CVA squirrel flintlock

[norcalshoot]

Hi folks I just registered for this forum. I have been wanting a traditional muzzleloader for a while now and came across this cva squirrel flintlock in 32 cal at a pawn shop. Did not have to pay too much for it so thought id give it a try.
I have a few questions about it though. First would be is this flinter worth anything and what about would it be worth? It is in good shape with the exception of the finish peeling at the very edge of the but. by looking at the spot the stone strikes it looks like it has only been shot a few times as it is just scratched a little.
The second question is about powder. from lurking around here I gather that pyrodex is not good for flint. Nobody in the county has black powder though. are there any of the substitute powders that work in a flint? And also wondering what burn rate powder should i go for it when i do, 3f or 4f? It has a 25" barrel.
Last question is does single O buck shot work ok in these guns? my bore measures just over .32 between rifling and over .33 between rifling. I would have to order the 32 cal RB but I can get the buckshot locally.
Sorry for all the questions. Any advice would be great
Thanks

 

[Swede50]

Sounds like you got a nice rifle for cheap.
You will have to try different ball size and patch thickness to see what works best.
You can shoot a flint lock with Pyrodex or 777 but you will need a small amount of Black Powder in the barrel first then the Substitute and Real black in the pan.
I have tried my TC flint lock with only Pyrodex and did not get it to fire reliably.
Good luck and happy shooting.

 

[rr11]

I have fired several of the replacement powders, not a reliable powder in a flint. If you use black for the priming and a booster charge it will work. But if you can get the black powder why mess with the mixed loads? Check around I have to drive 100 miles to get powder. Check around to see you can find powder sources it just takes work. Good Luck

 

[bubba15301]

you needa .310 or .315 rb

 

[jerem0621]

For a CVA, Personally, I wouldn't purchase one for more than $200.00 or so. Of course condition is everything and some may be worth more than others.

A new .32 cal can cost upwards of 400 or more.

Thanks!

 

[norcalshoot]

Thanks for the info. I have checked everyone in the county but I am going to keep searching till i find the nearest place to by Bp. You can buy it in california?
I have searched and searched and cannot find any reference to a cva squirrel that is flint. did cva produce these or would it have to be someones custom work? it looks totally factory. I took it apart for a good cleaning today and the inside of the chamber is completely clean with no signs of ever being fired, maybe just dry fired.

 

[russecv58]

norcal,
where abouts in cali do you live? and yes, BP is sold here in cali, its just tough to find sometimes.

 

[norcalshoot]

I am near the Eureka area, Humboldt county. I will be in Redding for the holiday I may do a little searching around there friday if anyone is open.

 

[mr.flintlock]

I recommend 3-f for the barrel and 4-f for prime. Some people use 3-f for both. You can order from powder Inc. but I don't know if they can ship to California. If it proves to be difficult to obtain real black powder you can do as someone else suggested you can drop a little booster charge of black down the barrel and then use pyrodex or 777 on top of that. That will make your black powder last longer. Either way with a 25gr charge you should get close to 300 shots per pound of powder.

 

[norcalshoot]

I talked to a someone locally who may have enough powder to sell a lb to me hopefully. He said I might be better off with a ffffg charge for the small bore and shorter barrel that i have though. would there be an advantage? Do you have to worry about over pressurizing with fast powder as you do with smokeless? Again thanks for the help

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

NO! Never use 4f as the main charge! It is not a safe charge.

My daughter has a CVA Squirrel rifle. It likes 20 grains of 3f, a .310 RB, and a .010 patch. A .015 patch will work but it is a bear to get down the barrel.

I use 4f to prime on the range but usually just use whatever I have in the horn (2f or 3f depending on the gun) for both main charge and primer.

As far as the value of your gun, little CVA rifles in .32 are becoming scarce and are commanding higher prices than other CVA guns in larger calibers. The fact that yours is a flintlock makes it a bit rarer. I recommend that you take a look at the prices that they are commanding on sites like GunBroker...I think that you'll be surprised!

Unfortuantely, CVA flintlocks are not the greatest quality locks and many owners choose to upgrade when they find how temperamental some of them can be.

 

[bjmac]

When you are in Redding, you can get real bp at a store called "wild west'. It's a gun/pawn shop. Prices are reasonable and they usually have it in stock in all grades.

 

[norcalshoot]

Yeah I did call a shop in redding that has some along with some 32 round balls. They were called olde west gun and loan i think. I will be close friday so it looks like i will get to use my pea shooter soon. thanks for the help everyone

 

[boar]

I have a old CVA catalog and it is in it(1984). My buddy had one that he bought as a flint kit. I have one in a cap lock. I shoot a .311 ball in it with 20grs powder. Have killed 19 groundhogs with 19 shots. Great little gun. Good squirrel gun too. The flints are few and far between, hang on to it. :thumbsup: Dilly

 

[paulvallandigham]

Look, because of the Homeland Security ACT, No one is allowed to display Black Powder in their stores, and retailers have to go through a lot of paper work and expense to be licensed to sell it. Many of the Big sporting goods store carry it, but its kept in the back room in a safe, and you have to Ask for it. Call around.

