Lyman Investarms GPR flinter "kit"

[RobD]

The 4th Investarms "kit" rifle I've assembled, this one is a Lyman Great Plains Rifle Hawken style in .50 caliber, w/32" barrel and walnut stock.  Purchased from Graf's for $490/shipped, the assembly took less than 30 minutes, requiring only small and medium screwdrivers, a hammer and drift for the barrel wedges and sights.  Now the real work begins - take off the barrel and lock, leave on the furniture so the proud wood gets rasped and sanded down to meet the metal.  When done, it'll get stained and clear coated.  This will hold me over nicely for a sorta kinda Hawken whilst my "real" Hawken gets built the end of this year.  

[amm1851]

I shot a Lyman GPR for several years. They are excellent rifles, in my opinion. Mine was a caplock.

[RobD]

The good part about these Investarms rifles is that the patent breech plugs can be removed, but with the correct tools - next week I'll demonstrate just how I do that and why.

[Bigsmoke]

RFD  
That is a good looking rifle gun.  It should serve you well.  From what I have heard for many years, they shoot plumb center.  Amazingly enough, of all the rifles I have owned over the years (and that's a whole big stack of them), except for rifles in inventory, I have never owned one.  But I have sold a bunch of them.
Still cannot imagine why you are so intent on removing breech plugs for no obvious reason.  I have been burning black powder for a good many decades and have never felt the need to pull one off the barrel.  But, that's just me.  If you feel the need, go for it.
Still like your rifle, though.
John

[RobD]

John ...

There may never come a time when you will need to remove a breech plug.  Dittos for a caplock's bolster.  However .......

If the barrel was dry balled, and the patched ball was a very tight fit that didn't allow easy screw worm removal, or if the chamber was gunked and corroded and held that patched ball so that you could hang off it without budging the ball, the plug will definitely need to be removed IF it's has a traditional flat face because even if the touch hole is lined there is typically no way to get in enuf powder to blow out that patched ball.  I've experienced all those conditions, and others.  Most patent breeches with lined touch holes will allow the liner to be removed and powder inserted to blow out the patched ball .. maybe (I've had instances where that failed miserably).

If there is a need to really clean out a flat breech plug face, or if the barrel was unlined and a liner was needed to be installed (drilled, threaded, liner trimmed to fit the chamber's wall), or if the barrel and plug were new and the plug's threads were never anti-seize lubed, or if the touch hole and/or touch hole liner were not properly drilled to meet the plug's face, or if it was a patent breech that needed to be cleaned out due to inconsistent ignition, or ... there are probably a number of other reasons to have breech plug access.

In the pics below you will see a brand new, UNFIRED Investarms barrel and patent breech plug for a Hawken flintlock barrel.  That gunk and residue corrosion is from it's proofing.  I've never seen these offshore guns cleaned after proofing and I've worked on quite a few.  There is no way to properly clean and polish that chamber/flue/plug without removing it.  





I've found that Spanish patent breech plugs (CVA, Traditions and others) and some of the Italian gun's plugs (Pedersoli and others) are Impossible to remove - yer stuck (literally) with what you've got and I will no longer buy those muzzleloaders.  Investarms (Lyman, DGW and others) will allow patent breech removal with the correct tools, and I remove them before their first loading, clean and polish them, return them with anti-seize lube for future removal.

As always, YMMV.  

[Bigsmoke]

Guess I have always been pretty lucky, then.
Of course, I have never been much for flinters, always preferred percussion guns.  Over the years, I have tried to get excited over flinters, but it never worked.  One time I bought a really nice flinter and sold all my cap guns.  One of the stupidest things I have ever done.  I even took it to the extreme and sold all my revolvers.  Had one of every model and variation that Uberti made.  But I had a flint pistol so life just had to be better, right?  Not so.

[RobD]

hah!  to each their own, it's really all good.  i've had a coupla cappers and sold them off as fast as possible.  flinters only, thank ye!

[Uncle Russ]

As for myself, I like 'em both, be it cap or flint, I just can't seem to find any I don't like.
However, my own, all-time favorite, is still a very old .54 GPR Flinter.

