found out the hard way

[duke21]

i bought a CVA squrrel 32 cal a few months ago. little did i know that i was so behind at work, home and everywhere in between that i would not get to really mess with it till now. Finally, last night, i was able to take her home and had some time to myself and decided to give her a good cleaning. I decided i was going to do the soap and water bath then brush up the bore real good and get some bore butter on her for protection. looking at the barrel with a bore light i saw a little surface rust but not anything major. So i took the nipple off, removed the drum screw( i hope that is the right term) and got out my 32cal jag with a cleaing patch wetted with the the soapy water. i set the nipple end in the water and began the pumping action trying to get the barrel cleaned. the jag kept wanting to stick, so out came the bronze brush and i made a couple bare passes with it, then put the patch on the brush moistened it and went to town. man did the rusty water start leaving that nipple hole and coming out on the patch. i worked several patches and put some T/c cleaning on it and worked it more. bore was really cleaning up nice, but had some dusty looking particles i wanted to get out as well. So out came the jag and patch again, a couple swipes and it was real clean. thought i would us the jag to apply some bore butter as well, around the 4th or 5th swab the jag got stuck and my efforts to retrieve it where dashed when suddenly my cleaning rod came out of the barrel WITHOUT the jag and patch. Now i remembered so many of you saying something about this happening. no matter what i couldnt get it back on the rod. i tried to remove the breach plug, but had no such luck. finally remember what i had read on here about clearing a stuck ball. I thought what the heck , lets give her a try. so i poured a bit of powder in the nipple opening and reinstalled the nipple and put the barrel back on , pushe the jag as far down inside that i could and capped her and went outside. stood back a ways and pointed her toward an old shed out back, cocked her and then BOOM!!! Well i cleared her out, i found the patch, but the jag is gone. But the good news is that i did not give up, and was patient enough to work through it. she is now all back together and ready to try out today. wish me luck!!!

also, my factory ram rod does not have a jag on the end of it, but is threaded 10-32. did they come with one on the rod or is it just threaded so you can use one. my 50 cal rod has the removeable jag on one end stock.

thanks for all your help

god bless,

duke21

 

[d.thomson]

I don't know as many on this forum but I think the rod that comes with the riffle just has the threds. I know thats all mine have. Regards Fisher King. P.S. I got a rod stuck one time for got to un screw the rod before I shot it out, I needed a new under barel rod, broke it right off past the brass reinfocement. I learned the hard way :redface:

 

[dispatch 510]

Can you post a pic of your Squirrel Rifle, Iwould like to see if it is like the one I found. Thanks :thumbsup:

 

[RedFeather]

Saw some posts here that said you need to pull the drum on some of the CVA's because it cross-locks the breech plug. Maybe that's true with your's.

 

[duke21]

guys thanks for the feedback!!!

fisher king, i dont feel quite so bad now that i know i am not the only one here who has blonde moments.

dispatch, dont have digital camera here, so cant post pics yet, would be happy to describe it to you though.

redfeather, the screw on the drum is screwed!!! someone before me burgered up the slot big time, the only way i got it out was to work it out with vise grips. i tried to remove the drum, but wasnt too friendly about moving, and did feel like breaking anything at 3 am this morning so i did not force it. i got the gun clean and the jag out , so i didnt push my luck past that.

thanks for all your feedback,

duke21

 

[bpbrs]

CVA Breech plug is not like others. The drum is longer and threaded into the barrel and breech plug.
If you try to remove plug with drum om you will destroy the breech and drum.

bpb

 

[MikeC]

Do yourself a favor and get a Saf-T-Unloader. You could of simply blew it out, plus they come in really handy for unloading a MZ without having to shoot it or pull the load.

Just my 2 cent advice.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

You are right bpb, don't remove the drum unless absolutely neccesary, and don't attempt to pull any breech plug at all, see a good gunsmith.

 

[noworries]

Since the rods that come with the rifles are to short for me to use comfortably I made a couple of range rods...I had the same problem you had one day while cleaning. I was able to use a patch wrapped around the end of the rod and jam it into the tip and got the mess out but after that I drilled every rod I have and put a 3/32 brass pin in them to ensure (hopefully) that never happens again.

