Lyman GPR...or not?

In a few years I'll move to Montana. I expect to shoot at paper...mebbeso a critter or too, mebbe.

That Pedersoli Hawken with the maple stock is beautiful, but I'm lookin' for a multi-purpose gun, and not just a bench gun.

I gotta think on this some, whether the GPR or a Pedersoli Kentucky rifle or what it is that I want this time.

I appreciate all the responses!

I have a 54 cal GPR that I bought around 30 years ago. I’m very happy with the quality. I bought a 54 cal Plains Pistol about 5 years ago and the quality is on par with the GPR

My GPR was the go to rifle for Moose and Spring bear when I wanted those big .54 balls. It shot sweet with 85 grains of FFFG and knocked game down like they were pole axed. The design was rugged and reliable and priced reasonably compared to custom built Hawkens. I never found the weight a problem but that's a personal preference. The GPR has a lot to recommend it.

May try going in a different direction...

Truth. A quality lock is like a nice dream, the cheaper, mass produced locks can be a bit of a nightmare. "Can be" I say, I know some people get them to work well, but I think there's a bit of luck involved. As much as I like flint, and prefer it over percussion, I don't think I'd choose a GPR in flint over a percussion rifle.

For me the forty bore is right at my limit for shooting off hand.

Whatever I get will be percussion.

My Pedersoli Blue Ridge has been a dream to shoot/carry since day one. In 54, she'd be 7.5lbs. Wife shoots the Pedersoli Scout carbine, 6lb range, if you want a full stock, quicker swinging gun. Both are tack drivers.

I find 7.5 to 8.5 to be just right for me. I do hunt with a heavier rifle (10 pounds) one or two days per season, but that is getting hefty. I suppose you get used to whatever you use, and both my Bess and Jeager weigh in at 8.25, which again, for me, is just right. I usually hunt with the Jeager.

If I had no rifle, or lost all my rifles, or something, and had to start over, I'd certainly stay under 9 pounds. Again, and again, if my choice was the GPR, I would get a kit, shorten the barrel just a little, and have it re-bored to as large as possible, or as far as the smith doing it felt "comfortable" with. I think the barrel on the GPR could safely go .62", at least. That would still be far less $$$ than a custom rifle, and should weigh in under 9 pounds.

Of course, for target shooting a smaller bore would probably be preferred, in which case getting under 9 pounds would be more difficult.

Just a thought.

ADK Bigfoot said:

I have owned three Great Plains flintlocks (left handed.) I have sold three Great Plains flintlocks. I have two Great Plains cap locks which I will likely be buried with. All had rough, sharp barrels that tore patches to hell for 100 rounds. After breaking in, they all shot better. The flintlocks were each sources of much frustration, being "almost dependable." I shoot lots of flintlocks; I own 9. I expect a flintlock to go off, crisply, every time. Lyman flintlocks to me were not up to that standard. They were not dependable, and often shattered flints after a few shots. Once you become accustomed to a Chambers large Siler, you can't go back.

ADK Bigfoot

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One of the quality lock makers sells drop-in locks, high precision, for the GPR's but don't know if that includes Left Hand, like me. When I got my .54 GPR LH Perc., I ran a big sloppy patch soaked with valve grinding paste up & down about 100 times, firmly. You could tell the rifling was sharp, as you state. Lots of good comments on this site from some great shooters!

Rat said:

I find 7.5 to 8.5 to be just right for me. I do hunt with a heavier rifle (10 pounds) one or two days per season, but that is getting hefty. I suppose you get used to whatever you use, and both my Bess and Jeager weigh in at 8.25, which again, for me, is just right. I usually hunt with the Jeager.

If I had no rifle, or lost all my rifles, or something, and had to start over, I'd certainly stay under 9 pounds. Again, and again, if my choice was the GPR, I would get a kit, shorten the barrel just a little, and have it re-bored to as large as possible, or as far as the smith doing it felt "comfortable" with. I think the barrel on the GPR could safely go .62", at least. That would still be far less $$$ than a custom rifle, and should weigh in under 9 pounds.

Of course, for target shooting a smaller bore would probably be preferred, in which case getting under 9 pounds would be more difficult.

Just a thought.

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The thickness of barrels from big commercial makers is dictated by corporate lawyers. Many guys use the custom parts aimed at specialist builders/shooters/collectors like us for that very reason! Much more authentic, too! The heavy barrel on my GPR could lever a battleship off the ramp!

Truth. I'd be 'comfortable" taking it out to .690", if I could get anyone to do it.

I just bought a GPR in .54 a couple of weeks ago. I was going to buy the kit but picked up a new GPR for less than the price of a kit.
Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet - just been too busy with work.

