CVA 45 cal barrel

[Pioneer flinter]

I have a question for you guys. I have a old cva barrel from a cva kentucky rifle i rebarreled to a .40 cal. I was thinking of using this barrel also as a switch barrel gun. My question is this barrel is missing the cva drum that came on it, it was one of those drums that went all the way across the breech plug. I was going to replace it with one of the ones from TOW that has the same thread pitch. This one only goes in the depth of the bore. Do you think the barrel will be strong enough in the breech area with the original drum missing?

 

[Versanaut]

I had to replace the drum on my CVA 45 kentucky. I used the TOW drum. So far, so good on up to 70 grains.. Buuuuuuuuuuuut, it's a bear to get clean because the fouling fills all those exposed threads. And then drying it becomes an issue as I don't want damp residue in those crevices. Probably an overabundance of caution, I plug and fill it with some IPA, drain, patch dry and heat the barrel after a cleaning to get all the moisture out. No idea if my fear is founded or not, but even still, I tend to avoid using the rifle because of all of that. Used to be my go-to target/competition rifle. Now it comes out to hunt once per year.

 

[SDSmlf]

I had to replace the drum on my CVA 45 kentucky. I used the TOW drum. So far, so good on up to 70 grains.. Buuuuuuuuuuuut, a bear to get clean because the fouling fills all those exposed threads. And then drying it becomes an issue as I don't want damp residue in those crevices. Probably an overabundance of caution, I plug and fill it with some IPA, drain, patch dry and heat the barrel after a cleaning to get all the moisture out. No idea if my fear is founded or not, but even still, I tend to avoid using the rifle because of all of that. Used to be my go-to target/competition rifle. Now it comes out to hunt once per year.

I was going to comment on similar potential cleaning concerns, but have not personally made the modification, so no first hand experience. My concern comes from looking at a cutaway of a CVA percussion breech area. If one were to remove the OEM drum and replace it with a shorter aftermarket version, say one from TOW, it seems obvious that there are plenty of little crapp traps for fouling to get caught in. But as long as one has an effective cleaning method, all should be good.

 

[Pioneer flinter]

Thank you guys. I was thinking the same thing on the cleaning aspect. My biggest concern was the safety aspect.

 

[chorizo]

Use a steam cleaner....It will get even the threads clean....safety of the breech with a new drum, I don't know.

 

[longcruise]

I replaced one in a cva mtn rifle. I was able to obtain a drum with the correct length. I don't remember where I got it but just saying look hard. I know, not much help.

 

[necchi]

Do you think the barrel will be strong enough in the breech area with the original drum missing?

Yes. That's based on the fact that the aftermarket has been available and in use for 20+yrs.
Indexing for the nipple/hammer fit can be tricky.

 

[Kabulrocks]

Here’s a CVA barrel with the breech plug and drum removed. Not mine, I saw it at an event.