CVA Rifle into a pistol??

[crandall crank]

I've been looking for a 50 cal CVA Kentucky style pistol (percussion) for a while and have had no luck. I know they were discontinued several years ago. It seems that I keep stumbling upon 50 caliber CVA rifles....which made me think.

Has anyone tried to use the tang, barrel (cut down), trigger and lock and install it into a CVA Kentucky pistol stock? The stocks are still available through Deer Creek ($55).

Another option would be to cut the barrel down, which includes cutting a dovetail for the wedge and just carve/hack/whittle on the stock until it is a pistol.

What's everyone's opinion? I'm just too thrifty (cheap) to buy a $300+ BP pistol. I will not be hunting with it, just casual shooting and using in re-enactments.

[johnson1942]

i would be interested in responses here as pistols have faster twist even for round balls. im wondering if a slow twist barrel cut short can shoot a roundball accurately. i dont see why not but again i want to learn from the responses here. my four ubeti cowboy guns i believe have a 1/18 and1/2 twist and shoot roundballs very accurate. ive always wondered about this.

[bubba.50]

I saw one cut down into a "blanket gun" that looked pretty good. butt of stock cut off just past the grip, barrel shortened to a couple inches in front of where the fore-end steps down & ramrod channel begins and had some faux Indian rawhide repair work coverin' the butt-ugly joint in the stock. a little leather lacin' & a couple of feathers completed the deal.

[curator]

Early in my muzzle loading shooting career I made several pistols, percussion as well as flint lock, using cut-offs from muzzle loading rifle barrels. Twist rates varied from 1 in 48 to 1 in 66". None of them were ever as accurate as faster twist "pistol" barrels with twist rates of 1 in 24 to 1 in 18". The slow twist barreled pistols shooting patched round ball were slightly less accurate than smooth bore pistols of the same caliber. Some would shoot pretty good at less than 50 feet, but accuracy at 25 yards was more like a pattern than a group. I tried several different caliber choices as barrel pieces came available from .36 up to .58". None lived up to my expectation until I finally coughed up the money to buy properly rifles pistol barrels.

[bob208]

as others have said the twist is all wrong for a pistol. you would not be happy with the shooting results. the you would be out a rifle and have a pistol that does not shoot. a lose lose out come.

[waksupi]

I've built pistols with rifle cut offs. I could get fair accuracy, but had to stoke them up pretty hot to get there. Not worth it.

[jjarrell]

You can get a new pistol barrel from The Gun Works for $65. Joe Williams machines them and does top notch work.

[tomme boy]

Doesn't Traditions still make the pistols in a kit? I know the Sheeles store here has one in the case that they are selling. They seem to get them in regularly.

[mooman76]

Yes, Traditions still has pistol kits.

[bubba.50]

Deer Creek lists several CVA kits. shows to be two 45cal flint Kentuckys to be available for $199.00 and also a few American Pistol(Hawken syle) kits in 50cal percussion as available for $169.00.

luck & have a good'en, bubba.

[Good Cheer]

For some goofy reason I sold this CVA fast twist .50... a moment of extreme DUH.
It probably would have made a pretty darn good pistol.