Fred, like you when I started ML hunting you either shot a good rifle, a T/C, or a piece of junk CVA. Most guys I know that bought CVAs in the 70's, 80's and 90's were less then satisfied with them. Did you know in the very early days of CVA they were American made with Douglas barrels? They quickly switched to selling Spanish guns built to a very low price point. They got a very bad reputation that I'm not sure they can ever get away from. I have a hard time saying much good about CVA, but today I know quite a few people that have them that are satisfied.
My MLs are mostly T/C's(Seneca, Renegade, Thunderhawk and Encore) except for a DGW rifle made by Miroku and my recently acquired rifle built by a custom builder. I am curious about this rifle, when was it built and how close to stock are the lock and barrel?