Lyman Great Plains 54

[BPJONES]

Have this rifle on the way. A Lyman Great Plains Rifle in 54 caliber. By the date code it is 1980 production. Came with a couple of boxes of Hornady balls plus some powder, caps, cleaning brushes, capper etc. My eyes aren't what they used to be so the sight might come in handy. We don't get the deals here in Canada like Midway was advertising this fall. In fact, it's difficult enough finding one anywhere up here so when this one came up for sale at a decent price I "took the plunge". Now I will likely wait until spring to try it out. Anybody with one of these in 54 caliber have a "sweet heart of a load" recommendation?
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[sghart3578]

I don't know about a sweetheart load. That's because mine seems to shoot everything that I put in it.

I should start out by saying that I don't hunt with mine, just steel plates at the range. To simplify my loads I use FFFg Goex exclusively. I use .015" and .018" thick patches. My two lubes are Mink Oil from TOTW and good old spit. I use spit a lot because one of the groups that I shoot with won't allow greased patches on their range. The woods were very, very dry this summer. I see no difference in accuracy or point of impact between the lubes.

I carry an empty 45 Colt case and an empty 45-70 case. The 45 Colt case gives me about 30 gr of FFFg. I use this for 25 yard stuff out to 50 yards. Past that I use the 45-70 case. It gives me right around 70 gr of FFFg. This rings the steel at 75 and 100 yards.

For projectiles I cast my own round balls from a Lee .530" mold. I have also tried Hornady .530" round balls with good success. Just yesterday I tried some .527" round balls from TOTW. They loaded very easily and matched the accuracy of my home cast at .530".

I don't shoot for groups on paper. I set up steel plates at various distances. They are 6" and 12" diameters. I paint them white then paint a 3" orange dot on the 75 and 100 yard targets and a 2" orange dot on the closer ones.

When I was shooting the .527" balls at 75 yards I asked my son to spot the impact. The first two at 75 yards knocked orange paint off the center. That's good enough for me.

The lyman Great Plains in .54 caliber is a great gun and a great deal. It is quickly becoming my favorite rifle.

[rfd]

you have a very fine rifle, congrats. i've assembled about 8 GPR's from kits, .50's and .54's. the keeper for me is a .50 that bobby hoyt custom bored out to a .54 with a 1:56 twist and .012 radius groove rifling. i swapped out the lock for an L&R rpl05. after having dozens of custom rifles, this is my go-to smokepole for anything that needs to receive a patched ball.

just as with loading cartridges, what yer GPR likes it will tell you if you test feed it a range of loads. there are essentially three kinds of loads for patched balls - thumb seating, short starter, and hammer. i'd suggest starting out by casting some .530 balls and gather cotton patch strips in .010, .015 and .020, use a GOOD patch lube that completely saturates the material (i use home brewed gato feo and heat gun it into the cloth weave). for each patch thickness, start with 50 grains of a good 3f black powder and go upwards of 80 grains (all by volume) in 5 grain increments. start at 25 yards, then 50 yards, for starters. you'll learn a lot about yer gun's diet in the process. you'll also learn what load process you wanna use. for faster loading, i use a ball block - they're easy to make and they sure speed up loading ...

https://i.imgur.com/tiZhJrx.jpg

realize that like all offshore guns, the GPR has a patent breech plug that is actually an ante-chamber. this is what it looks like ...

https://i.imgur.com/Hf8CkpI.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9sfZYSM.jpg

you'll need a way to clean out and lube that constricted breech, i use a .32 brush with a patch draped over it, and a patched jag for cleaning the bore. don't neglect the patent breech cleaning.

the stock ramrod that comes with the gun has brass ferrules that are essentially glued on. if the prior owner hasn't done it yet, it really pays to drill a 1/16" hole into the side of each ferrule and hammer in a brass or soft iron brad, then peen it over and file it flush. this will absolutely insure the ferrule won't come off.

that ramrod has a ball seating ferrule at one end. it's flared out wider than the rod itself. i file that flare down to the rod's diameter. this allows that ball seating end to enter the rod thimbles and go into the stock. the other threaded end ferrule can now have the cleaning jag permanently screwed in. this allows a continuous up/down motion for removing the the rod, ramming patched balls home, replacing the rod - there is no longer the need for that awkward rod flipping around maneuver.

fwiw, i protect the barrel's muzzle crown with a muzzle protector that i leave on the rod, on the gun. pictures below. nothing can ruin a barrel's accuracy faster than a damaged crown and all ramrods have the potential to damage them, particularly when they're dirty. if you look closely at the brass rod ferrules, you can see where the pinned brass brads were filed down flush.

https://i.imgur.com/BCarxGO.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fbr1OYw.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ssqHFbk.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wtpGm6X.jpg

[sharps4590]

I doubt rfd's post can be improved upon.

Here's what I used when I had one of nearly the same era. Good rifle. My rendezvous load was 60 grs. of Ffg and my hunting load was 90 grs. of the same powder, .020 patch. Balls were .530 cast from a T/C mold I picked up somewhere along the way.

My oldest son built the same rifle from a kit maybe 10 years ago and I believe he settled on the 90 gr. charge as well. All he used his for was hunting and he's taken a few deer with it.

[bedbugbilly]

Congrats on your GPR! You are going to love it!

Ron has given excellent info and like him, I have always done the pinning of the brass ferrels on any ramrod I have ever made or had - just good insurance.

Ron speaks of the GPRs he has had and put together . . . hmmm . how can I put this? :-) I have been shoot BP for some 55 years and have owned, built and shot a lot of rifles. Ron put one of his GPRs up for sale on here - a .50 flintlock. I immediately "suckered" into it as soon as I saw it and bought if from him. Flint or percussion, .50 or .54 - I personally think that the GPR is one of the best "production" rifles that is out there. I have never regretted buying it from Ron and it's one that I will hang on to. You'll really enjoy your rifle and it will put a big smile on your face! The GPR is a good "workhorse" for taking care of whatever needs to be taken care of whether it be hunting, critters or tin cans.

Ron - Sounds like your "re-bore" is really working out well! I'll bet you're enjoying it!

[BPJONES]

Great information guys, thanks. Once we roll into some warmer weather here I will put some of these suggestions into play. I'm looking forward to it.

[Edward]

Don"t wait any day is a good day ,Temps don"t matter ! my 8 PT was killed (NOT harvested) last Dec in winter muzzle loader 16 degrees (cold but a round ball doesn"t care) have fun Ed

[Rick Hodges]

Mine likes Hornady .530 patched round balls and 90gr. of Goex fffg for hunting.

[OverMax]

What He said ^