CVA HAwken pistol, got to do some shooting today.

[cynthialee]

I finally got a solid chance to do some load development with my pistol today.

At first I couldn't get my hold right. I had the shots on the right vertical line but my horizontal line was all over the place.
So I try adjusting my hold, make sure I am positioned properly. No luck. I am still shooting a shot gun pattern with this pistol...
So I was getting frustrated and decided I was going to shoot my last round and pack it up.
2" from bull's-eye! Hey maybe this needs more time. What did I do different? I was angry and I held that pistol rock solid and the last shot I remembered my breathing!!!
Load up again and fire...
Real close to the last shot!
So I decided to keep at it for a bit more.
At the last of it I was shooting a 4 inch group with in inches of my bulls eye.

30 yards
30 grains of Goex 3f
over powder wad
.010 patch
.490 round balls
Remington #10 caps (I tried to use the CCI #11 caps but they were requiring two strikes of the hammer, so I put them aside.)
I shot both some Hornady store bought bullets and some self cast, the self cast are a hair larger as they are harder to seat. Accuracy was about the same with either bullet.

 

[Paul_R]

It's 103 degrees and I'm watching a crew clear brush from our pipeline right of way in a field of stickers. You win! :hatsoff:

 

[VEARL]

Wish that I could have been with you. I need to shoot my pistol more than I have. :thumbsup:

 

[JonnyReb3]

I kinda went through the same thing after finding a .45 CVA Kentucky pistol. At first i couldn't group well but did find that varying my powder in 5 gr increments from 20 gr-30gr. really made a difference in my point of impact. My. handgun prefers 30gr, it groups to center and with the lower charge shot high and to the left. Yours being a .50 would allow a bigger charge i guess. Believe it or not i also experienced misfires with the CCI caps and switched to the "green" cap, never another misfire. Made me want to swear off CCI's :haha:

Not sure what hold your using but i found my steadiest hold to be when i hold the pistol just like its a carbine rifle, 2 handed of course and acting as if theres a stock right there at 13-14" length of pull. Seems steady, absorbs recoil well and allows the sights to be at rifle-like distances.

I started with c&b revolvers but really like the power and simplicity the side hammer muzzloading pistols offer. So far as accuracy, with practice it can do nothing but get better. :grin: J

 

[cynthialee]

Hey, that is pretty much how I hold the Hawken pistol.
:grin:
Next time I shoot I will do some powder variations. This time out was just trying to get a good feel for it and see if it can group.

At 30 grains of 3F with the .490 RB it was blowing 3/4"+ holes through the sheet metal I was shooting at. I was impressed.

 

[JonnyReb3]

i chronied mine using .433 rbs and 20gr pistol pyrodex, it did around 740-760fps. I never chronied the 30gr charges to date but will. I'm figuring it'll do 950-1000fps using the 122gr ball. Your projectile is 177grs and slower, i'd guess between 6-700fps using 30grs 3f or sub. Thats a lot of power, somewheres around 200-250ftlbs and combined with the big hole it makes, seems like it would be a good close range hunter and even if your not into hunting,a great target gun and all around big bore plinker.

I can't resist putting up a pic, these inexpensive CVA's are far underrated in my humble opinion. J.

 

[Dickydalton]

The last time I chronographed my Traditions Trapper 50 it had a .490 ball patched with a .015 patch and 30 grains of Swiss 3F. It did 907 fps and was pleasant to shoot.

 

[bpd303]

I have a .36 caliber FIE pistol that prefers a slightly fouled bore before it get's down to serious accuracy. Like ya say it's a lot of fun to shoot and compares to my .40 underhammer by Charlie Caywood, although to be fair I haven't worked up the best load for the Caywood...yet.

 

[Don]

I have a hard time grouping shots at 30 yards shooting from a rest so don't be too hard on your self. My CVA pistols like the .015 patches and my .45's like .440 balls. I really enjoy shooting my single shot pistols. They are a lot of fun and are easy to clean up after.

