New Guy with a Question

[hoghunter84]

Dad brought home an old CVA muzzle loader he bought from a guy he works with for $50. We know it looks old but dont know how old. We would like to find out what the model number is so we can see how many grains of black powder to use with it. We know we need to use a round ball with a patch but thats all. This rifle has never been fired, at least thats what the guy my dad bought it from said. It is a very clean rifle with absolutly all blueing still on the barrel, inside and out. Hopefully you guys could tell me some info on this rifle so we can use it this weekend. Let me know if another picture would help and I can get another one taken real quick.

Thanks,
-Kyle

P.S. If it helps this rifle has a 28 inch barrel

[old semperfi]

i think your gun is about 15 years old or so.i have one called a plainshunter that is similar with the exception of double set triggers.i am positive you will be fine with a 60-80 grain powder charge.i shoot my patched round balls using 80 grains of 777.normally you never charge a caplock with any more than 100 grains of powder unless stated on firearm.i do know that any more it is hard to burn all powder.if you have never shot black powder cap locks b-4 you might want to ask the procedure. old semperfi

[Pustic]

It looks like you may have a Hawken style rifle. Here's the pdf manual for the rifle. Hope this helps.

http://www.cva.com/pdfs/Side.pdf

[scrat]

Hawkens for sure. nice grab for $50

[armedandsafe]

The old rule was to hold the round ball in the palm of your hand and pour powder over it until the ball is just covered. Pick out the ball and pour that powder into a measure. Adjust the measure to see what volume you have. That is your median load.

50 Cal CVAs will work extremely well with 70 to 90 grains VOLUME of powder. I don't exceed that unless I'm shooting Power Belts in one of the TCs, and then only up to 120 grains VOLUME. The CVA never gets more than 100 grains VOLUME.

Note the emphasis on VOLUME measurements. You never figure your loads in black powder (or substitutes) by weight. Always by VOLUME.

Pops

[Gatofeo]

I never held much truck with the "hold the ball in your hand and pour the powder over it." Seems too general for me.

I have a CVA Mountain Rifle in .50 caliber, which is similar to yours. The rifling is 1 turn in 66 inches, which is a rifling rate made for round balls. Some lead conical bullets may work in such rifling, particuarly those with short length. You really won't know until you test conical bullets against paper targets from a benchrest.
I rarely shoot conical bullets. Balls work fine for me, since I no longer hunt.
For your rifle, I'd suggest:

Plinking & Practice Load
Goex FFG black powder - 50 grs.
.490 Speer or hand-cast ball (pure lead)
Linen patch -- thickness is typically .010 inch, but this is dictated by ball and bore size.
Lubricant -- Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant, which is a home-brew mix of canning paraffin, beeswax and mutton tallow. However, Crisco, Bore Butter or any other non-petroleum greases work well. Ensure that you work the grease well into the patch. Heck, even olive oil works. I avoid spit if I'm going to leave the load in the barrel for more than a couple of minutes, as it will cause rusting. I much prefer natural greases or oils. Avoid petroleum products as they create a hard, tarry fouling when mixed with black powder.
Remington No. 11 percussion cap

Hunting Load
Goex FFG black powder -- 80 grs.
Same ball, patch thickness, lubricant and cap as above.
My CVA "Start Muzzleloading" pocketbook from 1977 shows 90 grs. of FFG black powder as maximum in CVA rifles. I've gone past that, but accuracy fell off commensurately.

The 50 gr. load is accurate, produces ample smoke and flame, easy on the pocketbook and fun. Over the years I've introduced numerous people to shooting, who had never fired a gun before, with my CVA. They found it fascinating, whereas if I'd tried to get them to fire a handgun or AR15 they would have bristled.

If you can't find black powder, use Hodgdon RS powder. Visit the Hodgdon website for more information.

My CVA Mountain Rifle is a Hawken style rifle similar to yours but has a German silver patchbox, pewter nosecap and a few other niceties. I bought it new about 1980; it's made in USA.
The CVAs later made in Spain were not as finely finished as the USA models, but they're fine for black powder, balls and the occasional conical bullet. You got a good buy for $50.

You don't need sabots, pellets, glowing sights, plastic stocks, jacketed bullets and all that other falderal to put holes in paper or tins cans, or to kill a deer for that matter. A .50-caliber ball, properly placed within 100 yards, will kill deer neatly.

You got a good deal on a fun rifle. Enjoy it. Take care of it. Clean it immediately after firing and it will last for generations. Forsake it, and it may not last one season.
Enjoy!