connecticut valley arms

[buck rogers]

I was wondering if some of you folk's could give me some info on these front stuffer's? I see some of the
older one's for sale on the net pretty regularly & was wondering about their quality. Thanks

Rick

 

[Rogue River]

Depending on the model they are a good entry level gun. Their best model in my opinion is their Mt. Rifle. The most popular is the Hawken model. The most popular cal. is the .50. Some guys don't like them some love them. It like the Ford/Chevy argument! :grin:

 

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

Yea I have a pre 1980 mt rifle & it's a great gun & shooter.
Fly :thumbsup:

 

[ohio ramrod]

In the seventies and early eighties they sold many rifles 45& 50 caliber. The percusions where decent rifles , better after they started using the Jukar barrels. But far and away their best was the mountain rifle with the barrels "Made in USA". These had very good barrels and the best of their locks. :hmm: :hmm:

 

[BrownBear]

Yeah, a buddy of mine has the mountain rifle in 58 cal. You seldom see those for sale, and his is so good it poked all of us into finding alternative 58's. Lots of 58's in the neighborhood now (In fact I own five 58's), but all of us will jump on the first CVA 58 we spot.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, the problem isn't with the guns being CVA imports. The problem is buying a black powder gun from someone on the net.

I'm not talking about the Muzzleloading Forums Classified ads here on the Forum because almost all of the sellers there are pretty good about being honest.

I'm talking about the people on the net who know they have the safety cushion of distance and the lack of identity between themselves and the buyer.

Where it takes some serious mis-treatment like leaving the gun in a bucket of saltwater to ruin a modern cartridge gun, simply failing to clean a black powder gun can rust the barrel to the point of making it useless.

Many sellers on the net have told prospective buyers, "It is in almost unfired condition!" or words to that effect and when the buyer gets the gun he finds that the bore is so caked with rust that a patched roundball can't even be shoved down it.

 

[Greg Hardy]

I've got a CVA Frontier Rifle that I've been banging away with for more than 25 years. I came in second place in the Virginia State BP back in '91 or 92 at 50yd. Still shoots center and will bring a smile to my face every time.

 

[Walks Alone]

It all comes down to opinion as the Ford/Chevy thing suggests. In mine they were a great entry level choice in the 70's & 80's (and still are today). They may have got my attention more back then if I hadn't started with the TC's before CVA got on the wagon.

"Older" or earlier is better with some models from CVA IMO.

All the CVA's I ever owned were percussion, no flinters. I've had 45 Kentucky's, 32 & 36 Squirrels, 45 & 50 Mountain rifles, a 45 Philly and a 45 Siber... and shot many other models friends had.

I won a lot of primitive matches with my early 45 Mountain rifle as it will easily outshoot any of the other CVA's and TC's I've owned. So it soon became the go to for them (and is the only CVA rifle I still have). My 45 Siber pistol was heads above the others in fit and finish and accuracy that also won a lot of matches for me.

 

[longrifle346]

Picked one up, a older Kentucky 45 in great shape, from a forum member here a few months ago. Absolutely a tack driver and will pretty much make one ragged hole at 50 yards when I do my part.

 

[buck rogers]

Thanks for sharing your opinions everyone. If anyone else would like to speak their peice please feel free.

Rick

 

[rawhide]

I got a hawken rifle in .54 I hunt with every year and shoot rondys with. taken 5 elk with it and won a few rondys with it nice gun to shoot.

 

[Otter]

CVAs (earlier models) are/were a good entry level ML. I have four different CVAs - a .36 Squirrel Gun (w/ an additional .50 barrel), an early .45 Mountain Rifle, a single barrel 12 ga shotgun and a double barrel 12 ga shotgun. Haven't shot the .36 or the single 12 ga in a while. The other two I have shot fairly recently, but not very much. I just have other rifles I like better - some customs, some reproductions. To each their own.

 

[CrackStock]

CVA generally had poorly heat treated locks which wore out over time. Their springs often were very weak. The good side was that they also often had good barrels - Douglas was one source. This led to pretty good accuracy - if you could get them to fire. They are a manure shoot in my view. I would look around for one to strip out the barrel and build something more reliable around the one good part.

CS

 

[tg]

Other than maybe the American made Mt Rifle which CVA's had Douglas barrels? my info from interviews with the owner of the company says Spain was the primary source of parts from the beginning in '71 or thereabouts, i have owned a half dozen CVAs of various vintages and all were good shooting guns but did prefer a very narrow range of powder loads and all were caplocks from what I heard a long time ago I chose to stay away fro imported flinters with the exception of a "Kentuckian" sold by Dixie, mine was used and the metalurgy/geometry was terrible, I had a twin in cap which shot very well with a moderate powder load, I would not hesitate to buy another CVA for $100, no more, if it's a capper, they had a Kentucky Hunter out for a while that was like the MT rifle but with a Roman nose stock and it was one of my favorite CVAs, held and shot very well had a 1/66 twist and I believe the grooves were a bit deeper than most which helped it swallow a wider range of powder load.The determiming of the condition is a big issue with used MLs if buying of a forum classified one is pretty safe if the seller is a regular other sources could be a manure shoot, I have only bought via forum venues and not had a problem with over two dozen exchanges.

 

[Horizontal Hunter]

I have a CVA Mountain Stalker in .50. It is a good shooter and great for hunting. It was inexpensive so if it gets rained on or gets a few dings it doesn't bother me. It is a hunting rifle that gets used and probably a little abused but it gets the job done.

Bob

 

[Kentuckywindage]

great shooters if the previous owner didnt ruin it by not cleaning it.

This ol 1986 CVA Hawken is still doing its job but with a couple twists in the process. :thumbsup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5lmjSHJNxk

 

[buck rogers]

This ol 1986 CVA Hawken is still doing its job but with a couple twists in the process.

What do you mean couple twists? Great video & shooting.

 

[east texas]

i have a cva 45 kentucky with the jukar barrel picked it up for 50 bucks. sweet little rifle , dont much care for the two piece stock, but the best bang for 50 bucks ive ever seen. mine is very accurate with 60-70 grains and a 440 rb and a .10 patch i would not hesitate to get another cva if the price was right and the barrel was taken care of! mike

 

[zimmerstutzen]

To an extent, I agree with Crack stock about the lock interiors on the earlier CVA's not being properly treated and wearing out. They had that pretty much corrected by the mid to late 1970's. They also used somewhat different locks by the late 1970's. I have two Frontier Rifles from the 1980's. They are great guns for training new shooters. CVA then went cheap again in the 1990's. The Bobcat is a good little gun, but lacks the DST's that most Frontier rifles had.

Nearly any Mountain rifle is good provided it isn't a rust bucket and hasn't had the breech unscrewed.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

This ol 1986 CVA Hawken is still doing its job but with a couple twists in the process.

What do you mean couple twists? Great video & shooting.

twists meaning the conicals i was using along with the duplex powder charge of jim shockeys gold - blackhorn209.

Shes a good shooting gun with that load thats for sure!