Fixed up an old "Kentucky" pistol.

[cynthialee]

We picked up this old .45 CVA Kentucky pistol at a local pawn shop recently for $65.00 bucks. I took it apart sanded off the stain and restained it. Then I used the molasas solution methood to remove the rust and blueing on the barrel. I reblued it with Birchwood Cassey perma blue.

I have test fired it with .30 grains of 3Fg goex and a .433 ball with a .015 patch. I only fired a couple shots to see if it was functional, so I didn't get a chance to see how well it groups. It is too cold outside and I don't feel like clearing my bench/picnic table as it is covered in a couple feet of snow.

So here is the before:

And here is the after:

 

[Don]

Nice work Cynthia. I have two of those pistols and both are great shooters. I use a .440 ball with a .015 patch and get great groups with that combo. Enjoy your new pistol.

Don

 

[necchi]

Well that spiffed're up real nice.
And you put the front sight on proper, :thumbsup:

critique? :redface:
try not to sand down the front of the lock panels too much. they should still have that rounded part standing a bit proud of the main body,,
(sorry)

 

[VEARL]

Your getting to be quite the gun refinisher. That is a very nice job. Really brought out the grain in that wood. Also, do you mind if I follow you around and see if I can get good deals on guns like you do? :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I'm still looking for a pistol to rebuild myself. Hopefully I will come across it this coming year.

 

[bobthemotorcycle]

You got a good deal on that pistol. I have one almost just like it and when I went back to school and on occasion I had to pawn it I would get $90 to $100 bucks everytime. I still own it and may drag it out and shoot it.

 

[cynthialee]

Well the guy wanted $79.00 for it. I pointed out hw we have bought a number of items from them and the pistol needed alot of tlc. They knocked it down to 65 and taxes.

This one is destined to be sold off. I had Sevan list the parts already. It is a .45 so I really don't want or need it. The Hawken pistol uses the same sized .490 PRB as my hunting rifle and it can handle a stout hunting charge.

I really like fixing up an old beater and breathing new life into it. This guns only real issue was it looks like whoever owned it broke the ram rod tip and gave up on it. The barrel and the drum were very clean it turns out.

 

[RADeO]

Nice refinishing job there. :thumbsup:

Looks like you were able to give some life to an otherwise run-of-the-mill CVA stock. I like the way you got the grain to stand out.

You have, shall we say, ...a way with wood. :haha:

 

[Zonie]

BEWARE

You're entering very dangerous territory.

The refinishing bug starts out rather timidly by inducing you into fixing up old beaters but if it is fed by several small 'projects' it can morph into a building bug that will only be satisfied with your buying and building a expensive "Box of parts" from places like Pecatonica River, Track of the Wolf and other similar companies.

While building these advanced guns is a great hobby a very extensive knowledge of very unladylike profanities is mandatory and these can sneak into daily conversations later on.

Don't say you weren't warned. :grin:

 

[Dickydalton]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Moose Guide]

While building these advanced guns is a great hobby a very extensive knowledge of very unladylike profanities is mandatory and these can sneak into daily conversations later on.


:rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

 

[pargent]

It's started :haha: :thumbsup:

 

[cynthialee]

So I shined a light down the bore today and couldn't believe what I saw. The rifleing and lands are spotless. No piting and it was still sharp looking. This pistol probably saw a handful of rounds at the most.
If I didn't already have a good pistol I would have had to keep this one.

 

[Atlast357]

Are you going to list it in Classifieds ? :hmm:

 

[cynthialee]

nope sorry

 

[crockett]

It is a little hard to tell from the photos but the re-blue looks good. I didn't think it was possible to get that good a result from a cold blue.

 

[buford87]

That is a much improved hog leg. I will say you did a remarkable job...............wath yer top knot...........

 

[cynthialee]

Well it isn't the best blue, but it isn't bad. I just followed the directions on the tube as close as I could. It took 3 aplications to get it done enough to pass a basic inspection.

 

[Many Klatch]

Cynthia, I just had one of those handed to me to fix up today by a buddy. The inside of the lock needed some work. He brought the beer so we fixed it right up.

We used a flat diamond hone to flatten the inside of the lock plate, it looks like it was warped when it came from the plant. The tumbler was digging into the lock plate so I took a Dremel to it and eased the edges back a bit so it wouldn't dig.

Some of the parts were the wrong size. The tumbler had some swells on the round part that goes through the lock. I had to cut those off so the tumbler would fit easily into the plate. The mainspring had a square plug that had been pushed into a round hole, after I beat the spring out of the lockplate, I turned the plug into an octagon and it fit a lot better. I polished anything that rubbed on anything else. Some of the screws were oversized and didn't move easily in their respective openings. I chucked the screws into a drill and then turned them down with either sandpaper or a diamond file.

When we got done we had a nice crisp trigger pull. We are guessing that this gun was over 30 years old and had never been shot.

Many Klatch

 

[cynthialee]

There are alot of old black powder guns out there that have seen limited if any use. Especialy the single shot pistols.

 

[Eljay]

Yeah, I inherited a single shot from the black powder revival in the early 60s I guess and I don't think it had ever actually been fired. Definitely not by the previous owner who had kept it because it was his dad's. Lots of surface issues but the bore was perfect - I think because once the spider webs sealed it off no moisture got in there. Works fine. I imagine there are lots of these that get bought for display or for novelty and at most they get shot once.