CVA Wolf & Powerbelt project

robby denning

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hey guys,
With CVA and Powerbelt coming on as Rokslide sponsors, we wanted to review a few of their guns/bullets and get you guys some feedback.

Sam @realunlucky took on the Paramount and has been pretty happy with it (see his project thread here https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/cva-paramount-pro-2020.180899/). The Paramount is their premier LR muzz.

I wanted to review something at the entry level because get a lot of “What gun for a newbie” questions and I was curious what a we could really expect from a modern entry-level gun. At around $235, if it works, the CVA Wolf could be a great for new hunters (and on up)

See https://cva.bpishopping.com/cva-muzzloaders/wolf.html

It was a perfect year to do this as my son Cash has a November muzzleloader deer tag again this year, so we ordered a Wolf (black stock, stainless steel barrel https://cva.bpishopping.com/shop/cva-muzzloaders/northwest-models/wolf-northwest-ss-black-50-fo.html) in the Northwest Legal version (musket cap only, no #11 option).
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He’s busy with school so I’ll do all the load development then he can just practice with it once we get closer to season.

Today was first day at the range.

Gun is very light at 6.25lbs and only 39” long, even with a 24” barrel. It has a 14” LOP. Handles almost Iike a BB gun (in a good way), but kicks a lot harder

Usually I do load development with a scope but decided to give it a try with the included Durasight buckhorn style, fiber-optic sight. To note, the gun only has a 14.25” sight radius, which is short, so I wasn’t expecting excellent accuracy.

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I set up at 50 yards, and started with the 295 grain full lead (Idaho legal) Powerbelt over 90 grains of Triple 7 (T7). they make a Blackhorn 209 Breech plug if you’re hunting in state that allows it, I always recommend Blackhorn if legal—faster, cleaner, and no swabbing between shots.

My first shot was 13” low. I was on paper so I just moved to 100 without moving the sight. Next shot was 26” low, so I moved the sight up the ramp several hash marks (absolutely no instructions included, or on their website, on sight operation.) Next two shots we’re 6” low, but an 8” group. (Sorry my target is so messy, I’ve been using it for several gun projects this summer).

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I moved the sight up the ramp to 2nd to last hash mark and fired two more. Elevation about right, but another 8” group (both groups patterned right of bull, so I made that adjustment)
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As I was adjusting the windage, I noticed the rear sight was very loose! Sure enough, the screw had loosened. I promptly tightened it and proceeded to strip the screw (head only not threads). But I got it tight.

I checked the front sight and I’ll be, it was just as loose! Dang! I was more careful not to strip out the screw, but still did. Turns out its a metric screw, and I was using a standard Alan head. Checking the parts bag, I found the correct wrench. OK, my bad, but man they were pretty easy to strip. (To note, the instructions say to loc-tite the sights). The sights were now tight, so I continued testing.

I jumped to 120 grains T7 and shot a 6” group. Decided to switch to a heavier bullet, so I switched to the 348 grain full lead Powerbelt.

Started at 110 grains of T7. Next group was 5-3/8”
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I then jumped to 120 grains T7 and pow, 1-3/8 group! And dead-on at 100
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That’s great shooting for a buckhorn style sight. I stopped there.

One real highlight of the gun is the breechplug. With over a dozen shots, I could remove it with no tools, just finger pressure. What a great feature. It had anti-seize on it from the factory.

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It was easy to clean the break-open style gun once the breech plug was removed.

Other than the stripped-screw heads, pretty good first day with the gun.

Now I just need to decide if I upgrade to a peep before turning it over to Cash. Probably will as that’s what we’re used to shooting and they are typically more accurate, and I just like the sight picture of a peep better than buckhorn. And I can increase the sight radius. However, this buckhorn definitely can shoot at 100 just fine.

If you have any question, post ‘em up.

Thanks


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Budget guns get it done!!

I’ve got a Wolf and I can tell you that sight will rattle loose no matter how tight you screw it on. Might want to use lock tite.

Opening morning of muzzleloader season a few years ago..I get up in my tree and loaded up the wolf only to find out that the rear sight had fallen off. I had been so careful to make sure it was on tight. I was pretty dejected until a nice whitetail walked up under my stand. I had to lean out to avoid shooting my toes! No need for a rear sight on that shot. Ended up putting a scope on it after that.
 
