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L&R RPL replacement locks

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erhunter

45 Cal.
Joined
Jul 17, 2018
Messages
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Location
Benton, Pa.
I am thinking of upgrading my original Lyman Trade Rifle's coil spring lock with an L&R RPL Lock for flint, Model #05. Will this RPL fit my rifle and is the $190 for the L&R worth it?
 
They are not drop in fits. It will require some wood removal, and in your case considerable wood removal because the L&R locks have leaf springs, and the Lyman lock has a coil spring. I have done a few conversions and fount the locks to be of better quality, and better sparkers.
 
There was a time when I was blessed with more money than I needed. I went ahead and bought an RPL lock for my GPR flint kit even before starting assembly. It certainly locks nicer that the lock that came with the kit. However, though I still have a decent income im now making big house payments and other bills so many of us have to deal with, and I'd think twice about buying the RPL for an ordinary rifle. If you're feeling flush, go for it, but if you think for a minute it might be stretching the budget then hold off and put the money into a nicer rifle, maybe on you build from scratch.
 
They are not drop in fits. It will require some wood removal, and in your case considerable wood removal because the L&R locks have leaf springs, and the Lyman lock has a coil spring. I have done a few conversions and fount the locks to be of better quality, and better sparkers.
Thank you Grimord for your reply! Do you think all of the wood removal makes the receiver to weak?
 
There was a time when I was blessed with more money than I needed. I went ahead and bought an RPL lock for my GPR flint kit even before starting assembly. It certainly locks nicer that the lock that came with the kit. However, though I still have a decent income im now making big house payments and other bills so many of us have to deal with, and I'd think twice about buying the RPL for an ordinary rifle. If you're feeling flush, go for it, but if you think for a minute it might be stretching the budget then hold off and put the money into a nicer rifle, maybe on you build from scratch.
Thank you for your humble and honest reply!
 
I can't say for sure if the wood removal will weaken the wrist of the gun, but it could. Once I removed the necessary wood on one of my guns that I did a replacement on I reinforced the lock mortise with accra-bond epoxy. It may have been un-necessary, but I felt better knowing the lock area was strengthened.
 
I have posted this several times; I put a RPL in an a TC Renegade, it was a nightmare to get it to fit and took me two weeks to get it in and working, lots of wood and metal work, moved the barrel back, repositioned the lock bolt hole and did a bunch of other stuff. It is a broad spectrum on putting a RPL in a TC, from inletting for the spring and and internals for a pretty easy fit to a serious gunsmithing job like mine. TCs are all a little different, not stamped out copies like one would expect. I had built two plank flintlock builds and a precarve before I installed the RPL and my lock installation was still difficult to pull off.

I don't know about putting a RPL in a Lyman, It might be easy and then again it might require some serious gunsmithing skills. I know it won't boost the value of your gun any and may be more work and expense that you might not recoup if you want to sell the rifle somewhere down the road.
 
The price for the RPL's these days has just about surpassed the value of an entire "used" production made rifle.

The RPL's are not exactly good looking locks IMO, and are not very good copies of original locks either. I bought one once to convert a percussion CVA mountain rifle. Before I had the chance to do the job, I sold the rifle. Even having the option to use the lock for a custom build, I decided not to. It would have been a "WART" on the hard work and effort's involved to make an acceptable rifle.
 
I really like the look of the RPL flintlocks, but it's a personal thing. The RPL locks are priced the same as just about any other custom lock, but They don't add any real value to rifle. If you like the locks and want to go to the cost and bother installing one do it on a rifle you intend to keep. Don't install one just to make your Hawken more HC/PC, because it won't .

Inletting an RPL just opens things up the same way installing any other flat spring lock and shouldn't cause the wrist to be weakend any more than a traditional custom made rifle.

Again, I like the look of the RPL, and I could see using one on a custom build just to get a look I can't otherwise get.
 
Here is my Renegade RPL lock installation, I think it looks better than the original TC lock and...... that is a allen wrench hole in the liner, not a giant touchhole.

finished Renegads 001.JPG
 
The only real problem with the RPL locks is that the lock plate must be the same size as the original, which can cause some geometry problems with the flint.
 
Here is my Renegade RPL lock installation, I think it looks better than the original TC lock and...... that is a allen wrench hole in the liner, not a giant touchhole.

View attachment 9840
Just installed one in a Lyman GPR. Anything but drop in. Don’t mind the wood removal required, but the wood replacement is a PIA. The RPL lock plate did not match the Lyman. Larger in some areas, smaller in others. Is that a gap between the back of the lock plate and the stock on your TC, or just a camera thing?
 
Much discussion on the L & R RPLs. I have installed two of them over the years. The first one replaced a CVA "Maslin" style lock of my first plank build. I just wanted a flint verses those "P" guns. Sure, had to remove some wood, but it was not a big deal. Here is what it looks like:



I also bought a CVA American Pistol kit from Deer Creek Products and replaced The "P" lock with another of The L & R RPLs. Again not an issue. Here it is:

fullsizeoutput-2347.jpg


Oh, and the goose neck cock came with the locks. Just ask for them. Great people to deal with.
 
What looks like a gap in the back of the lock plate is, it is filled with walnut shims that are a little rougher than the surrounding wood and my extra clear camera caught them.
Debating how to fill the similar small gaps in couple places between the lock and wood on the GPR I recently installed a RPL lock in. The RPLs are good locks, but the sloppy lock plate fit to the factory mortise with TC and Lyman stocks is irritating for a so called ‘drop in’.
 
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