Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Current production Lymans are JUNK!

Hello all! I promised an update once my GPR was returned from the gunsmith, and it's back wearing it's brand spankin' Rice 54caliber round ball barrel.

Unfortunately, I only managed once at my gun clubs range with it before we placed restrictions on access to our club due to the COVID19 pandemic. The flintlock showed some promise, but also the need for a taller front sight.

The groups with both .530 & .535 patched ball were about the same, slightly tighter with the larger ball, but loaded shockingly easy even with an .020 pillow ticking patch. I really expected smaller groups than I got, especially from a benchrest, but in fairness, there is still work to be done at the range. My hope is for one inch or tighter 50 yard groups once I find the right load. My 50 cal flinter does an inch day in and day out, so if this barrel doesn't, I'll have to figure out whether it's the shooter, or the shooter!

Fit and finish is excellent, and everything seems like it should work out fine. Ignition is lightning fast as long as I do my part to ensure it. As for the front sight, I changed it over to one in my muzzleloader spare parts drawer last night, and if my calculations are accurate enough it should be printing about one inch high at 50 yards when we open the club in a few weeks.

I really want to thank the members here for the help when I was trying to salvage the GPR replacement barrel after the recall. Hope I can return the help at a future date.

Hello again!
Got a surprise yesterday when I was able to use a 50 yard target range, complete with benchrest. I settled on trying the .535 ball with .015" pre-lubed patch, since the cursory firing showed it to be the better load, and put that on top of 85grs of Goex FFG. I got my wish. Five shots, without swabbing into 1 1/4", and had I stayed at only three shots, it would have been an honest one inch at fifty yards.

To say the very least, I am now a very happy camper, and sometime in the future I'm hoping when I try out the Swiss FFG at about 80 grs like was suggested here, the groups will shrink even more. Thank you all for the help.

You are doing better than I am with My Green Mountain with 2 1/2" @ 50 yds. I am sure I will do better soon though.

I'm where I need it to be. What's going on with your Green Mountain? 50 or 54? Flinter or caplock? Maybe we can figure it out on the forum, Green Mountains are usually good shooters.

FWIW, I read where Pedersoli is going to start making the GPR rifles for Lyman. Probably cost more, but likely better built.

Pedersoli hasn't destroyed their reputation like Lyman has done, and considering the pricetag, (including initial tomatoe stake cost) of my GPR is nearly double what a new GPR sells for, Pedersoli is very likely a bargain!

Pedersoli sells some nice guns. However, their prices are too close to the cost of a custom build and the guns are not the quality of a custom.

That being what it is, the only other choices I can say I have first hand knowledge of as decent are T/C and Traditions. T/C is no longer making sidelocks, so that leaves Traditions, of which I have two flintlocks. They both took some tweeking to get where I wanted them, but the PA Pellet and Trapper pistol, both 50cal, shoot better than I can. After spending nearly a year trying to straighten out that Lyman GPR unsucessfully I maintain the Pedersoli even at near custom prices just might be a bargain.

I'm sure there are a few that have had problems with Traditions, but the only "defect" I had was with an improperly sized frizzen on the PA Pellet, and three days after I contacted CS, I had a new one that functions perfectly. I did offer to change it rather than return the gun, since it was and IS a shooter.