Sorry , I just saw this thread .
I have had a couple through the years .
They have the same issues that most CVA pieces have .
Poor lock quality , soft lock plates and weak main springs
Improperly set triggers
Beech stocks
Over all though not bad shooters .
Whats funny is the price often being ask anymore for just about any CVA .
As to your trigger issue . Most times this is a combination of trigger placement and lock issues . The result is a very heavy trigger pull .
What you can do is pull the lock and look at the tumbler . Later CVA tumblers have a full cock engagement screw which allows you to reduce the depth that the sear engages the full cock notch . Just be careful you don’t turn it to far and thus not get good engagement of the sear . If you lock doesn’t have that screw , then you can simply swap out the tumbler from a CVA lock that does .
With the trigger , the issue is in the location of the pivot point . CVA used a 1 minus location . In other words the distance from the pivot to the sear is often equal or greater then the distance to the finger area of the trigger . This makes for a very hard trigger pull.
IE its an effect of leverage.
The other issue is that they did not set the trigger deep enough . So what you get is a lot of free play in the trigger . IE no mater if the lock is cocked or not , the trigger moves forward and back .
To fix that issue , what you need is a small wire spring . CVA applied this spring to later guns just prior to their shutting down their traditional product lines .
Is simply a piece of 1/64 piano wire . A small hole is drilled in the trigger bar and another drilled in the pivot perch right next to the trigger plate . This small spring now hold the trigger back with very little resistance . So when you put the lock in , you have to hold the trigger forward just alittle . Once the lock is in place and you let go of the trigger , the trigger then comes back to full contact with the sear arm .
Thus you have full engagement of the trigger to the sear arm and no slop in the trigger .
Know this does not change how heavy the trigger is .
To fix that you can work over the tumbler full cock . Which isn’t a good idea unless you know what your doing . that’s why they came out with the engagement screw .
The best and safest way IMO is to adjust the trigger placement.
To do that , you need to know which trigger plate you have .
CVA used 2 different plates
a) plate has a trigger pivot perch on top of the trigger plate
b) plate has the trigger pined through the trigger plate itself . This is the most common seen
Not much you can do with if you have (a) but to change out the trigger to one with a front lobe, which allows you then re drill the trigger so that it moves back .
With (b) you can simply remove the trigger pivot pin and re drill its location back alittle so as to allow the trigger bar to contact the sear at a point that’s less of a distance from the pivot.
Again it’s a mater of leverage. IE you want the distance from the pivot , to the point where you apply pressure , to be greater then the distance from the pivot to the object your trying to move .
Now if you want to get the most out of one of these pistols here is what I would do
A) change out the lock to one that has a fly on the tumbler . This allows you to then use a single set trigger. So basically you looking at either one of the L&R replacement locks. ”which will run you more then what the CVA is worth money wise ”
OR
Watch for and pick up a traditions lock from a Traditions that had double set triggers .
OR change out the tumbler to one of traditions tumblers that has a fly
B) change out the trigger to a single set trigger
C) change out the trigger guard to one for a dueling pistol which has a finger hook . You will be surprised at how the addition of that hook will steady up your hold
D) double check the crown of the barrel . Make sure its even and smooth , with no burrs where the rifling enters the crown .
If the barrel doesn’t have a crown , then crown it .
By doing the above , what you end up with is something much closer to an actual dueling pistol that’s light and quick in the trigger . Change out the lock to one of the L&R replacment locks and you will also have a pistol that’s fast in the action