New gun

[Dandyfunk]

Hello all, Here are a few pictures of my newest purchase. I picked this up the other day for a song. It is a non American barreled CVA kit built rifle. I do not know who the builder was but like the last it has a ton of lumber that needs to be removed. My plan is to do the same things as I did to the last one with exception of prolly going with the darker walnut look. Let me know what you think and your observations. You guys are way more knowledgeable than I and have a keen eye for details. Let me know if you see things other than the wood work that needs attention. Once again thanks for you inputs. Df

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q28/Breckalland/PICT0048_zps449710ed.jpg[/image

[img]http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q28/Breckalland/PICT0049_zpsc56ed72a.jpg

 

[mark mcdaniel]

Sweet! you are getting quite a collection going

 

[Wes/Tex]

Good ole CVA "Kentucky" and yes, she can use some thinning! :wink: Yours is a bit later in the production run, the earliest guns had that hideous wide, brass band between the stock halves. Earliest ones were .45 caliber but somewhere around the stock spacer change, they offered .50 as well. The parts were Spanish made back then but usually seemed to work well. Notice the lock is the same as used on the Mountain Rifle, as well may be the barrel...they got a lot of mileage out of their parts. We did't mind, the guns shot well. Somewhere over the decades I lost track of how many meets they won and how many Bambi's they rolled, but it was prodigious! The .45 loved 75 grains of FFg and cranked out over 1850 fps velocity with it. Another load in cover with 50 yard shots being about the limit was 50 grains of FFFg which cranked out over 1750 fps velocity. Sneaking through the Brazos River bottom where you could probably spit as far as you could see, the 50 grain load did well...sometimes it was just figuring out if the brown patch was really Bambi and just what part was showing. Brother, that took some sneakin' slow as 'lasses in winter! :wink: :thumbsup:

 

[necchi]

Try to get the butt plate to fit a little better than the last one and take a look at some other rifles,,
,,the lock panels do have a step to'm going down into wrist and into the forearm.

You aren't bashful about taking wood off and that's a good thing, but there is a little more to it than just rasping and sanding everything down.
Good luck, picking up these old kit's is a great way to get practice and experience.
The key to making those split stock rifle shoot well is getting the "split" tight with no wobble.

 

[stinkyfeet]

Not sure if the gun came with one or not but it looks as though your missing the cleanout screw on the drum.

 

[Renegade Dan]

Ya do have a little thinning to do, can't wait to see it when your finished. make sure you post some before and after pics when your done. :thumbsup:

 

[Dandyfunk]

Yep, missing the screw.

 

[cynthialee]

Thin it down then sand it smooth and stain it light. A light stain will give that wood plenty of character. If you go with a dark stain it won't look as spiffy.
Clean up and darken the metal. Should come out looking good.

 

[Alden]

Where do you find unfinished but completed guns? LOL Looks like a 2 x 4!

Could look like my (short) .45, maybe...

 

[Patocazador]

It looks like something I would have done 30 years ago. :slap: I'm sure you'll make it into a fine looking gun.

(One thing I hate to see is a bare, unshrouded nipple but that's a CVA for you.)

 

[rfisher]

I picked up one just like that for $80 at the local pawn shop. It shoots just fine,in fact my nephew has used it and won a few matches with it. Anyway I plan on re-doing mine too. Gonna thin down its profile a bit , stain it super dark and add some brass tacks. Going for the trade rifle look.

 

[Dandyfunk]

Does anyone know it there is a replacement stock that is one piece and has all the relief work completed. The wood on this one is in bad condition, a little dry rot and such. I might want to put the hardware on to a new stock. I know that their are lots of blanks out there but I am looking for something specifically made to replace the CVA kit stock. Df

 

[Dandyfunk]

Alden, I think that the builders of each of my CVA's thought that they had completed their rifles!! Since I have never seen the instructions for the kit I can only assume that the builders did not follow the instructions correctly or they decided that the work to finish the stock was too much or to complicated. The first rifle I found at a gun show and the second was bought for $50 from a guy who came into the shop. My buddy also just recently pick up a CVA Hawken style kit rifle with the same issues. Df

 

[Wes/Tex]

To my knowledge, no one has ever made replacement stocks for any of the old CVA guns, sorry.