Bolster Issues On a CVA Hawken 50 Cal

[DjPorkchop]

Hello all! Long time no new posts from me.
So I just posted back about the Hawken I got from my father some years back and I just fired it for the first time ever. Everything did go smooth as can be but I did find out something that really did not set well with me and I am not quite sure what to make of it or what to do about it.

When I removed the barrel after shooting this rifle I got it good and clean, I then removed the bolster screw and removed the nipple as well only to realize when my dad built this thing when he sent the nipple home, it was cross threaded. So, I looked high and low and apparently that is just not a part that comes off and is replaceable? Do I need to ship my barrel off and get it retapped and how lucky am I that thing did not actually blow back out and blow powder in my face when I was shooting it with my kids? The screw it self that goes in horizontally is perfectly fine, it is the hole that takes the nipple. It is 100% no good.

So for now, I got this thing all nice and cleaned up and all that good stuff and stored properly until I can figure out what to do about it. Now that I got to fire it and have fun with the kids we are all chomping at the bit to get it back out again. I told them for a bunch of rounds it was going to be stupid in accurate. However it was I who looked stupid when this thing was as accurate as could be. ha ha!! Good times!

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Rifleman1776]

It might still be salvageable. Pics will help. In meantime do not shoot or mess around with it. You might be able to just re-tap the nipple hole. But wait for some real experts to chime in on this.

 

[necchi]

So, I looked high and low and apparently that is just not a part that comes off and is replaceable?

Sometimes things in plain sight can be the hardest to find,
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Search.aspx?search=drum-cvaA shim of some sort many be required for indexing the nipple/hammer position.

 

[DjPorkchop]

DOH! I swear I looked there. Apparently I did not or did not look good enough.
Thanks necchi. Much appreciated.

 

[DjPorkchop]

It might still be salvageable. Pics will help. In meantime do not shoot or mess around with it. You might be able to just re-tap the nipple hole. But wait for some real experts to chime in on this.

Yeah, nah I couldn't shoot again if I wanted to. I couldn't send that nipple back home if I wanted to. Good ol pops did a wonderful job. I am actually shocked that happened. Typically he would not allow that to happen or didn't realize it was happening. I knew it the second I saw ti coming out all but cockeyed and just the feel of the thread alone. After all was said and clean I gazed at the threads and knew right then and there a nipple was never going back in ever again in the current state it was in.

I appreciate the replies fellas. I will be ordering up the part here directly. I badly want to get this thing back in action. It was a whole lot of fun with the kids for sure and the stories that we all told about "Gramps" as we shot the thing was worth the night in and of it self.

 

[SDSmlf]

The factory thread for the nipple will be 6mm-1 and there are repair nipples available. You just have to drill and tap for the larger 7mm-1 thread. If the tap drill cleans out all the old threads you should be go to go with the repair. If you go this route, make sure you order some extra 7mm-1 nipples.

 

[DjPorkchop]

I really appreciate that info. That jig they mention, is that something I can and should pick up and use just because? I am diabetic and even on my best days I tend to shake like a leaf on a tree. I trust my skills typically but I figure I hate to set the hole slightly askew and be off on the hammer to nipple index. I should know this stuff as I have done many a trigger jobs (for my own stuff just to be fair to my own self) and built many other firearms in my day but to be fair, I have never really put any time in to BP arms except this one in question and my Traditions. My main builds are typically the 1911. So this is really a stretch for me. Fun, but a stretch.

 

[poker]

If you have a good drill press vise to hold the barrel steady and a drill press with minimal runout a jig wouldnt be needed

 

[The Appalachian]

Just an FYI. The correct term is nipple drum, not bolster.

 

[SDSmlf]

That jig they mention, is that something I can and should pick up and use just because?

If I’m not mistaken, believe the TOW and other similar fixtures/jigs require you to remove the drum from the barrel to use it. Creates a whole new challenge.

I trust my skills typically but I figure I hate to set the hole slightly askew and be off on the hammer to nipple index. I should know this stuff as I have done many a trigger jobs (for my own stuff just to be fair to my own self) and built many other firearms in my day but to be fair, I have never really put any time in to BP arms except this one in question and my Traditions. My main builds are typically the 1911. So this is really a stretch for me. Fun, but a stretch.

Sounds like you or maybe one of your modern stuff buddies will have the skill and equipment to open up the hole and get a rethreading done. As @poker suggested, a drill press with a stout vice would work, thought a vertical milling machine would be a better option. What type of skills and equipment do you and the folks you run with have? The skills are not unique to muzzleloaders. Any machinist should be able to center up the hole in the drum and drill and tap it. If you are shooting and working on Milsurps and 1911s, you likely know someone that can help you.

 

[brushblind]

This happens often, re-tap and install an oversize nipple in your existing drum, should be fine.

 

[45man]

As said, re drill and tap larger. Years ago I bought a nifty little jig that clamps to the drum and aligns the hole for the nipple. TOTW should have them.
Then again if it is a drum, it is screwed into the barrel and should come out but the jig should be used to drill a new drum. A bolster is part of the breech plug.