Range Day! (Lyman GPR Flint)

Hey all!

I got my new Lyman Great Plains .54 cal flintlock to the range today! This is the rifle you all helped me pick, as well as gave many tips on. I got there right as the range was opening and stayed for three hours. It was so nice out today, very warm, with little wind. Perfect range weather!

So I had a great first experience with my GPR flint. I had a few failures to fire but almost always the pan would flash so I think I might need to enlarge my touch hole. I used my little pick to make sure the flame path was clear, but still had some problems. I was using Goex 3Fg for my main charge and priming. Also, I experimented with English black flints and the agate one that came with the rifle, and also positioning it in the jaws. It seems the rifle likes a thick piece of leather below the flint as one member on here suggested I try.

After a while the misfires more or less went away and it was very fun! I made sure to carefully place powder in the pan to reduce delays, and really ignition seemed pretty fast to me. Without a doubt I caught myself flinching and will need to get over this with practice, like most first time flintlock shooters.

So here are pictures!! :grin:











I was firing 65 grain charges of the Goex 3Fg, using .010" pre-cut wonder lube patches and Hornady .530" round balls. I will have to adjust the fixed rear sight as it was shooting left and high and the two hits in the middle was after I corrected my aim. This was at 50 meters. No doubt I'll get better with time, and that won't be hard since I had so much fun! There was even another person there that I let shoot it and they really liked it!

Overall a great range day and I REALLY LIKE this gun! I am a student of the flintlock now and I've got a lot of work ahead of me, but I think I'm going to love it!

Take care,

Earl :thumbsup:

I always let people shoot mine too if they want haha.

Glad you had a good trip! Its great that you found a groove and got it firing consistently, too. As far as the flinch goes, you're doing what you need to do to get over it - shooting.

For never having shot a flinter, that ain't terrible for 50m. You'll get the hang of it and find a good load, too. It honestly took me a few months to find a good load and practice enough to shoot pretty well. It's very rewarding when you get it down!

:hatsoff:

Sounds like a good first day using your new rifle. Bet you were grinning ear to ear!

Nice shootin and nice rifle.

If it is the fixed rear sight and you have it centered on the barrel, you may want to adjust the front sight. You move the front sight the direction you are missing. If you are "consistently" hitting left then move the front sight left and the same if you are missing right move it right. It is the reverse of the rear sight adjusting. I use a sharpened pencil and mark the barrel on the off side edge of the front sight (moving it right the left side edge of the sight) that way I tell can how far it moved. It doesn't take much. I use a brass punch against the dove tail when tapping with a hammer. If you are shooting low "consistently", file "little at a time" (once you remove it you can't put it back) on the front sight to bring it up. But before you do anything, get to where you shoot consistent groupings and not flinching, with where your sights are set at now. DANNY

You enjoyed your range time and are learning, so that is a good thing! :thumbsup:

The patent breech may be giving you grief. Remember that there is a smaller bore below the rifling that the powder has to get through to make the turn towards the touch hole. Make sure that you tilt the lock side down a bit and give the stock a slap to get the powder to move.

Did you recover and examine any patches? I would almost bet that you're shredding patches with that new bore and thin patches. I prefer thicker patches and slightly smaller diameter balls.

That is the same powder charge that I use in my .45. I use 75-80gr fffg in my .50, and 100-120 in my 58 and 62 flinters. I think the .54 caplock shot well in the 85-90gr range.

Range time will help. Its good to hear that you're pleased rather than frustrated. :thumbsup:

Looks like your ready. My GPR likes a heavier load . I shoot 100 ffg or 85 of fffg. By the way .....you are hooked now. The bug has bitten. :thumbsup:

Darn, Earl, I was one of the RSO's at the range there today but worked at the pistol range all day. I sure wish I could have seen you shoot your new smoke poll. I recognized the range right away.

If you head out there some other time, let me know and maybe we can meet up.

Awesome Kansas Jake! I love Fancy Creek, very nice folks and thank you for being an RSO, I understand you are all volunteers and I appreciate it!

carpet that bench top.... carpet for your butt on the ground..get rid of the cheap rear sight..open up the touch hole..consider the deer slayer triggers....
These rifles settle in after a couple hundred shots hold off fileing any sights till you get past the pan flash..Front sight- front sight -front sight..watch the patch parachute. don't blink....
wear protective shooting glasses-hearing protection.
remember your loading chant--powder patch ball..

I rounded the sharp point of the butt plate for more comfort.

shoot at a 3" bull at 50 yards..5" at 100..it will tighten your groups.

aim small-shoot small..

Enjoy..you just entered the fun Zone! :thumbsup:

Have you tried a .015 or .018 patch? A .010 seem a little small since Lyman has deep rifling. Just might tighten up your group.

I got a lyman 54 cal flinter too. Love the thing even though I do own custom ones too....

