Range Report with new GPR

[HardBall]

Though it wasn't the best day at the range; temps around 100F, I stuck a ball, I lost my bore guide to my aluminum range rod, I only got about 25 shots in ...at least I didn't shoot my chrono!

I can tell my new Lyman .50 GPR is going to be a real shooter! What I found odd was how NON finicky it seems. Even with it's new, probably a little rough, bore, cutting patches and all... It didn't matter whether I shot 40g of 2F or 110gr of 2F with a .490 ball, it shot 3-shot groups of 1 3/4" to 2" @ 50yds with the single exception of a 60gr load of 2F, which shot groups about 1 1/4" @ 50yds.

I couldn't use my 'ticking patches yet because the load seemed too tight with a .490" ball. With a standard, cotton .015" pre-cut patch and a .490" ball, it was already a very snug fit. I've always found these patches to cut very easily on other rifles, so I was hopeful that I could use 'ticking with a .490 ball- oh well.

As my bore breaks in, do you guys think I'll ever be able to use the stronger 018" pillow ticking patches with a .490 ball without having to use a hammer to seat the ball?

 

[roundball]

As my bore breaks in, do you guys think I'll ever be able to use the stronger 018" pillow ticking patches with a .490 ball without having to use a hammer to seat the ball?

Sounds like you have a shooter...and no, if you're having to hammer in an .018" patch, I'd be very surprised if you'll see enough wear to allow them to seat normally.

If the .018" patches you have are TC prelubed pillow ticking, PM me if you want to swap bags of them for bags of regular .015" prelubed patches...I prefer the .018" pillow ticking in my TC barrels and have a lot of .015" on hand.

 

[Bob Riegl]

I hate when that happens---you go someplace and right away you do something small that kind of flavours the day with a tinge of sour. I have had my GPR perc for a goodly number of years and it's always been my "go-to" gun. Very reliable and hopefully always will be, and I don't think that bore is rough at all. I have never had to use a rubber mallet on the ball to start seating, as the short starter does a good job. The 0.490 ball an 0.015 patch combo is what makes the grade over here as well. I have some of that .018 ticking material from Jo-Ann's and frankly I have only two guns where I can use it. Most probably the muzzle will open up a wee bit---or you could try coning the muzzle---never have done it so I cannot help there. Enjoy the GPR--- :front:

 

[HardBall]

If the .018" patches you have are TC prelubed pillow ticking, PM me if you want to swap bags of them for bags of regular .015" prelubed patches...I prefer the .018" pillow ticking in my TC barrels and have a lot of .015" on hand.

Yes I've had a bag of T/C pre-lubed .018" 'ticking patches forever... I just haven't found a gun where I can actually use them.

I'm going to buy a couple yards of Wal-Mart 'ticking and mic it tonight to see if it's .018" as well.

 

[Rebel]

I used the Blue/White Wal-Mart ticking in all the GRR's i've had, both .50 and .54 cal's. Never had a problem with it being to tight.

 

[Bob J]

With those kind of groups, stick with the patches that work :grey: If she loosens up a bit 300 shots or so from now (mine did), then go the pillow ticking. :imo:

 

[Shooey]

HardBall -
I just finished a GPR kit (.50 perc) and use the .490 ball and Wal-Mart ticking. I cannot push the ball down with one smooth push, I do it in short strokes that are easy. Goes down in maybe 3 strokes.

I tried a muslin material with .495 balls but it is too thin, catches fire. Maybe I need something thicker than the muslin and thinner than the ticking?

My first time out I got 3" groups at 50 yards off a bench, using 80gr of Goex 2F. The patches were looking good so now I'm fiddling with loads to shrink the group some.

My suggestion is to try a little JB bore paste so your barrel doesn't cut patches. Keep us posted!

-Shooey

 

[hobbles]

Mornin HardBall, I have to disagree with roundball on this one,
(and no, if you're having to hammer in an .018" patch, I'd be very surprised if you'll see enough wear to allow them to seat normally.)

I got a new 1 in 66 barrel from T/C and could NOT use ,018 patches,, for bout 800 shots, I would have to use .015, and if I used any thing over 50 grns, it would smoke em. I had a lot of problems,, at first, A .018 patch would not go in, Now,, that's all I use and I am up to 90 grains and it is shootin fine, Now, don't get me wrong bout roundball, That man knows T/C.s, and I use darn near every thing else that man has told me to use/try, I have also found that my weapon likes wonderlube and 3in1 oil mixed 50/50, I can shoot all day and not clean it, (It takes me a hour or better to clean it when I get back to the habitat as it is), When I put it in the cabinet, it looks just like when T/C put it in the box for shippin, and it has paid off, I went from hittin the target next to the one I was aimin at to keepin them in the 2 " circle, I will get it better,
As for the cuttin the patches, I believe it was stumpkiller that said to run toothpaste up and down my barrel 30 times to take the sharp out, It worked, TOOTHPASTE!! Oh well,, that's my 02 here, I'm not new at shootin blackpowder, But I AM new at doin it right,,,,,

