Bought a Lyman GPR, have some questions.

[JimG]

Well I bought a caplock Lyman GPR at the Log Cabin Shop. After looking at some used T/C's, new handbuilts/customs, and Traditions I decided that the GPR was the best bang for my buck. I looked at 3 of them and picked what I felt was the best of the 3. My intentions are to shoot it as is for awhile and then brown the metal and maybe refinish the stock. But that's a subject for another day. I shot it yesterday roughly 70 times (about 30 caps left out of a tin of 100) at the range. Did not adjust the rear sight to compansate for POA vs POI differences. Was shooting about 8" low at 25 yards however ( I know how to adjust the sights I just did'nt want to). I mainly wanted to shoot it and check that everything functioned. My cast .490 balls gave decent accuracy. I was surprised that some .44 hardcast lead bullets in some of those plastic sabots shot excellent as well! It is the 1 in 60 barrel so I am surprised the bullets did not keyhole. I shot those mostly for 'laughs and giggles', not for any real purpose. I do have a few questions though-

1. The nose cap is slightly loose on mine. I gently punched the pin out with a fine punch and other than the wood being slightly undersized I can't see why it would be loose. Is this common with nose caps? What is a good fix? Bed the nose cap maybe?

2. I'm a little un-nerved by the sparse amount of wood left from inletting the lock. The lock plate does not have much to sit against at all compared to other makes I'm more familiar with. For all you Lyman owners out there have you had any problems with this?

3. What size are the threads on the clean out allen/hex head screw? I'm not found of that style screw and want to find a compatable slotted screw to fit it.

4. The provided fixed traditional rear sight will not fit my dovetail. The elevation adjustable buckhorn is what is in the dovetail now. I nocked out the adjustable with a brass punch and went to install the traditional and found that it is far too narrow (the sight, not the barrels dovetail). It has a lot of slop in it when installed. I would think far too much to even stake in place with a center punch. I miked the fixed sight and found that it was .364-.365". I had already re-installed the adjustable sight when it occured to me to mike the sights so I don't know what the other measures out to be. I thought Lymans and other Euro BP guns had .360 dovetails? Maybe I'm wrong. How should I proceed in getting a fixed traditional rear sight installed? Have not had a chance to dig out the Dixie catalog and see what's available.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Shouldn't be a problem to epoxy bed the nose cap, but I'd sure wax the metal so it can be removed if needed at some time.
I'm not sure as to the size of the cleanout screw, it's about like 8x32 but probably the metric equivalent. I've redrilled mine to 10x32 to open up the flash channel a bit.
Interesting that you got groups with sabots, but that was only 25 yards if I got it right. Would be more interesting to see what they'd do at 50-100.

 

[Goldhunter]

1: My nose cap has a little play, but I have to make an effort to feel it wiggle. You could maybe shim it under the cap, maybe with a thin piece of brass to avoid rust?

2. I have never had a problem with the lock or the area around it. Seems pretty solid, but I did make mine from a kit.

3. Do you have a Home Depot or Lowes type store around you? You can take the screw down there and they have threaded pieces available to try a bolt to find the correct thread size. Sorry, no help there. :redface:

4. Don't know. I'll let someone smart answer that one.

enjoy the rifle, I love mine.

 

[plinker]

The non-adjustable rear sights on both of my GPRs were undersized for the slots in the barrel. On one I had to use about .012 in shims and the other took .016. You can use either brass shimstock or aluminum from beverage cans. Once it is snug get it sighted in and then just put penetrating Lock-tite in to hold it.

 

[JimG]

Ok, thanks.

 

[Goldhunter]

Epoxy. :redface: Now why didn't I think of that, especially since I had just got though reading the glass bed half stock thread? :redface:

 

[akroguy]

I'm at a similar point with my GPR: New, with only about thirty shots through it, all PRB. GREAT gun, but not on par with the Santa Fe Hawken I had twenty years ago. Man, I miss that gun. Oh well.

I had to file off almost a third of the front site blade to bring the POI up into the bull at 50 yds. I wanted to keep the adjustable rear sight down low and tight without being brought up into harms way. The end cap is also kinda wobbly on mine with the barrel removed but is solid as a rock with the barrel in place. I'd just epoxy it if it concerns you. I might do that myself.

That tiny allen cleanout screw also seems entirely undersized for the job, and easy to lose. Probably could find a comparable stainless set screw replacement. (Yeah I know, sacrilege, but just dab some black sharpie pen ink on it!)

As a personal alteration, I did a little "antiqueing" work on it last weekend. Just took a scotchbrite pad and rubbed down all the fittings, barrel and stock to tone down the overly dark blueing and bring out some wood grain. Looks MUCH nicer, I think, with more character and better contrast between the wood and steel. The showroom new look on a smokepole just doesn't work for me. I've also considered browning it, but free time for such optional activities I don't have lately. Just finding time to shoot it is hard enough!

Enjoy the rifle. I know I am.

 

[AeroncaTAL]

The nosecap fits just fine on my GPR; no movement at all. The rear sight is also loose on mine, though I haven't tried stake it yet. I've only shot a few rounds on mine a few weeks ago, but the elevation was pretty much right on at 45 yards. I did tend to pull a couple inches left though. If you want to antique it, use naval jelly. It will take the blueing down in seconds to a gray/white. Rub it back with 0000 steel wool. If it is too white, Birchwood Casey perma blue or super blue to bring it back and rub back with the steel wool to where you like it.
Also I found the cheekpiece on my GPR too massive. I rasped that down and shaped more in line with original Hawkens.
Scott

 

[JimG]

You guys seem to be echoing my own thoughts for future changes to the rifle!

 

[akroguy]

Nice airplane! 65hp? Hand prop? Sling seats? Terrific toy to take out to the woods for some plinking. My RV8 isn't suited for non-paved runways but smooth turf I can handle. Now to find a fly-in shooting range somewhere. The best of true American freedoms: shooting and flying!

Neat idea on the Naval Jelly. All kinds of great approaches on this site. :thumbsup:

 

[AeroncaTAL]

Sling seats? This ain't a cub! Regular seats, you travel in style in an Aeronca.
You should get rid of that Mustang want-a-be and get a real airplane, one that has the third wheel where it belongs, in the back.:winking:

I was please at how well the naval jelly took off bluing. Pretty quick and pretty slick!
Scott

 

[bwhoffman]

Now to find a fly-in shooting range somewhere. The best of true American freedoms: shooting and flying!

gotta butt in here...
I met scott here and invited him to check out our club, which he did.I think one of the inviting points was location and partly infact that it is within walking distance proximity to a landing strip for a "dude" ranch type operation. Its real handy to be a flier and shoot with us. maybe a 1/4 mile trek! Scott did mention that space is a premium in the plan and guns would need to be taken apart.



....Brett

 

[akroguy]

Cadillac style, eh? Cool. I bet the slings in the cubs can really give you a case of numb butt on a long flight. Still, they make for a really light airframe.

Oh, and the Van's RV8 IS a taildragger. Look it up. I get there at 200mph on 180hp and stall at 58mph. No Cub/Chief/Champ by any means for STOL and rough field work but a terrific machine by anyone's definition.

Sorry to take bandwidth on a non-muzzleloading topic, but when it comes to airplanes, I just can't help but get chatty. :winking:

 

[akroguy]

oooh, tempting, but a bit far for a day's outing. I could fly there in about 7 hours but would then need a nap. I just can't party like I used to. :haha:

I live at an airpark and I hear gunfire sometimes early in the morning along the Rio Grande, probably duck hunters. I could take a flight around the pattern, land, get the gun and go shoot. Close enough! :thumbsup: