CVA .50 Hawkin

[fcderosa]

Winter project 1 finished. I picked up this CVA .50 Hawkin for about $65. Had a finish in poor condition, looked like it was done with that old poly finish that had the grain in the stain/paint. It made the rifle look like a 1970's plastic Daisey BB gun, every stock ding also had a white glaze surrounding it. There were a couple other rough areas that also pushed the bidding low on this. I've taken it to the range and with 70 grns of FFG it's a tack driver at 100 yards. This would be an excellent rifle for whitetail. Bore was in very good condition, blueing - ehh.

I stripped everything and refinished except for the bluing. You can see the cheesy finish on the picture above. I also took the patchbox apart and made molds of it for a future project. I installed a nipple and homemade flash guard. (The future project is to carve a personalization onto the wax pattern taken from the mold, and then cast it.)

Pictured below is the restored Hawkin. I used a tobacco stain (Redman) and 13 coats of Tungoil for the wood finish.




I enjoy lurking in the back of modern gun actions and on line. I figured at this price, worse case scenario I could resell it at cost. I think though that it's a keeper. Looking for one now to restore to give the kid for Christmas, this one is mine. I'm still thinking about what I want to carve into the patchbox art. Maybe initials or coat of arms? Enamel champlevé is also an option? The waxes I've pulled from the molds show 0 shrinkage; looks very promising.

I'm open to any comments or suggestions, Thanks.

 

[Stoner]

Nice job. I have not heard of the Redman stain in years. I did a rifle over thirty years ago with Redman stain. Mixed ammonia and Redman in a jar and let it sit for a couple of weeks before using it.

 

[cynthialee]

I love that finish!

 

[ChrisLJ]

I'd say that's a keeper for sure! Well done.

 

[fcderosa]

No I didn't use ammonia, recipe called for 100 proof corn whiskey. Stunk to all get out.
I certainly wasn't going to put the Redman in my mouth. Last time I did that was over thirty years ago; the drill sergeant made me swallow it, got real sick, and couldn't get the hairball out of the back of my throat for a week. That was the end of that.

I did precondition the stock though after sanding with 220 grit. It was weird, the wood was darkening by itself,,,,,,, maybe I should've waited a little while longer before staining, but I wanted it uniform.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Nice job. I have not heard of the Redman stain in years.

Wow, me neither. That brings back some really old memories. Nice finish, by the way fcderosa, came out nice...though old farts like me prefer darker stains. To each, his own.