CVA Mt. Rifle Make-over

[JD50]

Back in 1979 (I was 18 at the time) I bought a CVA .50 Mountain Rifle kit and due to combination of lack of skill and knowledge and youthful impatience, put together a functional but rather sloppy looking rifle. I remember the man at the muzzleloading shop where I bought it giving me a few instructions on preparing the barrel for bluing or browing but it mostly went right over my head so the bluing job was a real mess and because that turned out bad, I never even blued the butt plate or trigger guard. I had never done any woodworking at the time so the stock is only semi smooth and since I didn't do a proper job of sanding the stain job didn't come out very well. I also made one major blunder. I cut the recess for the trigger guard about 1/8" to long so I was left with a gap in front of the trigger guard. I have taken it out every so often and shot it through the years and it is a real tack driver. I took it out yesterday for the first time in years and after putting three shots in a 1.5" group at 50 yards I looked at it and decided that the old thing deserved to get a make-over.
So I have decided to strip everything down and start over and try to turn this ugly duckling into a swan. This really is more of a fall/wintertime job so it may be months before I actually get started but I want to start studing and preparing for the job now. Thank goodness I still have the original instruction booklet.

The first issue is how to deal with the gap in the trigger guard recess. For years I thought about filling the gap with wood filler but 1/8" is to much of an area for that to look good stained. I am not much of a metalworker so I was wondering if a skilled welder could build out the trigger guard enough that I can grind it back down to shape the existing recess? As far as I know, the trigger guard is just plain old steel and a few welding beads could be added for some length. If anyone could give me any ideas or suggestions I would appreciate it.
I've been doing woodworking for the last 30 years or so, so the stock refinishing I believe I can handle but I will definitely need some guidance in finishing the metal parts. I think this time I will brown the metal instead of bluing since that would be more PC. If anyone could give me any pointers on browing or point me to any good websites on that process it would be great.

The last time I did this I couldn't wait to get through so I could run out and start shooting. This time I'm going to try to do it right!

This is my first post on this forum and I apologize for going on so long.
Thanks,
JD

 

JD,
1/8" isn't very much of a gap. Think about mixing some of the stain you are going to use on the stock into a clear epoxy and filling the gap. When you stain the stock around it, it should blend out pretty well. Put some vaseline on the trigger gaurd and mount it in the stock and then fill the gap. The trigger gaurd and mortice in the stock will be your mold.
Mark

 

[Bill Hall]

I'm thinking the best way to fix the gap is to inlay some wood in there, then re-inlet the trigger guard (just more accurate this time :wink: ). You don't need to match the existing gap with a little sliver of wood, you could cut out a mortice that's easy to match, say a square or rectangle. Then custom fit a square piece of wood to fit skin tight, and glue in. You could even make a decorative shape, like a point, or a point curved on both sides, use your imagination. And, you could use a darker piece of wood for the patch, something that adds contrast and shows off your work.

I always say, if you can't hide a mistake completely, make it obvious and make it pretty.

You can search for old posts concerning the browning process, or use the tutorial, when it's time to brown the metal. Bill

P.S. I'm not sure that trigger guard is steel. I had a CVA mountain rifle once, and it was more like nickle silver (German silver). If it's real shiny, it may not be steel, and you can't weld on it.

 

[54ball]

I would not consider welding. You have a chance for warping but more importantly it will be very hard if not impossible to file. A much better option if you decide not to repair the wood is to carefully draw it out. Drawing is a blacksmith term for stretching metal.

What you do is simply heat the steel to red hot and tap on the area you want lengthened. Go slow and use a small ball peen hammer. You can use the flat part of a vice or flat piece of heavy steel as your anvil. Go slow and do not beat it to death, you only have to go 1/8 inch.
Keep in mind it will get thinner and flatter as you work the metal. I would practice on simular sized steel first. When stretched clean up with files and sandpaper and re inlet.

 

[54ball]

A word on browning. If you want your rifle to look PC new, I would suggest a rust blue. It's done the same way as browning but with the added step of boiling after each browning session. You could build container to boil the barrel in, or simply have a large enough container and pour the boiling water on the barrel. It makes a deep black to brownish black finish.

Use a true browning regeant as the Plum Brown finish is Plumb hard to use to get the desired finish.

 

[rafterob]

I would think along the line of an inlay, as already mentioned. You could use bone or horn as a material.