 

[HardBall]

I believe it was stumpkiller that said to run toothpaste up and down my barrel 30 times to take the sharp out, It worked, TOOTHPASTE!! Oh well,, that's my 02 here, I'm not new at shootin blackpowder, But I AM new at doin it right,,,,,

I asked about using toothpaste once for the exact reasons you mentioned, but got told to use the right tools for the job instead of home remedies. Glad someone actually did my dirty work for me and tried it!

 

[Richard Allen]

Hardball, why not take your micrometer to WalMart and measure the material before you buy it?

I always spend an hour or so measuring material and recording the measurement on the end of the bolt. Then I buy one third of a yard of cotton material from several bolts of material that are different thicknesses. Before I wash the samples, I measure each one again and write the measurement near one end of each piece. After washing and drying the material I measure it again and write the last measurement below the first. The last measurement is usually thicker than the first. Then I go to the range and experiment with the different samples until I find the one that works best for me. Then I go back to WalMart as soon as possible, find the bolt of material that worked best, and buy however much I can afford.

One important tip about selecting samples is to only measure materials from bolts with a lot of fabric on them. I once found a sample that worked great in my .62 Tulle and when I went back the bolt was gone. It took a long time to find another sample that was the same thickness after it was washed and dried.

For what its worth,
Richard/Ga.

 

[HardBall]

Hardball, why not take your micrometer to WalMart and measure the material before you buy it?

Because that would be the smart thing to do?


The Wal-Mart ticking I bought measures .018" unwashed.

I also mic'd my .490" swaged lead balls. The Speer swaged balls I was shooting Sunday mic'd .489~.491 but the Hornadys, as sampled from three 100ct boxes, were all over the place. They would go from .485" to .495" as I measured different sides of the ball. Perhaps they got banged around too much in shipping?

No matter though, I've ordered a double cavity .490 mould, so I'll just melt the Hornady's into cast balls.

 

Though it wasn't the best day at the range; temps around 100F, I stuck a ball, I lost my bore guide to my aluminum range rod, I only got about 25 shots in ...at least I didn't shoot my chrono!

I can tell my new Lyman .50 GPR is going to be a real shooter! What I found odd was how NON finicky it seems. Even with it's new, probably a little rough, bore, cutting patches and all... It didn't matter whether I shot 40g of 2F or 110gr of 2F with a .490 ball, it shot 3-shot groups of 1 3/4" to 2" @ 50yds with the single exception of a 60gr load of 2F, which shot groups about 1 1/4" @ 50yds.

I couldn't use my 'ticking patches yet because the load seemed too tight with a .490" ball. With a standard, cotton .015" pre-cut patch and a .490" ball, it was already a very snug fit. I've always found these patches to cut very easily on other rifles, so I was hopeful that I could use 'ticking with a .490 ball- oh well.

As my bore breaks in, do you guys think I'll ever be able to use the stronger 018" pillow ticking patches with a .490 ball without having to use a hammer to seat the ball?

I don't have any experience with 50 caliber GPR's. But if they are anything like the 54's, then you're going to want to up that load to 80 grains. The 54's like it hot. As for being tight, what sort of lead are you using? On the few balls I manage to recover from my .54, you could see the weave of the patch imprinted where the lands gripped the patch.

Just :m2c:

 

[Old40Rod]

how NON finicky it seems.

Ditto with my .50 GPR. I have only found one thing it does not like... store bought prelubed (bore butter type) patches. 5 shots and loading is a chore.

My GPR performs better with Goex than Pyro, but that is not something I have found to be limited to my GPR.

 

[peeweet]

My GPR prefers 90grs of pyro RS select .495 balls and .015 patchs.This combo gives me clover leafs or better off the bench at 50 yds.I use wonder wads between the charge and PRB, this cut the size of my groups in half,maybe the fact that I'm up to around 700 to 800 balls through it now helps. ::

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

I don't have any experience with 50 caliber GPR's. But if they are anything like the 54's, then you're going to want to up that load to 80 grains. The 54's like it hot. As for being tight, what sort of lead are you using? On the few balls I manage to recover from my .54, you could see the weave of the patch imprinted where the lands gripped the patch.

