CVA Mountain Pistol .50

[Stantheman86]

Picked this up for $130 off GoneBroker...my first CVA pistol and well, it seems OK. It was a kit that someone threw cold blue on the barrel, and some of the screws are sloppy but if it shoots OK with round balls it will be worth the 130 at least.

It's certainly no Pedersoli and it looks like a Lyman Plains pistol knockoff.

It isn't marked "Spain" but people say these Spanish barrels can be very accurate round ball shooters.

I'm going to try to get some .490 and .480 round balls with various patches, and 2f and 3f powder to see what it likes.

 

[tenngun]

I have one I restocked a couple of years ago. It had lain in a drawer with a crack in the old stock. I had bought it in ‘78. Shot one deer with it, a couple of turkey, and a few squirrels. From a rest it shot one hole at twenty five yards and shoots a lot better then I can hold. 30 grains of three f under a .490 patched with .15 patch’s lubed with lard or mink oil. Had just finished build in this photo, still had to oil the stock and replace clean out screw. Shot charges as high as 60 grains and it only opened the group about 1/2 an inch

 

[Stantheman86]

That's beautiful, I love it

Hope mine is a hidden gem, 30 gr of 3f is where I'm gonna start.

I also have a box of .50 PA Conicals.

The rear sight was pretty much a block with a micro notch so I used a round file and quickly opened it into a usable U-notch.

I tried a Treso musket cap nipple but the "cup" of the hammer catches on the nipple. I'll just stay with #11's.

By tomorrow afternoon I'll know how it shoots .

 

[Desperate Lee]

Stan
I should be receiving mine by the end of the week .I too hope it turns out good .Go with my 10" Colonial, and my 10" Kentucky .
DL

 

[Stantheman86]

OK , I fired my CVA Mountain Pistol and I have mixed reviews

The good news is, it shoots very well with .480 Hornady round balls and .015 patches lubed with Eastern Shooting Supply Competition patch lube. They glide down the bore and no cleaning in between shots required . .018 patches did ok too. .490 balls were too tight, I'm not about to force something down that may not make it to the powder. PA conicals got scary, I tried 1 and I had to start it with a brass punch then jab it down with my range rod. Nope.

I could shoot that loose fitting, nice shooting .480 / .015 patch combo all day.

Mainspring is shot, it often took 2-3 whacks with the hammer to pop the cap. Either I need a new mainspring, or a 209 Primer adapter may be easier to pop, in which case I would just use 777 at that point. I'm not trying to put lots of money into this thing but it has potential as a fun range plinker.

The front sight blade is loose in the base but I can probably either tap the sides to tighten the blade channel up or maybe just get a new front sight, since I assume this to be a .350 dovetail.

 

[azmntman]

I had one back in the 70's as well. Same as Tenngunn's, mine shot a ragged hole all day long at 25 yds. Note sure about his but mine REALLY opened up past 25 yds, like 6" at 50 yds. Made alot of $5 dollar bills betting buddies I could hit a quarter 5 times in a row LOL. Dont recall the charge etc but was using real black and PRB back in them days (we could get black local back then). GOOD find

 

[azmntman]

OK , I fired my CVA Mountain Pistol and I have mixed reviews

The good news is, it shoots very well with .480 Hornady round balls and .15 patches lubed with Eastern Shooting Supply Competition patch lube. They glide down the bore and no cleaning in between shots required . .18 patches did ok too. .490 balls were too tight, I'm not about to force something down that may not make it to the powder. PA conicals got scary, I tried 1 and I had to start it with a brass punch then jab it down with my range rod. Nope.

I could shoot that loose fitting, nice shooting .480 / .15 patch combo all day.

Mainspring is shot, it often took 2-3 whacks with the hammer to pop the cap. Either I need a new mainspring, or a 209 Primer adapter may be easier to pop, in which case I would just use 777 at that point. I'm not trying to put lots of money into this thing but it has potential as a fun range plinker.

The front sight blade is loose in the base but I can probably either tap the sides to tighten the blade channel up or maybe just get a new front sight, since I assume this to be a .350 dovetail.

How was the accuracy???

 

[Stantheman86]

It was actually very accurate.

There was a Cowboy Action Shooting fake window frame at my pistol range area and I fired 5 shots resting my forearms on the frame, at 20 yards. 2 shots landed on top of each other and they all fell into a decent 3" cluster, mind you that was with the cap requiring multiple hits to pop, not the best for target shooting it hit a little low, with 30 gr of Goex 2f. It seems to like 2f better than 3f.

It has potential but it needs work.

