oaks and pines.
You know, I hadn't even considered the hammer-to-nipple alignment with the musket nipple on a GPR - good point.


Roaddog
I've never used the pellets because it doesn't seem that it would be very easy to work-up a good load with them. Besides, I like blackpowder b/c it is what I am used to and I don't like change too much.

 

[lonewolf5347]

TexasMLer I have a GPR and one big problem was trying to find the correct nipple,seem the shorter the overall height of the nipple the better the igniton.I found that even the stock nipple from lyman is too tall and the no#11 caps have to be squeezes to stay on,a pain in the b--t.
I had ordered a couple of nipple from thunder ridge ,took two trys to get the correct nipple,other nipples like Knight,Uncle Mikes hot shot nipples are to long.
I also find that RWS 1075 caps are the hottest and work great.
I myself just ordered a rear peep for my t/c flinter I think it will also fit the lyman GPR ,talking with other guys who use the peep a front fiber optic sight work great in those late evening shots,

 

[TexasMLer]

LoneWolf5347
I also noticed that it is hard to find a nipple for the Lyman. I ordered two packs of 3 from Lyman directly. Do you think it would be ok to file the top of the nipple down a bit? I wonder if that would cause problems with the way caps fit. Since I will have 6 spare nipples, I might try to file one of them down and see how it works.
I also ordered several spare clean-out screws. Those things are tiny and I'm sure I'll lose one at some point. Heck, I can't hold on to a pair of nice sunglasses for more than a month or two!
I would like to try the RWS caps but I can't find them anywhere. Maybe I can mail-order some.
If I do order the peep sight I will also need a new front sight and it sounds like fibre-optic is the way to go. How tall should the front sight be? Thanks!

 

[Zonie]

Filing the top of the nipple down to get better alignment with the face of the hammer won't hurt a thing. Just keep the top surface perpendicular to the axis of the nipple.

After you have filed it, try a few caps on it to make sure they still fit. Because the nipple is tapered, when you remove material from the end, you are in a sense enlarging the nipple body (at least that what the cap thinks your doing).

If it doesn't seem like it seats like it should, you can chuck the nipple in an electric drill holding the nipple by the body only, not the threads.

Use a fine file, held at an angle the same as the old nipple body is machined at. Start the drill at a slow speed (if this is an option) and gently file the cone down. Stop often to check on the cap fit.

When the cap is fitting snugly, just lightly break the sharp corner where the nipple cone surface meets the top surface of the nipple. You want just enough break to remove the sharp edge, not enough to remove the top surface.

 

I have 3 Lymans, a GPR flinter in .54 roundballer, and a GPH in fast twist .54 bullet shooter. Both have the Lyman peep sight.
My little Lyman Deerstalker .50 will have a Lyman peep on it soon.
Don't be concerned about low light conditions with the peep sight.
I learned long ago to unscrew the tiny apature (sp?) and use the big hole as the peep. It's very much like the now popular "ghost ring" sights.
For hunting purposes the big hole lets in plenty of light and is a great improvement over the sights that come with the rifle.

 

[TexasMLer]

Zonie
Sounds like you have done that before. :: I think I will give it a try. Thanks for the information!

Maxiball
Since I have never used a peep sight, I have a few questions if you don't mind...
When you unscrew the aperture part to use the larger hole, does your accuracy suffer a lot?
How should the sight picture look?
Is it easy to center the front sight in the peep hole?
Is focusing easier when using a peep sight? (eyesight is the main reason I want to switch to the peep)
Did you replace your front sight?
How tall should the front sight be?
Thanks! Sorry for all the questions. ::

 

TexasMLer:
Never, ever be sorry for asking questions. That's how we learn things. Everyone learns something for the first time once. (HUH? :
Anyway, to answer your inquiry.
You ignore the rear sight completely. No one can focus on two objects at the same time when they are not at the same distance.
Your eye/mind will center the front sight in the middle of the blurred rear apature (hole, ring, whatever).
Of course the smaller the hole, the finer sight picture you will have, but I've found no handicap to using the larger hole that the apature screws into. Just unscrew the apature, and they come in different sizes, and use the big ring as the peep. No, accuracy for hunting purposes, will NOT be affected.
When I replaced my rear with a peep, I bought both the peep and front sight as a set. The front sights I bought were the matching target front sights, hooded, with inserts.
That IS a handicap in the hunting field. The hooded front sight will affect your ability to see the all important front sight in low light.
For hunting I'd recomment NOT getting the front target sight with the hood. That's fine for target shooting, but not in the woods.
I'm thinking your peep will have plenty of adjustment so you likely can use the existing front sight.
If your front is the type with the white bead then that's a good one for hunting, if a blade, then I'd buy the Lyman front sight with the white bead or "globe" as you can see that very well in the woods.
Remember that the dovetails on the Lyman rifles are NOT standard size with American dovetails, they are slightly smaller so be sure that whatever you buy for the front will fit the European dovetail slot in the barrel.
You can order direct from Lyman if you want. I think you can plug "Lyman" into your search engine and find the correct site( pun alert! :
Please ask the forum anything you want.

 

[lonewolf5347]

http://www.thunder-ridge-muzzleloading.com/sights.htm#hunt
hope this opens,here is the lyman front sight

 

[Deadeye]

Thanks, Lonewolf for that website. they have a front sight that I've been looking for and couldn't find.

 

[TexasMLer]

Maxiball
Thanks for answering all my questions!
I think I will go ahead and order the 57GPR sight and see how it works. For now, I will keep the existing front sight and put a dab of white paint on the tip and give that a try. Hopefully my eyes will like the peep better than the buckhorn.
I'll post a report after I have a change to try it out. Thanks again!

Lonewolf
Thanks for the link to the front sight! If I find that I do need to get a front sight, that one will definitely be the one.

 

[strongarm]

I have Lyman's peep site on my .50 GPH and it is very nice for small game and target shooting. I have used it too on deer hunting but it is a little dark early in the morning. On the other hand it is also very fast once you get used to using it.

Lyman does not recommend using a musket cap conversion to their guns. Don't know why and they won't say.

tom

 

[Zonie]

TexasMLer: Don't be too suprised that the help you get from the small hole peep sight doesn't seem to be there when you remove the aperture.
The small aperture permits your eye to focus better on near and distant things at the same time. That is why target shooters like them. The larger the hole, the less this works.

 

[TexasMLer]

Well, I have great news! Since I last wrote, I received my peep sight and I had a chance to go to the range for a few hours after work today. The results were very good.

After I got the sight zeroed, every shot was inside the 2" orange circle at 50 yds. Some groups were just one big hole. In fact, I had to change targets often because I couldn't tell where some of the shots were going. That felt good. That is the best I have done with a muzzleloader and, by far, the most consistently I have shot with one.

I used a fresh target to see how removing the small-holed aperture would effect accuracy. Removing the aperture does effect accuracy. My groups increased to about 3" at 50yds with a few fliers out to 4". I then tried the other aperture that came with the sight - the one with a slightly bigger hole. The groups closed again and almost all shots were inside the 2" orange circle at 50 yds.

I probably won't be able to use the smallest-holed aperture when hunting, but the other one might work. I won't really know until I try. If I can't use either aperture, I'm confident that I could make clean, ethical shots of 50 yds or closer with the open hole. More range time will help.

My front sight is tall enough and a dab of white paint on the trailing edge of the sight works great.

Thanks for your replies! They were all very helpful!