Likewise for me too, no GPR 'xperience in .50cal, but the .54cal--that is ONE fabulous muzzleloader! So, I have no doubts about the .50cal being equally as good. I don't really have a "plinking load" for this gun either. If I want to practice with a large bore gun, I use typical hunting loads. For "playing" I'll switch over to a .32, or (better yet) a .36cal rifle, IF I want a 40gr load of powder--or less...

90 - 95grs of FFg seems to be the optimum load for this .54 GPR and I am hearing that a LOT from other .54 GPR owners. It is plainly obvious that this "roundball twist" rifle tends to like it's loads on the heavy side. It can shoot quite nicely with as low as 50gr, but group size opens up by a factor of 2x - 3x. Even though this is plenty good for whitetails at (my) typical heavy cover range of 35yds and less, BUT I'd much rather have those 1.5" groups anyday... anyone here who wouldn't?

BTW, I also miked the thickness of the Wal-Mart Blue/White ticking and found it to be right about 0.018" BUT (at least at my local W-M, they also have (had?) a thinner Blue/White material (very close to 0.010") that I have used in other guns, (or as a wadded up "patch protector") It has a bad propensity for unravelling though--got to use a light touch with that.

Just curious though... how many of you pre-lube your patches--especially those that are thicker than 0.015"??? Also, has anyone come up with a better method for loading a tight fitting patch & ball combination? I should post that as another topic... think I will!

ALWAYS use a BIG enough gun & remember to shoot safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[HardBall]

As for being tight, what sort of lead are you using? On the few balls I manage to recover from my .54, you could see the weave of the patch imprinted where the lands gripped the patch.

Just :m2c:

I was shooting .490, plain lead, swaged balls from Speer. I've also got 300 Hornady's but they aren't very uniform at all. I think these were just a bad lot since my last batch of Hornady round balls were just fine.

I have a Lee double cavity .490 mould on its way and will try casting some .490s out of pure lead.

 

As I am not willing to pay $22.00 to $25.00 for 1 lb of GOEX, I use Pyrodex P for my Navy 1851, Rogers $ Spencer, and GPR .50 (I pay $13.65 out of the door at a gun-show that is free on Sundays for geezers like me).

I tried 40, 50, and 60 grains of that stuff with the GPR, and 40 grains gave the best results. So, you get about 30% more shots out of a pound of Pyro, AND you just have to use 40 grains instead of 60 grains minimum with GOEX. That's economical and I never had any ignition problems with standard #11 CCI caps.

 

[roundball]

I've also got 300 Hornady's but they aren't very uniform at all. I think these were just a bad lot since my last batch of Hornady round balls were just fine.

Just an FYI...you might be surprised when you shoot those Hornady's, regardless if they might mic differently.

I believe minor variances in the hand are of no consequence to normal shooting accuracy...I think as soon as you short start a ball, then push/seat the ball, then fire that ball, all sorts of minor changes in dimensions have been taking place anyway, so that by the time the ball comes back up out of the muzzle, I doubt it would mic the same as it did when you had it in your hand.

Hornady has always been my 1st choice...(Speer do the same but cost more)...I've shot about 1000 Hornady's a year for a few years now, nearly 1500 this year alone, and surely one of those boxes would have had variances like you experienced.

Yet, while I'm not a precision bench rest bullseye shooter looking for a single hole, I am familar with the consistency I can expect from Hornady 440/490/530/570 balls, and I've never suddenly noticed anything different from one box to another as I've gone through them at the range or hunting.

That includes new boxes manufactured this year, and boxes from gun show tables and online auctions that were probably made at different times, handled & bounced around in trucks different amounts, some with heavy white oxidation all over them, etc...they all seem to do fine.

Note 1:
I had a few boxes of Speer 530's who's plastic boxes had all smashed apart during shipment from an auction purchase due to poor packing...they had apparently all rolled around loose banging into each other for days and had dents all over them, looked like little golf balls...shot perfectly.

Note 2:
When I pull a ball after a days hunt with a ball puller, as you know the screw thread makes a huge hole in the ball, and draws up a big chunk of lead around the hole...I save them to shoot at the range...they'll knock down a coke can at the 50yd line just like a new ball.

:front:

 

[jbarclay]

I bought a GPR in 50 about two weeks ago and I am still trying to find a load. Using 70 grs. of black, Hornady .490 ball and a .015 CVA tick patch lubed with "moose milk" I am getting 3 inch groups at 100 yds. Using a .495 ball the groups open up. With a .495 ball and a .010 prelubed patch, the groups are not much better. Using a .490 ball and the .010 patch, groups are still around 3" at 100 yds. It appears to have a preference for the .490 balls.

 

[jim/wa]

i am having all kinds of problemsshooting accurately i am shooting 2f goex over530 roundball 90 grainsinagreatplains rifle clean every3 or4 shots at 50yards grouping isabout 5 inches help