Editor’s Note: Terry Oertwig, a member of the CVA Pro Staff Team, took the trip of a lifetime to Africa. The only gun he carried with him was the CVA Electra. Oertwig liked the light weight of the gun, the accuracy of the Electra out to 300 yards and the fact that he diOertwig liked the light weight of the gun, the accuracy of the Electra out to 300 yards and the fact that he didn’t have to take primers through the airport.dn’t have to take primers through the airport. “I wanted a dependable rifle that was extremely accurate for this hunt of a lifetime, and I had faith in the Electra,” Oertwig says.
One of the most-elusive animals I hunted in Africa was the gemsbok. When we first spotted a gemsbok, we had to first of all determine which way the wind was blowing, and then circle the animal to get the wind in our favor to make our stalk. While we were trying to approach the gemsbok, we spotted three wildebeests sleeping in a small hole in the ground. The guide saw them first and then motioned for us to back-up and skirt-around the wildebeests in hopes that we wouldn’t spook them. We knew if we did that they would spook the gemsbok. As we tried to get around the wildebeests, the wind changed, and the wildebeests smelled us. They jumped up and ran away from us and past the gemsbok. The gemsbok started watching the wildebeests trying to determine what had spooked them. As the gemsbok became more curious, he walked out of the bush where he had been standing and turned broadside at about 60 yards. Totally unaware of our presence, he kept watching the wildebeests. I had my shooting sticks with me, because we knew we would have to crawl to get as close as we could to the gemsbok. I rested my Electra on my shooting sticks and aimed through the scope. Once I squeezed the trigger, the animal dropped in his tracks. Because the wind was blowing to us, the burnt powder coming out of the barrel blew into my face after the shot, and I couldn’t tell what had happened. But my tracker and my guide were jumping up and down and saying, “He dropped in his tracks!” The average gemsbok generally weighs between 600 and 700 pounds. My guide was really impressed that the CVA Electra had delivered that much knock-down power.
That night when I returned to camp, I simply cleaned the bore of the Electra and brushed the prongs on the electronic-ignition system. However, I didn’t have to take the breech plug out and give the rifle a thorough cleaning, which was one of the advantages of the Electra. The Electra burns the powder so cleanly that you only need half the amount of time and half the number of patches to clean it as you do a conventional inline rifle that uses a cap for a primer. Each day I’d take a wet patch, swab it down the barrel, turn the patch over swab it down the barrel again and then take a dry patch and go down the barrel and back. Then my Electra was clean and ready for the next day. That’s all the cleaning my Electra got for 5 days of hunting. I took six animals in Africa during 4 days. I never took the CVA muzzleloader apart and thoroughly cleaned it, until I returned home to Missouri from Africa.
You have to remember that the ignition system on the Electra ignites the powder so efficiently that the powder burns cleaner than it does in most-other blackpowder rifles. The arc that’s used to ignite the powder is about 10-times hotter than a 209 primer, and the arc doesn’t have the push that the 209 primer has. That push causes the powder to ignite as it’s moving up the barrel. Because the electrodes sit right against the powder in the Electra, you get a complete start on the bottom of your powder where the powder burns cleaner. The other advantage you have is that the Electra has a sealed breech, so there’s no hole in it. Therefore with a 26-inch barrel, I’m getting 50- to 80-feet-per-second more velocity out of the barrel than I get out of my other muzzleloading rifles that have 2-inch-longer barrels.
To learn more about African safaris and Claude and Jill Kleynhans, go to www.mafigeni.com.
Editor’s Note: Dudley McGarity is the chief executive officer (CEO) for Blackpowder Products, Inc., that owns the CVA brand. Although he’s only been the CEO for 3 years, McGarity has been a part of CVA/BPI for many years.
Question: I bought a CVA muzzleloading rifle a few years ago, and now I’m ready to step-up to the next level. What’s the next level of muzzleloading gun up from a beginner’s rifle? I don’t want to buy the top of-the-line gun yet, but what’s a good in-between model?
