CVA Prospector found his final home

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wildeboer

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I found a San Marco .44cal single shot pistol on a local guns-for-sale website in South Africa. Its also known as the CVA Prospector with the Western engravings on both sides. I do know that its the Italian version of the well known Tingle pistol but also that it held its own against other single shot pistols.
Perfect condition and a even better price!!

Well, I searched everywhere on the Web on information and there isn't really a lot, basically the same stuff over&over.
Included in the sale was about 300x roundballs, .435" and a bunch of patches already cut but still un-lubed.
Now I must just get time to visit the farm to shoot it. From what I read the pistols seemed to be a favorite with target-shooters?
Lee made a .452" round-nose bullet mold weighing around 228gr for the 6-shooter pistols, I have a few boxes of them left after I sold my 1858 Rem New Army. I'm thinking of making a sizer to get them to around .441/.442" to use in the pistol for a little more K.E.
Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Loads seems to be between 20 to 25gr of 3F
 
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Great, now you have to get the government paperwork done.
It's a shame that you have to get clearance for black powder and a 'muzzleloading' gun. And Zuma's spending your $$ for whatever pleases him. :mad:
 
Nope, no paperwork needed luckily as muzzle-loaders are exempted from licenses as long as they are single-shots.
About Zuma, same case as Zimbabwe's Mugabe. Doesn't want to step down but is willing to bring the whole country to its knees....
 
From EMF's 1988 Catalog page 11 top:

Surrounding a picture of your pistol with the engraving of the prospector panning a stream on its right side:
"CUSTOM DELUXE TARGET .44"
"Engraved Percussion Shooter Target Model"
"CUSTOM ENGRAVED .44"

Description:
"The ultimate in percussion pistols for the advanced blackpowder shooter. Blue finish, case hardened frame, brass back strap and trigger guard. Special fixed target sights. One piece walnut grips, 9" octagonal barrel, weight 43 oz., .44 Caliber."

Ordering Information:
"Target Percussion .44 Cal. Pistol ..............Stock No. PER100"
"Bullet Mold .44 Caliber , Brass....................Stock No. BMB44"
"Flask .44 Caliber Colt...................................Stock No. CPF44"

From the March 1988 price list:
"PER 100E Tingle Eng. list $160 sale $119.90" (there is no listing for PER100 without the "E.")
"BMBC[all calibers] list $22.00 sale $14.00"
"CPF[all calibers] list $16.00 sale $10.00"

From the January 1981 EMF price list:
"PER100E Deluxe Factory Engraved Target .44Cal. list $129.00 sale $87.50"
PER100 is listed as the "Standard Model Target Percussion .44 Cal. Pistol" in the ordering information under the picture of the engraved version on page 27 bottom but it is not listed in the price list.

From the 1975 EMF price list:
"PER100 Deluxe Single Shot Target .44 Cal. list $75.00 sale $46.90"
"PER100E Deluxe Single Shot Target .44 Cal. Engraved list $90.00 sale $55.90"
The picture in the 1975 EMF catalog shows a plain Case Hardened Frame with no engraving.

From a circa 1960's EMF catalog (undated and no price list included: )
"The New Custom Deluxe Target Percussion .44 Caliber"
Pictured is the plain case hardened version and there is no mention of the engraved version.

It is not pictured or mentioned in my 1964 Armi San Marco catalog so I am guessing it first came on the scene mid to late 1960's.

What is the Italian Date code on your specimen?
 
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You might already know this, but there is a screw holding the barrel in place in the bottom front of the frame. It makes it very simple to remove or exchange the barrel.
 
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wildeboer said:
Nope, no paperwork needed luckily as muzzle-loaders are exempted from licenses as long as they are single-shots.
About Zuma, same case as Zimbabwe's Mugabe. Doesn't want to step down but is willing to bring the whole country to its knees....
Click to expand...

My bad. I thought it was a revolver.
 
