CVA rifle identification

[?mark]

I got myself a new toy today a TeslongView attachment 17879 Professional Borescope $49.95 shipping included from Amazon. hooked up to my windows 10 laptop and it works! here is a picture of me holding the 20mm diameter camera with a 45 degree mirror on the end.
View attachment 17878
and a pic of the rifling of the .50 mountain rifle. The pic was taken off the laptop while the prob was in the barrel the tiny camera has six tiny LEDs that ate adjustable for brightness. Has a 18 month warranty so maybe I will learn something about my rifle bores before it quits.

what brand was it?

 

[Eutycus]

CVA 'Frontier' was a good rifle.
I built one from a kit back in the 1980's (wish I still had it and the CVA 'Kentucky' kit (?) rifle I had back then.)
After building the 'Frontier' and working up a good load (if memory serves it was 110 grains Dupont Fg under a pillow tick patched .490 round ball) I could hit 1 inch diameter broom sticks at 100 yards.

For some reason this upset my step brother.
He'd bet me I couldn't hit the broom stick once out of three shots.

I hit it with first and second shots. He didn't want me to take the third shot 'cause he owed a case of Mtn Dew soda every time I hit it. (I didn't drink then or now)
Yes. He did call me a few not nice things, but he did pay up.
I think the soda was cheaper than beer, so I "saved" him money.

My CVA used to be a "tack driver"too. I feel the gun probably still is, it's my eyes that don't cooperate like they used to.I don't think I could even see a broomstick at 100 yards anymore.

 

[MrMackc]

It is not 20 mm but .20" in diameter. It is TESLONG professional borescope. Go to Amazon and search for borescope. I had looked on Midwest and theirs were $500 for a Lyman. The rating on Amazon stated it was very near the quality of the Lyman but only $50. You need a PC with Windows 10 or a Mac or a smartphone that has OTG . It is plug and play on Windows 10. I really like the quality of the picture on the PC and laptop, I don't have a new enough smartphone.

 

[mooman76]

Looks like the Frontier rifle. I made 2 back in the 80s. It had a 24" barrel and 1-48 twist. It shot RBs and conicals real good. Wish I still had it. Guys made fun of its size until they saw it shoot. I won two events that day.

 

[Eutycus]

This Frontier model must have been made for only a short time (and early). The oldest Shooters Bible that I have is from the late 80s and it is not listed.

 

[Eutycus]

I stand corrected, It is in

The 1986 Shooters Bible

 

[?mark]

I stand corrected, It is in View attachment 17928 The 1986 Shooters Bible

 

[?mark]

The Gun Digest Black Powder Reloading Manual By Sam Fadala c.1982 shows loading data for a CVA Frontier rifle. I contacted Dudley McGarity of BPI Guns, who now owns the CVA brand, he said the serial number is 1970's made in Connecticut.

 

[ASMman]

Eutycus,
My information came from the CVA Catalogs.

moonman76,
I started with a Thompson Center Hawken in 1978. About 1980 I wanted to build a Kit, my Brother & I swung a deal on a Mountain Rifle & a Frontier Rifle (both in .50 cal). Ended up getting the Frontier Rifle cheaper than I could buy a Kit. Stripped the Barrel & Plumb Browned it, boy did that thing shoot round balls, much better than my T.C., wish I still had it. Fast forward to about 12 years ago, I picked up a pair of Frontier Carbines to get my Son interested in Muzzleloading, 24" barrels with single trigger and single Ramrod Thimbles. One was marked Frontier Carbine, the other marked Frontier Rifle. One would shoot, the other didn't. We decided the barrel was bent, put a different barrel on & it straightened out. Both of these had the Wedge Plates mounted on the surface of stock, not inlayed like my original and one had an H channel for the Under-Rib. All 3 barrels were 1:48 twist, but buy the time I had purchased them my eyesight was bad enough I could no longer shoot competition so I'm not sure how well they shoot round balls. Now I shoot a Lyman Great Plains Hunter, need all the help I can get and my Son shoots the T.C., but the Carbines sure do swing around very fast and easy.
I'm not sure about the manufacture date of the bent barrel is stamped FRONTIER Carbine, and it had the CVA Button Style Breech.
The replacement barrel is stamped FRONTIER and has a date of 88 on it, with the standard CVA Hooked Breech. I needed to relieve the stock for the Hook and change the Tang.
The second Carbine is stamped FRONTIER Rifle and is dated 91with the standard CVA Hooked Breech.

AntiqueSledMan.

 

[Eutycus]

I don't mean to pry and won't ask what you paid for it. But do you think you got a good deal?

 

[Eutycus]

I've seen American made compared to Spanish made barrels for CVA rifles mentioned at different times and various threads on this forum. How do they compare really? I can see where the American made is more of a "collecters item" but are they really that much more accurate?

 

[Grenadier1758]

The Spanish barrels from Jukar or Ardessa have been among the best parts of the CVA rifles. I doubt that the CVA barrels made in the USA for the Mountain Rifle are more accurate.

 

[Baxter]

The Spanish barrels from Jukar or Ardessa have been among the best parts of the CVA rifles. I doubt that the CVA barrels made in the USA for the Mountain Rifle are more accurate.

I agree. While these barrels may not be seen as of equal quality as Rice, Colerain, and other American barrels, they are perfectly serviceable.

 

[MrMackc]

The CVA Mountain Rifle "Made in the USA" barrels and rifles I have seen and shot were as accurate, round ball with bed tick patched loads and 60 to 100 grains of FFg Goex BP as any I have seen on any muzzleloader. We saw a lot of unburned BP with loads above 100 Grains of BP
They compared well to a .30-30 Silvertip out of a Marlin or Winchester. I haven't ever seen the need to go to a modern bullet style load, otherwise I would go to a modern cartridge. I hope the load with Triple 7 FFg will be as good as the Goex FFg.

 

[ASMman]

It's been 12 years or better, probably had about $135 in each before I had to find a different barrel. I thought I paid $25 for the extra barrel. Plan on cutting the bent barrel into pistol barrels, if I ever get that far.

AntiqueSledMan.

 

[Eutycus]

I've always been well satisfied with the accuracy of the Spanish barrels. No complaints here.

 

[?mark]

I don't mean to pry and won't ask what you paid for it. But do you think you got a good deal?

I picked up this rifle, a William Parker dueling pistol, and a Pietta 1858 New Army 44 revlover, both in excellent condition for $200. I knew the rifle would have issues and consider it "thrown in".