McGarity: I’d suggest the CVA Optima. This gun will be different from the Wolf in several ways. It will have a few-more deluxe features than the Wolf. For example, the Wolf’s barrel is 2-inches longer, and the stock is more of a deluxe-type stock. Also, the Optima is considered more comfortable for most users to shoot and is available with a thumb hole in the stock, which many shooters prefer. But I can’t say that the Optima will be any more accurate to shoot than the Wolf. The Optima features a long stock with a cheek piece and a more modern-looking design to it. But the Wolf and the Optima are both great-performing guns. Where you really see a difference between guns is when you move up from the Optima to the Accura. The Accura has a Bergara barrel, which is made in Bergara, Spain, and is known for its quality workmanship that makes it perform as though it’s handmade.
Question: What will CVA’s Optima cost?
McGarity: The Optima, only about $50 more than the Wolf costs, has a starting price of about $200. You may be able to find the Wolf for about $150. So, for that extra $50, you’re getting 2-more inches of barrel length, which will increase your muzzle velocity somewhat, a more-deluxe stock and the possibility of getting a thumb-hole stock.
Question: Does the Optima come in a package like the Wolf, with everything except the percussion caps and the powder that I will need to start hunting?
McGarity: Yes, it does, and you can get the package with or without a scope. To receive the most-complete offering, the riflescope package probably is what you’ll want. This package will have all other cleaning equipment, bullets and loading equipment that you’ll find in the other CVA packages.
Question: With the scope kit, what kind of scope do I get, and does it come with the rings and the bases?
McGarity: Absolutely. You will have to set the scope up yourself, but it’s so simple to do that you won‘t have a problem. The base is very easy to use too. It has the DuraSight ring system, which is made out of Z2 alloy, making it appear to be aluminum. In these packaged guns, we put some of our best high-quality products, not just inexpensive materials. The scope is a Bushnell Sharpshooter, which is one of Bushnell’s less-expensive scopes, but it’s still a very high-quality scope for the dollars you spend. The Bushnell Sharpshooter riflescope is 3-9X. With this scope, you can shoot 1-1/2- to 2-inch groups at 100 yards. If you move up to our Accura equipped with a Bergara barrel, then your groups will tighten-up quite a bit. And, your 200-yard groupings will be superior to what you’ll get with the Wolf or the Optima.
Editor’s Note: Although Dudley McGarity has only been chief executive officer (CEO) for Blackpowder Products, Inc. (BPI), the owner of the CVA brand, for 3 years, he’s been a part of CVA/BPI for many years, starting out as the national sales manager for CVA and then moving through the ranks to his current position of CEO.
Question: Dudley, I’ve been hunting for several years, and I really enjoy blackpowder hunting. I’m ready to step-up my game and purchase a quality blackpowder rifle. What CVA muzzleloading rifle do you suggest?
McGarity: The Accura is our top-of-the-line muzzleloader. If you’re looking for a pure muzzleloading rifle, the Accura is equipped with a Bergara Barrel, which is a very-high-quality, very-refined barrel that has the quality of a custom barrel, even though it’s built in a high-production environment. The Accura has clean rifling, and there’s no essential difference in barrel diameter, which relates to more-improved barrel accuracy. We guarantee the accuracy of the Bergara Barrel to be better than any other blackpowder barrel on the market. The fluted Bergara Barrel in either stainless steel or matte blue features finished stocks with an ambidextrous solid-composite stock that comes in standard or thumbhole designs. The hammer spur can be used from the right to the left side, so the gun is exactly the same for a left- or a right-handed shooter. The gun also comes equipped with a Quake Claw Sling, another important and added value with this particular rifle. If you want a quality gun that functions as a muzzleloader only, the Accura is our top-of-the-line choice. But, if you want a gun that can convert from a muzzleloader to a conventional rifle, consider the CVA Apex.
Question: We’ve seen blackpowder rifles before that convert into conventional rifles. What makes the CVA Apex better than the other rifles that can perform this same function?
McGarity: Once you have an Apex frame, we have a wide variety of barrels from which to choose – a .45- or a .50-caliber muzzleloader, a .22 long-rifle rimfire, a .22 or a .50 centerfire caliber or a .300 Win mag. The only difference between the centerfire rifles and the muzzleloaders is they use different forearms. So, if you buy the muzzleloader first and then buy a centerfire rifle barrel, you’ll have to only buy one centerfire forestock. Any additional centerfire barrels you purchase will fit that forestock.