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robby denning

robby denning

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Yes you’re right. Loose sights must be a problem as the instructions even say to loc-tite them. I guess somethings gotta give in a sub $240 gun.

Thanks, and nice vertical shot!


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nobody

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We love CVA's in our family! My dad shoots a TC Prohunter, but the boys shoot CVA optima's (I shoot a Winchester Apex, which became the CVA Optima when Winchester Blackpowder division sold out 10-12 years ago). Every single one of them shoots about MOA or better (we shoot with magnifying scopes in Utah), and dad's prohunter shoots about 1.25-1.5 MOA. Pretty unreal when you consider the cost difference! CVA just knows what they're doing, and it's my personal go-to when I'm getting new guys into muzzleloading here in Utah! Thanks for sharing!
 
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robby denning

robby denning

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robby denning

robby denning

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We love CVA's in our family! My dad shoots a TC Prohunter, but the boys shoot CVA optima's (I shoot a Winchester Apex, which became the CVA Optima when Winchester Blackpowder division sold out 10-12 years ago). Every single one of them shoots about MOA or better (we shoot with magnifying scopes in Utah), and dad's prohunter shoots about 1.25-1.5 MOA. Pretty unreal when you consider the cost difference! CVA just knows what they're doing, and it's my personal go-to when I'm getting new guys into muzzleloading here in Utah! Thanks for sharing!
sweet! Making me want to try a scope on this one.
 

OXN939

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sweet! Making me want to try a scope on this one.

My Wolf is coming with me for opening day of blackpowder season over my T/C that costs more than twice as much. I'll post a group next week, but it shoots Barnes T-EZs into honest 1 MOA groups. Been saying it for years, but in the entire world of hunting, the CVA Wolf is the best value of any single piece of equipment I have ever found.
 
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robby denning

robby denning

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My Wolf is coming with me for opening day of blackpowder season over my T/C that costs more than twice as much. I'll post a group next week, but it shoots Barnes T-EZs into honest 1 MOA groups. Been saying it for years, but in the entire world of hunting, the CVA Wolf is the best value of any single piece of equipment I have ever found.

Good luck on your hunt, we’d love to see any pictures you can post on here.


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OXN939

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Good luck on your hunt, we’d love to see any pictures you can post on here.


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Gonna be tough to top last year. Makes it even better that the entire setup in this picture costs less than the mounting hardware for some centerfire rifles I've shot recently (extremely professional Krylon spray paint job included)

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Wrench

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thank you, I'll put it on the list. I'm assuming you're shooting a Wolf? Musket cap?
Correct. I ran the same load in my strikerfire with good results.

I also moved my rear sight to the rear of the barrel when I went to a peep. I have not tried it yet..ill let you know when I see the results of the new peep setup
 

CorbLand

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I had a Wolf and never could get it to shoot. Tried so many different powders, weights, bullets and primers and it never shot better than 8 inches at 100. I once got a 3 inch group on the first three shots, then four and five opened it back up.

Was really bummed as it liked the size and weight.
 
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robby denning

robby denning

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Correct. I ran the same load in my strikerfire with good results.

I also moved my rear sight to the rear of the barrel when I went to a peep. I have not tried it yet..ill let you know when I see the results of the new peep setup

Hey thanks. So when you move that peep to the back screws, are those screw sizes bigger than the original sight screws?


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robby denning

robby denning

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I had a Wolf and never could get it to shoot. Tried so many different powders, weights, bullets and primers and it never shot better than 8 inches at 100. I once got a 3 inch group on the first three shots, then four and five opened it back up.

Was really bummed as it liked the size and weight.

Sorry to hear. Did you sell it?


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CorbLand

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Sorry to hear. Did you sell it?


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It sat in the corner for a couple years with me thinking about making it Idaho compliant. That never happened, so I sent it down the road a couple months ago.
 

Wrench

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Hey thanks. So when you move that peep to the back screws, are those screw sizes bigger than the original sight screws?


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I machined the holes and pockets to use the base screws....correct. I did similar on my strikerfire and it shot well enough that I haven't tested the wolf yet. I do love that little gun though.
 
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