GPR Lock Improvement

[RobD]

good to hear, pete.  

do enjoy that rifle!

[Uncle Russ]

I was hoping they'd get the LH version better. I just got the gun and I was right. The vent liner is centered in the pan. I'm not usually that lucky.

Pete, I have owned a couple of GPR over the years, and I know of many folks today that own and shoot these rifles with no complaints.
All these things I've been reading about  their poor quality just don't ring right in these old ears.
Of all the folks I have known that have owned and shot these rifles, I have never heard of a single rifle ever being sent back....I'm sure it has happened for some reason or another, but I suspect it was due more to damage that actual "poor quality".

There has simply got to be more to those horror stories than is meeting the eye.

Uncle Russ...

[Muley]

I agree Russ. This gun has the signs of someone who doesn't know what they're doing. I have little doubt the slow fires he complained about are user error.

I'll get her working perfect. The basic gun is good. It just needs some TLC.

[Ohio Joe]

Yeah, there sure are a lot of compromises in life.

The last GPR flint I had I used 4F in the pan and 2F in the tube. I wasn't happy with that combination. I had a hard time keeping the 4F in the pan when hunting and it seemed to suck up moisture pretty easily. The 2F in the tube was ok, but my thought is 3F will ignite easier and maybe flow into the vent liner easier. Plus, I can use less for the same power as 2f for less fouling.

So, I ordered some Goex 3F and plan to use it in the tube and pan. Good plan or not?

I think I will try some 3f for priming and 3f down the tube as well. I haven't experience any problems as yet with 4f prime and 2f down the tube, but I was really taking my time getting a good zero off the bench at 50 yards, so I was really going over the check list between shots. Swab, clean out the vent with a pipe cleaner, load the tube, pick the vent, prime the pan, pick the vent again, wiped the frizzen,,, just really did any and everything I could think to do to make sure the rifle went off each time without a hitch and it did/does.

The one thing I didn't use with my GPR is the sights it came with. Many of us (if not all) have different eyesight of course and when I combine this with the sights the rifle came with, I decided to use the same type of sights as I use on my other rifles (I do make my own primitive fixed sights), and have for at least the last 12 to 15 years maybe longer).  I'm just use to a certain sight height on my rifles, and I do like the wide rear V notch, and a thicker brass blade front sight. I just like the same sight picture on all my rifles. This is just me.

[RobD]

joe, i stopped using 4f for the pan loooong ago - nothing but swiss 3f for tube and pan - and the ignition is Fast!

it's nice to have just one powder horn.  

[Ohio Joe]

I've watched your ignition on YouTube, and it is fast. I agree, one horn makes a lot of sense for sure.  

[Hawken]

Me thinks 'part' of the problem with flinters and ignition is that too much powder is put into the pan! It doesn't take much to make 'er go!! :USA  

YOU GUYS GO VOTE!!

[Muley]

I have one of those brass pan primers. I know I can just use the horn, but I want to be consistent in what I put in the pan at first. Once I get used to what it should look like I can start using the horn.

So, one push from the primer is 3gr. Two pushes for 6gr looks just right to me. What do you guys think?

[Hanshi]

Hawken, Muley, count me in your corner.  I use a brass primer that throws 3grn charges and that's perfect for all my locks but for one, a Chambers Colonial Va lock.  In this very large lock two pushes of the plunger works.  Got another brass primer but it is only used at the range.  Sometimes I will take another primer into the bush and it's made from a deer leg bone and walnut.  It was a gift from a member of another forum.  In use you have to watch how much you're putting in the pan; there's no plunger but it's a beautifully crafted piece of work.

[Muley]

So, just 3gr is enough? It doesn't seem like much compared to what I see in videos.

[RobD]

yes indeed,  too much primer is a good cause of pan flashing.  it's also about the location of the priming powder in the pan, and that the touch hole is clear (which is why i almost always pick it before firing).

[Muley]

Ok, i'll use 3gr and see how it shoots. I wish I could do that today, but the ramrod that came on the gun is worthless. I have to order a new one from TOW. They have a hickory made for the GPR.

I'll have to use the vent liner that came with the gun too. I didn't like the way the RMC threaded in, so i'm not going to use it.

[RobD]

most anything will do fine for a ramrod, like an oak or birch dowel from home depot.  used as is, they work fine if proper ramrod usage is observed.  i make rods outta hickory, too.  i have a tennoning jig i made that i use with an electric drill, a rasp, a file, and some abrasive paper that allows epoxying on a brass 10-32 threaded end.  then i drill the through with a 1/16" bit, chamfer the holes, tap in a solid brass nail, clip off and peen flat the brass to fill the chamfers, file smooth.  i'll take some pix of the whole operation once i'm over the foot operation i had this morning.  

[Muley]

You have a workshop Rob. I live in a small one bedroom apartment. Not much I can do other than clean my gun.

[RobD]

when you see the uber simple jig i created for rod tennoning, you'll see it can be used in a small bathroom let alone a small bedroom.