De-Hawkenized CVA

[Dray Calhoun]

Many years ago, I bought a CVA Hawken in a pawn shop. It was in sad shape. The stock looked like it had been refinished with gummy wax but the worst was the bore. .50 caliber horribly rusted, but for $35 I couldn’t resist. Well, I got it home and the bore was even worse than I imagined. eBay, here I come! Found a brand spanking NOS barrel, never fired, $20! A little steel wool on the stock and it cleaned up very well.
Here’s where it gets fun. I have this roached .50 cal 1” barrel, so I decide to smoothbore it. Back to eBay, find an unused stock (turned out to be a semi-finished factory second) for $15, another lock with bent hammer spur for a scope, dirt cheap and triggers. When all was said and done, about $45 invested.
The smoothboring. I made an adapter for a 36” steel rod and a slotted bolt and wrapped sandpaper around it. 60 then 80 grit. Finally got the lands removed and finishing up on the grooves and pits. This has been an ongoing project for about 3 years. About 36 hours of sanding with a 1/2” drill. When finished it will be about .54. Did a bit of cosmetic work on the barrel also.

 

[Dray Calhoun]

When finished, the comb will be recontoured darker stained, perhaps tiger striped and a poured pewter nose cap.

 

[ppg1949]

DC, this sounds interesting. Could you post a picture of the steel rod you made to sand the bore? Is the bore smooth or do the sanding marks show? Thanks for sharing.

 

[Ajgall]

Wow, keep us posted on your progress. I can’t wait to see how it ends up.

 

[Dray Calhoun]

DC, this sounds interesting. Could you post a picture of the steel rod you made to sand the bore? Is the bore smooth or do the sanding marks show? Thanks for sharing.

Once it warms a tad!

 

[oldwood]

Dray.....In 1971 , I bought an original Potzdam musket with barrel dated 1820 , w/all the parts and a rusty bore. Back then these old muskets went for about $45 , so my head wheels started turning , some times not a good thing. Unbreached the barrel and took a 3/8" steel rod ,sawed a slot in one end of it deep enough to insert some 40 grit emery cloth to make a crude flap sander out of it turned w / electric drill motor. Went to work smoothing the musket barrel and after 'bout a week of evenings she was ready for a trial. Bore measured about .700 , so cast some balls , took it to a shooting range and , it put the balls in a 6" bull at 30 yds. I think when I sold it it was at least better than when I found it. It would have been a great old musket to have the barrel sleeved to a rifle,but I couldn't find anyone to do the job , back then. ........oldwood

 

[Dray Calhoun]

Dray.....In 1971 , I bought an original Potzdam musket with barrel dated 1820 , w/all the parts and a rusty bore. Back then these old muskets went for about $45 , so my head wheels started turning , some times not a good thing. Unbreached the barrel and took a 3/8" steel rod ,sawed a slot in one end of it deep enough to insert some 40 grit emery cloth to make a crude flap sander out of it turned w / electric drill motor. Went to work smoothing the musket barrel and after 'bout a week of evenings she was ready for a trial. Bore measured about .700 , so cast some balls , took it to a shooting range and , it put the balls in a 6" bull at 30 yds. I think when I sold it it was at least better than when I found it. It would have been a great old musket to have the barrel sleeved to a rifle,but I couldn't find anyone to do the job , back then. ........oldwood

Pretty much the same thing I did. Didn’t in-breech it, though. Sadly, the pitting in this bore is very extensive. I’ve taken it as far as I can, I’ve hit the point of diminishing returns. It is right at .54 and still pretty pitted, so I polished it up and preparing to test fire it.
I’ll probably start with heavy patched .490 to ‘proof’ it, so to speak. Then to thin patched .530. Finally, shot loads.
If nothing else, it is usable again, if only for short range. Still going to continue the stock work and look for a good barrel on eBay. I got very lucky before, perhaps I’ll score again. These CVA Hawken rifles barely resemble an original anyway, so moving farther away makes sense.

 

[Dray Calhoun]

DC, this sounds interesting. Could you post a picture of the steel rod you made to sand the bore? Is the bore smooth or do the sanding marks show? Thanks for sharing.

The bore does show some sanding marks that I’ll probably finish polishing out. The problem is, the pits were far deeper than I originally thought. To polish them all out, it will have to be taken out to .58 caliber. At this point, I’m at about .54. This is after about 35-40 hours of sanding. Would I advise it? Not unless you have a LOT of free time. Fortunately, I’m retired, so I do. I’m continuing with my stock modifications, and I’ll keep looking for a new barrel and make it a convertible and keep working on the bore.

 

[Timber Wolf]

It might shoot fine with the patch/ball combo it likes, pitting and all.

 

[Dray Calhoun]

That’s what I’m thinking. Just can’t see taking another .040” like this. Pi’s are still about .010-.015 deep. This obsession has about ended, lol. Going to start shooting. Just want to see how it does.