 

[azmntman]

tighten the sites, drop the powder to 20 and mess with the patchs (material, thickness etc). I am 1000% positive I used Hoppes Lube as thats all I knew bout back then.

 

[Desperate Lee]

Got my CVA Mountain 50 today. Fairly good fit and finish. Noticed a couple cracks but they don't seem to go completely thru. May not effect anything unless I really hammer it. Rifleing looks good and clean. Not a stock rear sight but I am not that concerned.

 

[Stantheman86]

I like it
Looks like someone set it up for up for hunting.

The cracks are no big deal , I think it happens because the Spanish and Italian gun makers may not always properly season and age the wood, so it shrinks and cracks over the years. Some of these guns are 40-50 years old and have seen some heavy loads and/or big conicals.

The barrels seem very good on these, I'm just having trouble with my mainspring.

 

[Desperate Lee]

Yeah here is one problem I see but I will correct it .The breech tang is not totally flush with the stock .It needs to butt up flush with the stock .That I know for sure .Some hardwood shims and some epoxy will cure this problem .THat way recoil is absorbed by the stock and not placed on the bolts .

DL

 

[Stantheman86]

My entire gun, is, well I'll just say it's definitely a few steps below a hand fitted American custom made pistol but it's fun to shoot and functional.

I like the hooked breech, like my T/C rifles it's so much easier to pop the barrel out to clean, more so with a pistol. I cleaned it at the range in 10 minutes. I could probably flush it out with my garden hose spigot without alarming the neighbors

I'm probably gonna commit the cardinal sin and use up all the old Pyrodex and 777 I have in my CVA pistol. Probably still just use 777 in it , which I don't use in many of my guns except range blasters like this one .

I have some work to do on it, the cold blue on the barrel has to go and I need, at least , a new mainspring but this may find it's way into my group of "favorites"

 

[Desperate Lee]

Deer Creek has main springs for $12.00 and new locks for $55.00 plus shipping .They even have new stocks for $55.00 .Anything can be fixed. Just depends on how much you want it be really good. And I never expected a hand fit pistol. I have a Traditions W Parker in 50 and it is really excellent . It is unfired. This CVA will be my shootershooter, along with my put together 45, also a CVA.

 

[Stantheman86]

I like that half stock .45 too, looks neat

I did in fact like the look of that Traditions Pioneer pistol but they stopped making them.

I may have to just try a new mainspring, I'm ordering a Plains Pistol soon so spending too much on fixing up this CVA seems redundant. I'm just glad it shoots ok, so I feel like it has some kind of potential as a round ball shooter and I can group with it without having to Force a patched ball down the bore.

 

[Desperate Lee]

The beginning.

The finished product.

Nothing fancy , just for me.

 

[Rat]

Those cracks in the stock tell me that the drum is butting up against the lock plate. There should be a gap between those two parts. Would be a good idea to glass bed the barrel and tang also of course.

The PA conical is a .512" bullet, and will indeed be too tight in some barrels. My PP likes them, but even in that they require a little more push than a patched ball.

I plan to hunt (kind of) with my Plains Pistol next season, when calling cougar, if one comes in close to my right, although a rifle will be my primary weapon. And it will give me a good quick backup shot if needed, I had one come in 15 feet from me once. I'll be using the PA conical (240 grains) over 60 grains, or a patched ball over 65 grains. Those are about the limits of my recoil tolerance, as far as shooting accurately.

In my PP, 60-65 grains with the slug, (240 grains) and 65-70 grains with the ball are my limit as far as being able to maintain a good steady hold for accurate shooting. Anything more, for me, requires a death-grip.

 

[Desperate Lee]

Rat
I had these unmentionable bullets but never really tried them. Then I picked up the TC Scout pistol and I thought "Oh yeah" but that project never got finished. In fact I sold the project to 8 Bore. I was wondering. Sitting outside on the patio watching all the grandkids running around. I wish I had that much energy.
DL

 

[Rat]

For sure, my Grandkids will be over this afternoon...I'll need all the energy I can muster. Three and six years old.

What is a "inline"?? Well, whatever that is, I don't think those bullets would work well, if at all. Fouling the barrel with copper and plastic might not be a good idea either.

To my mind, the ball with a hot load musters close to .357 magnum energy, and possibly is more effective, considering the increased diameter of the ball, and the pure lead that causes it to expand "just right" and not too much like a modern hollow point. And then of course, using a slug one really starts to produce some energy, possibly equal to a .357. (??haven't really crunched the numbers?) A lot to like about a .50" caliber pistol.

 

[Zonie]

For those who don't know, one of the forum rules says we don't talk about bullets with plastic in or on them.
Because of this rule, I needed to remove several posts.

Sorry about that but, rules are rules.