CVA Hawken twist rate?

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swimmer

32 Cal.
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My son picked up a CVA Hawken in .54 caliber.
Questions: twist rate and average powder charge

thanks in advance
 
The twist rate is probably 1:48".
If you have a cleaning jag that fits fairly tightly in the bore when a cleaning patch is on it you can varify the rate of twist by running a lightly oiled patched jag to the breech plug.
Put a piece of masking tape on the rod flush with the muzzle and make a mark on it that aligns with the front sight.

Carefully pull the rod/jag/patch back up the bore allowing it to turn with the rifling grooves.

When the mark on the tape has rotated 1/2 turn measure the distance from the muzzle to the bottom of the tape. The rate of twist is twice the measured distance.

If the patched jag pulls out of the barrel before the mark has rotated 1/2 turn then try again but this time remove the rod until the mark has turned 1/4 turn and measure the distance to the tape. The rate of twist is 4 times the measured distance.

My .54's like a powder charge of around 80-90 grains of loose powder under a patched ball.
 
it's 1&48. I have the same gun. great shooter. my target plinking load is 40 grains of FFFg 777 or goex. a cast .530 ball and a .012 cotten patch lubed with olive oil. my hunting load is 90 grains of FFFg 777 and a cast 380 grain real bullet lubed with wonder lube. great shooter :thumbsup:
 
I have a older CVA Hawkin and the twist is 1 in 66. :idunno: Its in .50 cal. Larry Wv
 
Mine is also an older one with 1 in 66 rifling. I think the ones with 1 in 48 were called bobcats. could be wrong. I actually have one of each. The bobcat is a synthetic half stock rifle. Both are .50's.
 
The CVA Hawken was a 50 cal standard, but the St Louis Hawken and Hunter Hawken had 1:66 54 barrels available (as well as the Big Bore Mountain Rifle and the short lived Premier Grade Mountain Rifle).

CVA suggested loads for the 54's:
.530 Round Ball .015 Patch 60 FFG to 120 FFG
.540 Conical 60 FFG to 120 FFG
 
Depending on when your gun was made, its going to be 1:48" or 1:66" ROT. To figure it out for YOUR GUN, follow Zonie's advice. There is also an Article on the forum- look up on the Index page for the box marked " MEMBER RESOURCES", and then scroll down to "Articles, Charts, and Link". Click on Articles and you eventually get to a Table of Contents for about a dozen articles of interest. You will find the article on determining your guns ROT there.

There is No good reason why anyone should not know the ROT of his rifling. :thumbsup: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:
 
had a 54 cva hawken and it was 1:48 twist.

last 2 digits would help us in finding out the year it was made. If its an old hawken, it will be the first 2 digits in the serial number.
 
this is a CVA book i got in 1992 and the .50 stlouis hawken rifle on test had a 1 in 66 twist,you will see that a 1 in 66 twist can shoot a 300 grn minie the load was 90 grn of pyrodex rs at 50 yards.
bernie :thumbsup:
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