CVA double gift

[Blacky Montana]

Hey Guys,
It appears I had some pretty good luck this week. A lady that works with my wife, was aware that I enjoy BP hunting through conversations with she has had with her. The lady was doing some cleaning out of her spare or storage bedroom, and came upon a set of CVA muzzleloaders that had belonged to her husband who passed away a few years ago. They were originally kits that had been given to him as a gift. One is a rifle with the two piece full stock (little brass spacer in betwwen the two stocks), and a matching pistol simular to like a Kentucky or Frontier pistol. Both in .45 cal. He had put them together, and then just used them for decorations in his office. Neither have ever been fired. The best time line I can put on them is between 10 and 20 years ago. She said that after he recieved them as gifts, they had sat in the closet for a few years before he ever put them together. She added that it was maybe 10 to 15 years ago when he finally assembeled them. The stamp on both barrels reads... Connecticut Valley Arms Inc.. under that.. Black Powder Only .45 cal.. So how old these are I realy dont know for sure. Both are percussion. As I said before, the rifle has the two piece full stock, has no patch box, and just plain fixed sights. I don't have a clue what twist the barrel might be, but I'm going to assume it is for PRB's. I will probably put all the rest of my post on these two ML's in the craftsman section, because I plan on redoing the stocks and barrels before I try fireing them. They were both finished with bright blue barrels, and have fairly light colored stocks. I'm going to strip both and do the barrels in brown, and go for a much darker stock like my A & H mountain rifle. I'm sorry i don't have any pics to post at this time, but I will get some up just as soon as I can. If anyone has any idea what they are date and model wise from my description, please let me know. I'm deffinately gonna have to find a way to give the lady a proper thank you. She refused to let me pay her anything for them, and just flat out gave them to me. Yep....this was a realy good week.

Blacky Montana,
SASS #19953

 

[MikeChapin]

From the description the rifle is a CVA Kentucky. There were a lot of these put out in the late 70's and eighties. CVA later kept the same style and upped it to a .50. I built a lot of these for people back then. Mostly for non muzzleloaders that the someone gifted them with a kit. I built one for my wife back then. She is a small woman so I cut six inches off the barrel and shortened the pull a little. She took home a lot of plunder with that rifle before it died in a fire.

The barrel has a 1:66 twist. She shot a .440 ball with a .015 patch over 40 grains of 3F. For 100 yards she would use 60 grains and plant them right in there.

The pistol sounds like a CVA Kentucky of the same vintage. The barrels are about 10" long and have a heavy nosecap similar to what is on the rifle. I still have a pair of those, one in percussion and one in flint. My wife got me the pair back in the early eighties. I put shallow crescent nose caps on them when I put them together. I also slimmed up the pistols to go with the new nosecaps. On the flinter I put in a deluxe Maslin lock that came on the Mountain Rifle and a Pedersoli single set trigger. That pistol was a tack driver. Alas, it died in the same fire that got my wife's Kentucky. I replaced it but never got around to putting in the new lock and trigger.

 

[mykeal]

Mike,

FYI, my CVA .45 cal Kentucky rifle, built from a kit in the mid-70's, is a 1:48 twist. I'm quite sure of the measurement as I've gotten the same answer on 3 different occasions over the years.

 

[BrownBear]

A friend has what sounds like identical models. I've never looked at either real closely, but have watched closely as he put holes in paper with each. They appear to be really good shooters, both for accuracy and reliability. Coincidentally he has finished both as you describe- browned with dark stocks. All I've seen is enough to tell me you're on the right track. How can you beat guns that are good looking, good shooting, and in your case, free?

Congratulations!

 

[Mulebrain]

Oh that feeling of excitement, god don't ya love it!

I got two of them Kentucks, and they are tack drivers!

Post pics when you can!

 

[Keppy]

I have a CVA Kentucky 45 and it shoots great. Mine has a 1/66 twist,its one of the early one. I'm not sure on the date. But the BP shop I got it from, said if it has a ajustable sear which my does, its one of the early ones. You have to take the lock out to adjust it. I know because I had to buy a lock part from him after a year of shooting. Thats when he told me this.He said the later ones did not have the set screw. So thats one way of telling how early it was made. Now when they changed I'm not sure and he wasn't sure either. Good luck with it and enjoy. I use 60grs FFF goex and 440 RB with 15 thousands pillow ticking. Olive oil for lube.

