First Flintlock? Also, fixed bore on Lyman GPR Percussion

[Grayson Palmer]

I know this first question has been asked a million times, and the answer is "it's up to you". But I want to ask anyway. I'm new to sidelock muzzleloaders. Built my first Lyman GPR percussion .54 caliber last year. Have shot it maybe 50 rounds or so. Love it! I did get an R.E. Davis trigger for it and a GPR peep sight. Shoots great!

So...now I want a flintlock, especially with percussion caps being hard to find. Which one do I get and which caliber? Do I stay with .54 and keep it simple? Or get a .45 and enjoy a smaller caliber that's still big enough for deer? I MUST have a peep sight, so I hope one can be made/fit for most brands/styles.

And finally, in case anyone ELSE had this problem besides Mike Beliveau and me... In my GPR I could shoot 5 rounds before it became impossible to load. First round seated easy. Second wasn't bad. Third was hard to seat the bullet. Fourth was really hard to get it down the barrel. Fifth was all I could do. I did no cleaning between rounds, but didn't think that should be necessary. I watched Mike B. use a scrubbing pad to fix the same issue so it must not be normal to have to clean between rounds.
Anyway, I bought some JB Bore Cleaning Compound and polished the bore with that on a cleaning patch a couple hundred strokes. It didn't really feel like I was doing much, but the patch came out black after several strokes. After my first round of JB Bore paste, I shot the GPR again and it hadn't helped much. Actually, I think it helped but the barrel must have still been rough the last third of the barrel toward the end of the barrel...that's where the round would get really hard to push through when loading.

So I repeated the JB Bore paste treatment again. And went shooting a couple times after that. It worked! I never get to a point where the round is hard to seat. I don't know how many rounds I shot but about 10 or maybe 12 shots in a row. No issues seating the round. Nice and smooth just like it was the first or second shot every time.

 

[Critter Getter]

Since you asked for an opinion, and I’m sure you will get many here, I would get a .45 without a hesitation!! I do most of my hunting with one of my .45’s. Deer, squirrel, and coyote...........the most do all caliber out there, and I have most of them!! . Easy on the shoulder and accurate as all get out. Greg

 

[Grayson Palmer]

Since you asked for an opinion, and I’m sure you will get many here, I would get a .45 without a hesitation!! I do most of my hunting with one of my .45’s. Deer, squirrel, and coyote...........the most do all caliber out there, and I have most of them!! . Easy on the shoulder and accurate as all get out. Greg

Thanks!! Do you have a favorite kit?

 

[Art Caputo]

In my experience, the finish of the bore is directly related to the ease of loading, and the number of consecutive shots one can accurately shoot without swabbing. Many factory rifles(and even some custom barrels) are notorious for having rough bores and often need some help. I hate swabbing, and am not satisfied unless I can easily load and maintain accuracy for at least 10 shots preferably +2x that. Choice of lube can make a difference as well, particularly with changes in temperature and humidity. Choice of caliber for your flintlock is largely a personal choice. While I own rifles from 40-62 cal, my 45’s are my most enjoyable, and frequently shot rifles, year round. I’m also an avid deer hunter, and am hard pressed to see much of a difference in the effectiveness in killing deer with my 45’s compared to my larger bores given the bulk of my deer have been shot a less then 70 yards, usually half that.

 

[Grenadier1758]

...
And finally, in case anyone ELSE had this problem besides Mike Beliveau and me... In my GPR I could shoot 5 rounds before it became impossible to load. First round seated easy. Second wasn't bad. Third was hard to seat the bullet. Fourth was really hard to get it down the barrel. Fifth was all I could do. I did no cleaning between rounds, but didn't think that should be necessary. I watched Mike B. use a scrubbing pad to fix the same issue so it must not be normal to have to clean between rounds.
Anyway, I bought some JB Bore Cleaning Compound and polished the bore with that on a cleaning patch a couple hundred strokes. It didn't really feel like I was doing much, but the patch came out black after several strokes. After my first round of JB Bore paste, I shot the GPR again and it hadn't helped much. Actually, I think it helped but the barrel must have still been rough the last third of the barrel toward the end of the barrel...that's where the round would get really hard to push through when loading.

So I repeated the JB Bore paste treatment again. And went shooting a couple times after that. It worked! I never get to a point where the round is hard to seat. I don't know how many rounds I shot but about 10 or maybe 12 shots in a row. No issues seating the round. Nice and smooth just like it was the first or second shot every time.

A couple of things to note here. Mainly, the Lyman rifles have notoriously sharp corners on the lands and machine marks in the grooves. It will take several hundred rounds or about 1000 strokes or more with the JB Bore paste.

We should all be well aware that there are those who think that wiping between shots isn't necessary. In all cases wiping between shots takes several forms.

Those of us who believe that wiping between shots is necessary for the greatest degree of accuracy will use the most common formusing a slightly damp patch with cleaning fluid run down the bore followed by a dry patch to keep the barrel in a consistent condition with respect to fouling.

Those who claim that they are not wiping between shots use a well lubricated patch and ball. At the range, the wet lube has no time to contaminate the powder. The well lubricated patch does the wiping of the bore and pushes the fouling down the bore between the powder charge and the patched ball. Using the wet patched ball keeps fouling at a fairly consistent level in the barrel.

Your polishing of the bore helped to make the lubricated patched ball push the fouling in the barrel to the breech quite easily. It does work pretty good and if the accuracy on target is acceptable, then continue with your process.

 

[andy52]

I swap between every shot when I'm on the range. When I'm shooting in competition and there is a time factor I swab every third shot. The more shots you take between swabbing the harder it becomes due to the fouling. I don't find a lot of accuracy drop if it's done every third round.

 

[Critter Getter]

Thanks!! Do you have a favorite kit?

I have put together a TC Cherokee. Shot a couple of deer and a coyote with it and sold it to my buddy. I have a couple of TC Seneca rifles and a couple TC Hawkens all .45 and percussion. Out of those I prefer the TC Hawkens. I also have a Virginia Longrifle kit from Pecatonica that is a flintlock. I had Mike Brooks assemble that one for me. I bought it with the intention of building it myself but chickened out and got Mike to build it. Beautiful rifle for sure. Greg

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Many wI'll say .45 is too small for deer, but nobody will say .54 is.

 

[pilot]

Shot placement is far more important than caliber in deer hunting. Both the 45 and 54 can kill deer just as dead when you hit them right. In order to do that consistently you need a degree of accuracy. The larger bores, especially in flintlock, can induce a bit of flinch that throws the accuracy out the window. For your first flint the 45 would be a great choice. Then you can start thinking about what your second flintlock will be.

 

[Ballshooter]

Shot placement is far more important than caliber in deer hunting. Both the 45 and 54 can kill deer just as dead when you hit them right. In order to do that consistently you need a degree of accuracy. The larger bores, especially in flintlock, can induce a bit of flinch that throws the accuracy out the window. For your first flint the 45 would be a great choice. Then you can start thinking about what your second flintlock will be.

I agree he should get the 45 then a 54.

 

[hanshi]

If a hunter can't kill deer cleanly with a .45 he won't be able to do it with a .54 either.