old CVA kit

[tom in nc]

Anybody built a CVA Kentucky Rifle kit? I bought this 45 cal kit last summer at a local flea market, unopened. The seller said he bought it from Gander Mtn, he thought, sometime in the early 70s. I have test fitted the parts together and all the work is pretty much done.Very little cleaning up of the inletting will be needed. Mostly just browning/bluing, staining wood, and assembly being required. I will brown the metal parts. I would like to add a patch box during the build. I bought it cheap.

 

[bang]

Ought to be a shooter. I've read the older CVA kits were good and the barrel accurate.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Here's a thread on just this sort of kit.
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/traditions-kit-modified-build.112396/#post-1531503

 

[mooman76]

I got one like that a few years back. At a flea market and it had the receipt. 1974 bought at Wards. I paid $54 for it. fun build.

 

[Carbon 6]

Do yourself a favor and replace the wooden dowel ramrod with a quality wood rod right off the bat.. they were the weakest link in those kits.

 

[Cowboy]

Should be a descent rifle when yer done. Have one about that same time frame. No frill, bells or whistles, but you’ll have no problem hitting what you’re aiming at. Barrel is 7/8 th’s across the flats and solid.

Enjoy your build and keep us posted my friend!

Oh! Gotta see pics when yer done too!!

Respectfully, Cowboy

 

[Eutycus]

Be careful with that brass triggerguard, it don't bend just a heck of alot.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Man the photos bring back memories.
Back when I got mine, I knew nothing about locks. Now... I get a slight cringe when I look at that lock...but they do work.
That screw in the tumbler allows you to restrict the depth of the seer at full cock...so only a single trigger and not a set trigger but you can adjust the trigger to pretty "light". Be careful...<hint hint>
They were known to shoot pretty darn well, but only round ball. I tired TC .45 caliber maxi-balls in mine once, and got a nice silhouette impact at 25 yards as the bullet was tumbling end over end and went sideways through the paper.
LD

 

[Cowboy]

I tired TC .45 caliber maxi-balls in mine once, and got a nice silhouette impact at 25 yards as the bullet was tumbling end over end and went sideways through the paper.
LD

LOL , That’s funny

 

[tom in nc]

I had never started putting the kit together because I had thought about converting it to flintlock but now that I have another flintlock I'll go ahead and build it as is.
The other thread was interesting.

 

[ppg1949]

I got mine in 1980. A buddy bought the kit in '79 but it was missing many small parts and he didn't complete it. He sold it to me for his cost of $80. I sent off for the missing small parts and finished it. It is accurate. I shot Lee REAL 200 grain bullets out of it when hunting and PRB when punching paper. I still have it although I haven't shot it years.

 

[Zonie]

When you stain the wood, use an alcohol base or water base stain like the kind that Birchwood Casey makes.
Do not use a oil based stain like Minwax. The Beechwood the stock is made from will not absorb the stain and you will end up with a very, very light colored stock that IMO looks really bad.

The alcohol or water based stains on the other hand will penetrate the wood and if the color and darkness isn't dark enough you can apply more coats to get to the color/darkness you want.

This CVA double barrel kit stock was stained with 3 coats of Birchwood Casey Walnut stain (available at most gun stores and some Ace Hardware stores.)

 

[tom in nc]

Thanks Zonie! That's exactly what I want my stock to look like! That is a beautiful gun. Great job!!!

 

[longcruise]

Man the photos bring back memories.
Back when I got mine, I knew nothing about locks. Now... I get a slight cringe when I look at that lock...but they do work.
That screw in the tumbler allows you to restrict the depth of the seer at full cock...so only a single trigger and not a set trigger but you can adjust the trigger to pretty "light". Be careful...<hint hint>
They were known to shoot pretty darn well, but only round ball. I tired TC .45 caliber maxi-balls in mine once, and got a nice silhouette impact at 25 yards as the bullet was tumbling end over end and went sideways through the paper.
LD

A little off the topic but they don't tumble end over end. They simply fall into a sideways position. They fly sideways with the heavier end slightly forward. Usually the base is heavier. If you shoot a group of them you will see that all the holes in the paper are the same.

 

[ada16s2000]

A friend introduced me to muzzleloaders in the 90's by giving me a .50 cal CVA caplock kit. It came out very nice. I've been enjoying shooting it off and on for 25 years! They made some good stuff in those days!

 

[Acorn Mush]

A little off the topic but they don't tumble end over end. They simply fall into a sideways position. They fly sideways with the heavier end slightly forward. Usually the base is heavier. If you shoot a group of them you will see that all the holes in the paper are the same.

Way back when we used to say that unstable bullets "key-holed". Don't know if that term is still in use or not.

 

[longcruise]

Yup, still being used.

 

[ord sgt]

I had a CVA kit given to me. the .45 caliber rifle was missing a few parts but that was easy to fix. I built it up for my children to shoot. Turns out to be a good shooter. I use a .440 roundball and a .010 patch with Wonderlube. Accurate enough for me.

 

[Eutycus]

I had a CVA kit given to me. the .45 caliber rifle was missing a few parts but that was easy to fix. I built it up for my children to shoot. Turns out to be a good shooter. I use a .440 roundball and a .010 patch with Wonderlube. Accurate enough for me.

There are several good adjectives to describe a CVA and I think "accurate" is one of them.

 

[Bighorserider]

Everyone else seems to have better luck with CVA than I did. My first 2 kits were a derringer and Kentucky pistol. The derringer leaked gas between the breechplug and barrel but shot ok. The pistol had a terrible lock that never worked right. I traded both of them and never missed either.