Don

 

[cynthialee]

Close range hunting is the pistols stated purpose.
If I spot bambi in my yard come hunting season I'll likely shoot it with the Hawken pistol.

When I go hunting I will take my T/C Hawken in .50 and leave the pistol at home.

Thinking it might make a good chicken gun with just 10 grains of powder and an over powder wad. At point blank that should put a chicken down in short order. Probably blow its head off.

 

[bpd303]

Better yet, tuck it in your belt for a quick follow up shot.

 

[cynthialee]

I need to install a belt hook on it. But it isn't set up for one so I will need to do some tinkering to make one fit.

 

[JonnyReb3]

Never even thought about a belthook, i had a holster made for mine but havent stained it yet. Better than carrying it around though, one way or another. If you can get 900fps out of your .490 ball as Dalton does than it'll be potent whitetail medicine. A good comparison is the modern bigbore airguns that are throwing .495 bareballs at 600-900fps, they are taking whitetails humanely with these at 50yards and less.

Like Don said, these pistols are so easy to clean, its easy to justify going out and shooting them. I remember electing to NOT shoot my 6 shooters just because i didn't want to clean them. J.

 

[Zonie]

The "Lyman Black Powder Handbook" 2nd Ed shows some interesting velocities out of a single shot pistol with a 8 inch barrel.

For a .45 shooting a patched .440 (128 gr) ball with Goex 3Fg powder:

20 grains=924 fps
25 grains=1027 fps
30 grains=1104 fps

For a .50 shooting a patched .490 (177 gr) ball with Goes 3Fg powder:

25 grains=874 fps
30 grains=978 fps
35 grains=1029 fps
40 grains=1036 fps :hmm:

 

[cynthialee]

So I can't get the lock bolt to grab the lock now.

I took things apart for cleaning now the lock won't go back. The lock bolt I have was just long enough to do the job. hmmmm....

 

[JonnyReb3]

Yeah thanks Zonie, am surprised to see velocities so high with the .45 as mine were considerably lower, but i was using a smaller, lighter projectile plus sub powder so maybe thats it. Looks too that once you get past a fairly low charge the velocities don't change much. Thanks for posting that info. J

 

[bpd303]

I have a long rifle like that it takes a few taps on the lock to seat it far enough for the bolt to engage the threads. Very tight inleting.

 

[Zonie]

So I can't get the lock bolt to grab the lock now.

I took things apart for cleaning now the lock won't go back. The lock bolt I have was just long enough to do the job. hmmmm....

Does the lock fit easily into the lock mortice?

I've seen a number of sidelock guns which had their mortice cut almost line to line with the lock. That's okay but when the stock finish was added it made the lockplate a Very Tight fit.

If the lock isn't easily seating in the mortice, using a scraper to scrape off some of the finish on the walls of the mortice will fix the problem.
A fingernail file, fingernail cleaner or small sharp pointed pairing knife will work nicely for removing any excess finish.

The bottom of the mortice is often thickly coated with stock finish. This will prevent the lock from fully seating to a depth that will give the lock-screw good purchase on the lock-plates threads.

 

[cynthialee]

I removed some of it yesterday. I am a tad aggravated at the thing right now, so I have it put away and will address the situation tomorrow.
I just got that gun figured out, I don't relish the idea of it being sidelined due to an injury...

 

[rodwha]

Cynthialee: You mentioned using 30 grns of 3F Goex and a .490" RB for close range deer hunting. I'm curious how well a pistol works and out to how far you'd trust it to do well.

I've read many accounts of cap n ball pistols using balls for hunting medium game and doing well. Since I began with a modern understanding of what's needed to properly its still a little hard for me to completely grasp what is necessary.

I had intended on using my ROA as a primary hunting weapon, but I demand better groups than I am getting. Every now and then I get a good 6 shot group, but its not consistent, and therefore not something I can count on. I'm still practicing and trying different things.