Need help with a CVA 45 M/L ?

[44goon]

Hi Guys,

Just got a Connecticut Arms Co. (CVA) 45 muzzleloading rifle & was hoping someone could tell me what kind it is as I have no idea I got it with another gun as an extra ! Anything you could tell me would be appreciated.








Thanks for your help.

44goon

 

[frontiergander]

Kentucky.

40 to 60grs Pyrodex P or real black powder.

.015 patch and .440 round ball.

Excellent shooters.

 

[Chawbaccer]

It is a percussion, uses caps. It is of the Kentucky style, two piece stock. Not the top of the line but probably a good shooter. Before you do anything run the ramrod down the barrel to make sure it is not loaded.

 

[arcticap]

That's a CVA Kentucky rifle that was probably made in Spain. It looks a lot like the Kentucky rifle model that was made by Jukar but without the patchbox.

 

[44goon]

Thanks heaps Guys,

I've taken the screw & the nipple out & stuck a bore light there & the barrel is spotless, great rifling & not a mark anywhere in the barrel

Does not appear to have been fired. I remember years ago here in Australia they brought a lot of these muzzleloaders out here in kit form & I think that this was one of them & has not been finished off properly & that's why it looks like it does. I'll re-do the timber & brass work as the stain on the timber work is very rough

thanks for the load info frontiergander, I'll go for 40grns of fffg as that's what I shoot out of my Dragoon.

Thanks again.

44goon.

 

[DoubleDeuce 1]

Stock finish

The stock on your rifle is made from beech wood I think. Some people refer to it as "mystery wood". If you do refinish the stock, just be aware that beech does not really stain like other woods. The grain can get very cloudy looking, like the area on the butt stock in the photo. Then again it might just be a matter of cleaning up that area to see if the cloudiness disappears.
I stained a CVA stock many years ago using a tar and kerosene mixture. It didn't turn out too bad, but it was an ugly piece of wood.
CVA rifles have been great shooters.
A gentleman on another forum removed the brass spacer on the stock and joined the two pieces together nicely. The grain in the wood looked pretty good. I think he used the pins that are in the stock at that joint, and just epoxied the pieces together. I have an old CVA rifle kit someone gave to me. It is missing some pieces. What I don't have or like, I'll make something to fit the rifle. I am also thinking about eliminating the brass spacer in the stock. That will depend on the grain of the wood and how ambitious I happen to be feeling at the time.

 

[mykeal]

I have the same rifle, and like his, the grain in the forestock does not match, or even come close, to the grain in the buttstock. Simply removing the spacer and joining the two stocks looks weird. Plus, if you just take out the spacer you have a problem at the end of the rifle fitting the nose cap - it screws into the barrel so you can't move it back to take up the space left by the spacer.

Best to put a piece of wood in place of the spacer, stained like the stock. Not perfect, but not as funky as the brass spacer. With the two different grains there's no hope of getting it to look like one piece of wood anyway.

 

[1KPerDay]

Nice rifle... I almost bought one when I was a kid. I "built" a CVA hawken and matching pistol from kits instead.