gun show find - CVA Moutain Stalker

[Big_Al]

I went to a gun show today and found a gun for my buddy who is wanting to start dabbling in muzzleloading. It is a CVA Mountain Stalker in .54 caliber.

The markings on the barrel say that it was made in Spain, and has a twist of 1:38. It has a synthetic stock and two piece scope mounts, but no scope. The barrel has a few scratches in the bluing, but nothing major. It also has a driftable rear sight, and a driftable front sight - the front sight does not appear to be stock. It did not have a ramrod.

The seller allowed me to run a couple of wet patches through the bore. I picked up some fouling, but no rust. After some haggling, I ended up buying it for $35.00.

I got it home, pulled the barrel, and removed the nipple and cleanout screw. Both the nipple and the cleanout screw came out easily. I plunged the bore with boiling soapy water, dried the bore, then ran two doses of foming barrel blaster through it. I then scrubbed the bore 50 times with a nylon brush, making sure to get the powder chamber as well. After that I gave the bore a coat of Barricade (Sheath) and put the gun back together.

While swabbing the bore, I got a very slight bit of drag on the patches in the vicinity of the scope mount screws. I left the cleanout screw out and put a light against the cleanout screw hole, which lit up the bore quite well. the bore looks very clean, no pitting or rust, but it looks as if one of the holes for a scope mount screw is all the way through into the bore. I can't be certain if there are multiple holes or just one (I can only see one). Other than that, the bore looks to be in excellent shape.

What can you guys tell me about this gun? For 35$ I figured no big loss if it's a dog. Will that screw hole really mess up the performance of the gun? Also, the nipple barrel and front sight do not appear to be stock - I'll attach some photos.

Whatever you fellas can tell me about this gun sure is appreciated!

 

[pepperbelly]

That rifle is unsafe to fire with that hole drilled through into the barrel. Do not load or try to fire it.
You will need to replace the barrel.

Jim

 

[MSW]

Big Al, i'm afraid that Pepperbelly's right. from the photos, it would seem that someone tried to put some sort of scope mount on the barrel and ran the tap hole all the way through the wall of the barrel. i wouldn't shoot this barrel. the good news is that (if you follow the advice) you won't get you or your friend hurt.

the bad news is that you'll need to replace the barrel, and that will cost you a good bit more that what you paid for the rifle.

sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings

 

[walruskid1]

guys, i'm asking a question without trying to start a flame war. why is the scope screw hole into the barrel unsafe, but a cleanout screw isn't? i thought that a properly drilled and tapped hole was o.k.

 

[lonewolf5347]

I think it can be fixed but you will have to remove the base mount and screw and cut the screw as a filler plug and ask someone with a mig welder to fill the hole FILE AND SAND AND REBLUE
What do you guys think on the easy fix will it work?

 

[smo]

Walrus, I'm no expert by any means but I think that if the screw hole is located at the rear scope mount it appears to be above the powder charge which would have more pressure than the clean out screw ,or at least I think so :hmm: I have heard of people blowing the nipple out of the gun by putting to much powder under it to make sure it would fire in damp conditions. So if it is the back scope mount in question I would not want to fire the gun. :surrender:

 

[jasontn]

the clean out screw on the crockett rifle i used to own was 8/32 threads and was on the opposite side of the barrel to the drum and centered on the drums location. i have seen a drilled out barrel weleded and shot for years. they cut the screrw off flush. heated the screw some with a torch, countersunk around the hole and mig weled it. then it was ground and filed back to shape.

 

[smo]

Jason, Sounds like a good plan to me :thumbsup:

 

[bwhoffman]

the clean out screw on the crockett rifle i used to own was 8/32 threads and was on the opposite side of the barrel to the drum and centered on the drums location. i have seen a drilled out barrel weleded and shot for years. they cut the screrw off flush. heated the screw some with a torch, countersunk around the hole and mig weled it. then it was ground and filed back to shape.

I'd tend to go this way as well.

Also of note...if you are unsure of the safeness of this barrel, you can recoup most of your money out of the lock. thereare a lot of folks that will pay 35 for a cva lock since they really aren't made anymore perse.
35 bucks, you didnt get stung!

