.530 or .535 for a .54 lymans GPR

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my first flintlock. It is great to be able to tap into the experience here at the Muzzleloading Forum. Hornady offers the .530 and .535 in packs of 100. I patch with pillow ticking and cut at the muzzle. Not sure of the thickness. Any recommendations?

I recommend a .530 RB and a .010" patch lubed. Start with 70grs of FFg bp (GOEX, Schützen).

Don't forget to have fun! :thumbsup:

Kirrmeister

I recommend buying a small quantity of each (.530 and .535) and trying them both before settling on one. That .005 can make a huge difference in accuracy depending on your barrel and while I am sure Lyman (or whoever is making barrels for lyman) has pretty high tolorances, each barrel is going to be a little different so I don't think there is a right answer to your question. Your just going to have to buy both, burn some powder and find out.

Good luck

I shoot an Investarms with a .54 cal. Green mountain barrel, It likes a .527 ball and .015 patch lubed w/crisco. It loads easy and gives 2" 50 yd. groups.Hunting load is 80-90 gr. 2f

First step, clean that bore with brake cleaner on patches. Lyman uses some kind of packing grease that's just about impervious to any other solvent. And until you get it all out of there, the bore is going to be "tight" with almost anything.

There's also the factor of "shooting in" the bore. It's going to start off liking one combo, but after 100 or 200 shots to smooth it out, odds are that it's going to take a little bigger patch/ball combo for accuracy than you started with. I'm betting that in the end you'll be really happy with the .530 ball and ticking, but you might have to start with .530 and a .015 patch.

In either case, go with the .530. I bought and tried both, and the .535 required me to use .010 patches, and even then caused frustration. The crown on the GPR is sharp, and it was next to impossible to get a .010 patch started without cutting or tearing it.

Even with the .530 and .015 or ticking, go easy on starting your ball. If you "smack" the short starter, you'll cut the patch almost every time. Better is a push, slow and steadily adding pressure till the ball seats. And watch that you don't get any folds in the patch. Another sure way for cuts.

I wouldn't do it first thing unless you already have to tool in hand, but you will be happiest with your GPR if you cone the muzzle. The tool is cheap and it's simple hand work. You won't even need a short starter when you're through, and there's nothing better when you're cutting your patches at the muzzle.

None of what I've said should be taken as criticism of the GPR. I love both of mine (a 50 and a 54), so I'm just passing on practical experience and fine tuning. The results are very much worth the fiddling!

I shoot a Getz barreled .54 and have found that a .526 ball and a .015 spit patch work well for me. I don't like to have to use a short starter to get the ball into the barrel.

Many Klatch

Assuming you use standard thickness patch material, .535-inch RB will tend to be more accurate while being more difficult to load. Regarding hunting, since we're discussing a one-shooter, I prefer accuracy to likelihood of "quick" reload. If you miss, reload speed is irrelevant. If you hit - guess what? - reload speed is irrelevant. You either have time to reload before tracking the blood trail, or you have time to reload for a finishing shot were it necessary.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

My Lyman Great Plains Rifle will shoot both.The .530 with .018 pillow gives less than 1 1/2" at 50 yds.The .535 with .018 gives clover leafs.It likes 2 different charges of 80grs of FFg and 100grs of FFg.
Get both and try but stick with either .018-.020 patch.Lyman cuts deep rifling.

Most of my guns will shoot more than 1 size ball well if i adjust the patch thickness. My .58 Colerain shoots a .570 ball real well with a .015-.018 patch. I tried a .562 with a.026 denim and it shoots just as well.

Many Klatch said:

have found that a .526 ball and a .015 spit patch work well for me.

Many Klatch

Click to expand...

Where do you guys find the odd sized balls? :idunno: (.526) All I have seen is .530's and .535's

HH 60

I have two .54 GPRs, one flint and one cap. Both will shoot one ragged hole at 50 yards with .530 balls, .018" pillow ticking from Wal-Mart lubed with Ballistol oil and 80 grains of FFg Goex. As mentioned, you need to scrub out the barrel when you first fet it. A lot of folks use brake cleaner. I had a lot of issues with flash in the pan. I drilled my vent liner to 5/64th" and coned it. Now she is very reliable. You may want to order a dozen 3/4" square black English flints from Track of the Wolf: http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/TableList.aspx?catID=2&subID=29&styleID=83 . The sawn agate flints that come with the GPRs are junk. You're going to love that rifle :thumbsup:

I use .530 Hornady's with a pillow ticking patch in my GPR with great results. As cowpoke describes in his post, I also drilled my touch hole out to 5/64 and use Black English flints.

Thanks for the information guys. I have the Walmart pillow ticking. Nice to know the thickness. I'm getting ready to make an order to The track of the wolf and will put the 3/4 inch flint on it.

What is Ballistol oil? Where can you get it?

If you have any other tips that would be useful for a first time flintlock shooter, I'd like to hear them.

Here's the link for Balistol oil: http://www.ballistol.com/ . Use the Sportsman's Oil. It sounds rather pricy, but a little bit goes a long ways. I use one part oil to four parts water. Two 16 ounce cans will last a couple of years. With Ballistol oil I can shoot all day without swabbing between shots. I shoot damp patches and it doesn't effect the powder. Great stuff! A few other things you will need for your flinter is a pan primer and a vent pick. Good luck and enjoy :thumbsup:

I had .54 GPR for a couple of years and that ball-n-patch combination was extemely tight. I'd recommend a smaller ball.

Started with .530 ball and pillow ticking when my GPR was new. Ragged hole at 50 yards (benched) using 100 grains 3f. It also shoots well with 2f. After around 300 shots thru it, noticed that the ball/patch went down noticeably easier, so I switched to .535 ball and it works just as well.

I have two GPR's, both .54's, one flint (kit I built) and one cap (factory built).

BrownBear's experience is closest to mine: clean thoroughly with brake cleaner and shoot at least 100 rounds before trying for accuracy. During that break in period you can try both ball sizes and several patch thicknesses but they really won't mean much until you get over 100 rounds through it.

I use Ballistol mixed with water at 1:6 then dried on a Wal-Mart pillow ticking patch material. Best load is 70 gr ffg real black and the .530 ball, but you really need to find out for yourself what your gun likes. I used Dutch Schoultz's Black Powder Accuracy System to determine the load and highly recommend it; the best $15 I've ever spent on black powder.