cva hawkens update

[corey012778]

part 2 of this thread http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=34245

I been fighting an stuck drum on my cva hawkens for 3 or 4 days now. At 2:41am my time, I won using a very extreme method. needless to say, the drum only good for a fishing sinker now.

on top of that. the new drum and nipples came in today. all I gotta todo is clean the hole and the gun up and I be good to go.

thanks for all the help guys. :drinks:

big smile on my face. I can get the gun to the range this week. :-D

[725]

Any way that works................ How did the threads fare? Once those, and any I guess, BP rifles get the attention they need, they really get to be great and enjoyable tools. Left abandoned in the closet and the corrosion gremilins move in. Good luck and keep us advised on how she shoots.

[floodgate]

corey:

Good news! Get some Never-Seez or similar anti-seize thread compound at your local auto supply and apply a coat to both drum and nipple threads; will make it easier next time. Of course you may never have to pull them again, but if you don't dope the threads, you will for sure....

Floodgate

[corey012778]

I am hoping I don't have to. just in case. I have an extra drum

[mooman76]

I have a drum to remove also. Last year I bought an original 1800 era ML. The thing weighs a ton. Anyway over the years it has had a few tings done to it but I can't find a nipple with the right threads. They are closer to the threads on a musket nipple than your regular ones but still not right. I figre the rifle was hand crafted so things don't match so well as far as being uniform. The drum is hex shaped but un even like domeone buggered it up or mad the drum by hand. Any way being a real old antique I don't want to bugger it up myself or devalue it so I have been avaoiding it but I think the inevitable is if I want to shoot it and not make ashelf hanger out of it, it needs to be fixed right.

[reivertom]

I have a drum to remove also. Last year I bought an original 1800 era ML. The thing weighs a ton. Anyway over the years it has had a few tings done to it but I can't find a nipple with the right threads. They are closer to the threads on a musket nipple than your regular ones but still not right. I figre the rifle was hand crafted so things don't match so well as far as being uniform. The drum is hex shaped but un even like domeone buggered it up or mad the drum by hand. Any way being a real old antique I don't want to bugger it up myself or devalue it so I have been avaoiding it but I think the inevitable is if I want to shoot it and not make ashelf hanger out of it, it needs to be fixed right.

Good idea, take it to somebody that can restore antiques and they can duplicate the original nipple. If you can figure out the thread count and diameter of the threads, you may find one in Dixie Gun Works or another supplier. Dixie used to have a selection of old "oddball" nipples.

[northmn]

while this may be an obvious precaution, make sure the thing is unloaded before you mess with it much. A lot of the old originals are loaded. I took an original shotgun apart to look at the threads on the bolster breech. In order to avoid dinging up the breech I used a MAPP gas torch and heated enough so that it came loose. Very common practice with originals. Homer Dangler or one of the old timers used to claim that when he found an original he set it up and put a torch on it to ignite the charges that were usually in them. Just mentioning that, personally I would want to look at a few things first. Dixie sells nipples in a variety of sizes. You can get a musket thread, 5/16 X 24 that uses standard caps. Taps are available at any good hardware store for that size and teh 14/24. Both are used on grease fittings.

Northmn

[corey012778]

too late..

there was nothing in the barrel. checked 4 times before starting. the original ram rod went all the way down all 4 times

[northmn]

Sorry Corey. I was refering to Moomans original. You had control of your TC. Those old originals have fooled more than one person with a 100 year load in them.

Northmn

[corey012778]

it's ok, just got confused

[mooman76]

Northmn, Thanks for the good advice, but I've been doing MLs awhile. It's one of the first things I always check. You are right though, you just never know what the last guy did. It isn't like a regular gun where you can look through the breech. I played with it some more yesterday and did get one of my old nipples to fit. It's a tight fit but a good fit. I want to keep it original as I can. I won't shoot it that much. It takes 2 men and a boy to hold it up and It is only 32 cal. Besides I have allot of others to shoot. Sorry Corry, didn't mean to hijack your thread.

[corey012778]

it's fine. I just gotta pay more attention.

that is what my wife tells me all the time.

[northmn]

While I have not had much experience with the CVA Hawken, their moutain rifles shot pretty good. I built a rifle using a CVA custom lock and finally had to replace the mainspring as that one just would not hit hard enough. As to the weight of originals, that is common. I don't know if thats because those heavy ones are what has survived with lack of use or that most were built that way. The dimensions listed for a Tryon Trade rifle was 50 cal with a 1 3/16 inch barrel at 35 inches. Its total weight is listed at 10.5 pounds, but its mostly barrel. I have seen a lot of originals small bores built heavy.

Northmn

[mooman76]

I think allot of them were heavy because the metals weren't as good back then or they didn't really know how thick they needed to be to stand the pressure and the last reason due to a lack of abundant materials so they just used what they could get or what was availablt. My 32 is 1 inch thick and that makes it thicker than any one I got to include a 58 cal.