Question: How much does an additional forestock cost?
McGarity: Depending on the store and whether the forestock’s camo or black, it can cost from $30 to $50.
Question: How much does an additional barrel cost?
McGarity: The barrels start at around $250 each, which is a reasonable price if you consider the quality of these barrels. We’re getting bolt-action-type groups out of break-action rifles because of the exceptional quality of the barrels, the stocks and the forearms. We expect to get 1-inch groups at 100 yards from each barrel. Now that doesn’t mean you can take any ammunition off the shelf and always get 1-inch groups. As with any other type of rifle, certain barrels shoot specific types of ammunition made by particular manufacturers, better than they do other ammunition. Or, a barrel may like a certain style of bullet and a specific grain weight. So, you always have to experiment with different loads to obtain the maximum accuracy in performance that you can expect out of any rifle, and it’s no different with the Apex or the Accura rifles than any other bolt-action rifles.
Question: How much trouble is involved in changing from a muzzleloading to a centerfire barrel?
McGarity: Changing out the barrels is very simple. First, remove the forestock, which requires taking out one screw on the muzzleloader and two screws on the centerfire rifle. Then, remove the hinge pin on the frame that holds the barrel to the frame. Tap out the pin with a punch. The barrel easily will come out. Put your other barrel in the frame and replace the hinge pin and the forestock, and you’re ready to hunt. I can go through this process in about 3-1/2-minutes. Once I’ve got my muzzleloader sighted-in with a particular bullet powder and ignition system, and my centerfire barrel sighted-in with the right bullet, my rifle will deliver maximum accuracy.
Question: When I take the muzzleloader barrel off the frame and replace it with the centerfire barrel, I expect the same type of accuracy I’ve had when I’ve initially sighted-in the centerfire rifle barrel, if I use the right ammunition. Is that correct?
McGarity: Yes. Once you have a barrel sighted-in, moving that barrel on and off the frame won’t change your point of impact. The scope is always aligned to the barrel. You can breakdown these barrels for travel and carry your gun in a smaller case than you’ll use if you don’t break them down and have to carry them as one-piece rifles. So, the breakdown capability is really important. Too, with the DuraSight rings and bases quick-detach capability, you can take your scopes off and reattach them. Then they will return to zero and be dead-on. One of the big problems hunters have in traveling with single-piece rifles is they have their scopes mounted permanently to their rifles. The scopes often will get bumped or knocked out of alignment. Then the hunter has to re-sight them. By being able to remove the scope and putting it with your carry-on luggage, when you arrive at your hunting camp, you can reattach your scope to the barrel and reattach the barrel to the stock and the forearm, and your rifle still will be accurate.
Question: How much does the CVA Apex cost?
McGarity: The suggested retail is around $500. If you compare that price to other interchangeable-barrel muzzleloaders, you’ll see that the CVA Apex is much-more affordable than our competitors, and the Apex is a better gun than competitive brands. We’ve made the Apex to not only be a better gun, but to enable our customers to purchase a better-quality gun at an affordable price. There isn’t a better blackpowder centerfire interchangeable rifle on the market than the CVA Apex, and we’re not afraid to say it.
Question: What’s the price of the Accura?
McGarity: The starting price will be around $299. So, if you don’t want the interchangeable barrels and just want the best blackpowder rifle you can buy, I suggest the Accura. If you want the interchangeable-barrel feature to be able to shoot the same rifle during any season and use the same rifle for plinking or taking squirrels, deer or elk, the Apex probably will be a better choice.
Question: Do all the CVA rifles come with an instructional video?
McGarity: No, the instructional video only comes with the rifles that are purchased as a part of the package kits. However, if you want the videos, you can purchase them separately from CVA or your dealer through our customer-service department. Too, you can go online and watch the video for free on our website at www.cva.com.
Question: How much does the video cost?
McGarity: They’re only about $5.99. If you’ve already purchased an Optima or an Accura and you’ve been hunting for a while, you already may own many of the accessories you’ll get in the kit. So, you may not need to buy one of the rifles in the kits. Most of the guns we sell in kits are most likely for first-time muzzleloading customers.