Next, you need to be using .310 RB. There is an "0" Buckshot that is suppose to be .30 caliber which might work, but you can order bags of Round Ball from Suppliers. Since you are new to the forum, go up to the top of the index page here, and look for a box marked, " Member Resources". Scroll down to " Articles, Charts and Links". Under links you can find a long list of suppliers. Click on any name and it takes you to their on-line catalog, or website with contact information.

If you don't belong to the NMLRA, JOIN. It has Charter clubs all over the country, and it also has Field Representatives in every state. Both clubs, and field reps. are great sources for finding LOCAL sources of Black Powder.

Most shooters end up ordering their powder from one of the distributors, and have it delivered to their doors. You can order up to two full cases- 50 lbs.--- at a time. Currently, Black powder, by case purchase is running about $16.00 per pound, with shipping, and HAZ MAT included. Some brands of powder may be cheaper.

You can order less than a case from Powder, Inc., but the Hazardous Material fee will raise the individual price per pound of the powder doing so. Its smarter to go together with other shooters and place an order for at least one case, so that you all get the advantage of the lowest cost per pound. You can find the Black Powder distributors listed among the Links here, to help you do your "shopping". And, if you go to the Goex Website, you can find a map and list of names and address of all their distributors of Black Powder in both the USA and Canada.

For a .32 flintlock, use ONLY FFFg powder in the barrel. 4F powder is Marked for use as Flash Powder ONLY. It goes into the flash pan, NOT THE BARREL. You can also prime your flash pan with 3Fg powder, and it works just fine. Its a particularly good idea to use 3Fg powder for priming your pan in the field, as it is less likely to absorb water from the air, or from any "mist" or light rain that might strike the lock. 4Fg is best to use when target shooting. Swiss Null B powder is even finer, and will give faster ignition. But its more expensive!

Welcome to the forum. Have fun with the new gun. 20 grains of 3Fg with a .310 ball, and a .015" patch should give you a nice, accurate load. Loads can vary from 15 to 30 grains.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

Some folks have reported using #0 buck shot but for others they are too tight. Some of us use #1 buck. It seems to depend both on the barrel and on the diameter of that maker's shot. The big thing is find the thickness of patch that your rifle likes with each particular size of ball.

Regards,
Joel

 

[norcalshoot]

thanks for the info everyone. It is all very helpfull. I am going to try getting some powder today. I read on this forum that ballistic products makes #1-1/2 buckshot that is .310 diameter, But is says it is 3% antimony and super hard. the place i found that has BP has the correct RB so i will start with that. Thanks again

 

[Diggerfly]

Howdy norcalshoot,

Its great you found someone to buy BP from. I'm in San Diego and no one has it down here.

I ordered mine from here https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/3501

They charge a hazmat fee of 25 bucks for shipping powder so when I ordered I got 4 cans of Goex 3F at 16.00 per can to make it a little cheaper. So each can cost me around 22 bucks in the end not cheap but better than nothing. I shoot a couple times a month and I'm only half through the first can. :wink: (and thats using a charge thats 3 times the amount you would use) It tends to last a while.

Smart of you getting all the proper components to start shooting your rifle. There is a lot to mess around with at first, its good to know you're messing around with the right things.

Have fun! Oh, and post a pic of your gun too.

 

[norcalshoot]

Well I got a lb of powder, .010 lubed patches and .310 RB yesterday. loaded up with 20 grains by weight and a pinch in the pan. Everything worked like it was supposed to. This thing is a blast I think I am hooked. I have to say though that after talking to a few percussion guys and having them tell me that the rocklocks are nothing but a pain in the neck i was not at all confident this thing would fire. I was warned that they are very slow to ignite when they do and do not most of the time. It seemed quite fast to me though. Thanks for the help I will try to get a picture or two posted

 

[norcalshoot]

Took the rifle out again and shot it 10 more times. It is definitely hard not to flinch when the prime goes off. there were a few time that i dont think i flinched and the group was pretty tight. Here are a few photos of the rifle. I am wondering if the touch hole is too low to the priming pan. Looking around at other peoples flintlocks on this forum i noticed that the touch holes are all much higher up than mine. I tried my best to get a close up of the orientation on this rifle. What do you all think? after putting those 10 shots through it There is a spot where it looks like the pressure leaking out of the hole is eroding the edge of the pan.