[drboompa]

Recently found this percussion 50 cal CVA Mountain at a Pawn Shop. Could not resist. I have never fired one and as still needing to purchase all the goodies that are required for loading and cleaning as it only came with the ramrod. According to the only Internet source I found, they are very rare (only 500 made and very accurate). It has the 1:66 twist octogon barrel. Can I shoot any other "bullets" other than round ball?

Anyone had any experience with this gun? Anyone know of the year these were made? Nothing on the gun except the serial number, etc. The barrel is 32 inches and the total length is 48 inches. Makes me feel like Davy Crockett!

 

[thdrduck]

Great round ball gun! I have an old CVA .45 Kentucky with a 1:66 twist. Still out shoots my much newer and much more expensive Hawken. I think the wife paid $60 for the kit new and gave it to me for our first Christmas.
I would start with a .490 round ball patched in pillow ticking lubed with bore butter in front of 75 grains of FF. I have never found anything that could compare to a round ball for mine (and I have tried lots over the 30 odd years).

 

[mountainman13]

Great round ball gun! I have an old CVA .45 Kentucky with a 1:66 twist. Still out shoots my much newer and much more expensive Hawken. I think the wife paid $60 for the kit new and gave it to me for our first Christmas.
I would start with a .490 round ball patched in pillow ticking lubed with bore butter in front of 75 grains of FF. I have never found anything that could compare to a round ball for mine (and I have tried lots over the 30 odd years).

That ^^^ I would add the patch should be .015 thick and ff is fine but I would recommend fff and starting @ 50 grains and working up.

 

[drboompa]

thanks fellows

 

[kycol]

Agree round balls, my CVA is accurate as it gets with them

 

[HockaLouis]

Picture please!

 

[drboompa]

Finally foundout how to do this. Hope it works

 

[HockaLouis]

I don't know how rare they are... but THIS is my non-kit CVA Mountain Rifle. It is a later "Made in Spain" gun sans the patchbox. In the Hawken vein, this .50 (my go-to BP rifle caliber) 33" blue barrel is 5" longer than my Thompson/Center's and has a LOP of 14". A highly stylized arm -- dark wood and contrasting Aluminum Pewter/German Silver furniture as well as Rocky Mountain front sight blade. The caplock and even wedges are case-hardened.

If yours is a Mountain Rifle too, the locks have a reputation for a soft mainspring that needs to be replaced eventually but otherwise, presuming they were careful in assembly, these are a quite decent rifle with very high accuracy -- the adjustable notch sight and double set triggers aid in that.

 

[kycol]

My CVA kit

 

[drboompa]

kycol,

A beautiful piece! Nice work!

 

[kycol]

kycol,

A beautiful piece! Nice work!

Thanks my wife bought me the kit about 28 years ago

 

[blackhawk44]

As far as I know, the CVA Mountain rifles are not that rare, but are definitely shooters. After getting my .50, I gave away my TC Hawken. FYI, I have also had outstanding luck with the Lee REAL. Be sure to get the lighter one as the heavy is too long for the slow twist barrel and lube with Bore Butter or something similar.

Picked up an almost finished "kit" rifle in .58 that I have yet to work with, but looks like fun.

 

[drboompa]

Anyone have any idea to the time period the CVA Mountains werre produced? Were they kits or non-kits?

Thanks to all who have enlightened me. I am a complete novice to BP. Once I shot an old inline BP (one shot). That is the sum total of my BP experience.

 

[blackhawk44]

If memory serves, they were from the late 70's to mid-80's. They were offered as both complete and in kit form. My .50 was complete while my .58 was someone's 80% finished kit.

 

[drboompa]

Here is a real novice question: Am I correct that to properly clean this rifle I need to take out the wedges and remove the barrel from the stock? If so, how do the wedges come out? Just drive them out? From which side?

Are extra wedges easy to come by?

By the way, I just purchased a commercial poster about this rifle that indicates it was being sold in 1978.

 

[kycol]

Here is a real novice question: Am I correct that to properly clean this rifle I need to take out the wedges and remove the barrel from the stock? If so, how do the wedges come out? Just drive them out? From which side?

Are extra wedges easy to come by?

By the way, I just purchased a commercial poster about this rifle that indicates it was being sold in 1978.

Usually you can just take a flat screw driver and just smack it with your palm to knock out the wedges. Then just lift up front of the barrel to remove it.just look at the wedge it is obvious that they only go in one direction. I then ether fill a bucket or the sink with hot water, pour some dish washing liquid down the barrel. Take my cleaning rod with cleaning patch and start swabbing this will force water in and out of the nipple and it gets the water dirty very quick so change it a few times till it is clean. (note here for novice the cleaning rod is not like one for modern fire arms no loop for cleaning patch, the black power cleaning rod has a brass button you lay the patch over the end of the barrel in push it in with the rod causing it to wrap around the button)
Now that it clean run the hottest water you can through it and get it as dry as you can with new patches, the use lots of WD40 patches to get out rest of moisture. Then patch it with a heavier oil, I use 3in1 a good amount with clean patch. Should go with out saying make sure do the outside of barrel too.
Then I put to barrel back on, push the wedges back in. I fold a patch place over the nipple let the hammer down to hold the patch in place. Stand the rifle up and place a liberal amount of 3in1 oil around the inside bore (enough that I am sure it will make it to that patch I placed over the nipple) the place in standing back in my gun cabinet till next time.

 

[Don357]

I too found a CVA Mountain Rifle in a pawn shop about 3 years ago. It was/is a .54 cal with a 32" octagon barrel and screw adjustable rear sight. It also has double triggers and a nice cheek rest in what seems to be a walnut stock. With 100gr fff and a patched round ball, a paper plate does not have a chance at 100 yds. 10 out of 10, every time. Of course I have to swab the barrel between shots, but that goes without saying. I paid $100 for it.I will post some pics as soon as I can take some.

 

[drboompa]

last evening I found three more issues with my rifle.

1. The side-lock has one very small screw that has been peened so that the slot is not visible. In order to remove the side-lock, I will have to drill out the screw head or find another way to get it out.
2. After a very close inspection, I am sure mine is from a kit due to the way the screws have been set in. A couple are off to the side and not exactly in the center.
3. The double trigger does not work unless I don't know how to use it. I pull it back to full cock, the rear trigger does nothing. When I pull the forward trigger, it shoots.

Any suggestions? No, I have not yet shot it. I am waiting on a cleaning rod that I ordered from the internet.

 

[kycol]

I too found a CVA Mountain Rifle in a pawn shop about 3 years ago. It was/is a .54 cal with a 32" octagon barrel and screw adjustable rear sight. It also has double triggers and a nice cheek rest in what seems to be a walnut stock. With 100gr fff and a patched round ball, a paper plate does not have a chance at 100 yds. 10 out of 10, every time. Of course I have to swab the barrel between shots, but that goes without saying. I paid $100 for it.I will post some pics as soon as I can take some.

Why do you have to swab out barrel between shots? I never have

 

[Don357]

Using a .530 ball and .015 patch, I can barely push a ball down the barrel after about 5 or 6 shots.