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Re: Got a Mountain Rifle!
I never worry about my 4-5 hairs getting wet.
I never worry about my 4-5 hairs getting wet.
Got a Mountain Rifle!
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Re: Got a Mountain Rifle!
I'm only good for a couple of patches. Then what? Nose grease? Ear wax?
I'm only good for a couple of patches. Then what? Nose grease? Ear wax?
WillametteT
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Re: Got a Mountain Rifle!
Dang, that sure is a purdy one! I want one but, after this last rifle, funds will be on hold for a while. Chief banker and money lender has put me on the watch list! :no:
Anyway, congrats and glad it turned out as nice as you were hoping. :hats off:
Dang, that sure is a purdy one! I want one but, after this last rifle, funds will be on hold for a while. Chief banker and money lender has put me on the watch list! :no:
Anyway, congrats and glad it turned out as nice as you were hoping. :hats off:
Re: Got a Mountain Rifle!
whew! Got one side of the forearm all sanded down and smoothed out. Just doing some small detail sanding near the nose cap and tomorrow I can move on to the other side of the forearm and get that smoothed.
whew! Got one side of the forearm all sanded down and smoothed out. Just doing some small detail sanding near the nose cap and tomorrow I can move on to the other side of the forearm and get that smoothed.
WillametteT
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Re: Got a Mountain Rifle!
Looking good so far! Can hardly wait to see the end results.
Looking good so far! Can hardly wait to see the end results.
patocazador
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Re: Got a Mountain Rifle!
I'll bet your fingers are sore from all that sanding.
I'll bet your fingers are sore from all that sanding.
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Re: Got a Mountain Rifle!
:cheers: :cheers:
Jon,
That rebuild is really looking nice :!: :!: :!: :!:
Ray.............. :thumbs up:
:cheers: :cheers:
Jon,
That rebuild is really looking nice :!: :!: :!: :!:
Ray.............. :thumbs up:
Re: Got a Mountain Rifle!
I have a CVA Mountain Rifle I bought new in 1980. I was attracted to the authentic look: browned steel, browned iron triggerguard and buttplate, pewter cap on forend, German Silver patchbox, buckhorn sight mounted low on barrel, ramrod with pewter ends, etc.
It looked far more realistic than a Thompson Center with its modern sight, shiny brass and bluing.
It's been an accurate rifle with a .490 Speer ball in a patch lubricated with Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant. That's a home-brew lubricant named after me and posted throughout the net: 1 part mutton tallow, 1 part canning paraffin and 1/2 part beeswax. All measurements are by weight, not volume. An excellent lubricant resembling SPG or Lyman Black Powder Gold, suitable for all black powder applications.
The barrel on my Mountain Rifle says Made In U.S.A., though a post on Graybeard Outdoors indicates that ALL CVA Mountain Rifle barrels were made in Spain, just not marked with Spanish marks until later.
The poster knew a neighbor of the man who designed the Mountain Rifle: Don Kammerer, who also built the prototype Mountain Rifle. This neighbor was a fellow gun crank and became good friends with Kammerer; he passed the info on to the poster.
Kammerer and Dave Silk, owner of CVA, went to Spain a number of times to teach them how to build barrels for the Mountain Rifle, the poster said.
Contrary to rumor, the poster claims, production Mountain Rifles never had Douglas barrels. Their barrels were all made in Spain, but didn't bear Spanish proof marks. The first three years or so of production, they were marked Made In U.S.A.
Or so the poster claims. He seems to know what he's talking about, though.
As far as I know, all .50-caliber Mountain Rifle barrels had 1:66 rifling twist. This made them very accurate with balls, but not so good with long conical bullets. However, I've been told that the short Lee R.E.A.L. bullet is accurate in these slow barrels, because it offers a short bearing surface for the rifling, just like a ball.
I've never tried the Lee R.E.A.L., though. I use my rifle for plinking, so I don't need conicals.
My favorite target load is 50 grs. of Goex FFG. This is a good plinking load, or to introduce a newcomer to muzzleloading. Recoil is nearly nonexistent. It's a good load for children, for this reason.
My full load is 85 grains of Goex FFG, with the same patched .490 ball. If I wanted to hunt deer, this is the load I'd use. I've tried more powder, but groups opened.
