Many years ago, when John Baird was publishing The Buckskin report, I recall reading an article there about a CVA that had burst, because the dovetail cut for the barrel key was cut too deep, and caused a weak spot. Other than the gun being ruined, the shooter did not suffer any serious injuries. The article reported that CVA addressed the problem promptly with their barrel makers, and recalled some of the early guns to be checked. There were no more reports of this kind of problem again. Many people did not like the design of the parts used in CVA guns, but most everyone had to admit they functioned well, and were good shooters. One friend had trouble until he removed the middle barrel key, and found that the forend of his mountain rifle stock had warped, and he could not get the key back in it. He later sanded down the barrel channel and refitted the key and he got fine accuracy from the gun thereafter. Apparently, CVA was sold some green wood for stocks, and when the gun sat through one of our very dry winters, the stock warped. 'With the middle key removed, he was shooting one hole groups at 50 yds, so he had no complaint.