 

[Blizzard of '93]

welcome to the forum BigAl. the rifle can be used IMO by running a screw of the size/thread into the tapped hole and locktite in place. the closer the fit is to filling the hole completely length-wise the better. I would use an allen myself.

 

[Zonie]

I would favor using Blizzard of 93's method.
Any time a weld is done on a barrel there is a good possibility of distorting the bore or warping the barrel.

IMO, the plug screw length should be the same as the wall thickness of the barrel or at least 1 1/2 times the major diameter of the thread. The Locktite if liberally applied will seal any gas leakage thru the threads and the barrel will be safe to shoot with.

The only drawback to having a hole which passes thru the barrel wall is that the hole will rip patches that pass it or serve as a collecting place for lead (if a conical is used) and fouling to accumulate.
zonie

 

[cayugad]

I have the same rifle. I bought mine from Bass Pro Shop years ago for $39.95. Mine has a 1-48 twist. Its best load is 90 grains of Goex 3f and a .530 patched roundball. It is very accurate with that.

This is the same rifle as the CVA Bobcat. They are 5.5 pounds in weight, so with a strong load they can be a little brutal in the recoil department. I took the butt plate off and put 1.5 pounds of #4 buckshot in the hollow stock. This took the bite out of the rifle. I also put a set of cheap fiber optic sights on it.

My rifle had an ignition problem at first. I solved that with a stainless steel hot shot nipple and switched powders to Goex. Solved everything. Although, this rifle did shoot very well with a substitute powder.

Your 1-38 twist should shoot conicals, and I will guess roundball might also work well. For conicals I would try the maxiball and the REAL conicals.

As for that scope hole problem. Whether that is dangerous, I could not say. I would consult with a gunsmith.

Good luck with your rifle.

 

[pepperbelly]

If you go the Loctite route check around for black Loctite. If that isn't available use the red Loctite.
Dad used some of the black to make a 1911 pistol tungston full length guide rod. The black Loctite is considered PERMAMENT! so use caution.

Jim

 

[44-henry]

Perhaps a bit more work than you are looking for but I'll throw my voice into the mix. Since the damage is so far back it might be best to just cut the barrel off ahead of the screw, re-thread the breech end and re-install the drum. I realize that this is a bit of work, but it shouldn't consume more than 1/2 a day of shop time if you have access to the equipment. These aren't very complex rifles and something like that would work if you really wanted to make that rifle shootable again.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

After looking at my brothers cva mtn/ stalker, There are no holes for scope mounts. Seems some moron drilled out the holes and went into the barrel. What a shame. They are very good shooters too.

I'd give deer creek a call and ask about a new barrel.

 

[Big_Al]

UPDATE - me and my bud removed the scope mounts today, and held a light to each one of the screw holes to see if any of the screw holes went completely through the bore. We could see no light through any of the holes, but the screw hole closest to the end of the barrel is the deepest, and appears to be what is causing the botch on the inside of the bore. It's obviously not a hole, but appears to be more of a "dent". Opinions?

 

[Zonie]

You are seeing the metal which was displaced by the tip of the drill bit as it was just starting to break thru.

To actually find out if the hole goes thru into the bore, fill the bore with some water and run a patched cleaning jag down the bore.
If the tapped hole is breaking thru anywhere you will see water seep out of the tapped hole.

In any case, if the gun was mine I would run a piece of threaded rod into the hole as I mentioned above. Then I would put a piece of masking tape over the screw and stick it on the barrel.
Using a fine toothed flat file I would file the projecting screw stock until the file was hitting the masking tape. At that point I would apply a touch of Birchwood Casey cold blueing to the filed screw so it would blend in with the adjacent barrel surfaces.

 

[50cal.cliff]

If I was wanting to use this gun I believe I would go with Zonie's suggestion. The heat of welding is going to distort barrel. You might be able to lap the barrel and get the tight spot out then!
If nothing else you can part out the lock, and trigger and recover your money! Or you can take lock, trigger and the barrel and cut it off the barrel ahead of the buldge and build you one wicked pistol! :wink: Best of luck!

 

[Blizzard of '93]

I think it is more trouble than you wish to fool with. send it to me for disposal :thumbsup:

 

[Big_Al]

How would you guys go about smoothing out that place in the bore?