Pay attention to Ron here-he knows from whence he speaks. I agree on the clean out screw too. I did that exact replacement on mine, as the slot got buggered up and was going to present some challenges if I kept using it. I replaced mine with a hex head screw and have never had any trouble with it. I always put just a very light bit of oil on the cleanout screw threads before reassembly. I've always snapped a perc. cap after putting the gun back together just to make sure I get every bit of moisture out of there. 'Can't vouch for others, but this has always worked for me. My gun's a .54 cal. CVA Hawkins, and is very accurate with a .530 round ball, lubed .015 Ox Yoke patch and 90 grains of FF.
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Jeff (Gophergunner), when did you get the .54 caliber CVA? I didn't know you were "into" black powder... that's GREAT, ol' buddy!!!
Sorry you couldn't get over to Pennsylvania for the Opener last year... Harry and I had fun, but the deer were sparse.
Had "brunch" with Dale, his wife, Kalan and his folks at the Ft. Worth Restaurant in DuBois, PA., but didn't hunt Dale's Dad's (Leon) farm.
I'll send ya an email and chat a while...
Ron
