Lyman GPR 54 cal loadings

[tippyguru]

Hello from Tasmania , i have taken the plunge and purchased a GPR in 54 cal can someone help me out with some loads for 50 and 100 yards / meters am interested in patch thickness and will be using 2f and 3f bp ; i read these guns are great shooters and can't wait to collect mine . regards , Phill

 

[jtmattison]

A good place to start would be 80 grains of either 2f or 3f with pillow ticking or drill cloth patch and a .535 ball.

I have fed mine several different patch/ball combos as well as powder charges from 50 to 110 grains and it shoots excellent with everything.

HD

 

[Bob J]

Just sold my .54 GPR (to a good friend who was at the range with me today shooting it ). It is an accurate rifle. I practiced off-hand with 60 grains 2f or 3f, and hunted with 100 grains 2f or 3f Goex. It shoots well with either blackpowder granulation, in both lighter loads and full-power hunting loads. .015 to .018 pillow ticking patches either spit-lubed or with Wonder Lube (Thompson Center's Bore Butter seems to be the same thing). Birddog6's Liquid Lube also works very well. Enjoy the Great Plains Rifle :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

Welcome to the forum.

Assuming your rifle is new, the GPR is shipped with some incredibly resistant bore lubrication that needs to be removed before the gun will shoot accurately.
If you can find it, the fluid used to clean disk brakes works to remove it, or possibly some lacquer thinner. As a last resort, gasoline (petrol) will also work.

Also, if your gun is new, expect it to hit 6-9 inches low at 25 meters even with the rear sight adjusted as high as it goes.
The GPR has a very tall front sight, the intention being that the shooter will file it down to raise the group to center at the range and with the projectile he wishes to shoot at.
After getting the group up, you can use the adjustable sights to fine tune the guns impact location.

Be sure to let us know how well it shoots. If you have any problems with it, be sure to ask us. A large number of the members here own a GPR.

zonie

 

[BrownBear]

I've settled on 30 grains of FFF for small game, 60 grains of the same for target and general plinking, and 90 grains of FF for big game hunting. No change in sights required for any of these loads on my 54 GPR.

As mine "shot in" over the first couple of hundred rounds it seemed to switch preferences in ball/patch combo. Initially I had to use a .010 patch if I used a .535 RB, or a .015 patch with a .530 RB. I couldn't seat the .535 with a .015 without a whole lot of pressure prior to breaking in the bore. But after the 200 shots or so the seating effort seemed to decrease noticeably with the .530/.015 combo, I went back and tried .535/.015 again. It seated without too much effort and is now my standard. I haven't tried the .530 with .018 pillow ticking, but will do so soon. That could be a great combo too, but I won't know till I try it.

 

[tippyguru]

Thanks for the welcome, any hints on working up loads and so on are greatly appreciated, i plan on prb shooting only as it has worked well for as long as our nations have been so and i see no reason to change; the gpr is approx 4 weeks away so i'll be playing with my 50 cal Traditions 'till then and a fine little shooter it is too with 55gn 2f goex putting 6 into the base of a beer can at 50 meters ; look forward to hearing from you all regards, Phill

 

[cowpoke1955]

Welcome to the forum and to the world of GPRs. You couldn't ask for a better rifle or caliber. I have two .54 GPRs, one percussion and one flint. Both shoot excellent with 80 grains of FFg Goex, .530 balls and pillow ticking with moose milk. From a bench, I have shot 3/4 inch groups at 100 yaards. These rifles can do it, as long as I do my part. You may want to start about 60 to 65 grains and work up , 5 grains at a time. May want to try both FFg and FFFg. Each rifle is different in it's likes and dislikes. Also, don't forget what zonie said. Be sure to scrub that bore and remove the protective coating used by the factory. Working up a load in a new rifle is a lot of fun. So go out and have some fun and enjoy :thumbsup: .

 

[410-er]

My GPR in 54 does well with .530 or .535.The .535 are touching at 50 yds while the .530 open up just a shade more.Likes 100 grs. of FFg. and a .018 pillow.

 

[tippyguru]

:hatsoff: Great responses from all, would you recomend a jag and steel wool with a solvent to remove the factory barrel sealant/lube ?, I plan on oiling the stock to darken it up some what - yum - are 535 prb combos more accurate than 530 prb's, i think this will be a shoot it and see experience - I CAN'T WAIT :grin:

 

[bucktales]

I used brake cleaner and carb cleaner on patches to clean that stuff out. It cut it pretty good.
My .54 GPR likes 80grs. of3F , .530 balls and .015 Ox Yoke lubed patches. Good luck with your new rig.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Any good ammonia based cleaner should get that out. Then flush it with alcohol to remove any oils or greases that may remain.

 

[patriot59]

My two cents. My 54 GPR caplock gets 80 grains ffg, .530 RB, .015 patch.

Took a 5 point at 50-60 yards. hit left side, through heart/lungs, did not exit right side.
Deer went 'bout 70-80 yards.

Target load is 50 grains ffg, same ball,patch.

 

[410-er]

I use 0000 steel wool and jag in all barrels I get.Use lots of oil.I use it also on the outside to remove any slight rust and it will not hurt the bluing.

 

[d.thomson]

I can only tell you what works best in my GPR, every gun is difrent and will like a difrent charge.
I use .020 ticking with 4 to 1 water "Balistol" mix , Soke patches over night, leave out on a piece of melamine all day to dry out, 75grns of 2f Goex .530 self cast ball will cloverleafe at 50 yrds and 4 inch spread at 100 yards. This works for me.
I would start with 55grns of 2f and work up your loads in 5 grn increments till you find your sweat spot.
Just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions. :haha:
F.K.

 

[tippyguru]

:grin: Morning Zonie, took my new 54 GPR to the range this morning, at 25 meters, .015 patches and 55gn 2p first two shots touching straight out of the box !but 8 " low, tried .012 patches but the group spread to 70 mm, had to file nearly half the front sight off to bring the poi up to my marker(1"stick on dot)3 shots dead level 2 nearly touching, the last shot 3/4" to the left.
Out to 50 meters same load combo and 1" dot on a blank target sheet 2 shots in 1 " and 2 more within 2 " all up 28 shots and ran out of time.
Looking forward to tuning it up/trying again at 50 meters any suggestions ? to tighten the group; i could not be happier and the gun is a looker too and what a niose when she goes off, absolutly cracks, well worth the wait and the dollars :thumbsup: :v

 

[paulvallandigham]

Try using a thicker patch, first. You don't indicate the lube you are using. Go to .017 and .020" and see if that doesn't tighten those groups at 50 yards.

Then, try increasing your powder charge in 5 grain increments. Shoot at least 3 shot groups at 50 yds, but preferrably 5 shot groups. I don't know what powder you are using. If its not real Black Powder, you may be simply wasting your time. Some people report good accuracy with the subs; Many do not find them consistent. Is this Pyrodex "P" powder you are referencing? Why would you be shooting a pistol powder in a .54 cal. rifle? Just curious. Try using Goex( Wano, Schuetzen, Graf& sons) FFg powder, or Swiss 1 1/2 powder in that gun. I think you will be much happier with it. Off a rest, and with good eyes, you should be able to put all those shots in one hole.

 

[tippyguru]

Good morning Paul, the patches are .015,ball is .535,this combo takes a fair whack to get started then seats with out too much effort,'bout the same as 2 other 50's i've tried.
I tried .010 patches but the group spread to 70+mm so went back to .015.
When i inspected the patches they appeared perfect with no tears or blow thru,this surprised me giving the whack to start them in and typical light marks on the grooves and heavy on the lands.
The lube is GRRW(Adelaide Aust')patch lube/bore solvent, nearly all our club members use this as patch lube and it works a treat on clean up cold or hot also i have some bore butter and will try that too.
The powder is Wano 2p,i have also 3p and will try that, so far i could not be happier well worth the wait and money. :grin: :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

There are other reasons for a gun to shoot groups of rounds to two different points of impact. One that is so often overlooked is the shooter looking first at his front sight when the gun goes off, and then at the target the next time the gun goes off. Most shooters are not even conscious that they are doing this. I see this much more often with shooters firing rifles from a rest using scope sights.

The other common reason has to do with tangs screws and barrel inletting. If the barrel can move in the stock, it probably will, and you get two or more POI on target from the same rest. Obviously, the third most common reason is that the shooter does not balance his rifle across his rest in the same place for each shot. , or shifts his position in his seat from shot to shot. All of this can create groups that are good, but separated by an inch or more on the same target, even at relatively close ranges.

Sorry, I am not familiar with Wano powder at all, and did not recognize the "P" designation after the number " 2 " in your earlier post. I guess the world can't be satisfied with only one sizing designation for black powder.

 

[tippyguru]

:wink: Thanks for the reply paul, i guess like most I'm looking to put 5 shots in 1" at 50 meters i feel this is not too far away :haha: and then the 100 meter stretch , I wil get there though , thanks to all and everyone i'll send some photo's when the job's right, Phill

 

[paulvallandigham]

I once fired 4 shots into a less than 2 inch group, getting two ten-xs, and two tens, but then threw my called fifth shot down in the 7 ring, shooting off-hand at 50 yards. That is about as good as I can do off my hind legs. I am sure I can get close to that one inch mark off a bench, but even that takes lots of work, and a good amount of luck. Only using a good set of aperture front and rear sights would I expect to get near 1" at 100 yds, or by using a high quality scope. But then, that would defeat my personal reason for getting into BP shooting sports. If I want to shoot scopes and fancy peep sights, I have cartridge rifles for that purpose. To each his own....