.54 caliber on the way

[SgtErv]

"Flintlock Shooting Tips" is a great place to start. Ive read the whole thing a couple times. There is everything in there from mechanical stuff to technique.

 

[Cowboy]

Congratulations Earl! TODAY IS THE BIG DAY! Life is good isn't it! :grin:

Respectfully, Cowboy :thumbsup:

 

[Cowboy]

I have a Lyman Great Plains flintlock rifle in .54 caliber on the way from Midway USA

YOU FOOL!


You will now find that you prefer that rifle, and that type of rifle to all others that you own, and you will acquire more guns in the future, but they will all be variations on "traditional",
You will compare other purchases you make in life to how well that money would go toward your next rifle or gun,
You will sight the rifle in and find it's remarkably accurate,
You will notice that others on the range will either need a scope, or a very expensive target rifle to equal your accuracy,
You will begin seeking events where others like yourself will gather, and possibly shoot such rifles,
You will then seek events where others gather to camp, and shoot such rifles,
You will acquire reproduction old-fashioned clothes, and equipment to use at such events,
You will begin to consider the smell of wood smoke to be a fine cologne,
You will find that you get "tense" if you spend too much time away from the woods and a campfire,
You will consider your next vehicle purchase, on it's ability to haul your gear to such events,
You will, after a time and gaining some skills, that you don't sweat impending storms as the suburbanites do,
You may even harvest game with your rifle, and then sit in a smug manner when you hear others with modern rifles who pontificate about the inaccuracy of your old-fashioned rifle, while at the same time you have more harvested game in your freezer than they have had in a long time.
You will subscribe to at least one, and possibly three, magazines (perhaps more) that deal with such guns,
You will find, especially if you hunt, that your year is not based on the calendar, but when hunting season starts and stops, OR when you favorite events come around,
You will pick your life partner based on that person's willingness to participate with you and your rifle events, OR that person's patience letting you "go off to do your thing".

YOU ARE DOOMED once black powder gets into your blood.

But..., It's not a bad way to go.....Welcome to the Club!

:hatsoff:

LD

No one has ever spoken truer words! :bow:

 

[rdstrain49]

Absolutely not true, I already have a truck.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Yes! It's very good! On the truck for delivery today. Can't wait to get home from work!! :grin:

 

[azmntman]

:shocked2: YOU WENT TO WORK? :shocked2:

:rotf:

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Ha! Yes I'm too young to retire LOL.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

You had me worried for a bit there Dave. I was afraid you were letting him know all about this stuff and it might dissuade him. Then I realized he said his rifle was already on its way, so it's safe to tell him about that now.:hatsoff:

And my wife wonders why I like the smell of burnt black powder in the morning...

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

It's here!!!

Sorry about the bad pictures, my phone doesn't take good ones. I am VERY pleased with this rifle so far! It appears to have no problems that I can see. I think the wood looks good, the barrel went right on, the touch hole is in the right spot, the lock works and makes sparks, triggers work, all good! The only thing is the buttplate is pretty sharp! I might have to break the edges on it and reblue.

So excited!! It's been so cold out here that I haven't shot black powder in a while. When it starts warming up, I'll be at the range with it! In the meantime it'll give me time to research, learn, and acquire supplies! I already have some GOEX FFFG but will get some FFG from Graf and Sons. I travel on I-70 a lot and pass their exit on my way to Illinois. I'll place an order online for powder and pick it up in the near future, they've got great prices and stock everything from Swiss to GOEX etc.

Thank you all so much for your encouragement, knowledge and support. I will probably be asking more questions soon and will absorb as much of the awesome collective experience here as I can.

Thanks again all!! :hatsoff:

Earl

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Just read up on the 'care & feeding' of a patent breech and you'll be fine. Looks great and I'm (we're) VERY happy for you!

This will NOT be your last flintlock ... you have been warned!

 

[Lonegun1894]

Congratulations! You're right, the rifle looks great, but isn't perfect yet. If you want perfect, put that adjustable sight at the bottom or a deep drawer where you'll forget you even have it, and replace it with the fixed rear sight the rifle came with. It'll save you a lot of aggravation cause the adjustable rear sight tends to adjust itself--without having the common courtesy of letting you know it did it!

And as the guys above have warned you, this isn't your last flinter, but it is an EXCELLENT one!

 

[Gene L]

Good for you! I think you made a great decision. I have a GPR in cap, and it's VERY accurate. I don't think the flint version isn't as accurate.