Thank you for the nice info, will post the serial no soon here as I'm currently not at home.
Cooldil, I really dont know what to reply on that one. Maybe I can post a pic or 2 for your eyes only as consolation...
 
wildeboer said:
Thank you for the nice info, will post the serial no soon here as I'm currently not at home.
Cooldil, I really dont know what to reply on that one. Maybe I can post a pic or 2 for your eyes only as consolation...
Click to expand...

These are hard to find here, as well as the original Tingles. I LOVE the design, like a flat Remington. I enjoy single shot pistols even more than cap and ball revolvers. I will have to say my friend, I'm super jelly right now.
 
Note the barrel information in this Ad from Track of the Wolf in 2014:
aam-807_0.jpg
Part Number: AAM-807
This Robert Tingle-style single shot pistol has the profile and feel of a percussion revolver. Assembled by Armi San Marco of Italy. The exposed .44 caliber barrel is 9" long with a exposed octagon length of 6-3/8". The bore is rifled with seven lands and grooves with a land to groove diameter of .451". The bore is bright and clean. The rear sight is missing.

The color case hardened action has a mountain man and grizzly bear scene stamp engraved on one side and a Conestoga wagon train on the other. The backstrap and trigger guard are brass. The grips are walnut with a satin oil finish.
 
If I remember correctly, George Hamilton (Cousin John) uses a Tingle style single shot pistol to kill a bad guy while standing on a balcony and firing down into the street thus saving Tom Skerritt (Jeremy) for Elizabeth Taylor (Cousin Alice) in the 1987 TV movie "Poker Alice." Talk about anachronisms!
 
Serial number read as follows; 443542
Just love these pistols, don't know how these pistols were imported to South Africa but glad that one ended up in my hands.
 
Post 13 indicates a bore diameter of .452. Would seem a Lee, REAL mold would throw bullets that could be loaded sans patch.
 
Nope, mine is definately a .44cal. I measured the roundballs at .433" and they fit tight with a thin patch.
I have some .44cal bullets from an old project gun and they must be tapped lightly to start in the barrels rifling.
 
Yeah, seems like all the single shot ".45" pistols and rifles from the 60s to 90s use .433 balls :( I have an H&A bull barrel target .45 under hammer a senior Army officer cleaned up matches with in Germany in the 70s-80s. I want to like it but that ball size makes me not . I have only been doing .36, ".44" and .50 balls in my old age, ball don't resize very easily in a Lyman 450 :(
.
 
I love those "jasped metal carcasses" on these guns. :D

Seriously, Peyatta or Umberto, maybe even Petroseldi, need to reintroduce this model. It's a bute and looks like a fun blaster. (Yes I know I misspelt them :)
 
 
A little range report shot the pistol yesterday afternoon with 25gr 3F powder(volume), a .433" ball and thin cloth patch.
Between 12-16" high at 20yards!!!! Guess its a long range weapon:)

Luckily there is around 1/8" left on the rear-sight that I can machine off the rear-sight to lower the POI as the front-sight will have to impracticably high to compensate...

Now from what I've read in the archives on how to dismantle the pistol for a thorough cleaning and barrel removal I'm supposed to remove both grubs-crews on the bottom and first screw of the trigger guard and then pull the wedge out before the barrel comes out - untrue!! At least on my pistol, only the big/thick grubby holds the barrel in and the smaller grubby pushes against the wedge tightening it against the barrel.

I undid both and the barrel slid out as if it was assembled 5 minutes before. The wedge stayed behind in the frame, it fits into a groove of its own and only comes out after the barrel has been removed. Time for the bore-cam(Lyman) and the barrel showed up like a new barrel on the inside. Seems I bought a un-fired jewel unknowingly...

After cleaning it up nicely I lubed the barrel with some copper-slip and slid it back into the frame, tightened the grub-screws and back into the safe...
Will work on the rear-sight next time I have spare time in the workshop between jobs.
Cheers
 
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