Buying a Great Plains Rifle

I've about decided I'm going to pull the trigger on a GPR. I'm new to flintlocks, but not to blackpowder guns. I already have balls and patches on hand in the proper caliber, but I need to know what else I'm going to need to get her up and running. What flints, priming flask, pick, etc?

Also, do you guys usually dismount the barrel for cleaning? I've got a TC Hawken caplock that I use a flushing system on, and it's not been dismounted in years.

Thanks in advance. Reading this site has really provided me with a lot of great info.

If I'm correct on this the GPR has a hooked breech barrel which takes maybe 3-3.5 seconds to remove for cleaning.

I've always liked the GPR and still may buy a kit and build one. They are quite reasonably priced compared the the completed gun.

Cowboy:

A few gear items you need include a short starter, some sort of vent pick (buy or make from music wire; a paper clip will do), range rod (a second, heavy duty ramrod, longer than the one under the barrel), Muzzle guard (protects the barrel crown from the rod) powder meter, powder container (horn, brass flask) and priming dispenser.

In terms of ammunition, I find my 50 cal GPR flinter shoots better with 3Fg than 2Fg. I think this is because the finer powder gets down the barrel, into the chamber, around the corner and up against the vent better than the coarser grade. You can prime just fine with 3Fg, but most people use 4Fg. Try several patch thicknesses from .015-.020. I get best results from cut at the muzzle patches from a strip of twice washed and dried WallyMart pillow ticking. Try several patch lubes. For general range shooting and matches I get great results from plain old spit. For hunting I use the mink tallow goop from Track Of The Wolf. Lay in a supply of flints, from Track or fellow Forum member Rich Pierce ([email protected]).

Be sure to clean the barrel of your new rifle VERY THOROUGHLY to remove the packing grease. Yes, I know on the 'net capitals mean you are shouting! Dismount the barrel, and use many applications of carburetor cleaner or other degreser, patches and even a brush to get the goop out. Other things to do include drilling the vent out with a 1/16th bit, and firing at least 50 shots before taking file and punch to the sights. Read all the earlier flint posts on this forum, and check out the Resources section.

Welcome to the joys of rocklocking!

White Fox

Thanks for the replies. What sort of flints do I need, and how many should I order to start off? Should I pick up a few different kinds and see what works? Any recommendations on priming flasks?

On the Track of the Wolf website they recommend 5/8" English. See View 5 at the following link.
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Cate...&subId=117&styleId=384&partNum=LYMAN-GPR-50-F

5/8" is recommended in the rifle write up but 6S 3/4" x 3/4" is listed for Lyman. My .50 cal. GPR Flintlock arrived today. Very nice looking.

“... drilling the vent out with a 1/16th bit ...”

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This isn't big enough. Use a #50 or #51 drill, even a #49 would be better. Plus you may want to cone the liner. :thumbsup:

Use the biggest flint you can get into the lock with out interference. You can notch the leather wrap to get a larger flint in. If it is slightly bigger than the edges of the frizzen, that is OK. Just not big enough to strike any other part of the rifle.

Oh, use a real flint and throw the agate thing away as soon as you get the gun. And use leather for your wrap.

I would also suggest the slow twist barrel to get the most out of the PRB which would be the prefered projectile then and now.

use a real flint and throw the agate thing away

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If you throw away your agate cut flint, throw it my way. For me they last longer than a womans bad temper.

A coupla things to know about Lymans in general:

They put some kind of grease in their bores that's virtually bomb proof to normal cleaning, yet really affects accuracy till it's gone. I've found that brake pad cleaner/carburetor cleaner on a few patches takes it out in a jiffy.

The bores are Lymans generally take some shooting or "prep" to reach their accuracy potential. Unaided, they take 100-200 shots before really settling down to achieve their great accuracy. Lotta guys use a piece of green Scotch pad from the kitchen on an undersize jag to "polish" the bore and get around that. My memory is no better today than yesterday, but I want to say they do 100 full strokes with the pad, but I've always preferred just to shoot them.

The crown tends to be sharp on Lymans, cutting tight patches when you start the ball and spoiling accuracy. You can put a piece of 320 wet/dry sandpaper over the muzzle and press on it with the ball of your thumb, then rotate slowly ten or fifteen times to take care of it. I do recommend that if you are getting cut patches.

