Polishing another stinky you know what

My mission is to have the coolest rifle I can make with less than $50. And have fun.

I got an old CVA kit as a tip at work! It’s missing the brass butt and the two pins for connecting the stock (barf!) are rusty but I ordered those parts and a patchbox for cheap and started inletting and mocking up the parts.

The barrel doesn’t say Jukar or spain and there is no sideplate, just large countersunk brass washers. If the internet is to be believed that means it’s pre-85? It does have the hideous two piece stock but there is some meat there.

My first flintlock was a butchered Jukar kentucky kit that I re-did. It is a fun gun with a vent liner, L&R lock, and fake stained tiger maple. It also has bad parts fitmemt and pretty bad inletting work that I couldn’t save.

So I have less than $50 in this gun and I couldn’t possibly ruin its value by tinkering. The last time I did any wood carving I was twelve or thirteen so why not start whittling on this gun stock?

Let the butchery begin

$50 sounds like a deal to me. Around here I doubt that $50 would get you part of a day of golf. I don't waste my money on such non creative pastimes as that but I have friends that do. I have spent at least $50 on small tooling to build a .270 smoothbore. Started with a salvaged .22 cal barrel and have made everything else. Maybe I will sit still long enough to learn to post pics on here.
Dave

Gotta figure out how to post pics and my iphone won’t let me hit search! It keeps popping back under the renew/web address bar?

The L&R lock alone is worth that or more.

hanshi said:

The L&R lock alone is worth that or more.

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The L&R was not for the new rifle kit. But, if it fits, he should be in business. Those early CVA 'kentucky' rifles had pitiful locks.

Also they had a constriction in the barrel, possibly caused by clamping during machining . It did not effect accuracy but made cleaning a real pain when the cleaning patches got caught 1/2 way out. :idunno: :idunno:

Sounds like a fun project. I have one that sounds similar to yours from the early 70s.

I dont recall any issues with the lock or any barrel constriction i the one I built in like 1973? Was a great shooter :idunno: I was like 10-11 yrs old so it was a bit "rough" but it hit where ya pointed it

Yeah, I got one (still have it btw) in 1982...other than a 2-piece stock and a 35" barrel, not a bad caplock rifle for $65 new, from the now defunct Bell & Company.

LD

ohio ramrod said:

Also they had a constriction in the barrel, possibly caused by clamping during machining . It did not effect accuracy but made cleaning a real pain when the cleaning patches got caught 1/2 way out. :idunno: :idunno:

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They often had a lot more than that wrong with them. Mine had a two piece barrel. It wasn't even joined smoothly and made loading very difficult and if a shot would stay in the county I was lucky. Those early CVAs were pitiful.

I picked one up about a year ago,I REALLY changed the look with a blackened finish,a brass feux repair over the joined stock area and brass tacks and nail patterns all over it!I call it the harlot!

hotoSmile: Show us "tacky".

I dont have a way to post pics, no camera