My gun became more reliable when I stopped using those goopy pre-lubed yellow patches. The excess of lubrication would be pushed down the barrel each time the gun was reloaded.

I use the dutch shoutlz system. However, I was doing pretty good with 2 or 3 drops of hoppe's #9 on a .015" ticking patch, the white and blue strip ones. I'd use a hornady .535" ball. This did a bit better than a .530" ball and a .018" patch.

Now I use white and green striped pillow ticking from dixons muzzleloading. They say it's .016" uncompressed. I still use those .535 hornadys when I am out of .535 hand cast ones. The hand cast ones do better for me.

I cut the ticking in strips, then cut the patch strip with a knife once the ball is flush inside the bore. I use ballistol and water, but get the patches wet, then set them to dry. A small bit of ballistol is left over, but still enough to work good.

I also use a cleaning patch lightly moistened between every shot.

A big one with lyman and thompson center based guns, the patent chamber. The last inch of bore or so is not 45,50, or 54 cal. It's about 36 cal. The smaller bore make the intial charge hotter, and thus more consistent and reliable. However, if not cleaned properly after shooting, all the crud builds up where a regular sized bore brush can't reach.

Use a 36 cal brush carefully, spin it around in the bore in the clockwise direction, so it doesn't come unthreaded. I put a small 22 cal patch on the brush to help dry it when it comes time to dry it out after shooting. Also, I store the barrel upside down to let any storage oil or WD40 from accumilating in the chamber area.

If I am hunting with the gun the next time I use it, I remove the flash hole liner and clean it with alcohol carefully. I also use alcohol on a 22 cal patch ontop of my 36 cal bore brush and get every bit of fouling out.

If using the hoppe's #9 method, or any lubricant intesive method, I put a bit of wasp nest between the charge and patch. It keep the powder from getting soaked in lubricant, which keeps your hunting velocity similar to target shooting speeds.

I use 70grs of goex FFFg. I could use more, and the gun shoots a bit better. But, I get good 1.5" groups at 100 yards. Uing 85 or 90 grains, the balls touch each other most times... I like the lighter load, quieter report, and to get a few more shots before I am out of powder...

70 grains punched right through a nice buck at 70 yards this year.

One of the best way to sell something is to point out how easy it makes whatever process is beindiscussed.
Using lots of greasy products does certainly make muzzleloading a much easier activity.
However the things that make it EASY also tend to make it wildly inaccurate

and/or also causing misfires
Too small a ball will make loading almost effortless abut you will be avoiding the benefit of the rifling an are infect shooting a smoothbore which is probably not your intent.
My method didn;t get easy til I had figured out all the variables involved buy still required a hell of a whack on the short starter to extrude the patched ball into the rifling and a hearty shove of the ream rod to seat the patched ball properly on top of the powder.

You must remember you are trying to control a powerful explosion to achieve a certain result..

You can feel secure that you are controlling all the variables where the cartridge using rifleman controls none. They were all controlled at the factory. And how exact was the factory??


Cartridge using SWAT team members use only cartridges they have reloaded themselves to ensure accuracy. You are doing the same thing only using your gun barrel in place of the cartridge..

Yadda Yadda, how I do Go on,

Dutch the Old Tymer

That's an excellent report and advice. The one thing that I will add is.....I don't like to do a lot of cleaning after I get home from the range. So...to make it less of a chore, I clean the barrel, the lock and wipe down the stock. I have a secure work area, so...I wait a few hours or even the next day, then reassemble. I go back after supper or the next day and go over my gun and then reassemble the gun, to put away for storage. Just this little difference makes the chore a lot easier. But..I must add, I often have more than one rifle or pistol, that needs to be cleaned.

Having things organized and getting into a cleaning routine, makes owning a traditional rifle or pistol, much more enjoyable.

It takes a little while to get used to a flintlock....Keep practicing that gun will 10 ring. Try a thicker patch, and lube them yourself, I find pre-lubed patches to be over lubed....Also try spit, and swab between shots. also work up your powder charge...

Smokey Plainsman said:

There was even another person there that I let shoot it and they really liked it!

Click to expand...

one of my favorite things about shooting BP at the range!

if you haven't already done so, i would urge you to get a copy of Dutch Schoultz' method ... this will guide you through the logical progression of steps which will result in shrinking group size (he guarantees it).

it is, to my mind, the most effective non- shooting accessory you can buy. Here's a link:
http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/

MSM.
The Sky Piot already ha the full set.
He is a Chaplain in, I thnk, The Air Force and a Major.

Thank you for the recommendation.

Dutch I tend to agree.

aok. So maybe the Sergeant major didn't put his ginger on it. Maybe your rifles aren't as touchy as your old girl friend. If that's what caused the two or three day Lull in conversation.
I sit here in Alberta's used sub freezing .

I trust all out there are warm and doing worthwhile things.

I'm not and it bothers me.

DutchSchoultzweather with little or nothing to do