54 caliber Lyman great Plains rifle

[sachem longrifle]

Wow!!! My wife bought it at a sporting goods store for my birthday and I love it!! I own the traditions kentucky but this is much better. Hope to have many a RB shot at many a Wisc deer and bear with it.

It feels so right in my arms :thumbsup:

 

[Swede50]

I bought one in the same caliber in a kit several years ago. It is more accurate than I am, but I have yet to fire it at a deer. I did get a squill with it once wasn't much left.

 

[cowpoke1955]

Congradulations. I bought a .54 GPR percussion almost 30 years ago. Loved it so much, my wife bought me a .54 GPR flint kit for Christmas a few years ago. These rifles are very accurate out to 100 yards and rugged. My favorite load is .530 ball, pillow ticking lubed with Ballistol oil and 80 grains of FFg Goex. When I got the first one I didn't know much and was using Pyrodex RS, which also shot good. Recoil is not bad at all. Have fun :thumbsup:

 

[Billnpatti]

I recently bought a .50 GPR flinter. It is beautiful, well made and accurate. Of course, I had to file a bit off the front sight to bring it to where it was shooting bullseyes. My load is 80 grains of Goex ffG, a .490 round ball with an .018 denim patch that I cut at the muzzle. My patch lube of choice is a light coating of Bore Butter. I use Swiss Nul B in the pan. The little darlin' shoots better than I can.

 

[jbtusa]

You will love that GPR! Mine likes 85 grs. of Goex FF, .530 round ball, .18" ticking and a regular cap. I put the primitive sight on mine and like it better than the adjustable sight. They are very accurate guns for a factory gun. Be sure to squirt WD 40 in the hairline gap between the barrel and ramrod lug rail. (Trapped water= rust)

You can dress up the triggers by buying a longer trigger set screw at Ace Hardware and filing it down to where the front trigger is light and crisp.

I also screw in a 3/4" x 8 x 32 screw (also Ace Hardware) into the ramrod tip and leave it inside the rifle. It is a handy cleaning jag for out in the field. Just unscrew it a few turns and viola, you have a cleaning jag which is permanently in the rifle!

 

[renovato]

I have the .54 GPR also. It's one of my favorite guns. A robust, accurate gun at a good price. One of the true good values on the market.

 

I think that is cool that your wife got the rifle for you. I know you will have a ball shooting it. Good luck on hunting with your new rifle.

 

[sniper68]

Wow!!!
It feels so right in my arms :thumbsup:

If it's so, that's kinda all ya need ta say. Time to get shootin. :applause: :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

With your brand new Great Plains Rifle, the bore will still have the coating of rust preventative in it.

No one seems to know exactly what the maker uses but everyone agrees on a few things about it.

If it isn't completely removed the gun will not shoot accurately.

To remove it one needs to use a LOT of cleaning patches and a good degreaser like denatured alcohol (100 percent), Disk Brake Cleaner, Lacquer thinner, Acetone etc.
Don't use these on the bore when the barrel is still in the stock. Remove it first because many of these degreasers will strip off the stocks finish.

After the bore is cleaned, protect it with a good oil or modern rust preventative like Birchwood Casey Barricade.

Have fun with your new gun and don't forget to thank your wife with some flowers or a little box of candy. She deserves it. :thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

One more bit of advice with the GPR. Both my 54 and my 50 changed their preferences after 300 shots or so. Seating effort was pretty high at first with .018 ticking patches using .530 and .490 balls, respectively. I was happier with .015 patches. But after that 300 shot shoot-in, the bores appear to have smoothed or seasoned or something, and seating was getting pretty easy, so I went back and tried the .018's in both guns. They seated lots easier than earlier, plus provided a noticeable jump in accuracy over the .015's.

 

[Zonie]

sachem longrifle
Noting that you have made less than 30 posts, I'm guessing that your fairly new to the forum.

That said, maybe you haven't read about the sights on your GPR.

The front sight was intentionally made taller than it needs to be.
When you take it out shooting at a target it will be hitting very low. If you crank up the adjustable rear sight (if it has one mounted) it will still be hitting low.

My advice is to crank it up so your shots are on the paper and work on developing a good powder/patch/ball load that groups tightly at 25 yards. Once this load is found, then take a smooth flat file with you to the range.
Shoot a 3 shot target, then file some off of the top of the front sight blade.
At 25 yards range, filing off 1/32 of an inch will raise the point of impact 1 5/16 inches.

Filing off 1/16 of an inch will raise the point of impact 2 5/8 inches.

Continue shooting and filing until you get the group centered. Then move the target to 50 yards and start shooting and filing again.

At 50 yards, filing off 1/32 of an inch from the top of the front sight will raise the group 2 5/8 inches.

 

[mbw907]

Jim,
Good advice that can be easily overlooked. I make my homemade front sights high on purpose so they can be fine-tuned with a file. I used to have the misconception that a store-bought rifle was sighted in at the factory. But the do shoot differently after break-in. :wink:

 

[Zonie]

shantheman

Maybe sachem already knows about it, but on this forum many is the time I've read,

"After reading all of the wonderful things you guys said about the GPR I went out and bought a nice new one.
I took it to the range to sight it in and every shot was hitting in the dirt. I cranked the rear sight up as far as it goes and it still is shooting at the bottom of the target. What a piece of manure! Don't they know how to shoot over there where this gun was made?
I've never been so disappointed in my life! Since you guys talked me into buying this dam thing I think you guys owe me the price I paid plus $43.29 I spent on the powder, caps, patches and balls." :grin: