My first smokepole..... new untried journey

[Mad Mucus]

Just put a deposit on my first smokepole, a Lyman GPR percussion .54 cal

Awaiting a permit to acquire through local gov weapons licensing before completing the purchase.
It will come with a minnie mold of which the projectiles apparently shoot well, though I know this rifle is meant for patched ball.

Hmmm, where to start & what accessories will I definitely need for loading & cleaning?

I'm a darksider, very familiar with blackpowder. Up until now my experience has been with cap'n'ball revolvers & BP cartridge.

Looking to get the Reloading Manual Lyman Black Powder Handbook 2nd Edition.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Vaino]

If your GPR is rifled for a PRB, the rifling depth will be too deep for a conical and the resulting gas blowby. There's more of a difference in properly shooting various projectiles than rate of twist....although my shallow rifled TC Hawken shoots both PRB and conicals accurately......Fred

 

[bpd303]

You might want to look at this site... Bobs Blackpowder Notebook. A wealth of knowledge there & good reading. http://home.insightbb.com/~bspen/

 

[HPS]

Hello Mark,

I'm new to BP and just arrived here the other day as you can see from the date stamp. Just a quick note to introduce myself. I ordered a Lyman GPR
Monday, can't wait, and just received the Lyman Black Powder Handbook & Loading Manual. Looks like a keeper. I'm schooling about as fast as I can and learning a great deal from these folks. Great bunch as you know.

Anyway, hope all goes well getting your GPR through the red tape.

 

[Wes/Tex]

You might want to look at this site... Bobs Blackpowder Notebook. A wealth of knowledge there & good reading. http://home.insightbb.com/~bspen/[/quote]
Amen to that! My personal take is that everyone should read Bob's great work. He's a whiz at research and has put in enough "boots on the ground time" to qualify as 'expert'! :thumbsup: Besides, I just love his ability to tell stories! Can't go wrong.

 

[HPS]

Noted and book marked!

 

[necchi]

That link is by and from a member here Spencer,
I'd highly recommend downloading that stuff to your hard drive as I saw him mention in another thread he's not going to maintain the site much longer.
Much valuable info compiled from years of experience.

 

[Kapow]

Great choice in rifle. I'd toss the minie mold and just use cast roundballs, they will kill anything in this country besides buffalo. Where in QLD are you? I love my Lyman GPR, the roundballs are deadly on hogs.

 

[William O.]

Congrats on purchasing the GPR, I think you'll be pleased and get a lifetimes use out of it. I started with a .54 and it remains my favorite. As for accessories you will defiantly need a cleaning jag to fit on your ram rod. I don't remember if Lyman includes one with new rifles or not but if not you'll need to get one. I'm also a big fan of metal range rods with free spinning T handles. Save your wooden ram rod for showing off but load, swab and clean using your range rod. Next you'll need material for your cleaning patches and then your shooting patches. Cotton flannel works great for cleaning or swabbing. Shooting patches require something university a tighter weave such as mattress ticking. It should measure at least.015 when compressed if using a .530 ball, another something that you'll need.

Finally I suggest that you check out what Dutch Schoultz has to say about muzzleloader accuracy;http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/

Oh, and get some Barricade for rust prevention.

 

[Mad Mucus]

Hi Kapow..... reside west of Brisbane. My folks live in Kawana but rarely do I venture there.

Thanks to all for your replies, input & sites. :hatsoff:

As you can see by my sign on date, I have wanted a muzzleloader for some time now. Happy to finally take the step into a new endeavour.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Are you allowed to do your own builds there down under? If so, what are the restrictions on you?

In the UK, the licensed gun owner has to keep bolt action guns with the bolt out of the gun, and in different places under lock & key, where only they have access to it. Ammo has to be locked up too. Not sure about how they deal with BP, since all you need to have a functioning weapon is a barrel with a touch hole.

 

[hanshi]

I did that long ago. Another thing is that I also printed out all the pages and put them in a binder booklet along with other info. It's been quite a few years ago, too.

 

[dikman]

Yep, guns have to be kept locked up with ammunition also locked up separately. You can build your own gun, but some parts require a police permit to import them. We can't import kits because Customs will not let them through (no one has ever said that our national firearms legislation is logical - after all, it was drawn up by politicians :cursing: ).

 

[MSW]

congratulations on your new rifle ... I agree with the recommendation that you get Dutch Schoultz' method ( I remember reading somewhere that he coached the Australian National ML team) ... his work is excellent ...

go with PRB - you'll do fine ...

good luck, and make good smoke! :grin:

 

[Mad Mucus]

Have you enquired/tried Forbes Wholsale in Vic for kits etc?
http://www.forbesws.com.au/black-powder-home.html

 

[Mad Mucus]

Also check out Green River Rifle Works down your way.....
http://users.picknowl.com.au/~vaisham/catalogue/lyman.htm

 

[Dr5x]

I did not coach the Australian ML Team.
A New Zealand Subscriber wrote me that my work was similar to what he had been instructed by the coach of the New Zealand ML team.
I looked into and found that the Coach of that team was a subscriber.
So, I guess, indirectly I had some influence on the NZ Team

Dutch

 

[dikman]

Yes, I know Allan and his wife at Green River Rifle Works. To the best of my knowledge he is not selling kits. As far as I know a gunsmith can import a kit BUT he has to assemble it and have it tested. My discussions with Customs are that a member of the public cannot import a firearms kit (well, technically you can, I suppose, but Customs won't let you have it!).

You can bring in all the parts separately, but some will need a permit from the police. And part of the problem is finding suppliers in the US who are prepared to ship the stuff to you, as they also have to have relevant export licences. I've been tempted to try it, but when I start looking it all gets too hard - a flintlock pistol kit would just be so much easier to start with.

 

[Kapow]

Been there and done that. Don't even be tempted to try it, it is a nightmare. Better to get one in the white and finish it yourself. Customs do d "drop" test on a rubber mat to see if the sear engagement holds. It is done by jerks and proves nothing. I have been in their "high tech" testing room and it is an absolute farce. I don't have enough bad things to say about them.

I have a CVA .54 Mtn rifle that is surplus to my needs. You can P.M. me if you like. Do a search on them on this site, they are a well respected rifle.

 

[dikman]

Yep, the chap explained the drop test to me - a pointless exercise in stupidity, as far as I'm concerned, and that is basically the sole reason why they won't release a kit, because they can't do a drop test on it :youcrazy:.

If it wasn't for that test we'd be able to import kits.

PM on its way.