Kentucky Pistol almost finish
 

Refinished the Kentucky Pistol that was given to me a few months back. Received the parts from I was missing from Deer Creek on monday, and snowed in for the last two days, I was able to get the gun refinished. I am waiting on the bluing kit. I will post more pics when completely finish.

Good job! Very nice looking pistol.

Looks good. Be nice to see it when it's all done.

looking good so far!

I have a pistol very similar to this that my great uncle built years ago. He probably only fired it a few times. I know nothing about it but I am interested in shooting it sometime. What kind of load would you use?

I have a 45cal just like that, did a refinish myself on it. I really like how your brass came out on it though. Mine has a little more shine to it, I wish I would have dulled it out a bit more.
I have only shot it a couple of times, I can't hit the broad side of a barn with it. I'm sure if I put a little more effort into shooting it I could be more accurate with it.

It should have an adjustable sear for the trigger. Have you adjusted it? Mine shot OK at 25 yards with 25 grains of FFFg Goex and a 225 grain .45 cal. Maxi Ball. Mine holds a maximum 40 grains but I never deviated from the 25 grains. I bet it would shoot well out to 40 yards with a maximum load. Is your's a CVA?

Didn't you ask me about a parts list for that pistol?

Yes I did, but mine is a CVA 50 cal. and some of the parts are different, like all the parts that I needed. This one has never been shot, nor put together correctly. I don't have any thing I can shoot out of it, so it will be awhile before I shoot it. I am now working on my CVA Hawkens 54 cal. I should have pics of it online maybe this weekend.

What is a sear? and how do you adjust it?

Take the lock off (the part with the hammer connected to it) and on the inside you will see all the parts that hold the hammer back and make it drop when you pull the trigger. The sear is the part that the trigger knocks the hammer off of (or that the hammer rests on). There should be a small screw there that you can adjust for the ammount of clearance there is before the hammer falls off the sear. This will lighten the pull on your trigger.

I will check it out when I get home from work provided it's not late like last night.

That job looks beautful pal. I have always wanted to get my had on one of these guns. My friend has one and it is a hoot to shoot.

Did you think of browning the barrel instead of bluing? That would give a little more character. Just a thought. :wave:

Not all locks have all of these parts. But here's a pretty good guide.

Ya, I really want to but am a little worried about getting the barrel hot enough. I thought bluing would be easier for now. Now, if some of the experts would chime in on some tricks, I might consider it.

Semisane

Thanks for the pics of the lock, that is very helpful.

I know there are a few different methods of browning a barrel. One is to hea the barrel and another is without going through all the hassles of heating the barrel. I am just not that up on this process.

How about it guys? Do we have any experts or guys that have done the process of browning a barrel.

I don't know anything about browning a barrel but in my opinion it looks like rust. Where as a deep dark bluing is just plain beautiful to look at. Especially when you've done it yourself.

lookin good, nice work!

Unkocked
The sear adjustment screw is on the top right of the tumbler. It's the screw with a coil spring on it.

Fully kocked.
Do you see how the sear adjustment screw blocks the sear from falling fully into the notch in the tumbler? On this lock it makes the sear rest just on the edge of the notch in the tumbler creating what is known as a "Hair Trigger".
That's the way, UH HUH UH HUH, I like it, UH HUH UH HUH.

If your pistol is a CVA Kentucky the lock "should" be exactly the same, since that's what the lock in the prior picture came off of.

Mine does not have the adjustment screw. The lock on the 50 is different then the one on the 45. That is what the guy at Deer Creek had told me. If you notice in the second pic of my gun, there is only one screw that holds the lock on.