cva kentucky rifle question

[cowboys1062]

 Recently a friend of mine gave me a CVA Kentucky caplock rifle. He had it sitting in his gun safe for the past 30 years. He told me that an old man gave it to him when he was a kid. My friend never got into blackpowder shooting and had never shot it. He knew I shoot blackpowder all the time and that I would put the gun to good use. All the rifle needed was some general cleaning. The bore looks mirror bright and the wood and furniture looks very good. No rust or pitting no dents,scratches or handleing marks that I can see of. I dont know if this is a kit rifle or factory made. The barrel and lock has a browned patina look. The brass has aged on its own looking a mellow aged look. I think that this is one of CVA's earlier rifles. The barrel has no proof marks on it. No Spain or U.S.A. on it either. The only thing on the barrel is: Connecticut Valley Arms Inc. and the serial number# 00242. The stock is a two piece with a thin brass connector holding the two stock halves together. The barrel and tang are one piece. The barrel is held in the stock with the tang bolt going down through the trigger plate on the back end and on the front end, the nosecap has two screws on the bottom which goes through the stock and into the barrel. There is no wedge keys or pins. I will post pictures when my son inlaw shows me how. Does anyone have a guess at about how old this rifle could be?

[gunmaker]

1970's maybe,  sight unseen.....

[Bill Ladd]

I assembled my CVA Kentucky rifle kit sometime around '75-'76.

[huntinguy]

Sounds like CVA's Kentucky  rifle.  Sounds like a kit, as it should have two pins holding the barrel in.

Mine was mid  70s and was marked Junker.  I would guess your's is earlier.

The thin brass connector actually has two steel pins that hold the two halves together.  (But you most likely knew that)

[cowboys1062]

 My barrel is not held inplace by pins or wedge keys. Its held in place by the tang bolt going down through the stock and seats into the triggerplate and two screws underneath the NoseCap that goes through the nosecap and also through the stock and seats into the bottom flats of the barrel. I wish I knew the age of this rifle, but it isnt really as important as how well it shoots and I am very happy shooting this rifle. I own 13 Traditional Muzzleloaders and this one for me is one of the funnest to shoot.

[smokinbuck]

Cowboy,
A friend recently brought one of these over that was made for Ultra Hi, I believe it is the same rifle as yours. It has a two piece full stock with a brass band covering the stock splice and a tube between the halves for the ram rod to go through. I shortened the barrel and when I took the rifle apart I found the two nose cap screws you describe and of course the tang bolt into the trigger plate. I also found a barrel pin in the rear portion of the stock behind the brass splice plate. It went through a dove tailed tennon in the barrel. This one was Spanish mad and had been proofed. These rifles were available in the 70's and 80's in both kit and finished products. I don't remember for sure but I think they were marketed complete for less than $100 and around $80 for a kit.
Mark

[Ky-Flinter]

Hi ya Cowboys1062,

Welcome to ALR.  With serial number# 00242, it must be an early one.  I'm just curious, what is the length of the barrel on your CVA?

-Ron

[hanshi]

We need pics!  Those rifles always handled well, IMHO, but could generally use a little stock trimming.

[cowboys1062]

Hanshi, I will send some pics of the rifle as soon as my son inlaw comes over this week. He will show me how to post pics on the computer. The value of the rifle if any does not concern me. I was just a little curious to know a little history behind the rifle since it has been stored away for so long. It deserves to do what it was made to do and I am going to shoot the heck out of this rifle and bring her back to life. Thats the way it should be!

[cowboys1062]

Ky-Flinter, I measured the barrel length and came up with 33 1/2 inches. Im going to continue to research her to see if I can come up with some more information. Its a nice old rifle that deserves to go to the range with me. It had set around unused all these years. It felt good to hear her go KABOOM for the first time I shot it.

[bones92]

I have a few of these, both CVA and Traditions (basically identical). 

Cowboy, there are replacement locks made by L&R that should essentially drop-in (I think they may require a wee bit of deepening the inlet for the lockplate).   The L&R locks are supposed to be quite nice.  Of course, if it works just fine as-is, there's not necessarily any need to replace the lock, but it's a nice option to have.

For the money, I think they are quite a decent introduction to muzzle-loading. I don't know why I have several of them... I pick them up whenever I come across one in good condition for a good price.  I keep thinking someday they will be worth more, or perhaps I can give them to friends and youngsters who show an affinity for muzzleloading.