I prefer Speer balls over Hornady or any other swaged, commercial variety. I always seem to find a few out-of-round balls in a box of Hornadys, but not in Speers.
Shooters should always remember that a projectile spun by rifling is essentially an airborne top, spinning at high speed on its axis. Any imbalance affects the spin. Also, just like a top, bullets need some time to settle into their spin. For this reason, accuracy may not be outstanding at close range, but better at longer range. These warnings apply to all projectiles, traditional or modern.
You're lucky to have the original ramrod with that rifle. The ramrod was rather weak, probably made of any available hardwood rather than the traditional (and justly appropriate) hickory. Mine broke years ago while seating a ball.
I suggest you put that ramrod in the gun safe and purchase a substitute from Track of the Wolf. It offers synthetic ramrods with an 8/32 female thread on one end, and a 10/32 on the other.
One end of the ramrod is cupped, for seating balls.
My only complaint is that its fittings are brass! Ack! I need to dig out some Brass Black and make the brass look like iron. Perhaps someday I'll make a ramrod with German Silver or pewter fittings; many companies sell the fittings and raw hickory stick to make your own ramrod.
The German Silver front sight of the Mountain Rifle gleams like a lighthouse, making accurate shooting difficult in bright sun. Smoke the front sight with a candle stub (lay down a layer of carbon) and you'll see your groups tighten.
Keep any and all sabots, jacketed bullets, plastic patches and other modern geegaws away from that Mountain Rifle. The ancient gods of yore are offended by such abominations.
If you can get it, use real black powder. If not, use Pyrodex RS. I've had good luck with both, but better accuracy with real black powder. Other black powder substitutes have not been nearly as accurate.
Cast or swaged balls? Both are equally accurate if of high quality. I buy Speer swaged balls because I don't shoot my Mountain Rifle much anymore. Not much need to drag out the .490 ball mould.
You have a very good rifle. Treat is well and it will last for generations.
Have fun!
I have a CVA Mountain Rifle I bought new in 1980. I was attracted to the authentic look: browned steel, browned iron triggerguard and buttplate, pewter cap on forend, German Silver patchbox, buckhorn sight mounted low on barrel, ramrod with pewter ends, etc.
It looked far more realistic than a Thompson Center with its modern sight, shiny brass and bluing.
It's been an accurate rifle with a .490 Speer ball in a patch lubricated with Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant. That's a home-brew lubricant named after me and posted throughout the net: 1 part mutton tallow, 1 part canning paraffin and 1/2 part beeswax. All measurements are by weight, not volume. An excellent lubricant resembling SPG or Lyman Black Powder Gold, suitable for all black powder applications.
The barrel on my Mountain Rifle says Made In U.S.A., though a post on Graybeard Outdoors indicates that ALL CVA Mountain Rifle barrels were made in Spain, just not marked with Spanish marks until later.
The poster knew a neighbor of the man who designed the Mountain Rifle: Don Kammerer, who also built the prototype Mountain Rifle. This neighbor was a fellow gun crank and became good friends with Kammerer; he passed the info on to the poster.
Kammerer and Dave Silk, owner of CVA, went to Spain a number of times to teach them how to build barrels for the Mountain Rifle, the poster said.
Contrary to rumor, the poster claims, production Mountain Rifles never had Douglas barrels. Their barrels were all made in Spain, but didn't bear Spanish proof marks. The first three years or so of production, they were marked Made In U.S.A.
Or so the poster claims. He seems to know what he's talking about, though.
As far as I know, all .50-caliber Mountain Rifle barrels had 1:66 rifling twist. This made them very accurate with balls, but not so good with long conical bullets. However, I've been told that the short Lee R.E.A.L. bullet is accurate in these slow barrels, because it offers a short bearing surface for the rifling, just like a ball.
I've never tried the Lee R.E.A.L., though. I use my rifle for plinking, so I don't need conicals.
My favorite target load is 50 grs. of Goex FFG. This is a good plinking load, or to introduce a newcomer to muzzleloading. Recoil is nearly nonexistent. It's a good load for children, for this reason.
