I have had mine since 1986 and it is my "deer shooter" If I were to somehow loose it I would not stop until I found another one just like it
When these first came out I did not hold them in high regards,mostly due to a prejudice of mine against rifles that do not have walnut stocks,and its being of Spanish make.
But after many a hard hunt in Utah I have a memory full of happy hunting trips and no need or desire for another black powder rifle of a caliber suitable for deer, I could always use a small game caliber though,grin.
The first few times out with the CVA I was concerned with an equipment failure,such as a lock failure that might wreck my most treasured time of the year,The locks innards did not look as robust as the TC products I was used to, I purchased a spare lock from CVA as insurance, it remains in its original wrapper to this day.
I did modify my rifle with a replacement nipple that uses musket caps, not because the number 11 caps did not perform properly,but to ease the removal of an unfired cap when
moving from one area to another in a motor vehicle, those tiny little number elevens do not go well with cold stiff fingers.
The accuracy of the CVA Hawkens is something I had heard of before I got mine.
My rifle will shoot all day long and shoot very well, I have been fooling with muzzle loaders since 1968 ,and while I have not had any high end target rifles ,some nice rifles have come and gone my way. My Big Bore .58 CVA is superb.
I stared out by loading 90 grains of 3f with a .10 patch and a .570 round ball.
I never found a reason to alter that load as it cannot be improved upon for my needs.
I did learn to secure the barrel wedges with a small amount of duct tape during the
week of hunting,the wedges WILL fall out if the rifle resides for any length of time on a
ATV rifle holder.
One other modification was to remove the CVA trigger guard and slap on one off of a TC Hawken,more room for a gloved hand.
One other piece of equipment that is of great importance is a large safety pin that I keep on my person during the hunt.
I found that a rifle that is not fired during a days hunt and left in that state over night needs more than a fresh musket cap for the following days events.
The little screw below the nipple when removed will allow access to the powder below the nipple, I use the safety pin to gently move the few grains of powder that you will see,just a bit of a stir seems to loosen the compacted powder enough that a misfire has become a thing of the past for me. Several extra screws are a must as is a little screwdriver,I bought spare screws at an auto parts store,just take in the original and find a metric bolt the same size.I cut a screwdriver slot in them with a hack saw and used a grinder to round off the bolt heads.
The stress involved when the largest buck you ever saw is looking at you after only the percussion cap has broken the mornings stillness is best avoided,grin.
Best Regards,Creosote
