Rear end hygiene for my Hawken?

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ApacheCoTodd

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I have a sweet little .50 CVA Hawken that I got from an estate sale quite some time ago.

I don't know why it took so long but I finally attacked it with a bore-scope yesterday.

I'm generally quite happy with the bore but find things a bit crunchy at the rear.

It's nicely clear to and through the flash hole but I figured I'd solicit any tips on techniques or materials for getting after the chunky-bits.

I've been contemplating building up an electrolysis tank from some PVC.

Any secrets y'all may care to share?

Todd.
 
....electrolysis tank from some PVC.
Don't bother/No need.

Pull the barrel/nipple and place the breech end in a pot of warm water w/ a coupla drops of dishsoap.
With a moderately-tight patch/cleaning rod, pump water in & out of the barrel through the flash hole.
Dozen strokes....

Let sit another few minutes and pump water in & out another dozen stokes.

Dry patch it out and oil up inside/out w/ BreakFree and/or any other gun oil/CLP.

Walk away.....


.
 
Don't bother/No need.

Pull the barrel/nipple and place the breech end in a pot of warm water w/ a coupla drops of dishsoap.
With a moderately-tight patch/cleaning rod, pump water in & out of the barrel through the flash hole.
Dozen strokes....

Let sit another few minutes and pump water in & out another dozen stokes.

Dry patch it out and oil up inside/out w/ BreakFree and/or any other gun oil/CLP.

Walk away.....


.

This.

It may take several cycles over several days. Give the solvents time to work. You can tell by the stuff coming out on the patch when you are done.
 
Don't bother/No need.

Pull the barrel/nipple and place the breech end in a pot of warm water w/ a coupla drops of dishsoap.
With a moderately-tight patch/cleaning rod, pump water in & out of the barrel through the flash hole.
Dozen strokes....

Let sit another few minutes and pump water in & out another dozen stokes.

Dry patch it out and oil up inside/out w/ BreakFree and/or any other gun oil/CLP.

Walk away.....


.
Thanks. The nipple-mount is already pulled and I have it soaking with g-96 over night. Definitely will hit it with your dish-soap plan tomorrow.

Todd.
 
soaking with g-96 over night....
While it won't hurt things, it's soap & water that dissolves BP fowling -- literally dissolves it (like the salts they are) and washes it away like a dirty dish.
(Petroleum-based solvents will go a bit gooey on you/be a PITA)

Tomorrow morning patch out the G96, then pour a bit of alcohol down the barrel to flush our the remaining solvent -- and hit it with hot soap & water this time out.
Patch dry and oil-patch it ASAP so things don't flash rust on `ya. (It'll be that clean metal-wise)

Thereafter just warm soapy water after shooting/dry/oil and maintenance is easy
 
If n you do try to remove the breech plug make sure you have a good sturdy vise and and a wrench that actually fits the flats on the breech plug, if you have already removed the nipple drum that's half the battle. Those CVA breech plugs are reefed down TIGHT. If the wrench slips or the barrel turns in the vice there is gonna be some damage done. Ask me how I know! Lots of penetrating oil helps. I think that once the nipple drum is out you could improvise a brass scraper and get a lot of crud loosened up through the hole.
 
If n you do try to remove the breech plug make sure you have a good sturdy vise and and a wrench that actually fits the flats on the breech plug, if you have already removed the nipple drum that's half the battle. Those CVA breech plugs are reefed down TIGHT. If the wrench slips or the barrel turns in the vice there is gonna be some damage done. Ask me how I know! Lots of penetrating oil helps. I think that once the nipple drum is out you could improvise a brass scraper and get a lot of crud loosened up through the hole.

Thank you for that. That nipple drum screw (also, thank you for that terminology) was a dead-stone bear to get off undamaged. Very gratifying though to have paid attention to hard-earned experience rather than rush ahead and dick things up.

As to the breech-plug - I chucked it up and all was good to go with considerable confidence that I could get it off undamaged IF it would come off at all.

What really stopped me was not knowing the actual manufacturing and assembly techniques and procedures that were used in building it and thus - concern over effectively and absolutely correctly re-clocking it upon reassembly.

I'm thinking about buying the next *project* grade one I see to try an indexing screw for reassembly that I drew up.

Todd.
 
I personally would leave the CVA bolster/breech plug well enough alone. It’s a weird system and messing with it is bad juju. Mine was improperly drilled from the factory and is all kinds of messed up now that I had to try to rectify it.
 
All of the above, plus a breech scraper
This. If T/C offers one, buy it and use it.
I personally would leave the CVA bolster/breech plug well enough alone. It’s a weird system and messing with it is bad juju. Mine was improperly drilled from the factory and is all kinds of messed up now that I had to try to rectify it.

Agree. Some of these newer guns and have a separate tang hook and breechplug. You can't clamp the tang hook part as removing it will not expose the breechplug. The breechplug should be removed along with the tang hook. PITA. Easier to use the breech plug cleaner and be done with it.
 
Just to be clear on how CVA did their breech plugs, it's screwed in and then the nipple drum is drilled and tapped through the breech plug. The plug is tightened by the mighty Julio who was a frustrated power lifter wanna be. The breech plug will come if one is patient and has proper tooling. I chucked the barrel in a 4 jaw chuck on my lathe and used a properly fitted wrench to break it loose.
 
Just to be clear on how CVA did their breech plugs, it's screwed in and then the nipple drum is drilled and tapped through the breech plug
... and THEN the whole affair is drilled through from the muzzle. If you change the alignment of the “bolster”/nipple drum, you can close off the passage for ignition. Breech scrapers are also not really effective as the front face of the breech isn’t square/flat. It’s a V/concave. Stupid system with zero real world benefits.
 
So far, by video bore scope, the exceptionally hot water/Dawn dish soap/butt-end-brush has yielded wonderful results.

Here's some poorly reproduced *befores* and an example of metal picked up by the magnetic tip.

It already looks much.... MUCH better than these photos.

Todd.
IMG_1449.jpg IMG_1453.JPG IMG_1455.JPG
 
jackrabbit & IKper.... thanks for those insightful tips on the manufacturing/assembly process.

It was a mystery to me.

Todd.
 
I'm screwed - this has now tipped to a full *restoration/upgrade* project.

Barrel stripping and polishing has begun and those nasty Spanish wood screws are slowly getting replaced.

Does anyone know of a more aesthetically appealing rear sight for these? The original is nice enough but looks HORRIBLY out of place.

Todd.
IMG_1457.JPG IMG_1458.JPG
 
You can get basic dovetail/buckhorn rear sights and silver or brass blade fronts from track of the wolf and Dixie gun works and the like. Prepare to reshape the dovetail on the sight etc. I agree the OEM sights look funny. But then the entire rifle is a made-up, anachronistic design that only got popular because of Jeremiah Johnson. Which rules.
 
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