New CVA Hawken....

[Kentuckywindage]

exactly what i said before, they can tell you what it is to a certain year. I had a cva blazer and they couldnt figure out what year it was but had me send it in for replacement anyway just to be safe.

As I said in my post, they can figure it out to a certain year, what point, i do not know.

This gents st louis hawken was made in 1999 for the record.

 

[necchi]

Gosh was i not right or what.

Nope, wrong kinda gun.
Nice try though.
The serial numbers of traditional guns by CVA and Traditions have absolutely no meaning to be derived by the consumer when it comes to year of manufacture, None.
Might as well give it up to some of the folks that have been shooting these things since you where in Kindergarten,
Your new wave information highway that's become the true source for all knowledge can't help ya with this one.
There simply is no data available. It's been lost.

As in almost all manufacturing serial numbers represent factory data like
* The Job order number
* The factory line
* The purchase order of assorted parts
* The shift or assembler

Putting the year of manufacture as a readable part of the serial # can actually be a detriment to sales as the factory has no idea how long something will warehouse or sit on store shelves. If it was common knowledge, why would someone by a model that's a few years old at "new" prices?
It's simply industrial knowledge and sales technique.
It ain't rocket science.
Again;
There is No correlation between serial #'s and year of manufacture that the consumer can determine.

They can tell if they have the serial # on record, but the serial number is not the year.

 

[Rusty_Nail]

I stand corrected. It was not a fire, it was a move from Conn. to Ga. And his email mentions numbering the guns, so to keep from another error, here is the email received from Ken Morgan at CVA.

The CEO and I discussed this rifle after you sent us the photos. He said he was in high school when this rifle was made and I was living in Alaska. We both think the rifle is really something worth owning. The barrel was made of steel and they were made in the USA, possibly by Douglas, at this period of time. Other than what you have on the tag and any other information that came with it you would probably know as much if not more than we would know. All rifles CVA made prior to 1995 had no information in the serial number that could be used in any way. A lot of times the serial number on the barrel was strictly used as a production sequencing number. If 600 barrels were needed the first barrel would be #1 and the last would be #600. It is hard to say what if anything the serial number of this rifle really means.

CVA moved from Connecticut to Georgia around the time this rifle was made. The federal government didn’t require us to maintain records for specific rifles and as we relocated many of the records we did have were not kept or were lost. In 1999 CVA was sold to Blackpowder products, INC. There was some files and information lost at that time as well. In 2010CVA moved to its current location and we eliminated literally tons of catalogs and other information remaining. What makes this even more difficult is we stopped producing this type of rifle over 20 years ago and once the information attained a certain age, again it was thrown away. Nothing was really transferred to electronic data either.

We don’t have any records or company lore about #000001, however both myself and the CEO would have liked to have seen that rifle when it was listed online. It is hard to say what the value of that rifle is. Normally because we did mass produce so many side lock rifles the antique value isn’t very high. This particular rifle should have a higher than normal value based on the serial number, the tag and the condition. You may want to get it appraised to get the best and most accurate value.

Ken

 

[Kentuckywindage]

man you are hard headed! And a fool to boot since cva under warranty repair AND registering your gun asks for the build date and indicates its the LAST 2 DIGITS. :rotf:

 

[necchi]

Of inlines.
Dude, you can't mix an match data as you choose.

What part of Rusty Nails letter doesn't make sense to you?
I know it's tuff, but sometime the facts do confuse people once they have their mind made up.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

makes me so warm and cuddly when I am right. As i said brother, they can help you out up to a certain point, after that, who knows. I dont even know what year my 58cal barrel was built but hey, what does it matter to me? I bought it new.

 

[necchi]

Oh, now you concede "to a certain point".
Just don't wander around the web telling folks they can know what year their CVA Mountain Rifle was made because the serial number ends in, "42" like mine.

This is how "Myth" is born.
A self proclaimed expert decides to believe himself and spread the now known truth.
The fact that many of these guns where made before you where born means nothing.

 

[SgtSchutzen]

Ok, I just gotta throw another stone here :stir: I`m not sure and might be wrong but I don`t think CVA was even still offering traditional style muzzleloaders as recently as 1999.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

My job is finished :v

 

[Kentuckywindage]

2000 they stopped and sold all the stuff the deer creek.

real shame, i really enjoyed their traditional rifles.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Oh, now you concede "to a certain point".
Just don't wander around the web telling folks they can know what year their CVA Mountain Rifle was made because the serial number ends in, "42" like mine.

This is how "Myth" is born.
A self proclaimed expert decides to believe himself and spread the now known truth.
The fact that many of these guns where made before you where born means nothing.

refer to original post.

on most cva's and this one will fall into that category

 

[necchi]

I don't know for sure, you could ask Jonathan but he didn't have his drivers license yet, and we where all using Windows 98 SE.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

whats this? discrimination towards someones age?

 

[GANGGREEN]

The bad news is that the brand spanking new lock won't spark. I've tried a black English flint and a cut agate flint, both bevel up and bevel down. The flint wants to dig into the frizzen and it only knocks it back half way, rather than knocking it back completely and scraping down the face.

I think I'll try polishing the surface of the frizzen spring and the frizzen where they meet and I'll probably also try to harden the frizzen, though, for the life of me, I can't imagine why they'd send out a soft frizzen to begin with. Hopefully I can get it to spark reliably.

I know that I'd also have the option of an L&R replacement lock and I am an L&R fan but I really didn't buy this gun so I could dump a bunch of money into it, though I'm sure it would be quite reliable with the replacement lock. We'll see, I'm going to have to think on this for a while.

Heat it up cherry red and throw it into a bucket of cold water. Easy fix.

OK, I'll give it a try. I was considering trying to do it with Kasenit and then tempering it. Is that not really necessary? Thanks for the info by the way.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

kasenit i've had done on my frizzen and it didnt last worth a darn. I did my traditions kentucky rifle frizzen 3 years ago by heating it cherry red and throwing in oil " water works better they say" and i havent touched it since. No more nasty deep scars either. Much easier on my flints as well.

 

[necchi]

Y.

 

[bpd303]

I have a CVA .32 squirrel rifle that I got in 2000...the serial number is 83 020707 so by your logic I bought it 7 years before it was built.

 

[GANGGREEN]

Thanks KW, I'll give it a try as soon as I can' find time.

 

[ChrisLJ]

I checked my Traditions Hawken Woodsman .50 flintlock which I bought new this summer from MidSouth and the serial number ends with "-12" which would seem to corroborate your statement, at least for Traditions. I got nothin' regarding CVA though.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

got 2 brand new models from traditions last year and this year, last year was 12 and this year is 13 and i got the first shipment off the boat with my name on the list.