Question about perc to flint conversion

[Larry (Omaha)]

My son in law has a Lyman GP percussion. I know nothing about his gun except it shoots very well. He is asking what the process would be to change it to flint. There is a Track replacement lock. Will he have to change the barrel or can he get a flint breech plug?
Thanks
Flintlocklar :hmm:

 

[Ames]

Well, by the time you change out a Lyman lock, and overpriced Lyman barrel, or mess around with aftermarket parts that don't just "drop in" .....
I would leave that good shooting cap gun alone and pick up a twin in flint. :2

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I agree, but you talk to my son in law :rotf:

 

[Kansas Jake]

Plus, buying a new or used flintlock means he has one more smoke pole. That is never bad.

 

[nwtradegun]

tell him it will cost about 300-325 to do it.

 

[Davemuzz]

For that kind of $$$$, he would be better off picking up a used flinter as suggested above.

Then he could sell his existing cap lock if it's a matter of $$$$.....or just begin his "collection." :grin:

 

[mooman76]

I did it years back with an old Jukar rifle. That was pretty much before internet. Also I didn't have to replace the breech plug because the design id different. It cost me about $100 to do the job. This was 30 years ago so I ended up spending almost what the gun cost and I didn't buy that great of a lock because I didn't know any better at the time. If I had bought a good lock, I could have easily spent more than the gun was worth at the time.

Money isn't everything but the smart choice would be either buy a second M/L or sell the one he has to buy a replacement.

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

Convince him to sell it to you so that he can use the money to buy a new flintlock or used one in excellent shape. Then when he is moaning and groaning in a month or two on how he misses the ol' percussion, you already have a birthday or Christmas present lined up for him. :wink:

 

[necchi]

There is a Track replacement lock.

Sure, there is a replacement lock.

have to change the barrel or can he get a flint breech

There is a replacement breech plug available.

So, Ok, you have that info.
Do you or your son-in-law have the ability to make the change? If not,, then your going to have to pay labor to do it.
You/he can buy a breech plug and fit it. You/he can buy a new barrel. You/he can buy a new lock.
Or you can just buy a different rifle.
Bottom line is how to spend the money and what your time is worth.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I put in a RPL lock on a TC Renegade, you have to have some serious gun building skills to make this swap, the L&R lock I used wasn't even close to a drop in.

 

[MSW]

is it technically possible? yes, most probably - unless Lyman has the weird interlocking percussion drum/breech plug system; if so, you run a good risk of buggering it up trying to get it apart. ”¦ then there's the question of the alignment of the perc. drum (or rather where it used to be) and where you want the touch hole to go ”¦ then there's the question of where the timing of the new flint breech plug on the old barrel ”¦ the flats not only have to line up, but you have to make the correct flat line up so the sights are up and the ramrod hardware is down ”¦

ah, heck ”¦ just get a new barrel and a new lock, and then you can get the touch hole lined up where it needs to be....


cha ching



save up your soda can money and buy a new flinter


OK - that's my tirade for tonight

:wink:

 

[tireland]

I did it to a CVA Mountain Rifle last year. I built it in the mid 70's. I bought a L&R rpl lock and vent liner. I cut the drum off at the barrel, drilled and tapped it to fit the vent liner and was done. Shoots fine. Total cost was under $200.

 

[eggwelder]

I did it to a CVA Mountain Rifle last year. I built it in the mid 70's. I bought a L&R rpl lock and vent liner. I cut the drum off at the barrel, drilled and tapped it to fit the vent liner and was done. Shoots fine. Total cost was under $200.

This. it`s not rocket science. if the lock is not a "drop in" make sure that the plate is larger than the original. TOTW sells locks less than $200. do what you want. you will probably succeed at it but there`s a chance it might get screwed up. its a CVA, Don`t know why everyone gets so worked up about them all the time. they are an inexpensive gun with a huge stigma attached to them, although I`m probably too young to understand it. when you fix one up its a waste of money cause its a POS CVA, when you want to convert one, its "don`t do that, get another, it`s a CVA, a fine rifle"

I have two CVA`s and both are more accurate than my investarms or the custom flinter I have. they are more accurate than I am. both were $200 CDN and I would not hestitate to do any sort of work on them, even converting.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, there's nothing wrong with a CVA unless we're talking about the ones made back in the 1970's with the really crappy locks.

There is also nothing wrong with improving them by installing a newly made lock from people like L&R who sell replacement locks if it is being done by the owner and he/she never wants to sell the gun.

Likewise, modifying the gun to convert it from percussion to flintlock is fine if the owner never wants to sell the gun.

If the owner expects to ever sell the improved/modified gun, that is when adding money to the gun becomes questionable.

Anyone who knows anything about muzzleloading rifles knows that CVA was an inexpensive gun and they probably sold a zillion of them.

They can be found for very low prices so no one will want to pay $375 for a $175 rifle with a $200 lock on it, let alone pay $400 to give the owner a $50 profit.

This is the reason many people say putting work or money into a CVA is a waste of time.

 

[eggwelder]

i don't know. i guess I've never sold a gun, nor ever plan to. maybe thats where the thinking comes from. i traded one once, for another gun, and have regrets.......
i guess what I'm trying to say is that to me its a hobby. gun building for most here is a hobby. No one wants to spend $1000 on parts and end up with a $200 gun, but you can spend $200 on a $200 gun, buy a $150 lock, still end up with a $200 gun, have had some fun doing the conversion, probably learned a thing or two, and end up with whatever ignition shooter you were looking for. if you have to sell it then part it out, you'll get your money back mostly.
the venerable CVA is generally the guns most can afford to mess around with, if it gets ruined, nothing is really lost other than a couple hundred bucks, and you'll still be able to part that out. most of us here have spent more on stupider things. if the gun gets messed up, and they are fairly easily replaced. if it works and lots good, great.
My .45 is one of those 70`s ones but the lock is pretty good. it could have been replaced sometime before i got it. will i ever convert it? i don't know, it crosses my mind, but if i decide to i`ll do it.

 

[Ames]

"most of us here have spent more on stupider things."
Amen to that one, brother. :bow:

 

[mooman76]

I converted my CVA Kentucky years ago before internet and before I knew of the differences in locks. It fired fine as far as I remember with a Traditions flint lock. I haven't shot it since but plan on soon after I retire and can concentrate more on getting up to speed, flint lock wise. It was my first ML so if it needs a better lock, I wouldn't have a problem replacing it or fixing it better.