Lyman bores tend to "loosen" a little over those first coupla hundred shots. Don't know if this is true after polishing with the Scotch pad, because like I say, I haven't tried it. What I mean is that you are likely to find that a .490 ball and .015 patch is plenty tight in a 50, as is a .530 ball and .015 patch in a 54. But after shooting it a while those combos are going to start feeling a little "lose" on starting the ball, as accuracy drops a little. When that happens increase your patch thickness to .018" or maybe .020" to tighten things back up again. At that point you're likely to be rightly pleased with just how accurately they will shoot.

You've got a goodun on your hands, but like all muzzleloaders it will take a little adjusting and break-in to reach its full potential. Just don't get impatient or frustrated, and you'll be a really happy shooter a couple of hundred shots down the road.

I built my .54 GPR flint from a kit. It is deadly accurate out to 100 yards. This is the priming flask I use: http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Cate...atId=1&subId=11&styleId=37&partNum=FLASK-PP-3 . Here is a nice vent pick: http://www.trackofthewolf.com/cate...Id=1&subId=19&styleId=105&partNum=PICK-VENT-2 . I use 3/4" square knapped English flints as recommended by Track of the Wolf. You got a lot of good information here. By the way, what caliber are you getting? You're going to love that rifle :thumbsup:

I appreciate all the input and welcome any more that might might be offered. Like I said, I'm not new to bp, but I am new to flintlocks, so...

Cowpoke, its a .50. I'd planned on getting a .54 built by TVM, but the price I found on the .50 is just too low to pass up, especially to see whether I like shooting a flintlock or not. And since I already have a TC Hawken caplock in .50, I already have balls and patches on hand. Assuming I enjoy the experience, and I have no reason to think I won't, I'll go ahead and get that TVM Southern Mountain Rifle a little further down the road.

I've been using break cleaner for several years now, especially on automatics. That and the idea to use a drill chucked brush and air compressor on my cap and ball pistols has made life sooo much easier. I wonder how Wipe-Out would work on the Lyman barrel preservative. It works absolute wonders on the old service rifles I've acquired. I don't care how clean you get those old rifles, W/O will pull all sorts of new crud out of them.

Cowboy2 said:

I wonder how Wipe-Out would work on the Lyman barrel preservative. It works absolute wonders on the old service rifles I've acquired. I don't care how clean you get those old rifles, W/O will pull all sorts of new crud out of them.

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I'd like to know too! It might be interesting to clean first with one, then "back it up" with a pass of the other. I can say that it only takes a couple or three patches wet with brake pad cleaner to do the job. Or at least what I have always considered "doing the job."

If one works easier or better than the other, it would be great to know.

Be sure to report back if you compare them! :thumbsup:

I think I just might do that. I can't stress enough just how impressed I've been, for several years now, with Wipe Out foaming cleaner. Its not as fast as some other cleaners, but dang, you let it sit and it does all the work by itself. With no odor! While not applicable to bp, it eats copper like nothing I've ever tried.

Cowboy2 said:

it eats copper like nothing I've ever tried.

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That's worth the price of admission right there. I'm staring at a 30-40 Krag right now with so much fouling the bore looks to be copper plated.

I think I'll pick some up for that job, and ooze a little down the bore of a muzzleloader or two, just to see what comes back out.

Thanks for the reco! :hatsoff:

I forgot to mention, I went to a western shop and bought some scrap buck skin. Cut it to size and use as flint wrap :v

BrownBear- When its really bad, as you've described, I've had to apply it twice, but never more than that. I usually run a nylon brush with Hoppes through it to get the easy stuff out, patch it, then squirt in the W/O and let it sit overnight. Patch all the gunk out in the morning (there will be all sorts of gunk), and squirt it in again. By the end of the day it'll have it all cleaned out. I think of all the time I spent scrubbing some of my "copper mine" CMP guns before W/O and just shake my head.

Again, I appreciate all the input. Even if its something I think I know, its nice to have it reconfirmed.

Cowpoke- I think I've got some old leather laying around at the house. I've been wondering whether to use it or just flatten out a lead ball. Recommendations?

Along with the cut agate things, nix the lead wrap! Don't make it harder on yourself right from the get go! :thumbsup: :hmm:

What caliber brush do I need for the patent chamber? Also, I see several past references to RCM vent liners- I've looked at Midway, ToTW, and DGW, but don't see any. Where do I order one?

Again, thanks for all the help.

Lyman recommends 35 cal, but I've used smaller. Truth be known I prefer to wrap a patch around the brush, and for that smaller sizes with stiff nylon bristles are best. I've used 22, 24, 25, 27, 28 and 30 cal when adding the patch with complete satisfaction.

My gripe with brass bristles is that when you're adding the patch, the bristles get mangled and pretty quick it's darned near 22 cal anyway.