GPR as good as they used to be?

[aprayinbear]

I'm considering purchasing a Lyman Great Plains Rifle percussion .50. Built one about ten years ago and was very pleased. But...... I've heard some say that the quality has dropped off and that they are not worth the $$. Has anyone purchased/ built one lately? Please let me know your experience.

Happy shooting!

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

The Lyman’s Plains is ever bit as good as it ever has been. Great, phenomenal, production rifles at a staggeringly low price tag. The greatest factory guns EVER MADE, IMHO.

 

[Ames]

Nothin' wrong with mine.

 

[Walkingeagle]

Bought a flint model a year ago, not a thing wrong. Is my second one.
Walk

 

[Cowboy]

Have a GPR percussion bought about 14-15 years ago. Craftsmanship was excellent! Wood to metal transition was superb! Inletting was very good. Beautiful rifle! Still proudly own it today.

Bought a (NIB) GPR in flintlock a couple years ago. The Craftsmanship was pretty poor compared to my earlier one. The inletting had a lot to be desired. Especially around the tang area, trigger well in stock, and around the ramrod entry pipe. I was disappointed say the least.

I will add though, that my experience should not be the ruler to measure by? It was only my personal experience. One rifle out of many made! Even the very best is not immune to having a poor quality product slip through the cracks.

The most important ruler to measure by is how many do slip through the cracks?

Lastly, I’m only one person with only one bad experience? Ended up correcting the inletting deficiencies with the stock. Turned out to my liking in the end. Was a factory built rifle that slipped through the cracks.

In the end, I sold a very nice rifle to a new member at our monthly shoots who was just starting off at a very generous price .

Respectfully, Cowboy

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Lyman doesn't build the rifles. They contract out for them.
As such I've noticed the quality control has dropped off a bit. 6 years ago my co-worker got into flintlock hunting after talking with me and bought a GPR. It arrived with a cracked lengthwise down the underside of the stock. So he got the rifle replaced. That's been true for several folks that I know who had problems and returned the rifles for replacement with no worries.

LD

 

[aprayinbear]

I am also looking at the Traditions Mountain Rifle. Recent reviews of the Traditions seem to suggest that the quality has improved. I am not a hunter, but an off-hand target shooter. So I'm looking for accuracy more then anything else. I suppose accuracy is never guaranteed gun to gun, so I'm just trying to hedge my bet.

 

[longcruise]

The Traditions rifles get my respect as shooters. Certainly only PC to late 20th and early 21st centuries but it just depends on what you want from it.

 

[hanshi]

Among the most accurate rifles I've ever owned was a Traditions .32 "Crockett".

 

[flinter1977]

I own two Lymans a factory built percussion trade rifle that took its first deer this year and a kit flintlock gpr 54. Cal. Took a deer last year with that. Both high quality . I would recommend a Lyman at least a few years old one over. Traditions . nothing wrong with a traditions . the Lyman is just more rifle for the money. Just my take on it

 

[jambuster]

I bought one of the factory built percussion GPR's from Mid-south Shooters Supply 3 years ago. It was one of the ones involved in the barrel recall. Mechanically , it is a good gun and shoots well. Cosmetically , it is not near as nice as older guns I saw prior to buying this one . However it was $600.00 and looks like what is suppose to be which is a Hawkin/Plains Rifle. I was trying to get a reasonably priced gun that was "close" to the real thing . The other gun I was considering was a TVM Leman Rifle at about $1400. For my needs the Lyman GPR is OK and I have removed the adjustable sight in favor of the traditional sight . I was trying to get a traditional rifle to use for hunting and set up for round balls. This gun fit's me well and is very nice to carry in the woods.I live in West Tennessee so I only hunt deer and wild pigs with my 54 cal GPR and it is about right for the available game.

Gripes:

• The wood is the grainiest piece of walnut I have ever seen and the finish is terrible
• Wood to metal fit is poor but mechanically it works well
• The barrel seems to have micro burrs because only two balls can be fired and you can't get another one down the barrel. There is a video on the web that discusses a fix for this which is easy to do or you can shoot a couple of hundred rounds out of it till it smooths out which is what I am doing.Accuracy is fine.

I think this is a serviceable gun and fair value . If fit and finish are really important than a GPR kit might be the way to go . I was sort of thinking about a flinter GPR kit myself.

 

[flinter1977]

My 54 flint kit was in the recall . I found out about it two days after I finished it . not a happy customer . but all was taken care of and I got to practice draw filing sanding and rust Browning a barrel tang and under rib again. Had to look on the bright side very good customer service. And ended up with a fine rifle .

 

[Frontier's]

They are a hit or miss these days. The stocks are having issues coming full of cracks inside the lock area, wood just falling apart. I personally would have to look at the kit in person before buying one.

 

[Scota@4570]

Depends on your standards. I have worked on several. The parts are as cast and rough. The wood was not walnut. The stock design in the tang area is just weird. The fit and finish was pretty bad. The chambered breech gave reliability problems. The flintlock's lock was pretty awful.

It is a starter gun built to a price point. They shoot. They benefit from lots of tuning.

 

[54Muzldr]

I have one from the 1980's. Bought new as complete rifle from store. Has been excellent rifle. Recently stripped and browned it which also gave me a chance to really look it over. Cannot speak for quality now but if I were to buy another one I would buy from a reputable store as a complete rifle. Hopefully you would get some type of backing if you had a problem. Good luck.

 

[FishDFly]

From reading here for a bunch of years, no.

Find a stocking dealer and make a road trip for a physical inspection.

If that is not possible, order one and request a three (3) day inspection, you are only out the postage if not happy. Seems simple to me.

 

[Bent Sight]

I bought an old Investarms .50 caliber Hawken last year. Does the same company make the GPR?

 

[Hylander]

As Frontiers said they are hit and miss.
I have personally in the last couple years received 4 bad stocks.
All were cracked and broken inside under the locks and triggers.
also the fit and finish were not as good as my first one several years ago.
The barrels however were great and they shoot great.

 

[FiremanBrad]

I bought one of the factory built percussion GPR's from Mid-south Shooters Supply 3 years ago. It was one of the ones involved in the barrel recall. Mechanically , it is a good gun and shoots well. Cosmetically , it is not near as nice as older guns I saw prior to buying this one . However it was $600.00 and looks like what is suppose to be which is a Hawkin/Plains Rifle. I was trying to get a reasonably priced gun that was "close" to the real thing . The other gun I was considering was a TVM Leman Rifle at about $1400. For my needs the Lyman GPR is OK and I have removed the adjustable sight in favor of the traditional sight . I was trying to get a traditional rifle to use for hunting and set up for round balls. This gun fit's me well and is very nice to carry in the woods.I live in West Tennessee so I only hunt deer and wild pigs with my 54 cal GPR and it is about right for the available game.

Gripes:

• The wood is the grainiest piece of walnut I have ever seen and the finish is terrible
• Wood to metal fit is poor but mechanically it works well
• The barrel seems to have micro burrs because only two balls can be fired and you can't get another one down the barrel. There is a video on the web that discusses a fix for this which is easy to do or you can shoot a couple of hundred rounds out of it till it smooths out which is what I am doing.Accuracy is fine.

I think this is a serviceable gun and fair value . If fit and finish are really important than a GPR kit might be the way to go . I was sort of thinking about a flinter GPR kit myself.

is that video on YouTube? Or elsewhere??

 

[FiremanBrad]

We have 4H kids shooting 200-300 rounds in a summer season out of them!!
Trying to get another one bought for another kid, but Lyman is out of stock until the recall rifles are all replaced.