CVA Barrel

[Rusty_Nail]

I picked up a CVA Mt. rifle flinter that had some nice stripe, and a really good price. When I got it, the barrel was a bit red inside, and the breach had vise marks. I contacted him to return it. He refunded all but $150.00 :grin: and asked if I could see about another barrel. Duh, took it in a second. Now I have a gun with a possible tomato stake for a barrel.

However, the bore is not the issue. After some work with steel wool, tooth polish and elbow grease, the bore looks shootable. If I need a thin patch, so be it. It is for a brush and brambles (i.e. driving) shooter!

The issue is the breach. This one not only has the vise marks, the browning is gone for the first couple inches, it has heat marks, and I notice the hook is a very fine smidgen off index.

Would it be unsafe to try to put it in a vice and index it up, or even to shoot it as is? It wedges in fine, and is not loose. Plus the vent is still clear enough in the pan.

Deer Creek has barrels, but are in the white, and I am not sure if they have the plug installed or not.

Just need advice over whether this barrel will shoot, or blow up in my face? :idunno:

Rusty

 

[Zonie]

Sounds like someone found out why the old timers recommend not removing the breech plug except as a last resort.

If the threads were not damaged, and it's unlikely they were it should be safe to shoot.

Often when a breech plug is removed a small amount of material is scraped off of the internal faces that are clamped up against one another when the breech plug is tight.
Then, when the plug is reinstalled it has to be turned a little farther than it originally was to get it tight again. This can cause the misalignment you mention (assuming it has been rotated a little further than it was originally).
If it is not tightened up to reach the alignment mark that's usually scribed on the bottom of the barrel then go ahead and tighten it up to align the marks.

A lightly rusted barrel will often shoot as well as a undamaged barrel if the rust is first removed. The only way to know for sure is to go do some target shooting off of a bench rest.

If your rifling grooves became slightly more shallow, you may need to use thicker patches rather than thinner patches.
Again, the only way to know is to try several different thicknesses.

 

[Black Jack]

Not having seen the gun, it's hard to say. I own a few CVAs and I would caution you that due to the rather unique CVA breech construction design I would be very cautious with one that has been tampered with. I will go even further and say that whoever sold it to you did so under what some might consider false pretenses and should have refunded all your money unless you purchased it knowing that the breech had been monkeyed with. There are a lot of "kitchen table mechanics" in this hobby that unfortunately do things that are not advisable. I think that your end result depends a lot on the ethics and honesty of the one who sold it to you. At the very least, I would have it checked out by a competent muzzleloading gunsmith. Good luck.

 

[rafterob]

If you decide you need a new barrel, the Deer Creek are excellent. They were made from the same rifling machine that douglass barrels used. They come with breech installed and underlugs but you need to put sights and ramrod under barrel thingy on. You should have those on your barrel now that you could switch over. I bought mine about 5 years ago for $110 plus extra for the other parts.

 

[Rusty_Nail]

Deer Creek still has one, but I am waiting on another guy who sells CVAs to let me know if he has an already browned barrel in 50 cal. He also has a couple of NIB CVA Hawkens, both left and right. And really low priced Plainsman Pa. Commemorative rifles.

If I wasnt trying to save to reach the $$ point and call Tip about an Isaac Haines like Bullfrogs, I might take one of each! Worst case, they would be good to get my Yard Apes interested!

 

[MSW]

if this is a 'brush and brambles shooter' (nice expression, that - I hope you don't mind if I filtch it) I would proof fire it (stick the butt in an old tire and pull the trigger from a distance with a string) and if that works out, well, if it ain't broke ...

good luck with you new gun, and

make good smoke!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Not having seen the gun, it's hard to say. I own a few CVAs and I would caution you that due to the rather unique CVA breech construction design I would be very cautious with one that has been tampered with. I will go even further and say that whoever sold it to you did so under what some might consider false pretenses and should have refunded all your money unless you purchased it knowing that the breech had been monkeyed with. There are a lot of "kitchen table mechanics" in this hobby that unfortunately do things that are not advisable. I think that your end result depends a lot on the ethics and honesty of the one who sold it to you. At the very least, I would have it checked out by a competent muzzleloading gunsmith. Good luck.

All the posts are on the spot accurate. But your "rather unique" comment about CVA breeches and plugs should be emphasized. Tampering by an amatuer can be disastrous.
And, the comment about removed breech plugs having to be over torqued to get properly snugged is another issue.
Old guns often had a (sorta?) washer between the breech plug and barrel. They were made of non corroding gold or platinum.
If you have some 24K AU or platimun sitting around you do need to look at other alternatives.
Bargains ain't always.......

 

[Grenadier1758]

Those old CVA rifles were built with an interlocking drum and breech plug. Removing the drum or breech plug would violate any warranty in effect. That said, the drum is threaded through the breech plug. Then the plug was drilled to the flash channel in the drum. This creates a sort of patent breech. It also makes removal of the drum and breech plug very tricky. Probably explains why the breech plug was scarred up in a vise and couldn't be removed. Not so sure that I would trust that barrel. Be sure to proof it and look for leaks at the breech.

 

[Rifleman1776]

That said, the drum is threaded through the breech plug. Then the plug was drilled to the flash channel in the drum. This creates a sort of patent breech. It also makes removal of the drum and breech plug very tricky.

All true. But the design was changed several times over the years making home repairs even more tricky.

 

[bubba15301]

would not just the caplocks have the drum ? op gun is a flintlock