I bought a used Lyman GPH , left hand percussion in 54 caliber. I've really grown to like this rifle, although it was not what I thought I was looking for at the time of purchase. However the more I shoot it, the more I want to tweak it a little. 1st, I want to brown the barrel and other iron hardware. Do I need to strip the bluing off first? I've already installed a semi buckhorn rear sight and after the barrel is finished will install a silver blade front site, which I prefer.
I need to sand the stock down around the trigger plate and tang to get the wood surfaced closer to the metal surfaces. The inletting around the tang is very loose. I obviously cannot easily add wood but I'm thinking of bedding the tang. What are your thoughts on this? I'm thinking the loose tang might be detrimental to accuracy and might increase the likelihood of an eventual wood crack there due to recoil.
I need to sand the stock down around the trigger plate and tang to get the wood surfaced closer to the metal surfaces. The inletting around the tang is very loose. I obviously cannot easily add wood but I'm thinking of bedding the tang. What are your thoughts on this? I'm thinking the loose tang might be detrimental to accuracy and might increase the likelihood of an eventual wood crack there due to recoil.