Lyman Great Plains rifle

[Wayne Smith]

Gentlemen, I have had this rifle for years and love to shoot it. I have never taken out the breach plug, and after shooting it yesterday figured I ought to clean it thoroughly. The barrel now sits in my vice and I have discovered that a 10mm open end fits the projecting piece (I'm sure it has a name, too) but nothing moves when I put some muscle to it. Not much leverage with that little 10mm wrench, though.

I thought I would consult with the experts before I attempted anything else. The breach plug fits flush with the end of the barrel, no way to put kroil or such except down the muzzle.

I'm sure someone here has experience with this very common rifle, and I'd appreciate your experience before I start something I know nothing about.

That projecting piece of which I have no name does have a hole in it, partially filled with a grease. Should there be a small screw in there I need to release first?

See, I told you I knew nothing about this!

[newton]

I do not think they are meant to be removed once they are set. For sure I would not twist on the tang. I did that once to a CVA lucky enough, and it twisted it plum off. I wound up cutting the barrel off and its in pieces now. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it and I should have just left it alone.

I am sure there are other with more expertise on the subject, but I am almost positive you should not attempt to take the plug out. Just clean it really good and don't worry about trying to be able to look through it like a inline.

[Jim]

Wayne, I had a GPR up 'till a coupla' years ago. I wanted to pull the breech plug and wrote to Lyman about this. They wrote back and told me the breech plug is torqued in and DO NOT try to remove it! They said, if I really needed it out, to send it to them and they would remove it and do whatever I was wanting to do.

I abandoned the idea.

[Maven]

"That projecting piece of which I have no name does have a hole in it, partially filled with a grease. Should there be a small screw in there I need to release first?"

Wayne, Is the piece in question the one the nipple is attached to? If so it's referred to as a "snail;" and yes it's supposed to have a set screw (~3/16" long) in it. It's probably a metric thread and ~#6. Btw, as Lyman said, don't even think about removing the breech plug. Rather clean the bbl. and greasy chamber & flash channel with your favorite solvent, cleaning patches, and pipe cleaners. I have a .50cal. GPR and am very impressed with its construction, reliability, and accuracy.

[bob208]

you don't need to remove the breach plug to clean the barrel. removing the breachplug is about the same a removing the barrel from a centerfire rifle. it looks easy but it does take special tools to do it right and with out maring the finish.

from what you have posted so far about openend wrenches and bench vises. you are on the wrong corse to do the job right.

[Wayne Smith]

Ok, that answers the question and I'm glad I didn't push anything. The piece I'm talking about is what fits into the tang, not the snail.

Now, I have a brass brush stuck in the chamber. I was hoping to push it on through. Unfortunately it's attached to my wooden rod. Not a lot to grab onto. I have to put enough pressure on it to bend the brass brush fibers to pull it out.

i'm at work now, but I'm thinking that if I unscrew it from my wooden rod and then screw it onto my fiberglass rod I would have a better chance. It's longer, as well. Any thoughts about this? I wuld be screwing it blind he whole length of the barrel. OTOH, it is very unlikely to move!

[Maven]

Wayne, I don't know what that's called either. Now, about that stuck bore brush, use a muzzle protector on the fiberglass rod to help center it and increase the odds of threading the male end of the brush onto the fiberglass rod. Btw, you're not the first or only one who's done this, but you may find something useful in this thread: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/274111/

[fouronesix]

OH yes, over-sized brass brush stuck in the blind hole called the breech:) Almost as common as broken wood ramrod- now what?

Get a steel, one piece cleaning rod with a threaded end to match the brass brush. Turn it onto the brush. Chuck the rod into to a hand drill. Make sure the switch on the drill is set to RIGHT HAND. Run drill while pulling out. The bristles will collapse and the brush can be pulled out.

[451 Pete]

Wayne just purchase a 3/8 brass or copper piece of tubing after unscrewing the ram rod and push it down over the bristle brush. This will retract the bristles and allow the brush to be easily removed. Just another way of skinning the same cat.

Take care ... pete

[Starvnhuntr]

I also had a stuck brush with the threads broken off.I took a piece off 5/16 brass rod and filled the end up with epoxy putty. then with the muzzle pointed down i shoved the rod up into the barrel and over the brush. pulled it out the next day.

[Wayne Smith]

I also had a stuck brush with the threads broken off.I took a piece off 5/16 brass rod and filled the end up with epoxy putty. then with the muzzle pointed down i shoved the rod up into the barrel and over the brush. pulled it out the next day.

I'm trying to figure this out. How does one "fill" the end of a rod? How does a rod, presumably solid, go "over" the brush? Somehow I think you left something out!

Now to find a one piece steel cleaning rod without a handle on ball bearings!

[Maven]

Wayne, 451 Pete's suggestion is worth trying: "...just purchase a 3/8 brass or copper piece of tubing after unscrewing the ram rod and push it down over the bristle brush. This will retract the bristles and allow the brush to be easily removed. Just another way of skinning the same cat." As for the solid steel ramrod, try your local hardware store as it may stock 3/8" x 6' or 7/16" x 6' cadmium plated steel rods. However, you'll need to drill it in order to add a threaded brass (or iron) ramrod fitting*, and maybe reduce its length as well. Btw, if you do this and add a handle of some sort (I use wooden round doll's heads that Michaels sell), you'll have a dandy range rod for your efforts.


*Needless to say, make sure the bore brush- and ramrod end threads are the same!

[Mooseman]

Instead of steel , I went to a large welding supply place and bought 1/4 , 5/16, and 3/8 brass rods 3 ft long and I made ramrods out of the 3/8 by turning it down a bit,to fit the ramrod barrels, slotting one end and drilling and tapping for a cleaning brush or swab. The other end I brazed the cupped brass boolit pusher onto and left it just a tad longer under the barrel for a faster grip . It works great and no more broken rods to worry about and it loads faster to boot.
A hole drilled thru the rod opposite the threaded end allows a punch or even a nail to be inserted as a T handle to twist easier.

Rich

[fouronesix]

If you don't have the means of drilling and tapping a standard jag 8x32 thread (or 10x or 12x or whatever is the most appropriate- but 8x is most common and adaptors are available for the larger sizes) in one end then get a steel (or brass I guess) cleaning rod that will have one end already drilled and tapped. Most standard rods are already drilled and tapped for 8x32 threads. Always good to have a stout rod handy for any number of uses- no matter the type of firearm. Use for slugging a bore, driving (or pulling) out stuck bullets or other things in bore, retrieving stuck brass brushes :), use as the primary ram rod for MLs, etc.

Also, milsurp or repro USGI 50 cal cleaning rods work very well. I've had one of these for 40 years and used it now and then for heavy duty work.
Like this one http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=314670322

[BeeMan]

This is what I'd try, rather than risk damaging the bore. The brass or bronze brush should be mostly copper. Pour some copper cleaning bore solvent down there and let it soak. Montana Extreme 50 BMG is oil based and won't hurt to leave in overnight, unlike some of the older ammonia containing formulas. Once integrity of the bristles is compromised, it should come out with minimal effort.

[MT Chambers]

I had a bullet and a cleaning rod stuck in my ML, couldn't get it out, so put some 4fg powder behind it and fired gun in my garage, cleaned everything out real good but the bullet and rod went through the garage wall.

[Wayne Smith]

Thanks to all of you I went out to the garage this AM and unscrewed the wooden ramrod, screwed in my fiberglass, chucked my drill motor on this, and with slow speed pulled the brush out.

Gun is now cleaned, reassembled and put away until next time.

[fouronesix]

Good deal!