Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Lyman GPR stock work

I own a couple older Great Plains Rifles - one a .50 cal percussion and the other a .54 cal flinter. I realize they're not custom rifles but they are sort of period correct. For the money, I have been very happy with accuracy and reliability of both rifles. However, I absolutely hate the steel, crescent butt plate - particularly when I load up the .54 with heavier loads for elk.

Does anyone know of someone that might do some re-stocking work? I'd much prefer a more conventional butt plate and also much less comb drop.

Thanks and be well. DJB

Something like this.I posted this a few days ago. Stock I made for a TC Hawkin...

Very nice work. PM sent

I wondered if you could plane the 2 sides of the factory stock flat then glue / screw additional slabs to the sides and reshape those to create a wider footprint of the butt on your shoulder and maybe add a recoil pad. In other words, sort of home-laminate the stock to make it wider without having to build a whole new stock.

That drop at the comb and the curved butt plate is so you put the curve below your shoulder not on it. On your upper arm so the butt goes into your arm pit so to speak

Nice looking job but that butt pitch would drive me nuts.

Works for me, but maybe I am built different.

Yeah, we're all built a little different. But you did do a damned nice job on it.

Thanks.Two challenges were drilling the hole for the ramrod and getting getting the wedge keys aligned in the stock with the tenon on the barrel for the correct pressure.

Is this your first attempt? If so, I think you missed your calling.

Did you have the original stock to work from? To take measurements from?

First attempt at a muzzle loader. At the time I had access to a mil and I cut the barrel channel with it. Now I would have to rig some kind of a jig and do it with a router for those octagon barrels.The ramrod hole I drilled with an undersized bit that I brazed a long shank to.Then finished the hole with a 3/8 th threaded rod working it back and forth slowly.

Yes,I had the original.

Hardest thing I ever did was rebarrel a Fox Sterlingworth 12gauge sxs shotgun. That took me two years. I couldn't do that again as I don't have the mill.

Sorriest thing happened.The first hunt I took the new stocked Hawkin out, I had it in a scabbard, butt forward. When I got off my mule and tied her to an aspen tree, she spooked, lunged forward with the stock one side of the tree and her on the other. Cracked the stock. I was able to drill four 1/4" holes down thru the top right in back of the hammer and then glued with 4 each 1/4" walnut dowels driven. It is still like that today