-
This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.
Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades -
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
58 CVA Hawken
- Thread starter Bigpete
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2018
- Messages
- 114
- Reaction score
- 157
Was I you, I would buy it right away and ask questions later. I don't recall anyone not liking a .58 CVA. Just my opinion.
They made a Big Bore Mountain Rifle in .58 caliber (actually .575") years ago, but they didn't produce these for long and there aren't that many of them out there. A few forum members have this rifle, though, including myself. A member named @Ballshooter currently has a thread going which discusses his loads and experiences shooting this rifle, and a number of other members have contributed information about load development.
I like mine. It is not a copy of any rifle from history, and some will say it is heavy, but the weight is nicely balanced. The CVA sights on this rifle are rather cheaply made, but they get the job done and oddly enough, the sight picture I get with them is about as good as any I've seen with open sights.
Anyway, those are a few comments about the old CVA Big Bore Mountain Rifle. I'm not aware of their ever having made a .58 caliber Hawken.
Notchy Bob
I like mine. It is not a copy of any rifle from history, and some will say it is heavy, but the weight is nicely balanced. The CVA sights on this rifle are rather cheaply made, but they get the job done and oddly enough, the sight picture I get with them is about as good as any I've seen with open sights.
Anyway, those are a few comments about the old CVA Big Bore Mountain Rifle. I'm not aware of their ever having made a .58 caliber Hawken.
Notchy Bob
Last edited:
Yes,looking at the photos and comparing them on the net,I believe it is actually a big bore mountain rifle that's been done up with a new stock and sights etc
After seeing the photos you submitted in post #6, I would agree.
I have never seen one with wood like that before. Even if it is a “faux” stripe job, it was very well done.
Buy it, Pete! You won’t regret it!
Notchy Bob
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2005
- Messages
- 1,415
- Reaction score
- 3,373
They sold those in kit form as well. True, not many out there.
Apparently it was someone's project gun and it's been restocked with curly maple,amongst other things
I love hunting with my .58’s and .62s…nothing walks away from those round balls.
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2021
- Messages
- 207
- Reaction score
- 235
At some point a previous owner loved the .58 Big Bore I picked up. She shoots great but the blonde stock and natural browned iron show its age. The lock plate has been engraved with the three initials and the date 1851 which is a nice touch. She'll be getting the restoration she deserves as one of our rendezvous projects with the scouts.
The original ramrod that came with my .58 caliber CVA Big Bore Mountain Rifle has a brass ferrule on the distal end with a 10-32 female thread. The "head" of the rod also has a brass fitting which has been cupped to match the contour of a round ball, but it has not been drilled or threaded.
So, I guess the answer to the question would be 10-32.
However, if we can expand a on the topic a little, I've made several "wash rods" (old-time terminology) for my rifles. I like to make these out of good hickory rods, at least six inches (15cm) longer than the barrel, and I install a threaded ferrule on both ends, one threaded 8-32 and the other 10-32. The ferrules are secured with epoxy or hot-melt cement and pinned. The extra length gives a little something to hold on to. Most of the jags, breech face scrapers, ball pullers and so forth that you see for sale are threaded to either 8-32 or 10-32. As I shamelessly adhere to the "bigger is better" philosophy, I make it a practice to order these items in the 10-32 size when I buy new ones, but somehow a few 8-32 components have sneaked into the collection of cleaning supplies, and with the double-ended rods, they are not a problem.
It is noteworthy that shotgun cleaning components (jags, loops, mops, brushes, etc.) are threaded to a non-standard pitch of 5/16"-27. Taps and dies in this pitch can be hard to find, but Victor Machine Tools has them. You'll probably have to order a standard 8-32 or 10-32 ferrule and drill it out and tap it yourself to make a wash rod to accommodate shotgun components, though.
A lot of the fellows here will tell you to get a dedicated range rod of brass or stainless with a muzzle guide for loading and cleaning. That is good advice. I respect that recommendation, and I do not argue with it. However, I am an elderly curmudgeon, set in my ways and too old and stubborn to change them. I'm pretty happy with my home-made hickory rods for cleaning, and I generally use the actual ramrod that came with the rifle for loading. People will tell you that wooden rods will hold grit and wear your muzzle into a cone. Where does this grit come from? I try to keep my rods clean, and I wipe them with a rag when I think they need it. So far, so good...
That's probably more than you wanted to read, but I hope it answered the question.
Have fun with that rifle. It's a beauty.
Notchy Bob
Last edited:
I'll never own a range rod,see no point. Thanks for the reply,I suspected it would be 10-32 thread. Now I can order the cleaning gear for it
I have owned a few CVA’s…I don’t know that I would trust the ramrod ends to stay in place pulling a jag out or worse a ball puller. YMMV.
Hawken or big bore mountain rifle?
The actual hawken did come in 58 but is extremely, non existent, rare. One wedge key model.
The actual hawken did come in 58 but is extremely, non existent, rare. One wedge key model.
I'll confess I've replaced all my rifle rods with ( gasp ) fibreglass rods,except my shotgun one,which I made from Tasmanian oak. So down the track I'll be upgrading it if it seems unsuitable. But I'll still use the same components on the new rod
As already discussed,I'm certain its actually a big bore mountain rifle
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2005
- Messages
- 1,415
- Reaction score
- 3,373
If you have a copy of "The Muzzle-loading Hunter" by Rick Hacker, he talks about the CVA Big Bore Mountain Rifle a little bit in the hunting rifles chapter.
I’m drooling for a .58 or .62 Hawken style rifle. The persona I’m researching is a North West hunter between the Fur trade and Gold Rush. That way I can cover two different events with minimal kit changes 
After shooting a T/C Big Boar in Alaska I have been addicted to the idea and abilities of large bore close in muzzle loaders.
After shooting a T/C Big Boar in Alaska I have been addicted to the idea and abilities of large bore close in muzzle loaders.
