i was given a CVA frontier 50 caliber muzzle loader..the guy would shoot it once a year with just blackpowder in it for 4th of july.. the barrel is exremly pitted and rusty.the outside of the barrel is also a little ruff. what can i do to fix this, I know this gun will probably never be accurate but i want it to look nice and functinal atleast,
I wouldn't be to hasty to replace that barrel. First, spend considerable time cleaning it out. A good bronze brush, bore cleaner, and a lot of elbow grease has brought back many bores to a better than expected condition. Plug off the nipple area, prop it in an upright position, and fill the barrel to the muzzle with bore cleaner and let it soak overnight. Pore it out and start scrubbing with the brush, and patches. Spend at least an evening doing this, don't expect it to come clean in an hour. After you get it all cleaned out, then inspect it again. You may be surprised. If it looks ok and there are no obvious safety issues, load it with a light load of powder and ball, and see how it shoots. Work up to the best accuracy load (of course staying within safety guidelines) and see how it shoots. I have had several over the years that surprised me and shot more than accurate enough for hunting at black powder ranges. If you find it to be inaccurate after this, then check into replacing the barrel. If it shoots OK, then the exterior is easy, and fun, to refinish and you will have a finished product that you can have a lot of pride in. shoot safe
Bore it out to 54 cal, otherwise, you need a new barrel. On the bright side, you can cut down the old barrel and make a nifty cannon from it. Bags of fun I assure you.
If you can get all that rust off, it may shoot yet. Keep in mind you're gonna shoot soft lead through it, so it'll tend to glide over a lot of pits without having the same kind of trouble you get with gilding metal in a small-bore, high-velocity rifle. On the other hand, we aren't talking here about an expensive or collectible firearm, so it may be easier just to put on a new pipe.
If you want to do the best for it you can, simply re-barrel it. There is no other way to clean out the corrosion and pits inside the barrel short of boring it out to a bigger caliber and what is there beyond the .50? Just contact CVA and ask about a new barrel. The outside is not critical other than what the gun will look like, but if you are just using it as a wall-hanger and a decoration rather than as a hunting/shooting weapon, it really doesn't matter inside or out. The choice is yours.
A heavily pitted barrel can cause a ball to hang up or what is called a short start which will cause the gun to burst.Dan B is correct it only costs around a hundred bucks to get a new barrel. I bought a cheap single shot cap lock in 40 cal. once and the barrel was pitted to the point that you could only shoot one round and then have to clean the gun. and a jagg wouldnt go down the barrel only a brush.....needless to say I **** canned the thing !
