CVA Mountain Rifle.....no good??

[Mountainman56]

Hi folks. I need your opinion on my recent purchase. I found an early model made in USA CVA Mountain rifle. It looks to be in very good condition with very nice aging on the barrel and iron hardware. The stock is almost blemish free. I gave a whole $189.00 for this rifle.

Now for the bad part. The bore had a lot of crud in it but seemed to clean up fairly well. Went shootin it last night and it shot quite well considering the fine sights and my not so fine eyesight. Then I noticed, when the light was right that the barrel has an ever so slight bulge about 6" back from the muzzle. I was very PO'd and immediately emailed the place where I had bought it. They offered to return my money, shipping included and send me a shipping tag so I would have no difficulty returning it at all. I thought this was very commendable.

Come this morning however I get to thinking....(I know, I know. Some of you have warned me about this in the past). Anyway $189.00 don't hardly buy the lock, stock and hardware. TOW has GM barrels for $95. I still don't have a .54 :hmm:

What do y'all think?

 

[bwhoffman]

I'd bail you out if it comes to that!
But if it shot well for you, I see no issues really.

 

[arcticap]

I've made at least a couple of internet deals where there was a qualitative issue between the ad and the gun once it arrived. In one case, a gun described as being factory new was quite well used.
In both cases I contacted the seller complaining about the problem and tried to make a compromise offer in lieu of returning the gun.
In one case I received a % refund because the gun needed to be fixed. In the other case with the misrepresented pistol, I made a fair offer based on it's true worth as a used gun (also with a mechanical issue), which was about 25% less on a $400-$500 gun, and the seller refused to budge on his price. So he received the gun back and I received a full refund plus shipping back to him. It was his faulty misrepresentation and both deals were protected by the auction site's 3 day inspection policy.
My point is that if you'd be willing to buy the gun for less, ask the seller what kind of deal he will accept.
If he won't accept a lower price, then I wouldn't recommend to buy the gun. There's a percentage of the value of the rifle in that barrel, and the rifle just doesn't have as much value with the barrel in that slightly bulged condition. I think that I would ask for a refund of at least $40 - $50 or I would just send the gun back to him and cut one's losses while it's still possible.
Also, consider that replacing the barrel might be more costly and troublesome than expected.

 

[mazo kid]

Looks like you have a decision to make...you say the rifle appears to shoot well so the "problem" is purely aesthetic. The seller will refund fully, so no loss to you. I think for that kind of money, I would just shoot the thing and be happy. A barrel can always be purchased if it bothers you and yours decides not to group well. My $.02

 

[bingo1952]

You have four ways to go.

1. Keep the gun and shoot as is if it shoots OK.
2. Keep the gun and and cut the barrel back behind the bulge.
3. Buy the new barrel.
4. Send it back for a refund.

Personally I would investigate option 2 first and if it didn't work out I would go for option 3. :hmm:

 

[cptleo1]

Bottom line -

Put a value on the gun as is.

Take into concideration how well it shoots.

Is it worth the money to you "AS IS".

There is your answer.

Leo

P.S.

Adding barrels and such never had much appeal to me.

For the difference in money between a NEW barrel and a used gun of this type is very little. I would rather have another whole gun.

Part of the thought process here is . With one gun and 2 barrels, if you break a lock spring or some such, you really have 2 broken guns. BOO-HOO

 

[MikeChapin]

Can you feel the bludge when you load the rifle? You should be able to feel a lessening of resistance when you push a ball down though the bulge area the feel it tighten back up. The reason I ask is that it may not be a bulge and may just be sloppy file work that makes it look like it is bulged. You could pull the under rib off and lay it on something flat and see if it has a raised spot where the bulge is at.

 

[Mountainman56]

I never noticed a lessening of resistance when I loaded it and I was watching for it after I noticed the bulge. I did stick a straight edge on it and there is definately a bulge although very narrow and extremely slight. It's very difficult to see with the naked eye unless the light is just right.

 

[Mulebrain]

The problem, is that if you keep it?? You will always know about that barrel bulge :cursing:

Something like that can eat on a feller.

