CVA Optima?

[Rem700addict]

Currently I shoot one of the old CVA Appollo muzzleloaders, we have converted it to the 209 primer, but it can only handle up to 100grns of triple 7. So i'm thinking about upgrading 1.to get a better rifle maybe capable of shooting up to 200yrds and a little further 2.to get something that is easier to clean. I will be only deer hunting with this muzzleloader so I was hoping to get a touch over 200yrds with it. I was looking at the CVA Optima and was wondering if this was worth the upgrade or not, does it shoot well enough to handle the range i'm looking at? I feel confident my gun will handle 100yrds and a touch over fine, so i'm looking for something that will be more accurate and deadly at the longer yardage. I like the Optima price range but if the advantage is just slightly marginal then i'll save my money for something better. Also if there are any other brands i'm overlooking in this price range with as good of accuracy please let me know any info would be great, thanks.

Justin

 

[FrontierGander]

Currently I shoot one of the old CVA Appollo muzzleloaders, we have converted it to the 209 primer, but it can only handle up to 100grns of triple 7. So i'm thinking about upgrading 1.to get a better rifle maybe capable of shooting up to 200yrds and a little further 2.to get something that is easier to clean. I will be only deer hunting with this muzzleloader so I was hoping to get a touch over 200yrds with it. I was looking at the CVA Optima and was wondering if this was worth the upgrade or not, does it shoot well enough to handle the range i'm looking at? I feel confident my gun will handle 100yrds and a touch over fine, so i'm looking for something that will be more accurate and deadly at the longer yardage. I like the Optima price range but if the advantage is just slightly marginal then i'll save my money for something better. Also if there are any other brands i'm overlooking in this price range with as good of accuracy please let me know any info would be great, thanks.
Justin

I have the SS/Thumbhole Optima and its my baby. 250gr Thor conical,100gr Blackhorn209, cci 209m primers it will hold a 2 1/2" group at 200 yards with a 3-10x44 konuspro scope. In my opinion its a steal. Go for it, you will love that sucker.

 

[Rem700addict]

Thanks FrontierGander, I did end up getting one and look forward to trying it out. I really want to try some Buckhorn 209 as that seems to be the better blackpowder out there right now. I've heard white hots are pretty good as well, but I like the loose powder so I can tune my loads a little better. I'm curious and maybe you would know the answer but, can you use pistol bullets in sabots, such as .454 cassull's or .500 pistol bullets, just curious?

 

[FrontierGander]

Thanks FrontierGander, I did end up getting one and look forward to trying it out. I really want to try some Buckhorn 209 as that seems to be the better blackpowder out there right now. I've heard white hots are pretty good as well, but I like the loose powder so I can tune my loads a little better. I'm curious and maybe you would know the answer but, can you use pistol bullets in sabots, such as .454 cassull's or .500 pistol bullets, just curious?

Blackhorn209 is awesome! One thing you should get is the Blackhorn209 breech plug CVA sells.
Blackhorn QR Breech Plug For Optima-Wolf-Accura V2-Bergara Encore

Another performance update is this! It keeps your gun 100% clean in the action plus it keeps any kind of moisture out of the action no matter what weather you are hunting in. Watch the video of before and after!
Ganders Muzzle Loading Blog: CVA Headspace Adjustment Shims

You can use 451-452 pistol bullets and a sabot. I'd recommend the Harvester smooth "sb" sabot and a 260gr harvester scorpion pt gold with 100-110gr blackhorn209 and CCI 209 Magnum primers. Harvester Muzzleloading

 

[Rem700addict]

Thanks for the reply, I ended up getting an Optima and am overall pleased with the build and feel of this muzzleloader, now I just need to shoot it and see how that goes. I've been reading some of the info that you linked in your reply and some other info, can I get by with the stock breech plug with BH209 or will I have miss fires? I'm going to try shimming to get a better primer blast with no blow back, I just hate to get another breech plug right now. I've also heard of opening up the flash hole to .032-.035 would this help much or not? Thanks Gander.

 

[Rem700addict]

I finally got some time to shoot the Optima a little. Overall i'm highly impressed with this muzzleloader. I bought the standard stainless barrell optima with the black comb stock and Konus BDC reticle scope from Dick's sportin goods (i'm not to proud to admit that but at $300 it was the best deal I could find). I did however go to a local hunitng shop and picked up some Blackhorn 209 and CCI 209M primers and I used a TC shockwave 250grn saboted bullet. My shooting conditions today was less then ideal, the wind was blowing over 10mph and our shooting platform was not the most solid platform i've shot from. I mainly just wanted to get the rifle on paper and get used to it. The overall fit of the rifle was nice, the stock fit good, the trigger was crisp and a little heavy but not near as heavy as my old Muzzleloader. I was quite surprised by the Konus scope as it was very clear and judging from my shooting results the BDC reticle was dead on. I loaded it with 65grns measured with my pocket scales by weight not volume so around 93grns by volume. I zeroed the top BDC hash at 50yrds to get it on paper and had it dead center, then moved back to 100yrds and shot my best group of 2". I know not the best but given my conditions and my concentration at the time I was quite pleased. I have to say the guy shoots better then my ability right now and I look forward to working on that in my next shooting session. Overall for a gun that is near the bottom of the inline price range it is a great shooting rifle and i'd recommend it to anyone. I fired a total of 10 or so rounds and not once did I have a hang fire or miss fire. I attribute a lot of that to the CCI magnum primers, I think they provided the fire needed to light the Blackhorn 209. I also noticed that I didn't get any backflash from the primer being loose when fired. I was a little shocked at this as most have been shimming the firing pin bushing to reduce blow back. My dad was shooting the same Optima as mine and he was using 777 and he had great results with it as well, even though when he pulled his breech plug out his flash hole looked a little dirtier then mine, he was just using Win shotshell primers. Now I can't wait to get it back out and work on those groups some more and push it a little further. I will say a couple of the small cons I found with this muzzleloader, 1. I wish they would have put some decent sling swivel studs on the stock 2. the palm swell could have been pushed back a little more to stretch out the trigger finger a little more, but that is personal preference. 3. The hammer extension could have been extended a slight bit more as the scope almost covers it up, it will make it interesting with heavy gloves. All my cons deal mainly with small personal querks which draw nothing away from the accuracy of this rifle. Hopefully I can get back out and shoot some more soon and get some picks to go with it as well.