My Lyman Deerstalker Flintlock stock is really dark too. And your right that crap in the barrel is a pain to get out. I did like you and now I just need to shoot it once to get it cleaned out for good. My barrel and stock fit really really snug. Almost to the point that I wanted to inlet it alittle bit, but Lyman says dont do it. So we will see. Congrats on the new toy! Thanks to Josmund I bought a pretty much new .54 Lyman Plains Pistol that I plan to shoot this weekend. I'll post pics when I do.