cva/Douglas barrels on mountain rifle

[Wv_mingo327]

looking for some opinions if anyone could help, and to share an observation/opinion of my own. I know this topic has been covered several times in one way or another and that most of the documents if any were lost over the years. I currently have several cva mountain rifles 4 of which are the “made in USA”. what i’m interested in and want to discuss is the barrels and the noticeable differences between what i believe the be some of the very first barrels to be produced the alleged “douglas” barrels. This is all speculation on my behalf but i have noticed that i have 3 barrel marked made in “USA” that have larger barrel under lugs , they have flats machined on the powder drums , they also have well defined crowns to them, and what appears to be a somewhat wider surface area to the rifling it’s self. I have another barrel also “USA” version but it has the smaller 3/8 i believe underlugs , less defined crown , the rifle appears to be a little more narrow in this particular barrel. The powder drum on this one has no machined flats on it just typical cva type drum. also one of the rifles i currently have show no markings what so ever of a Spanish stamp on inside of lock assembly as is so typical to see.the tang, lock, and nose cap all have numbers stamped in them 839 i do believe. so what do you guys think? has anyone else noticed the difference mentioned above in the early cva mnt rifle barrels and if so could these noted barrels be the rumored douglas barrels that were supposedly on the first generation guns? i will add that other than potential value for i don’t see a difference in accuracy between my USA barrels and my Spanish barrels as long as i do my part. i know this was a lengthy post i do apologize. i’m still fairly a youngster in the smoke pole world but i must say it’s definitely an addiction and adventure as i wish i would have gotten into this side of shooting and hunting many years ago as it is much more enjoyable and challenging and the people i meet as well as you guys here are extremely helpful with us younger guys finding our way in the traditional world of shooting/hunting. my nest goal is to be a flintlock (probably another mnt rifle ) as iv only shot them and don’t currently own one. thank you for any insight or opinions anyone may be able to share on these barrels as i know there are some really knowledgeable guys out there.

 

[Frontier's]

It's not speculation. When I was prostaff for cva I had this conversation with the people and he confirmed, the very first models were Douglas until the factory in Spain tooled up to build them there.

 

[Frontier's]

Also if the drums have flats, it was either modified or replaced.

 

[Wv_mingo327]

Also if the drums have flats, it was either modified or replaced.

thank you for the quick response the barrels with the flats are brand new old stock kits i have purchased never had powder or a ball down them in there original packaging there the same barrels with the larger underlugs and well defined crowns and stamped made in USA these barrels are the ones i feel would be douglas.