Kansan:
I recently obtained a left hand flint GPR, and the wedges supplied were both the same length, with the rear wedge too short to engage the escutcheon. These wedges were just barely long enough to engage the front escutcheon. These wedges are also, in my opinion, much too blunt on the end. An email to Lyman requesting a proper length rear wedge resulted in receiving another short one.
I ordered two replacement wedges from Track Of The Wolf, then fitted them to my rifle. The new wedges have a four sided taper on the end, and were shortened enough so that only the tapered part sticks out. I left just enough full thickness to engage the left side escutcheon.
Avoid hammering on the Lyman wedges! That blunt, squared off end can catch on the inside of the escutcheon and bend it outward. If you ask how I know this, the answer is obvious- I did it! "Get a bigger hammer" is not always good advice. Get an ignition point file at Checker, Pep Boys, Auto Zone. etc, and use it to fit things up for a heavy thumb push fit. You may have to adjust the barrel loop tension once in a while to maintain this tension. I do this by laying the side of a short piece of 1" steel round against the outside of the loop, then tapping with a hammer as I move the bar forward and back. Go slow, it's worth taking ten minutes to do this right.
When filing front sights I protect the adjacent metal with duct tape. I also cover the muzzle with tape- filings are hardened, and I don't want them in the barrel! When filing, stroke from rear to front, and be sure to maintain a steady downward curve from rear to front. I recommend using a caliper as a depth mic. Start with the Lyman sight three clicks up from bottom. File off 30 thou or so, and fire five. Continue this until you hit point of aim.
The steel wool idea gives me the willies. First thing to do with a new rifle is get all the preservative gunk out of the barrel. It is tenacious, must be half grease and half road asphalt. I go outside, submerge the breech end in a tomato can half full of Coleman Fuel, and pump a patch up and down many times. Change solvent a couple of times. Then protect with a patch lightly wet with Ballistol or similar.
Many factory barrels are a bit rough inside. I prefer to fire lap with abrasive loaded bullets. Marmotslayer posted a truly excellent discussion of this at post # 661182. I urge you to get some 54 caliber Minie-type bullets from Track, and then get the abrasive kit from Midway. Steels used in muzzleloader barrels are not very hard, so use only the two finer grades of abrasive. I recommend ten rounds with the middle grade, and twenty with the finer grade.
Enjoy tinkering with your rifle! It's a good part of the fun of muzzleloading. When I get too grumpy for my spouse to tolerate, she tells me to go fondle my bullets.
Regards,
White Fox