My observations:
The barrel's bore and exterior had a tiny bit of surface rust but cleaned up really nice. The bore looks shiny and will smoothly run a patch with no snags. The wood machining for parts match-up is very good - the lock was very tight (too tight for my preferences). After I got the lock off the stock I removed a tiny bit of wood around the lock so it could be removed and reinstalled without undue effort. I also had to remove a bit of wood from the barrel channel so the barrel would lay in the stock without undue torquing of the stock with the barrel keyed in place (one strike for poor QC on the barrel channel). I swapped out the adjustable rear sight for the basic version that comes with the rifle, an found that the basic rear sight was machined too small and fit loose in the barrel. I contacted Lyman about the sight but never heard back from them (one strike the sight base being out of spec. and one for poor customer service). I ended up using a spring powered starter punch to add some thickness to the bottom of the sight so it "should" stay in place.

The stock's stain/finish was subpar IMO (dark and muddy). After removing some of the stain (with 4-O steel wool and alcohol) I was able see enough of the grain to my satisfaction (the wood grain was actually pretty good). I then buffed it down with some 4-O steel wool and refinished with two coats of tung oil and then two more coats from a mix of tung oil and Tru-Oil. The final finish fits my needs as a hunting rifle. Now I just need to shoot it and work up a load that it likes.

As a comparison, I had previously bought an older T/C Hawken (made in the early/mid 80's judging by the lack of lawyer warnings on the barrel). The guy who owned it bought it over 30 years ago to show his kids a "real" muzzleloader, shot it about a dozen times, and then put it away in his gun cabinet where it stayed other than annual cleanings. I gave it a cleaning and it looks like it came out of the box yesterday. There's no comparison between the T/C's fit and finish and the GPR. The T/C wins in that category. The wife now thinks the T/C looks too nice for me to hunt with (it will now live in my gun cabinet) so I bought the GPR...

akaMOTU, interesting ref your observations.

I 'may' be starting to slide over to the Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken Maple, either that or the Pedersoli Kentucky rifle.

If I go with the Hawken, I'll just have to man up and deal with the weight. The other option is to go pre-Hawken and get the Kentucky rifle, such as a man would have left the Kentucky with prior to arriving in the West and availing himself of a Hawken. That would give me time to study up and save up for the best Hawken replica I could find, mebbeso a custom gun. It would also give me something different to play with from my T/C Hawkens.

It's been said that there were far more full stocked rifles among the Mountain Men than half stocked, or Hawken rifles. Some say, or argue, or profess, that the Half stocked/Hawken rifles were used more after the fur trade, and could be more accurately called "Santa Fe" trail rifles. I think there is truth to that.??

I fantacised about taking a GPR 15/16 inch borrel out to 58 or 62 till I stopped and did the math considering the dovetail depths and the under rib threaded holes into consideration.

Believe me in that 54 cal is going to be the largest calibre in a 15/16ths inch barrel you will care to go and still want to shoot more then 45 grains of 1Fg powder. Gets mighty slim under those dovetails and threaded hole bottom's and the groove diameter inside.

My GPR with wood removed from the forarm and the cheek piece removed seemed to be lite enough rifle to pack all day in the alder patch's in Alaska. Shooting 110 grains of 2F powder under a tight PRB gives plenty of confidence in the rifle.

60 to 80 grains under the PRB is great for small game also with the 80 grain load being very accurate in my rifle for small game such as rabbit, grouse and predator shooting.

The GPR is a fine rifle and it being a replica of a late era smokepole ... just prior to metal cartridges ... should be percusion ... none of these late model rifles were flinters.

I have had three Great Plains Rifles 50 Cal 54 cal Percussion and now a 54 Flintlock. I believe it to be a very high quality rifle. If you make your mind up to get one I found the price range for new to be between $700.00 to $630.00. I have a like new 54 in Flintlock that I would part with for much less than those numbers.

I have both the GPR and the Pedersoli Rocky Mountain. The Pedersoli has a lot better fit and finish than the GPR, but for hunting I use the GPR because I don't want to scratch up the Pedersoli. Accuracy won't be a problem with either one of them. The best price I can find on the GPR is here: https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/dept/muzzleloaders/rifle/54-cal

Rat said:

If I had no rifle, or lost all my rifles, or something, and had to start over, I'd certainly stay under 9 pounds. Again, and again, if my choice was the GPR, I would get a kit, shorten the barrel just a little, and have it re-bored to as large as possible, or as far as the smith doing it felt "comfortable" with. I think the barrel on the GPR could safely go .62", at least. That would still be far less $$$ than a custom rifle, and should weigh in under 9 pounds.

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I’ve got a GPR 54 caliber in flint (with a L&R RPL lock) that weighs in just under 8.7 pounds. No need to shorten the barrel or rebore to a larger caliber to get under 9 pounds.

As far as reboring a GPR to 62 caliber, don’t see that happening. I know Bobby Hoyt for example will only go to 58 caliber rifled (or 60 cal smooth bore) in a 1” barrel. All the GPRs I have seen have 15/16” barrels and it’s doubtful that you could find someone to take it to 58, let alone 62 caliber.

I bought a Lyman .54 percussion GPH four years ago, liked it so much I bought one for my son. Bought a GP Deerstalker last year for my grandson. All are outstanding shooters!! Don't know what you read or what the issues are but we're dang happy with them.