[Old School]

Hey Gang, I'm in the market for a muzzleloader. I called my dads shop to get a price for a TC triumph or Pro Hunter. Of course I got great quotes, because I get stuff from him at his cost.:thumbup: Anyways, he was barking at me to save a few $$ and get a CVA. He was mostly pushing the Optima Elite. Then I asked him about the CVA Apex. He said, WTF is that?? Dang, I finally stumped the ol' man.:yes:
So there it ended. He's doing a little research on it as am I.

So, is this Apex a mid to late model '08 or an '09? Anybody even touch or see one?

Thanks!

Don

 

[martineta]

Good thing you are buying a CVA. I got the encore and 4 barrels and scopes latter, I am still wanting other barrels and scopes in different calibers. Its getting to be an expensive addiction. The pro hunter 50 does shoot like an arrow as do my other thompson barrels. Plus everything is made in the USA if that means anything to you. Have fun, tough choice.

 

[lewi99]

i have a cva optima and love it

 

[esmd]

The Apex, was, I believe, a Winchester knock off of the Omega. Very similar to the CVA Kodiak. They're all made at the same plant in Spain. Do yourself a favor, and get a Thompson Center. It's a better quality gun with a top notch warranty. If you want to save a few dollars, get the Omega Z5, it isn't the prettiest looking gun in the world, but it'll shoot as well as any muzzleloader on the market. Mine loves 100 grains of Blackhorn 209 and the Barnes 250gr TMZ in the supplied yellow sabot.

 

[coachtpb8]

stck with TC

I have a triumph and love it. It is the easiest gun to clean ans use. Never a problem and it shoots like it's a tack driver. just my 2cents

 

[tubby]

Knight Disc...I love the thing. I shoot it when I have to hunt in counties I can't use my rifle in place of a shotgun.

 

[cstep015]

i have a CVA Optima and i love it. Never had a problem with it and its easy to clean and maintain.

 

[Russ D]

Knight Disc...I love the thing. I shoot it when I have to hunt in counties I can't use my rifle in place of a shotgun.

I've got an awesome one for sale for 200$ wiith loads of extras for anyone who needs a good cheap muzzleloader. Heck I'll even spend a day at the range developing a load for it with whatever you wanna shoot.

 

[Russ D]

Here's what happens to a CVA barrel if you do something wrong or try magnum charges. I saw this happen with my own eyes.

 

[Johnny Evans]

DAM

 

[Raymond56]

Dang russ dont thinl ive ever seen anything like that

 

[Russ D]

Yeah it's not a very comforting feeling. I've seen guys with remote fire try to blow up gun barrels. You wouldn't belive what most barrels can take. Even after being packed in mud and firing overloaded shells I've never seen a barrel fail like this. Some will bulge and some will crack. This kind of failure IMHO is not exceptable. Black powder pressure levels are much lower than smokeless powder. I would not trust these new Spanish barrels they are using if it was my safety in question.

 

[yllowfin]

check this article out about cva`s
Dangerous Muzzleloaders

 

[Old School]

Whew....F'that!!

A Pro Hunter it is......

 

[Russ D]

check this article out about cva`s
Dangerous Muzzleloaders

Knight Green Mountain barrels are the best. I'm almost giving away my disc gun because I don't hunt anymore.

 

[ayork]

Russ,

You said in your post that "this is what happens when you do something wrong or try magnum charges". So what actually caused this to happen? Did the shooter do something wrong or was a magnum charge used in a gun that was not made to handle a magnum charge? Also do you know what CVA model that was?

yllowfin,

Read the article about the dangerous muzzleloaders, seems that the author may have been alittle biased or have his own agenda since he has ties to Savage Arms. But there seems to be a pattern with CVA ML.

I have a CVA Optima that I have not had any issues or heard of any from others that own them. I also have a Remmington 700 ML that was made 8-10 years ago. Everything I read about it says it was basically junk and hard to clean. So far I have no complains about it. I guess there will always be two sides to every story.

 

[Russ D]

I didn't see him load it so I can't personally say without a doubt he didn't somehow do something wrong. The issue is what happened to the barrel. No gun should do that under any circumstance short of filling the entire barrel with smokeless powder. Shooting a magnum charge in a gun not designed for it should never end up like that. We've tred to destroy barrels with remote fire and never produced anything like that. I'm also pretty sure that rifle was rated for magnum charges.

 

[BottomKnocker]

Hunted with a Winchester Apex past few seasons and love it. Very reliable and super easy to keep clean!Can shoot 150 grains of powder if desired. I would recommend it!