I have not been able to find much on what the coating is .
Im thinking for the price range though , its probably just a powder coating . As the others have said , file or use a 100 or 120 grit paper and block on the bottom of the breech area to test this . Same thing with the lock ..
Myself , I have never handled one of these so its hard for me to say what they used . As to bluing browning or rust black . that’s not a real issue and all are easily enough done . But your going to have to strip the finish off first
As to stocks , you can make your own .
Past that , the bobcat was made under a lot of different names , just as you are now finding out .
Originally though CVA carried a wood stock on this line .
Look for an early Bobcat , Youth hunter , deer stalker or Traditions Deer Hunter of the same caliber .
All are really pretty much the same rifle .
From the look of it , the silver eagle is also the same rifle , just done in silver . But I would have to see one up close to say 100% for sure .
Now IF again I say IF traditions followed the CVA line here , which they normally do . Then they state that their barrels are Nickel plated . Now this isn’t a hot nickel , but a cold nickel . As such it can be sanded through . Here are the traditions versions . Listed as deer hunters .
now myself , unless yu just dont like the silver . leaving it bright would look very good with a custom stock with german silver hardwear
The Deerhunter 50cal percussion rifle comes with an all weather synthetic stock and a 24" nickel barrel. We have designed this muzzleloader to be lightweight, easy to shoot and incredibly accurate for a very modest price.
The 24" nickel octagonal performance barrel has a 1 in 48" twist and comes with fully adjustable Lite Optic sights and is also drilled and tapped for a mounting a scope. The Deerhunter barrels are designed to shoot saboted bullets, concial bullets and patched round balls accurately.
Additional features include
Crisp hunting trigger
Non-slip recoil pad
Sling swivels for attaching a sling
Shooting, loading, and cleaning instructions
As to quality ? Well imo anything made prior to CVA closing their traditional lines was of fair quality for their price range .
We have to remember these rifles were marketed in the 30-60 dollar range just a couple years ago . When CVA closed their line of traditional muzzleloaders , the price double and in many case tripled over night . Today with the US dollar being where it is , the price has went even higher . but nothing has really changed .
Traditons and CVA are like GM and chevy both made from the same plant
So you get the quality for that price range . Some where good , others were not .
As to drilling off center . CVA sold no drilled barrels that I know of . Their barrels in the last 20 years are made by the same company that makes Traditions . IE Jukar or a sub of Jukar . As such the barrels are either drawn or extruded .
When a barrel is drilled , its common to have whats called run out . Normally this run out is placed at the breech end OR in som cases placed so the run out is up or down at the muzzle so it can be compensated for . again run out is not uncommon in hand made Iron barrels of their period .
Now this may sound odd to some of you but it matters little if the barrel has run out . What maters is that the bore is true and the wall thickness of the barrel is within tolerances. If the barrel was exstruded or drawn with run out , then it should have been rejected IMO . these showing up could very well be parts that are coming to a point where such companies that are buying them are finding themselves buying secound or returned stocks of parts . so thats something to seriously think about .