My boss showed up with a beat-to-cr*p CVA Apollo .50 caliber. Not something I give a hoot about, but he's a really nice guy who wants to dip his toes in the ML game, and because he cuts me a lot of slack I want to help him out.

The crown is buggered- I can correct that in my lathe. Bore shows a fair amount of rust- hoping I can correct some of that. The big question I have for y'all is in removing the nipple and breech plug. My nipple wrench won't reach in there- I assume there's something on the market that will? How best to remove breech plug- long well fitted heavy screwdriver after soaking the thing in penetrating oil? Should I figure on applying heat? Is there a proprietary tool for this? (Yes, it is unloaded.)

I told him next time bring me a flintlock or cap lock traditional gun and I'm your huckleberry!

whats the last 2 digits in the serial number? If it ends in 95 or 96, its a recall gun and not safe to shoot.

Geez, it's 97. I thought that was my ticket to weasel out of working on it!

What's unsafe about the 95&96's?

Bad metallurgy. CVA voluntarily recalled those in question with 95-99% getting out of circulation. This bad run is what every CVA hater references when they bash the company, but they want to imply that all CVA's are junk.

95-96 models can have the breech plugs blow out due to incorrect threading.

Interesting. Do those numbers denote the year it was made?

Back to my questions- what are the protocols for removing the breech plug?

yeah the last 2 digits is the year it was built.

A long screw driver helps, I used that when I had a cva with the same BP. If the oil doesnt help, I sometimes used a propane torch and heated around the plug while apply pressure with the screw driver & wrench. My screw drivers have that hex nut at the inside of the handle/shaft area for more torque.

Try some bronze wool (Brownells) soaked in Kroil or Ballistol on jag for the rust. It's softer than steel wool and won't rust if you lose a few strands somewhere. Don't forget the muzzle guard, even with the futzed-up crown.

Good luck with that breech plug. My cousin brought me a Mossberg 500 ML conversion barrel that was seized up and I never did get it free.

You're a nicer guy than I am!

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. Barrel's been soaking in penetrating oil for three days. I'll give it another three days. I fabricated a super long nipple wrench and got that out. I found an old big-as* screwdriver that I ground the tip to fit the slots in the plug. I figure a 10" vise grips should give the needed torque. I already got the bronze wool out of its dusty hidey hole under the bench for the rusty bore. He better like this thing when I finish with it!

Being a patched round ball guy, what projectiles would be a good starting point in it?

295gr powerbelt always shot excellent for me in those older rifles. 80-90gr goex 2f or pyrodex rs.

Hornady 350 gr. FPB. It's a hollow based, jacketed (not plated), bullet. About a buck a pop, but might just be the ticket for a rough bore, as compared to a lead or saboted bullet. 80-100 grains of 777.

those seriously would be impossible to load into an older cva. They ran some very tight bores. I actually had a hard time loading powerbelts, thats how tight bored they are.

My favorite lead bullet is the Lee REAL bullet in the heavier weight. The were very accurate and were easy to load. The driving bands were easy to engrave and they did a good job of cleaning the fouling from the previous shot. A local shop used to have them cast for resale and I used a bunch of them before I went to saboted bullets. I have been thinking of buying the mold and trying them in my inlines.

My staghorn 209 is 97 and I never had trouble with sabots