Even if it's a tack driver, you will still think about that bulge.


I would return it for a full refund, and keep looking :thumbsup:

 

[29caliber]

Having that "ripped off" feeling will always be there if the rifle has some small nagging problems that you thought you could live with before you noticed the bulge. Such things as dings, trigger creep, finish, etc. will magnify if you can't get past feeling ripped off. However, if the rifle shoots to your satisfaction and otherwise meets your expectations for the price you paid for it, then through use and time, that dissatisfited feeling will be replace by acceptance. I'd shoot the heck out of it these next few days and that will tell you which way to go. I had a similar experience a couple of years ago, did what I've suggested above, and ended up keeping the rifle. It's now one of my favorites. Tom

 

[chapmans]

I would keep it,you can do alot with these guns and they are easy to rebarrel. I have several and none of them look like a factory gun anymore. I have fit barrels to all of mine and for lots of other people. You can buy a replacement lock from L&R if yours ever go bad and you can make Davis' 004 set trigger work. You can make a real nice gun out of them and most people aren't aware they started out life as a CVA Mt. Rifle
Longball58

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

The news about the barrel is a bit disturbing. Are you sure the rifle is a factory job, or maybe a kit. If it is a kit, you might consider the buldge is poor file work on the part of the builder. You might be able to straighten it out by draw filing the barrel flat.
Do you happen to know a gunsmith in your area who might be able to run a scope down the barrel to inspect it ? Something else to consider would be to contact CVA and express your concern. If I remember correctly, the paper work that came with those rifles mentioned a warranty. Also if you don't get an answer from CVA, you might want to contact either the Sharon or Douglas barrel companies and explain your situation.
The place you bought the rifle from might be able to give you the previous owner's name and number. Give him a call and get some info about the rifle.
If the buldge is cometic and not structural, that can be fixed. :hmm:

 

[bob308]

if there is not a loose spot where the " bulge" is then there is not a problem. just a bad finish on the out side. file it out.

now for your other thought yes you paid less the the sum of the parts. less barrel. so you could put a .40or .45 barrel on it for a match gun, or a bigger cal if you want.

 

[Zonie]

I agree with bob308.
If you can't feel an "easy to push" spot as the patched ball is passing thru the "bulged" area it indicates to me that the barrel isn't really bulged.

The price was fair and if the gun is in otherwise good condition keep it.

Although it isn't a big thing to rebarrel it, it isn't a "drop in" sort of operation. There is actually quite a bit of work that needs to be done to fit a barrel so if it were my gun, I would think about possibly refinishing the outside of the barrel or just leaving it alone and enjoy shooting it.

 

[RedFeather]

If you can, drop a light down it or stick some tin foil in so you can see into the barrel. I'm not familiar with ML bulges but you can see them in old .22 rifles. If it shoots well and you can't see anything wrong on the inside, I would not worry over much about it. $189 was a pretty good price, especially if it was an early gun with the four screw patchbox. Those were supposed to be Douglas barreled.

 

[Mountainman56]

Thanks for all your suggestions guys. I'm going to keep it and shoot it the way it is for now. Someday I think it will look good with a 36" .54 calibre GM barrel on it. Heck, I don't have a .54 right now anyway. :grin:

 

[RedFeather]

Is that a .50? CVA made one in .54 called the Big Bore (or Boar?) without the patchbox. That may have been a one inch barrel, though. The breech on CVA's makes it a bit difficult to rebarrel.

 

[Little Wattsy]

Its sure a pretty gun!

 

[rickjf]

Sound like some one fired the gun by putting the charge in then using a short starter to push in the ball and never seated it with the ram rod over the powder. If it shoot uses it but be careful about doing that.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I'd ship it back. CVA rifles are not on my list of items I want to own. If you look around you can find a good TC rifle for around the same price or a little more. The TC rifle will be of much better quality and worth looking for. TC's customer service is also the best you can ever ask for. Today everyone seems to be looking for the new rifles of which we are not to speak of here. The gun shops are currently having problems selling traditional rifles, which means we can buy excellent traditional rifles cheap.