CVA Hawken

[bovw]

Howdy folks. I was at my uncle's doing a little plinking, and told him about the two BP revolvers I just picked up. I ended up coming home with his old CVA Hawken pistol. It has some surface rust on it, but functions just fine. I'm going to clean it up soon.

I do need to find a new ramrod for it though, can anyone point my in the right direction? Also, what would be a good load for this? He didn't have the manual for it.

Thanks!

 

[Zonie]

Although I wouldn't suggest it for use in a rifle, a piece of wooden dowel from a local hardware store will work pretty good for a pistol.

Rifles often use very tight fitting patch and ball combinations that need a lot of force to ram them down the barrel. Wooden dowels from hardware stores often are made out of weak woods and they often have their grain breaking out the side of the rod. Both of these things can cause the rods made from regular wooden dowels to break. The break can leave a razor sharp edge that can poke thru the shooters hand or arm.

Getting back to pistols, the patch and ball combinations usually are a looser fit.
This makes loading them much easier with less chance of breaking the ramrod.

You didn't say what caliber your gun is but if it is a .45, a .440 diameter ball with a .010 thick patch would work. Use a powder load of 15-30 grains.

A .50 caliber pistol will work with a .490 diameter ball and again, a .010 thick patch.
The .50s will shoot well with a 20-40 grain powder load.

 

[bovw]

Thank you kind Sir. Left out the caliber part I suppose, it's a .50. A dowel is my uncle's recommendation, but I'd like to eventually find a correct one.

If I can talk dad out of that old .50 Hawken rifle I shot many years ago as a kid, I'll have a set.

 

[bpd303]

Yep get a dowel and rod tip from TOW, easy to make. http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/584/1/RT-TC-6-8-F-B

 

[cynthialee]

I have that pistol and I love it.
I use 30 grains of 3F with an over powder card, .010 pre-lubed patch and a .490 RB
hits close to center on the pie plate almost every shot at 30 yards.

 

[bpd303]

If you are set on an original ramrod, give Deer Creek Products a call. They have many CVA parts that are not listed on their web site. http://www.deercreekproducts.net/

 

[bubba.50]

track of the wolf has lyman plains pistol ramrods for 15 bucks. they're 8 & 1/4 inches long which should be about right for the cva pistol.

 

[swathdiver]

CVA Hawken has a 9-3/4" barrel length.

Track and others sell the CVA brass ends.

My local Hobby Lobby has hardwood dowels of good quality with the grain usually right for making ramrods. I have used a couple for putting the wood end in my cordless drill to work on barrels and even slugged a couple of sixgun barrels with them and they have held up just fine. Still, I buy my ramrods from Track of the Wolf and Jedediah Starr, old habit I guess.

30 grains is minimum, 60 grains is maximum recommended load.

 

[larryp]

I have one of those in .45 that I bought 2nd hand at a gunstore years ago for $50. Nice accurate gun. You're going to love it!

 

[bovw]

Thanks all! I will check out all those options.

 

[cynthialee]

30 grains is minimum, 60 grains is maximum recommended load.

Where do you get that 60 grain max load idea from?
That is a lot of powder for such a short barrel.

Somewhere along the way I seem to have gotten it into my head that max load for this pistol is 45 grains of 3F. But at that much powder the shots are all over the place and do not group.

 

[swathdiver]

I have an original kit from 1981. A fellow once posted the twist and charges he chrony'd and said 60 was the maximum and the CVA Sidelock manual also calls for a max charge of 60 grains for a .50 caliber pistol.

Mine is one of the first, like the original CVA Hawkens with a barrel 1" across the flats and a walnut stock, not 15/16" and a beech stock like the later guns.

 

[cynthialee]

Huh...
I can be wrong. Happens often enough it doesn't surprise me when it happens.

I don't know I want to try out 60 grains, at 30 it seems to be plenty.

 

[bubba.50]

but I bet that 60gr load would be pretty awesome if ya touched it off about dusk-dark. :grin:

 

[swathdiver]

Don't think I'd want to light off that sized charge either, well maybe at dusk with someone else's! :rotf:

 

[tnpaw]

Hey Bubba, have you ever set one off ,around 2:30 AM! And watch the house lights come on! Pretty Amazing! ff