My full load is 85 grains of Goex FFG, with the same patched .490 ball. If I wanted to hunt deer, this is the load I'd use. I've tried more powder, but groups opened.
I prefer Speer balls over Hornady or any other swaged, commercial variety. I always seem to find a few out-of-round balls in a box of Hornadys, but not in Speers.
Shooters should always remember that a projectile spun by rifling is essentially an airborne top, spinning at high speed on its axis. Any imbalance affects the spin. Also, just like a top, bullets need some time to settle into their spin. For this reason, accuracy may not be outstanding at close range, but better at longer range. These warnings apply to all projectiles, traditional or modern.
You're lucky to have the original ramrod with that rifle. The ramrod was rather weak, probably made of any available hardwood rather than the traditional (and justly appropriate) hickory. Mine broke years ago while seating a ball.
I suggest you put that ramrod in the gun safe and purchase a substitute from Track of the Wolf. It offers synthetic ramrods with an 8/32 female thread on one end, and a 10/32 on the other.
One end of the ramrod is cupped, for seating balls.
My only complaint is that its fittings are brass! Ack! I need to dig out some Brass Black and make the brass look like iron. Perhaps someday I'll make a ramrod with German Silver or pewter fittings; many companies sell the fittings and raw hickory stick to make your own ramrod.
The German Silver front sight of the Mountain Rifle gleams like a lighthouse, making accurate shooting difficult in bright sun. Smoke the front sight with a candle stub (lay down a layer of carbon) and you'll see your groups tighten.
Keep any and all sabots, jacketed bullets, plastic patches and other modern geegaws away from that Mountain Rifle. The ancient gods of yore are offended by such abominations.
If you can get it, use real black powder. If not, use Pyrodex RS. I've had good luck with both, but better accuracy with real black powder. Other black powder substitutes have not been nearly as accurate.
Cast or swaged balls? Both are equally accurate if of high quality. I buy Speer swaged balls because I don't shoot my Mountain Rifle much anymore. Not much need to drag out the .490 ball mould.
You have a very good rifle. Treat is well and it will last for generations.
Have fun!
Re: Got a Mountain Rifle!
to prevent removing to much wood. The stain is a bastard to get out and so I have to use rough sand paper which easily will cut the wood down where the steel fittings are if i remove them. Its easier to sand the steel smooth and brown it than to put wood back where it belongs. Plus it makes for a tighter,cleaner lookign fit between the wood and steel.
to prevent removing to much wood. The stain is a bastard to get out and so I have to use rough sand paper which easily will cut the wood down where the steel fittings are if i remove them. Its easier to sand the steel smooth and brown it than to put wood back where it belongs. Plus it makes for a tighter,cleaner lookign fit between the wood and steel.
Re: Got a Mountain Rifle!
Finally got back onto this project and she has 2 coats of Nut brown stain on her. I am not sure how many coats I will put but one thing is certain, I will add at least 1 coat of walnut stain to add a bit of reddish to the overall color, the maple really has some nice pattern in it and is showing well at this point.
Finally got back onto this project and she has 2 coats of Nut brown stain on her. I am not sure how many coats I will put but one thing is certain, I will add at least 1 coat of walnut stain to add a bit of reddish to the overall color, the maple really has some nice pattern in it and is showing well at this point.
Re: Got a Mountain Rifle!
this morning I used 220 grit sand paper and sanded down the stain I applied last night. I wanted a different natural looking color and so I sanded it down to where the stock was almost to bare wood, but had just a darker hint of color to it. After that I applied 3 coats nut brown, 2 coats walnut, let it dry then steel wooled it back and when I tested an area with boiled linseed oil, I got the color I wanted, an ember honey color in the lighter area's and a darker reddish brown where the figure is. She'll look damn good once I apply the Truoil.
this morning I used 220 grit sand paper and sanded down the stain I applied last night. I wanted a different natural looking color and so I sanded it down to where the stock was almost to bare wood, but had just a darker hint of color to it. After that I applied 3 coats nut brown, 2 coats walnut, let it dry then steel wooled it back and when I tested an area with boiled linseed oil, I got the color I wanted, an ember honey color in the lighter area's and a darker reddish brown where the figure is. She'll look damn good once I apply the Truoil.
