Two Ruined Guns

[jrmflintlock]

After going to my first Rendezvous and shooting a ML for the first time, thus becoming immediately hooked, I proceeded to the local pawn shop and purchased the only ML they had for $80. An old .50 CVA Hawken. To my 19 year old eyes and heart it looked just like something a mountain man would have carried, beat up from hard mountain use! Now I know it was just years of abuse. Bore had some major rust spots, but by golly it shot "great" again from the point of view of a young newly hooked greenhorn.

After learning a little more from my new friends from Rendezvous, I quickly saved up and purchased a Traditions Kentucky.

I think that old CVA is still in my folk Garage somewhere. Someday when the family is cleaning the garage out they will find it and think it a priceless antique. :shocked2:

 

[stubshaft]

:rotf: :rotf: The other half doesn't like the small of Ballistol. I tell her that she won't smell it outside...

 

[BPete]

You don't see too many muzzleloaders in this area. I've only met one other person in the area that shoots them. I recently went to the range with a coworker and let him shoot one of my GPRs. He's a Vietnam vet and had never shot a muzzleloader before.

He enjoyed shooting it and showed interest in buying one. He called me at work the other night. He was excited since a friend of his had two muzzleloaders. They had belonged to his father and he was be willing to sell them. He asked if I would look them over to see if they were worth buying.

He brought them over today. Sadly they were in horrible shape. One was a T/C Hawken and the other was a CVA that I believe is a Mountain Rifle. Both were .50 cal. Both barrels were covered in rust and the bores were heavily rusted. I couldn't get a patched jag into either one. The lock on the CVA would not stay cocked and the nipple on the Hawken was seized up. The stocks would need to be sanded down and refinished.

It was sad to see two nice guns in such horrible condition. Especially when they are so uncommon in this area. When he arrived he told me he was thinking about offering $200 per gun. My advice to him was to offer $40 for the T/C and refinish the stock. Then try to find a reasonably priced barrel for it.

This is probably a fairly common occurrence in areas where muzzleloaders are more popular. Anyone else have similar experiences?

I would say far too common around here as well. People lose interest in many things, and BP guns, no different if not more. They require before and after care and attention, some folks just aren't into that. Too easy to just stand them in the corner and go for a soda. And then forget.

I feel for your co-worker. All he wants is a BP sidelock to go have fun with,(and right now!) Then hears about the holy grail of not one, but two of them, which both turn out to be rats.

The last thing a new shooter needs is to get into project guns for their Ab initio experiences.

Indeed a real shame, since the CVA Mountain rifle was one of their better offerings, and the TC is a reliable platform for any new shooter.

There is a nice GPR in the classifieds for $350. Maybe a deal could be worked out.

 

[azmntman]

:rotf: :rotf: The other half doesn't like the small of Ballistol. I tell her that she won't smell it outside...

:shocked2: :surrender: :rotf:

 

[Jimbo47]

Most folks, especially those who where never in the military aren't into religiously cleaning their guns.
Muzzle loaders, especially the traditional type require more dedicated attention to cleaning, than shooting it, and set it back in the closet because they don't have time to attend to it until later.
There are a lot more folks that are that way, than will want to admit to it.
There should be a warning on every gun saying... "If you don't immediately clean this gun after a firing session, then don't buy it!" :haha:

 

[Col. Batguano]

Absolutely on the cleaning stuff, particularly with ML'ers. But, also if you're going to shoot a suppository gun and corrosive ammo. I'll admit that I too some times get smitten with a case of the lazies when it comes to cleaning. If I don't feel like I want to take the time to clean it when I get home, I will grab something else to go out and shoot that I can be a little more laxed with. A trap door springfield (shot with light smokeless loads) gives you all the feelings of shooting a classic ML'er, with less of the hassles.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Even all fixed up and refreshed they are still only $150-$175 guns (each).

You lookin' to resell at a profit, or are you looking for an inexpensive and effective field piece?

:hmm:

Personally, after you derust them, you can dump them for what you paid (heck a Crackerbarrel or some home decorator would give you the $50 for them, heck I might even....), or fix them up, and include a rebore...., and then you have a gun that you aren't worried about if you scratch it up or get a dent in the stock while in the woods, or you could give it to a newbie or a kid if it shoots well, and you're not out a lot of buck$.

:hmm:

LD

 

[Jimbo47]

They look like they are great project guns.
I'd try to de-rust them and see what you can come up with trying to get them to function.
If they present too much of a challenge you could always advertise them in our classifieds for XXX amount or best offer.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I live in area with a lot of Amish who consider running an oily patch up and down the bore twice cleaning the rifle. It has been my experience that rifles with cut rifling like the CVA's can be cleaned , lapped and if necessary "refreshed" to shoot as good as new. The T.C.'s with the "Button broached" rifling which hardens the steel as it is deformed can be lapped, but not refreshed. So for the T.C consider the price of a new barrel or having it rebored to a larger caliber.I restoed a CVA mountain rifle for a friend ,a special forces and vietnam vet, to shoot as good as new . When he brought it to me it was so rusted you could not tell if it even had any rifling in it. But it lapped out nicely.:idunno: :idunno:

 

[pab1]

Thanks for the input everyone! I haven't heard anything yet. I should see him on Sunday.

The thought has crossed my mind to sell him one of mine but I can't bear to part with any of them. I thinned a few out a couple years back but want to hang onto the rest. The only thing I had that I thought of selling him was my 3rd (really don't need three) T/C .55 SB barrel with a less than perfect bore. That barrel is 1" though and the Hawken is 15/16".