I agree with Rob that pulling that breech plug while it's still new is a great idea!
A very liberal application of anti-siege, put it back together, line up your witness mark, and you're good to go. By doing this, when the time comes later on, when that plug must be removed, you will thank yourself 100 times over for doing it the first time early on.

My old favorite was also built from a kit that I took in on a trade for something else, and then it sat around in the shop for a couple of years before I decided to put it together.
As Rob stated the initial "fit" took only 30 minutes or so, but that was when the work really started.
This stock below was finished using rotten stone, and LMF's Permalyn finish.
I have a strong preference for the light red hue produced by this method of finish. Problem is, if such can be said, every little flaw will show, so take the wood down to at least a 400, with 600 being preferred....that's where the rotten stone comes in. It gives a mirror-like finish.
I like tinkering around with nice wood stocks!
I realize many prefer a Tru-oil finish as it is much less work. Heck, I like it too!
Some even like Tung-Oil, and the lack of any shine at all, just plain good protection, and I like that also.
So after all is said and done, and when you get right down to the nitty-gritty, it's all good!  



IMHO, Investarms provides us with with some of the best quality muzzleloaders available today.....at a "reasonable" cost.
Right out of the box, they seem to perform much better than any of the other "out of the box" guns that I have personally ever had the privilege of trying.

Just my thoughts.

Uncle Russ...

[Bigsmoke]

Well, hell, maybe if I ever get another new gun, I might oughta try that.  I still don't believe it to be necessary.  But I will give it a try.  If I ever get another new rifle.  Odds of that happening really are pretty slim.

[RobD]

Started in on the stock finish, used LMF walnut stain and original antique oil finish (linseed oil and polymer drying agents).  





While the first coat of oil is drying off, I used a special 15/16" breech plug socket and an 18" Reed RCorp wrench to pull the barrel's plug - man, that socket is awesome and the plug came right off without the need for wrench handle extension.  Again, the barrel's chamber and the plug flue and touch hole were full of proofing residue gunk.  Cleaned it all up, used anti-seize lube on the plug and touch hole liner, homed them both down good.  

[rollingb]

Cooool,....... Rob, where'd you get your 15/16" breech plug socket,... and the octagon blocks for your vice?

[RobD]

the aluminum octagon vise blocks have a magnetic neodymium magnet inlaid so they stay stuck to the vise jaws without shifting.  got 'em from rice barrels (along with their nifty standard breech plug wrench) - $40 but WELL worth having - RICE MUZZLE LOADING BARREL COMPANY

the 15/16" patent breech plug socket works on so many different barrels 'n' breeches and also comes in smaller and larger sizes, $20 shipped off an ebay vendor - Breech Plug Removal Wrench 15 16" for Thompson Center Lyman Investarms GM | eBay

pretty happy over the oil finish i'm using for the first time, came from track of the wolf -    Our favorite Original Oil Finish, 4 ounce bottle - Track of the Wolf

[Hank in WV]

Pretty neat socket you have there rfd. Curious about the shape of the hole. What is the other square part of the hole that you didn't use, used for? Hope that makes sense.

[RobD]

Pretty neat socket you have there rfd. Curious about the shape of the hole. What is the other square part of the hole that you didn't use, used for? Hope that makes sense.

the socket is a near tight fit to the barrel, and i think that squared out opening just helps in getting it onto the breech end.  took a few light tack hammer taps to home it on, no problem.  will never have a tough time removing investarms patent breech plugs from now on, amen to that!

[RobD]

russ, yer 54 hawken sure is a beauty, sir!

i've used many diff'rent kindsa finishes, including doing at least 3 long guns with that LMF permalyn.  since it's a plastic, it only takes one coat for it to get real shiny, but that can get knocked down with some 0000 steel wool.  super fast finish, though.  all done in one day.

i'm really liking this TOTW linseed/polymer oil finish - top dries pretty guick and will get 3 coats on in one day (today).  it'll have that oil finish satin look that i like.