Finally getting started in Traditional BP shooting

[jambuster]

Well i bought a Lyman GPR about a year ago and because of health issues and the barrel recall i just got every thing ready to shoot last week. BP is hard to find around here but I was able to get a can of GOEX FFFG . I was thinking about ordering some Graf's but the minimum is 4 cans . My gun is A 54 cal. I have read a number of posts about the best grade to buy (3fg or 2fg). Anybody with experience with this gun i would like to know your thoughts.

[Daryl]

Over the years there have been a number of people who have come out with the GPR's.  Once re-crowned and loaded the way we like them- tightly, they shoot amazingly well with 3F or 2F.
For the .54, I would suggest nothing less than about 85gr. 3F for shooting the trail as we have quite a number of longer shots - to 100 meters, which is 109yards. A 10 oz denim patch, which I
measure at .022", will work perfectly with a .535" ball.  That patch might even work with a .530" ball, but is getting on the loose side of things with the small ball. Stay away from Lip balm lubes, such as Bore Butter or TC's lubes.  Use a water based lube for target, and an oil or grease (animal based) for hunting.
The rifling twist is about 66" in those rifles & they will easily digest more powder than you are willing to use, most likely.
 They also shoot best with a bit higher loads than many other people use. This depends on what YOU want from the rifle.  Starting out, start with 50gr. to 60gr. 3F to get a loading and shooting routine for the rifle.  It will shoot better with heavier loads, but will need to have tight loading to do that, especially with 3F.
I personally would use nothing but 2F.  I also use 2F in my .50.

[Huntschool]

I, as Daryl, have had great success with heavy loads in a 1:66 twist .54 barrel.  Mine is an old Sharon Rifle Barrel Co. Hawken barrel.  I shoot spit patch to practice and light oil to hunt or dry lube patch for the first shot and then wet patch if I need a follow up.

I forget the measurement for the lands and groves on this barrel but as it stands today it has seen a huge number of rounds down the barrel and it is starting to open up a bit.  In the beginning I shot both .530 and .535 PB's out of it with .010 patching.  As time went on I went to all .535 with .010 patch.  Yea, its not as tight as Daryl likes but it worked pretty well in this barrel.

I have shot both 2ffg and 3fffg GOEX powder in this barrel at 50 gr, 75 gr. and 110 gr. loads.  All worked quite well.  In fact, the 50 gr (sometimes 40 gr.) load would only punch a hole through a squirrel while the 110 gr load would pass either completely through or stop under the hide of a deer at 100 yds.  It would be flat as a pancake on recovery, if I found it.

Your .54 properly loaded will do you well with practice on your part.

[John SMOthermon]

I’ve got a GPR .54 flint gun that likes 100 grn of ffg Goex

Check your patches after firing most GPR have sharp edges along the lands in the bore, thus causing the patches to cut while loading.

After a couple hundred shots fired lthings should smooth out and not cut the patches any longer.

Good Luck

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

In my experience, cut patches start at the muzzle.  If a ball can be started without damage at the muzzle, it will do fine for it's journey to the charge, and back out the muzzle.  Simply take a piece of 180 grit sandpaper (abrasive cloth is better) and push it into the bore with the end of your thumb.  Rotate the barrel and abrasive about thirty times from one side, then rotate the rifle around and do the same on the other side.  You'll take the sharp corners off the ends of the lands.  Do the same with some finer abrasive to polish the muzzle.  Now you can more easily load a tight patch/ball without danger of cutting at the muzzle.

There are some things that contribute to fine accuracy in a muzzle loading rifle:  1) patch material between .018" and .022" thick, compressed as hard as you can in the jaws of a Vernier's calipers.  2) patch material of a tight tough fabric such as cotton denim, cotton drill, cotton twill, cotton mattress ticking, and linen.
3) patches SATURATED with appropriate lubricant (as noted above)  4) balls cast .005" - .010" smaller than the bore (land to land), and of soft as possible lead  5) charges as dictated by the rifle.  You cannot choose the load - let the rifle tell you what it wants for best accuracy

There is much more but that will get you started.

[smylee grouch]

Another thing you might consider doing if you buy patches is to actually measure the thickness as the advertised thickness claimed on some of these items is not as claimed and usually thinner. As already noted, let the rifle tell you what is the best combo for your particular gun. Shoot lots and lots. The shooting is fun and it gives you a good chance to be come aquainted with the rifle.

[Daryl]

SGrouch makes a good point. Years ago I bought some .018: oxyoke patches from Track. They measured .015 for me and were too thin to shoot well, but did not burn up or cut.

They did have brown scorch marks from the grooves on the recovered patches.

This is what Taylor was talking about - using emery or abrasive paper:
note- I put a clean patch down inside the bore to 'catch' grit and grindings. It is easily retrieved with tweezers or long nose needle nose pliers.






This last picture is a picture of Dave C's muzzle, cut with a tool he makes.  He is now making a different tool, with slightly less radius which will

result in a crown like on the second picture.  For those needing a tool for more precision work, Dave's tool is IT!

[Darrin McDonal]

I hunt with my .54 flintlock rifle (I have a couple of .54 Cal hunting rifles) I, as well as the others that work here in the CW Gunsmith shop use only fffg powder in all Cal rifles / Fowler's. I hunt deer with the most accurate load for my rifle, 75 grains fffg and NEVER alter the powder charge. It will drop any deer. Ideally the bullet will stop underneath the skin on the opposite side. You can retrieve it and reuse it like the frontiersmen / market hunters would have. I have done that a number of times.
Darrin

[OldMtnMan]

Not to be picky but the GPR s a 1-60 twist.

[rfd]

i've lost count of the GPR (investarms) screwdriver kits i've stuck together and modified.  i think they're the best value for getting started in trad muzzy land.  some things to consider ...

is it flint or cap?  if flint, throw away the cut flint they supply and get a dozen black english flints from TOTW. 

if flint, adjust the flint in the cock jaws so that the flint's cutting edge is as close to, but not touching, the frizzen face.

if flint, use real black powder - 3f is all you need for both tube and pan.

pin the brass ferrules - drill a 1/16" hole, twist a bit in the hole ends to chamfer, tap in a brass or iron brad, cut the brad close to the ferrule but not flush, peen the brad with a hammer, file the peened ends flush.

the GPR, like all the other offshore, sports a patent breech (aka "ante chamber") that a patched jag will never enter - use a small .30 brush draped with a patch to clean the patent breech.

it's a bad thing on many levels to have an air space 'tween powder and patched ball.  since this gun has an ante chamber, there is a minimum powder charge of about 25 or 30 grains in order to first fill up that chamber and reach the patched ball.  consider keeping yer lightest patched ball loads to no less than 40 grains.

[OldMtnMan]

I'm using a LH GPR .54 right now. Good gun for the money.

I use this to clean the breech channel. Just shove into it and turn the rod. It cleans it out good.

http://www.octobercountry.com/msm-breech-brush/

[hanshi]

Smoothing the crown as Taylor and Daryl described makes a huge difference.  It will allow you to use thicker patching without tearing.  I also suggest you buy your own material and cut your patches yourself; that's what many of us do.