Get some appropriate flints. ToW has them and they're not all that expensive. Keep your head down on ignition...my first experience with flint ignition was to raise my head when the ignition occurred, but I overcame that.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Thanks! Yes I have read the adjustable rear sight on these are not so nice.

Can anyone tell me the correct procedure in changing the rear sight? I checked the manual and couldn't find anything. I assume I should just drift it out with a brass punch? Which way should I tap it out? Thanks!!

PS: Had to take a beauty shot!!

 

[Silky921]

Looks good dude. Like the big stripes on the stock. Sounds like your life just got really interesting.

 

[Cowboy]

Thanks! Yes I have read the adjustable rear sight on these are not so nice.

Can anyone tell me the correct procedure in changing the rear sight? I checked the manual and couldn't find anything. I assume I should just drift it out with a brass punch? Which way should I tap it out? Thanks!!

PS: Had to take a beauty shot!!

Earl, You sure have yourself a nice rifle my friend! :wink:

As far as removing the rear sight: From the stand point of looking down the barrel, the sight should be removed from Left to Right. To install the sight it would be the opposite, from Right to Left. As far as you using a brass punch, That's what I use. Just go easy when tapping the sight out and really easy going when you tap your fixed sight back in. When you get close to centering the rear sight, look down on the top flats to center your notch and also look at the dove tail on each side. Use little force with a couple of small taps at a time until you get your sight centered.

Your rifle looks very nice!

Respectfully, Cowboy :thumbsup:

 

[jbricejr]

I had the same problem with sharp edges and filed them down. I got unlucky with my GPR in that the stock wood was apparently soft and the tang screws wouldn't stay tight for anything. I eventually had a guy put a new, hard maple stock on it, which solved that problem. I also had him solder the hooked breech to the tang, as I heard that could also improve accuracy. Those changes made it a great shooter.

 

[Cowboy]

The only thing is the buttplate is pretty sharp! I might have to break the edges on it and reblue.

Earl, The shape of the buttplate does take some getting use to if your not familiar with that style. It's not meant to be shouldered like you would with a flatter shaped buttplate.

When you shoot your GPR, position your buttplate just above your bicep and below the crook of your shoulder. It should rest on your extreme upper arm and not in the shoulder pocket. It does take a little getting use to at first but will become second nature to you in a very short time. Just be consistent where you place the buttplate each and every time.

Have fun my friend.

Respectfully, Cowboy :thumbsup:

 

[Gene L]

Looking good! The rear sight is a good one, it just doesn't fit in with the period. Don't load the rifle from the flask, but have a good time. Let us know how it sparks.

 

[jethro224]

Grats on your new rifle. I think you'll be very pleased with it.
My first flintlock was a GPR too. It hooked me solid.

A few things I learned from my flint GPR;

The very first thing you should do is throw away that cut agate flint that came with the rifle. Order some 3/4" square black English knapped flints. Best improvement you can make.

If you place an extra piece of thick leather (about 1/8") under the flint, in addition to the leather wrap, it will give you a better strike angle on the frizzen.

2nd thing is drill the touch hole out to 1/16" or maybe 5/64". This will also be a big improvement.

After shooting with the adjustable rear sight for about a year I finally got around to installing the fixed primitive rear sight. HUGE improvement! Much better sight picture.
You may find the fixed sight is way too loose in the dovetail. There are several ways to address this. Probably the best is to peen the edges of the sight to make them thicker. Do this CAREFULLY.

A set of Davis Deerslayer triggers made for the T/C are a virtual drop-in for the GPR. They are relatively inexpensive and are very good triggers. The factory triggers will do but the Davis triggers are a lot better.

I've owned several GPRs and the bore sizes seem to be kinda inconsistent. One liked an .015 patch, one liked .022 patches. The others liked .018s.

The .54s liked about 80-85 grains of 3F. The .50s liked 70-75 grains of 2F. Go figger. :idunno:

Have fun, be safe, keep us posted. :hatsoff:

 

[lonewolf465]

I'm sure you will enjoy your GPR. I have .54 GPR flintlock I got about 9 years ago. It likes 85 gr. of FFg with a .015 patch. I have harvested 6 deer with it. The first time I shot a deer, I learned a bunch. It was -15 degrees F, with a 20 mph wind. I was so cold. When I shot at the deer, I had a flash in the pan (I didn't really know what I was doing). The first thing that came to mind was "I'm glad that's not a grizzly bear!" I guess I was thinking about the Hawken rifle in the movie Jerimiah Johnson where the guy got "kilt by a griz". I reprimed and then had a deer to process. Go out and create memories.