 

[Mountainman56]

Well Blacky, you must be livin right for sure. I recently acquired a .45 CVA Kentucky myself and actually am more impressed with it than I thought I would be. For a 30 year old entry level muzzleloader it has very tight inletting and it is a tackdriver although I don't care much for the rear sight.

Congratulations :thumbsup:

 

[boar]

There before 83 as my squirrel rifle is marked 83 for year and has Spain on it. I have two rifles same as yours and the pistol. There good good guns. There weakness is the trigger pull. Depends on how they inlet the trigger. I have one that is real good. They have a screw on tumbler that you can set, but you can't get it too light or un safe. I have worked them over, took creep out, polished lock, lighten the mainspring. I killed 11 grhogs with the one straight, before a miss. The one stock I did in Brichwood Casey Maple and other one with Vinegar&Iron Stain and Tru-oil. Dilly

 

[MikeChapin]

I never measured the twist on the .45 Kentuckies. I was going by what they were advertised as. It wouldn't suprise me a bit it CVA got a rifle shipment of 1:48 7/8" barrels and just put them on. They would shoot just as well as the advertised 1:66 barrels.

Mykeal, I just had a thought. Does your Kentucky have kind of patent breech and the lock kind of low slung with a good bit of wood between the breech and the top of the lock? Does it have a loopy looking sideplate instead of the two brass washers? The reason I ask is that I have a Colonial pistol of that same vintage that has that configuration. I have seen a few early CVA kentuckies with that same configuration. If it is, it's nice to know that those rifles were a 1:48 instead of the later 1:66 twists.

 

[trent/OH]

Free guns!! That's even better than free food!

 

[Bob. B.]

Ditto, I have a CVA Kentucky rifle and pistol both .45s. I bought them as kits for my father back in the seventies. He had them as wall hangers until his death. They came to me about six years ago and I finally shot them last fall. The rifle is a tack driver with 40 grains of Graf & Sons FFG black powder and a .440 patched round ball. The pistol shoots a nice group also. Although the rifle is not as "nice" as my T/C Renegade, it is my favorite to shoot.

 

[Blacky Montana]

Howdy,
The only negitive I have been able to find on either of these two, is the trigger pull on the rifle. I don't have anything to measure the pounds of pull required to fire it, but I can tell you it takes more than any other firearm I own. Don't get me wrong.....it was free...lol. That's just the only negitive I have found so far. Does anyone know if a quality after market trigger will drop right in without any modifications needing to be done to the stock.

Thanks,
Blacky Montana
SASS #19953

 

[Blizzard of '93]

you must be Irish or have a horseshoe firmly inplanted in your nether region. :surrender:

 

[mykeal]

Mike,
Here's mine - does this give you enough information? It does have the two lock screw washers on the left side. I can easily take some more pictures if you'd like.:

 

[Old40Rod]

Nicest looking wood I've seen on one of these Mykeal.

 

[Blacky Montana]

Hey Mykeal,
That pretty much looks exactly like mine, except mine doesn't have the little cup around the nipple. Did yours come with the cup, or is that something you added. I take it the purpose of the cup is to stop the fragments of the primer from going everywhere? I wouldn't mine adding one of those to my CVA and my Austin Halleck.

Blacky Montana
SASS #19953

 

[mykeal]

The brass cup, called a 'flash cup', was added as an accessory later, and it has since been removed. It was indeed intended to prevent damage to the barrel and wood due to the cap ignition products, and it did that well, but it was a real PITA to start the nipple back in once I'd removed it for cleaning.

 

[MikeChapin]

Mike,
Here's mine - does this give you enough information? It does have the two lock screw washers on the left side. I can easily take some more pictures if you'd like.:
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Well that shoots my theory. That has the drum ignition that is used now. Judging by the date you built it, it must be one of the first to use the new style. It wouldn't suprise me a bit to find they were using some earlier barrels to use them up. I'll bet it shoots great.

 

[mykeal]

Had a buddy who bought one about the same time and his did have the curvy sideplate and snail nipple housing. He wanted to return it thinking he'd gotten a bad set of parts, but it turned out OK. He sold his years ago or I'd have him measure the twist rate for us.