New Member Asks If You Will Share Pics of Your Great Plains Rifle

[Mattole]

Hello Everyone -

I've just joined the forum today and am looking forward to learning from your vast knowledge and experience. Perhaps someday I'll know enough to be able to return the favor!

I'm very excited these days about getting a Lyman Great Plains Rifle Kit in .54. Do any of you have images of your GPR's that you have built and/or customized that you care to post? I would love to see them for inspiration..

By the way, how do I subscribe to a thread? Do I need to be a premium member to do that?

Many thanks,
Kevin

 

[GP1951]

Here is a kit GPR in .54 that I finished a couple of weeks ago. The stock is the one that came in the kit but it has some good figuring. It is finished with Tru-oil and no stain. I used naval jelly on the barrel and furniture.

It also looks like it will be a good shooter with a little load development and shooting time.

 

[Mattole]

That's a beautiful refinishing job on the stock you did! It's amazing what Tru-Oil can do..

I hope to order my GPR kit from a company that is willing to pick one out for me that has a nice stock to it (as well as all the necessary parts..).

Thanks for the photos.

 

[mykeal]

Fantastic job, GPR1951.

Here's mine, a .54 flinter finished two years ago. Herter's French Red Stain and Stock Filler, Laurel Mountain Forge Walnut stain, 5 coats of Tru Oil, 1 paste wax and 1 BC Stock Sheen. Metal was browned with BC's Plum Brown and then carded with 0000 steel wool.

 

[Mattole]

Fantastic job, GPR1951.

Here's mine, a .54 flinter finished two years ago. Herter's French Red Stain and Stock Filler, Laurel Mountain Forge Walnut stain, 5 coats of Tru Oil, 1 paste wax and 1 BC Stock Sheen. Metal was browned with BC's Plum Brown and then carded with 0000 steel wool.

Beautiful work! I can't wait to start on mine...

 

[Goldhunter]

Here's some of mine for ya.

Have fun with it! But warning, building is addictive. :thumbsup:

 

[robtattoo]

Here's my .54....
I bought it used last year & I've refinished all the metalwork. De-blued it with Birchwood Casey & then simply left the barrel & all furniture in the white. I'm letting it develop it's own patina with use & the more I shoot it, the prettier it gets! I knocked off the sharp edges from around the lock plate, added a couple of small detail 'stripes' I also fitted a set of Davis triggers (buy 'em now. The best $40 you'll spend on your GPR) & a primitive rearsight.

 

[Swampman]

 

[Mattole]

The proportions of this model rifle are just about the most pleasing that I have seen in any muzzleloader (so far). Beautiful work, gentlemen!

By the way, robtatoo, can you tell me more about the Davis triggers, and where you got them and the rear sight? I like them both! Oh - and great shooting!!!

 

[robtattoo]

Why thank you! :hatsoff:

Here's a link for R.E. Davis triggers.... http://www.redaviscompany.com/1007.html

The Deerslayer trigger assembly turns a very good rifle into a great rifle. Once the rear trigger is set, pulling the front trigger is like breaking a very thin, glass rod. There is absolutely no creep, no give, nothing. It can be set to shoot with the tiniest amount of pressure & has done more to improve my shooting than anything else.

The primitive rearsight is here....
Track of the Wolf

It takes a few minutes worth of filing to get it to fit the metric dovetail, but I found that the standard sights on the GPR had a lot of lateral play & would move themselves from shot to shot. Fitting this primitive sight did mean filing a LOT off the foresight though. It now stands about 3/16" tall, rather than the 1/2" or so it comes as standard. Took a lot of shooting to get it where I wanted it to be (2" high at 50 yards, dead on at 75, 2" low at 100)

Also, be aware (As I'm sure everyone will tell you) the GPR doesn't perform brilliantly until the barrel is well shot in. OK, but not brilliant, so don't be disappointed with your first few groups! You'll need to put a good 100+ balls downrange before it begins to sweeten up. If you manage to shoot a 3" 50yd group with your first 5 shots, it will tighten up to an inch or less by the time your at shots 100-105.

Enjoy the build, take your time & you'll have a frontstuffer that you can pass on to your grandkids! :wink:

 

[Mattole]

Many thanks for the information, robtatoo. I will definitely add those two items to my build.

 

[bucktales]

What they said. :thumbsup:
The factory finish was horrible on my factory built GPR. All open pores. So I stripped it, filled, sealed and whiskered the wood and i used a combination of Tung oil, mineral spirits and a touch of spar varnish. Several coats later, I was satisfied with the results. She pretty much sheds water.
Yep, the Davis triggers are sure sweet.

Here's a couple of pics of my GPR .54 showing the finish and a couple of critters taken with it.

 

[Mattole]

What they said. :thumbsup:
The factory finish was horrible on my factory built GPR. All open pores. So I stripped it, filled, sealed and whiskered the wood and i used a combination of Tung oil, mineral spirits and a touch of spar varnish. Several coats later, I was satisfied with the results. She pretty much sheds water.
Yep, the Davis triggers are sure sweet.

Wow - nice job on the stock and good shooting with the critters. I'm really looking forward to doing some serious pig hunting with the GPR once I have it built come late fall. Since the deer season ends late October here in northern California, venison gathering via roundball will have to wait until next year..

 

[GP1951]

I think this thread illustrates that even with a kit GPR there is a lot of variation in the walnut.

When you get your stock and have it sanded down to fit, pour some water on it and take it out in the sun wet. That will tell you whether you want to stain the stock. Not that all GPR stocks have figuring, I think almost all do not. But the water and sun test will show you whether you want to go darker on the stock with stain.

I had a batch of homemade vinegar and hacksaw blade stain ready but when I saw the wierd figuring on my stock when it was wet and in the sun, I put the stain aside. The figuring was not visible in the shade of my patio on the dry stock.

Good luck and keep us posted on your kit.

 

[Mattole]

Hey that's great advice on seeing the potential of the stock before applying stain - I will follow your suggestion!

As I said before I'm hoping to find a dealer for this kit that is willing to search through some of the boxes to find one that has an excellent stock. From what I am reading in other threads, I should also ask them to make sure all the parts are present and that they fit. Seems like the QC can be spotty with the GPR kits..

 

[Sham66]

Howdy!

Here's one I did. It was bought assembled, but I couldn't leave it alone.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/249710/

James

 

[hawk]

nice job fellas :thumbsup:

 

[Mattole]

Howdy!

Here's one I did. It was bought assembled, but I couldn't leave it alone.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/249710/

James

Very nice! I'm getting inspired now to try my hand at a little engraving and stock carving when I get my kit..

 

[Kentuckywindage]

.54cal that i built from a kit,No Stain, just a bunch of hand rubbed linseed oil on the stock.

 

[Mattole]

Beautiful work, Kentuckywindage!

It would appear that the locks on the Great Plains flintlocks are engraved, while the locks on the percussion versions of the rifle are plain, am I correct?