CVA Hunter 45/70 Conversion

I just bought a CVA Scout V2 in 45/70 that I do not want to convert. I am considering getting a less expensive CVA Hunter in 45/70 and sending off to Hankins for the conversion. Has anyone converted a CVA Hunter to smokeless?

Also I have several 250 grain .45 caliber Hornady SST and Barnes T-EZ bullets for my regular .50 caliber muzzleloader. Will these be my best bet in a smokeless conversion shot as a full bore or will I do better shooting a .40 cal saboted round?

If you get a adjustable sizing die, just about any .451-.452 bullet will work. Some bullets are just easier to get to shoot than others. Bullets like a Parker BE is pretty much grab a bottle of 4198 and go for it. They often load and shoot fine from pack to bore. Solid coopers like Barnes can be more challenging. You may need to smack them harder with a duplex and use a wad.

Hankins has a few videos on Youtube of the Hunter conversions and lots of guys seem to like them for the money. I highly recommend an adjustable die if you want to play with sabotless. It will save you tons of time and headaches.

GM54-120 said:

If you get a adjustable sizing die, just about any .451-.452 bullet will work. Some bullets are just easier to get to shoot than others. Bullets like a Parker BE is pretty much grab a bottle of 4198 and go for it. They often load and shoot fine from pack to bore. Solid coopers like Barnes can be more challenging. You may need to smack them harder with a duplex and use a wad.

Hankins has a few videos on Youtube of the Hunter conversions and lots of guys seem to like them for the money. I highly recommend an adjustable die if you want to play with sabotless. It will save you tons of time and headaches.

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Is going the sabot route easier?


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Easier as far as no sizing needed but you simply wont know for sure without knowing the land to land size. If the land to land is too large the Harvester sabots will be too loose and MMP sabots for 45cal dont hold up as well to smokeless. So you would need to get oversized 40cals like the Pittmann 402s or knurl up bullets like the SST or Barnes 195s.

The adjustable die is sorta pricey but once you get the hang of sizing for your barrel its not hard. Plus like i said, some bullets just might load straight from the pack. The Parker BEs often do in 45/70 conversions.

Get a smooth sizing die. Since I live and hunt in a state with a .44 projectile minimum, getting the sizing die was a no-brainer for me but after shooting smooth sized 45 bullets, I can't imagine going back to a sabot. I think it is much easier to properly size the bullets than to find the proper fitting sabot bullet combination. Also, if you shoot at the range, you won't spend time waiting for your barrel to cool because you don't have to worry about heat affecting a sabot. The Parker 275 & 300 BE, Fury 275 & 300 Star Tip and 275 300 Star Tip 2 bullets, to name a few, all size very easily, are extremely accurate and devastating on game.

Anybody actually ever weigh a CVA Hunter 45-70? I've read that the actual weight is no where near what is advertised on the CVA website but haven't seen where anyone actually weighed one and I can't find one locally to go pick up.

As best I could tell on a bathroom scale with a 3x9x40 scope between 7 and 8 pounds the combination.

From what I have seen on Hankins videos. He keeps a few of the CVA Scout’s and Hunter’s on hand already converted. All you have to do is call him and get one. He has the prices on his website.

Thank you for doing the bathroom scale check.

I have been to the Hankins site and didn't see any there but I'll check again.

Email him. I bought a scout conversion about a month ago and did everything through email. I don't think he keeps his website up to date with inventory.

Gave Hankins a call, he doesn't have any on hand but will be ordering some in so that he can put some rigs together. Most of what he will be doing are his proprietary direct ignition systems.

I don’t know exactly which is which. But his breech plug that uses 45/70 cases looks pretty slick. The breech plug he uses that requires a nut driver don’t. I wouldn’t be interested in that one at all for a hunting gun. Because getting a fast reload would be impossible. Your supposed to get them with the first shot. But it don’t alwats work out like that and sometimes you want to kill more than one.

I am very new to the smokeless game, but I have the "HIS" plug. That is the one he developed using the 45-70 module. I like it especially since I am use to fumbling around with 209 primers. The "DIS" is the other one he has that needs to tool. It was developed by someone else. From the folks that use Hanks message board the DIS actually gives you more FPS with the same Powder charge that you would use with the HIS. So there are some tradeoffs between the two systems.

Seems like a lot of trouble and expense to go through to shoot smokeless in a muzzleloader. If you own a 45-70 Scout, simply put a primed case in the breech, pour your propellant in the muzzle, and then put a projectile on top of it.

45-70 projectiles are generally .458 in diameter. .45 projectiles used in handguns are generally .451 or .452. You can shoot the smaller bullets out of the 45-70 barrel with a paper or cloth patch. This is not a new technique. In fact, it is mentioned in Ned Roberts book as being commonly used in the 1870's and '80's

Thats illegal in my state during ML season as well as being illegal in all states i can think of. If it can be loaded through the breach it cant be used.

We pretty much know about bullet sizes. Been doing it for many years. Get a adjustable sizing die and its smooth sailing with .452 bullets.

.I'm a shooter, not a hunter, but in Louisiana primitive weapons can even include a .35 Whelan if it is a single shot.

Danny Ross said:

Seems like a lot of trouble and expense to go through to shoot smokeless in a muzzleloader. If you own a 45-70 Scout, simply put a primed case in the breech, pour your propellant in the muzzle, and then put a projectile on top of it.

45-70 projectiles are generally .458 in diameter. .45 projectiles used in handguns are generally .451 or .452. You can shoot the smaller bullets out of the 45-70 barrel with a paper or cloth patch. This is not a new technique. In fact, it is mentioned in Ned Roberts book as being commonly used in the 1870's and '80's

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Totally illegal in my state, too.
Also, you appear to be unaware that most .45 smokeless muzzleloaders do use .458 barrels and the .451 & .452 bullets are smooth sized to fit the bore and shot as land riding projectiles. No patching is necessary.