cva kentucky pistol

[44magnum1979]

Hi all i just purchased a cva kentucky pistol from the forum. i was doin some reading on the net about them. can you shoot the lee real boolit out of a gun like this?oh yeah its a 50 cal.if so what kind charge should i put behind something like 320 grain real?or should i just stick to round balls? and how much charge behind a round ball? i dont want to blow this thing up.any info you guys have would be great. thanks Derrick

[Glassman66]

If you go to CVA and download their manual for a side lock it will get you started. Lots of info here in searches as well. Try "pistol loads".


Randy

[Fly]

I would try a patched round ball with 40 grains of BP instead.The problem with such a heavy
bullet, or higher powder charge is, you may crack the wood frame.I have been there & done that.
The PRB with 40 grains is still a bad boy.

I carried one as a back up during deer hunting.Shot a buck with my rifle & finished it off with the pistol.

Fly

[Boerrancher]

I have a nice CVA Kentucky pistol in a cap lock. I wouldn't have it but it was given to me, and it turned out to be a real nice shooter with 30 to 40 grains of Goex 3Fg. I most certainly would not go heavier than 50 grains on a PRB as the stocks are pretty fragile and the barrel is only held there with a single cross pin made from a 7 or 8 penny nail. It doesn't take much recoil to rip that pin out the top of the stock and turn the barrel loose.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Hanshi]

30 to 50 grains 3F behind a prb makes a powerful load and that's what I shoot in my pistol. Conicals are needlessly stressful on the stock and recoil is unpleasant.

[Sergeant Earthworm]

Can you shoot conicals in a sidelock pistol? Yes. Should you shoot conicals in a sidelock pistol? My answer is no for all the reasons mentioned above and a couple more.

I read that the twist rate of the Kentucky pistol is 1:28 and CVA recommends patched round balls. My .50 caliber flintlock pistol has an even faster twist (1:20) and shoots round balls just fine. I use 35 grains of fffg BP behind a patched ball and that gives plenty of power. It would be fun to try a .45 caliber sabot sometime...

Another thing to consider is that when casting you can cast two round balls for about the same weight of lead as a 320 grain conical. Something to consider in these days of lead being more difficult to come by than in years past.

[44magnum1979]

thanks for all the replys. i did call cva they showed me the manual online for there sidelock guns. they recomend a 490 round ball and 15 patch.the starting load is 20 grains of 3f and the max is 60grains of 3f.i think i will just stick the round balls in it.i am sure it will be fun.thanks again.

[richhodg66]

I have one in .45 and it's a good shooter with teh Lee REAL bullet. I had to work on the sights quite a bit to get it to hit to point of aim and the trigger is rougher than I'd like (there's an adjustment screw on the inside of the lock for adjustment). Not really powerful enough to hunt with but certainly accurate enough for a lot of situations I've had during our early season. I got it cheap and am pretty happy with it for what it is. Round balls worked well too, but were harder to load and didn't shoot any better.