CVA Squirrel

[BIGGUY]

Hello everyone. I've been lurking around here for the past month or so and am impressed with the amount of knowledge openly shared here. You've got a great bunch of guys and I've had a few really good laughs. Anyway, I just aquired a CVA Squirrel rifle and wanted to know if the breech plug is removable. There appears to be some tool marks on it & the barrel but I didn't want to really torque on it if it doesn't unscew. Thanks for any help and a great forum.
-John

 

[Pork Chop]

Unless I am mistaken, the drum screws through the barrel into the breech plug. If you manage to ham fist the plug out, you will ruin the drum. Why do you want to pull it?

BTW, what barrel did you get with it? I have a Squirrel Rifle kit that I am building (modifying too) that came with both the .32 and the .45 barrels.

 

[BIGGUY]

It has the .32 barrel.Seeing the wrench marks just peaked my curiosity and with it out I could get a really good look at the bore. It only set me back 80 bucks so I'm hoping it was a good deal. Patches were nice and consistent down the lenghth of the barrel and came back clean. Aside from the plug, it appears to have been taken care of.

 

[Rebel]

Don't try to remove the breechplug unless there is a real need. If the bore is clean and clear i would load about 20-30 grs of 3f powder, and a ticking patched .310 or .311 rd ball and prepare to have some fun. :thumbsup:

 

[boar]

I have a old CVA catalog and it shows the drum screwed into breechplug. I have one,good groundhog gun. Load like Rebel said, my same load. Dilly

 

[Jumpshot]

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x188/JJack521/CVAbreech-2.jpg

 

[MSW]

if- it- ain't- broke- don't %^ with- it. i suspect that someone tried, and couldn't, and then common sense prevailed. or they turned their attention on something else like foreign policy, or the wife's toaster.

seriously- it looks as though it's working ok, so don't mess with it!

 

[Runner]

It isn't that simple unfortunately.
The kit guns had the breechplug fitted all the way into the barrel, but they often were not lined up properly with a barrel flat. Once they were in, then they were drilled and tapped for the Drum. People bought the kits and the very first thing a lot of folks did was put the barrel in a vice and attempt to turn the plug that extra little bit to line it up with a barrel flat.
Doing so ruins the drum threads and shape. It allows gases to leak out around the drum when the barrel is fired. It leaves openings where the threaded part of the drum is no longer round for crud and oil to collect in. In effect, the barrel is ruined as the first step in attempting to build the kit.
Sorry to deliver bad news, but I hope it helps anyway!

 

[Pork Chop]

That is interesting. Both of the barrels on my CVA Squirrel kit lined up perfectly...

 

[Runner]

Come to think of it, the breech plug design on the squirrel rifle is hidden because it is a hook type! Brain Fart! The kit guns with the problem I described were the Kentucky's with the fixed tang. Oops!

 

[Pork Chop]

Now I understand what you mean. I have an old CVA pistol that my father built. The barrel is cocked off to one side since the breech did not line up. Looks pretty pathetic. I should shoot it one day...

 

[Pork Chop]

Any of you guys ever see Squirrel Rifles for sale with trashed barrels?

 

[Zonie]

The bottom line is, a sidelock muzzleloader is not designed to have the breech plug removed.

Although those new things that the companies are trying to push all have removable breech plugs, none of the sidelock guns do.

As the others have mentioned people who don't know better sometimes try to remove the breech plugs on these sidelock guns and they usually end up marking up the barrel.
You didn't mention that the nipples drum looked messed up so chances are the former owner didn't try to remove it. Sense he didn't remove it, he couldn't have even budged the breech plug so your gun is safe to shoot.

Have fun.

 

[Pork Chop]

Not to be a rabble rouser, but didn't the TC Fire storm sidelock have an easily removable breech plug? :hmm:

I checked their sight and sure enough it does. It is a sidelock (flint even) with a plastic stock and a removeable breech plug. Reminds me of a hybrid car...

 

[Jumpshot]

Not to be a rabble rouser, but didn't the TC Fire storm sidelock have an easily removable breech plug? :hmm:

I checked their sight and sure enough it does. It is a sidelock (flint even) with a plastic stock and a removeable breech plug. Reminds me of a hybrid car...

It's designed for compressed powder pellets. Modern gun with primitive ignition.

 

[BIGGUY]

Thanks for all the replies. There are no marks on the drum so that's a plus. Waiting on some .310 balls to see what it can do.