expensive vs inexpensive ML (open sites)

[willfrye027]

I bought a CVA wolf on the clearance rack in Walmart for $79 when i lived in Virginia so I could take part in the muzzleloader season there. It works fine and can shoot better than my eyes can see.

Personally I am using a muzzy for additional opportunity to hunt. It’s not a major hobby for me. So I am keeping it nice and simple and will limit myself to reasonable ranges expecting that I don’t plan to spend many hours at the range practicing and tinkering with equipment. I’ll approach a muzzy hunt/stalk more similar to archery and really try to get up close and personal and not fret over whether I could have tried a 300 yard open sight shot when I can just stalk into 100.

For the average dude I think there is a reasonable middle ground where you don’t need to buy a really expensive gun or sighting system for a weapon you’ll use a few times on a hunt that is supposed to get you close to the animals and be more difficult

 

[MallardSX2]

I just don’t get the hate on CVA muzzleloaders? I just don’t .

They’re great guns for the money.

Hasn't stopped me from killing things <150yd and dragging it accross the ground crawling up to animals to get <150yd. Eros are functionally fine on the optima/accura, can't speak to the wolf. Lol at embarrassed. Its hunting not a fashion show.

Keep in mind I hunt CO with full bore required (50cal in some cases) and not smokeless so distance is limited so not alot of point in over complicating it. IF you can shoot sabots, smaller bores, and/or smokeless that truly opens up longer ranges then that might merit something nicer. In CO I just need a hammer to pound the nail.

Don’t take it personally, dude I’m also a smelly Walmart shopper and CVA user and they are great guns. FIGJAM is just pissed off because he spends five times more for a gun that does the same damn thing. He’s always hating on CVAs for whatever stupid reason.

 

[ElDiablito]

There you are Mallard! I knew you’d show up eventually to promote CvA. Do you still work for BPI Outdoors?

BTW, I’m certainly not alone, if you visit a dedicated muzzy site like MML, you’ll find a hell of a bunch of guys that don’t think much of CvAs…..

 

[Firehawk]

I remember when CVA was junk. But a few years ago, when I wanted to buy another ML rifle, I ended up with a CVA Acura MR-X. Handy rifle that shoots very accurately. Easy to clean etc. I wanted another Knight or a TC. Only then did I find out that TC was done and not producing rifles any longer (limited amount now available again) and Knight has had so many issues with management that it wasn't a good bet for me, although I love my old 20 year old Knight and it has been extremely reliable and accurate.

As a Utah hunter, I have hunted with open sights (peep sight, front bead or fiber optic) and killed deer out there a ways. Never was a big fan of the 1x scopes that were legal as the crosshair covered too much of the target beyond 100 yards. When Utah went to allowing a regular scope, I was happy to help my old and ailing eyes. A magnifying scope was so nice. And then they went back to the restrictions and I discovered that my eyes were even worse than they had been. Struggled to get consistent groups past 100 yards.

Last year, I bought a Vortex Spitfire Prism 1x sight and that made a large difference for me. You could choose either red or green dots, and different brightness'. I struggled with Red as I have an Astigmatism and get halos pretty bad with red. Discovered that with archery pins. But green always worked well. Found the same with my Prism sight. If I used the green I was good to go. Red....not so much.

Would I buy another CVA? Yep. Would I buy a TC? Yep. Will I buy a really expensive, custom made inline rifle? Nope. But that is just because I don't hunt that way.

 

[LONE HUNTER]

I really really wanted a MR-x in 45 caliber. But when all it takes is about 5 minutes of google searching pull up a dozen reviews of dudes who just cannot get theirs to shoot I chose to go with a old TC triumph. It's probably 20 years old and it's driving tacks for me. I'd buy a used Omega in a heart beat

 

[Wrench]

It doesn’t take anything fancy to be accurate. I'm doing it with old side locks, lead and real black powder.

 

[PNWMLB]

CVAs are junk

I second that motion! Always have been, and always will be!

PNWMLB

 

[BRTreedogs]

I had a cva optima v2 nw

Imo it was junk, maybe I didn’t try enough things.
But I tried 3 different bullets with multiple powders/combos

And I don’t think I could get less than 6” @ 100 yards.
And the one deer I did get on it misfired.

It was light & easy to clean.

But I’d be hard pressed to try cva again.


Picked up a knight ultralight and it’s been way better.

But is much harder to clean.

 

[Tail_Hunter]

SML - smokeless powder- rated muzzleloader.

Much further than 150 yards depending on your eyes and sights. Most guys should be able to shoot to 200-250 yards with the right sights and loads. I’ve killed deer at close to 300 with peep sights.


Clunky, poor fit/finish, crappy ergonomics, etc. Add to that all the issues guys have with CVAs like inconsistent bores. I’d be embarrassed to carry a CVA. But more power to you bro. If someone really wanted a cheap starter rifle (CVA) I’d say buy the cheapest you can find - the Wolf.

What muzzleloader/sight/bullet system would you recommend for elk in Colorado? What would your max range with that setup be?

 

[ElDiablito]

What muzzleloader/sight/bullet system would you recommend for elk in Colorado? What would your max range with that setup be?

CO requires .50 (for elk) and bore-sized bullets so, IMO, the ideal elk muzzy would be something like a TC X7 or standard Omega, a Woodman Arms .50 G3, a Knight .50 UL /Mountaineer or a White .504 Whitetail or S91.

I’d put the G3 with the 22 twist barrel at the very top of that list. Superbly designed and built, reliable, light and beautiful.

Bore-sized bullets: 300+ gr mono like a Thor or a heavy (420+ gr) lead conical. A 350 gr BOR Lock or 340 gr Bore Driver ELDX would probably be fine as well.

Sights: a good peep and a Williams Western Precision globe with the fine .019” fiber optic insert. Can’t do much better than that for open sights.

Max range with open sights and those bullets for me would be 200-250 yards probably. Maybe a little further.

 

[ADKHTR]

No.

And if you wanted to you could build a sml to match the performance of an Arrowhead for a lot less money. With open sights, just about any modern muzzleloader will shoot better than your eyes/sights.

I currently own about 35 muzzys - smokeless to traditional. CVAs are junk, so I wouldn’t personally consider anything they sell. Lots of other well-designed and built options. TC Encore, TC Omega, Knights, Woodman Arms Patriot, etc.

I read your post on some muzzleloader forum about your Woodman Arms Patriot G3 now have the exact same
one coming, thanks for the detailed write up and pictures, it was the most detailed info I could find online.

 

[ElDiablito]

I read your post on some muzzleloader forum about your Woodman Arms Patriot G3 now have the exact same
one coming, thanks for the detailed write up and pictures, it was the most detailed info I could find online.

Great choice! And…you’re welcome. You’re gonna love it.

 

[ADKHTR]

Great choice! And…you’re welcome. You’re gonna love it.

I’m a lefty, and there’s an ULA model 20 in 50 cal on Gunbroker right now for anyone who’s looking, I was tempted having owned and still own several of Melvin’s rifles to buy it, but it wasn’t what I wanted, I wanted this to be a short, quick handling gun for how I hunt, tracking and still hunting in the brush, not to mention all that stuff on the ULA is proprietary and good luck sourcing a breech plug if it wears out or lose it, I know the guys at Outkast Arms could have probably helped with that, but the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze this time for me.