 

[Zonie]

I have and put a 3/32 brass pin in them..."
-----------------------
On your next ramrod, give strong consideration to using a 1/16 diameter pin.
IMO, a 3/32 is too large because it removes too much wood which results in weakening the area where the pin is installed.
If you use a 1/16 diameter pin, even if it is made out of brass, it will take over 200 pounds of force to shear it off by pulling on it.
zonie

 

[duke21]

the rod i used to clean with was one out of a rifle cleaning kit and was threaded at each extension connection. apparently, i must have unthreaded the jag or simply pulled it out of the soft aluminum rod extensions. i am to the point of making more of my own accesories for this guns now. i like the idea of a more permanent rod that is pinned on the end like you guys mentioned. still being rather ignorant of this websites capablities, i need some advice how to do searchs without pulling up a thousand different topics at the same time. any help is appreciated.

thanks,

duke21

 

[d.thomson]

I just got mine havent had to use it yet. It's always in my pack or shooting box. Regards Fisher King.

 

[d.thomson]

Go to member Resorces clic on muzzel loaders then supliers a whole list "October Country or Track of the Wolf" are the ones i'v delt with no problems. Fisher King.

 

[Cpl.Parker]

Glad everything worked out. You gotta love a post that starts with " found out the hard way".

Cheers

 

[merdean]

Now that you have done the hard work, you can start enjoying that squirrel gun. I have the .32 and .36 from CVA and use them both. My .32 is more accurate but the .36 knocks them out of the tree! More fun than I can stand. Good Luck.

 

[duke21]

again guys i thank you all for your sharring your thoughts with me.

Merdean, you say the 36 knocks them out of the tree? are you saying the little 32 cant do that? I hope you are not implying that my 32 will be underpowered for squirrel, bunny etc. thats what i wanted her for. anyhow, getting ready to start having some fun with her.

thanks much,

duke21

 

[Walker357]

No way the .32 is underpowered for small game. Head shots are cleaner, but if you hit them low in the rib cage you don't have to gut them when skinnin. :grin:

 

[merdean]

No way did I mean the .32 is underpowered! It is a great little gun. With the .32 I can do head shots all day. And they will fall out of a tree in a hurry. The .36 just makes them fall faster! Sometimes, even with a head shot they will cling to a branch when hit with the .32. By the time you have started to reload, he is on the ground. With the .36 he is on the ground before the smoke clears. About the difference between a .22LR and .22Mag. Both get 'R dunn. :shocked2:

 

[duke21]

glad we got that cleared up guys!!! i have hunted quite a bit with 22lr and had been told that the 32 would be comparable, now i am more satisfied.

i just found out that a local club is having a ML shoot on sunday. I hope i can work things out to go. I have yet been able to shoot with others with the exception of a friend who left for california a year ago. Can't seem to find anyone else to enjoy these with. So this group sounds like a start. guess its just a couple handfulls of folks, shooting targets at first and then later in day have a woods walk. even though i am a member at a couple other clubs, most folks at them are into the highpower rifle target shooting, or shotgun trap and skeet. have yet to run into another person who enjoys the traditional smoke guns. Maybe this function sunday is a start in the right direction. wish i had more time to sight in my 50 cal rifle. i hated the sights on it , it had a sorry semi buckhorn rear and blade front. just never could get used to that one, although i have used other similar ones that i liked. i installed a glow sight on front and rear and am happier with the sight picture( hopefully to use for hunting this year) i realize it is not period correct, but without doing something, this one would be destined for a wall hanger. i just havent been able to put many rounds through it yet to get the sights adjusted. if i could have found a peep sight that i liked, i would have probably tried it.

anyhow, thanks for all your help

duke21

 

[David Thomaston]

Duke21,
I did the same thing you did with my CVA .50 Hawken.The cleaning jag came unscrewed from the rod. I have a CO2 ball discharger,but am out of cartridges and the store in my town that used to carry them has dropped them. I took out the nipple and poured in a "little" powder, put on a cap, aimed it a piece of scrap wood from about 15 feet. I popped the cap and the stuck patch and the jag came out and landed about 3 feet from where it hit. Thanks for the idea.

Losttoo