Thoughts on converting a CVA .44 mag to .445 SuperMag

[mitdr774]

I have a CVA in .44 Mag that doesnt see much use anymore and I have been debating what to do with it. I keep coming back to the idea of reaming it out to a .445 SuperMag. The biggest issue I have is not knowing if the CVA break action can actually handle it. I have been told that H&R had issues with the .500 Magnum being too much for the design they were using. I do not know how similar the CVA design is, or if its built more robust. This rifle seemed to group better with heavy bullets, but just struggled to get much speed out of them. This is not a huge surprise given the case capacity and how much of that capacity was taken up by bullet.

This rifle would be a back up to my backup for deer season where I nap in the woods in a limited firearm zone. I currently use my .458x1.8 but it has a nasty habit of making me send scopes in for repair, although i have gotten almost two seasons (still about a month to go) on the current scope so far. The back up whenever I have the time to finish the barrel with my dad will be a .430x1.8. Waiting on a pilot bushing for the reamer since my barrel (.422 bore) is neither micro groove bore (.424) or standard bore (.417). I could just use a .350L, but given the amount of vegetation in my nap area I would rather have something that hits a little harder and is more likely to have a quicker and more reliable result. Depending on conditions it may be difficult to watch where something that runs ends up and if its a wet fall tracking blood on the leaves is not something that can be counted on.

Is reaming a CVA .44 Mag out to .445 SuperMag a dumb idea? Can the break action even handle it? I would prefer to not just ruin it for no reason as its still usable as a .44 Mag.

[Zee]

Love that cartridge. Have a Contender pistol chambered for it. It’s a monster.
No clue about the action.

[Chiro1989]

Would you still be able to fire .44 Mag safely if you ream it to .445 Super Mag?

[Freezer]

What about a 444 Marlin? Or keep the barrel you have and get a 444 or 45-70?

[bullsi1911]

I think it’s a great idea… but I have no idea if the action would handle it.

They offer the CVA in .450 Bushmaster, so it can handle heavy loads. Just don’t know if the pressures in the 44SM is in that ballpark

[Freezer]

The 454 Casual is capable of 56,000 psi. That rifle is chambered for 243 Win at 60,000 and 35 Whelen at 60,000 psi. I'd call the company but you should be good! I love a new rabbit hole!

[Freezer]

The CVA is chambered for the 243 Win and 35 Whelen, both are over 50,000 PSI, The 445 SM is rated at 46,000 PSI. I would suspect you would be OK. I love a good rabbit hole!

[Justsomedude]

They chamber that action in 30-30? If so, I believe the pressures are similar unless I'm confusing cip and saami.

[mitdr774]

Love that cartridge. Have a Contender pistol chambered for it. It’s a monster.
No clue about the action.

From what I have heard, the Contender has a stronger action.

Would you still be able to fire .44 Mag safely if you ream it to .445 Super Mag?

I suspect it would have similar concerns to firing .44 SPL in a .44 Mag. It should be just fine, but have to be sure the chamber is clean and doesnt have a ring of debris built up before stuffing a full length cartridge in.

What about a 444 Marlin? Or keep the barrel you have and get a 444 or 45-70?

Both of those cartridges would not be allowed in the limited zone for deer season. Max case length of 1.800". My little .458 roughly duplicates .45-70 lever gun velocities, and the .430x1.8 should have no issue duplicating .444 Marlin velocities. We have my dads .430x1.8 with IMR 4227 and 265gr FTX to about 2200 fps with plenty of room to spare.

I think it’s a great idea… but I have no idea if the action would handle it.

They offer the CVA in .450 Bushmaster, so it can handle heavy loads. Just don’t know if the pressures in the 44SM is in that ballpark

I think the .445 SM runs at a slightly higher pressure than .450 BM.

The CVA is chambered for the 243 Win and 35 Whelen, both are over 50,000 PSI, The 445 SM is rated at 46,000 PSI. I would suspect you would be OK. I love a good rabbit hole!

They chamber that action in 30-30? If so, I believe the pressures are similar unless I'm confusing cip and saami.

If memory is correct .30-30 is similar to .445 SM, .35 Whelen is around 52K, and .243 is around 60K (if you stick to SAAMI pressures......). The concern I would have would be the larger diameter and extra face thrust on the receiver.

In the past I tried contacting the manufacture about a different cartridge and rechambering idea and the response was a basic response heavily influenced by a lawyer about how I should not modify the firearm in any way from how it was manufactured.

[Bigslug]

I guess the question is one of what you gain.

I'm not a horsepower advocate. The .44 Mag as is gives plenty of short range power for things like elk, assuming you pick the bullet correctly. An extra couple hundred feet per second won't kill a deer any quicker. i see the velocity boost as mainly a benefit for trajectory, and if you're hunting in an area where trajectory is irrelevant, why bother with an exotic?

Find a middle weight cast .44 bullet (@ 250 grains) with either a big ugly meplat or a jacketed one with reputation for reliably expansion & integrity on impact (i.e. XTP) and drive it as hard as you're comfortable with. Stick with the parent cartridge.

[mitdr774]

This rifle really only likes heavy bullets. In .44 mag cases the bullet eats up too much of the capacity and velocity is on the low end. Depending on the bullet, velocity can become a big factor in performance.

I already use an exotic and my main backup will be yet another. The .445 SM is far less an exotic than what I currently use. I can buy brass and find published load data for the .445 SM. I have to make brass from an existing case and create my own load data for what I use now and for my planned backup.

Cast bullets didn't do well in this rifle. I suspect it has shallow rifling and I will be figuring that out once we get my pilot reamer for the .422 bore barrel to be used for my .430x1.8. it's not MicroGroove shallow, but it sure isn't standard for a .44 mag barrel.

[Gene L]

https://singleactions.proboards.com/thr ... -unpopular

[mitdr774]

I could see it having marginal gains in a handgun with a sub 8" barrel. This is a 20" barrel, so I could see some potentially significant gains over .44 Mag.

[Elk Creek]

All things being equal, if I were punching out a 44 mag single shot I would go 444. Brass is available dies too. It might be too long for those moronic stated that dictate such things…. Not unlike all things here in Colofornia lately.

[mitdr774]

I wouldnt mind a .444 to play with but its about 0.425" too long for my woods napping spot. Good news on dies is that I already have dies for .44 Mag. Brass can be had if you catch when its produced. I missed it about 2 months ago when I debated but didnt buy any.

[Freezer]

My point is the frame will tolerate the pressure. 445 is a good option, how about a wildcat? Cut the 444 Marlin down to the State legal max and go from there.

[Zee]

I’ll say again, I LOvE my .445 Susper Mag. Great cartridge. I’ve taken one deer with it and it flattened her at over 50 yards from a 10” barreled handgun.

[mitdr774]

My point is the frame will tolerate the pressure. 445 is a good option, how about a wildcat? Cut the 444 Marlin down to the State legal max and go from there.

I could still use .44 mag in a .445 chamber. The .430x1.8 is essentially a cut down .444, just without a rim. I will be running Creedmoor basic brass through a .444 die after cutting it down in length some. The .430x1.8 will be a back up to my .458x1.8. The .445 SM would be a back up to the back up, and a compact fun time big boomer at the range.

I’ll say again, I LOvE my .445 Susper Mag. Great cartridge. I’ve taken one deer with it and it flattened her at over 50 yards from a 10” barreled handgun.

I have an email in to Starline inquiring about when the brass may be in production again. I still need to source a reamer if I go through with this. I do not believe Manson has it listed as an option. I could send them a message though.