CVA Concerns

[MadScotsMan]

Hello, I am not new to firearms, but new to muzzleloaders. I just purchased a CVA Stalker and just read an entire article about these weapons having a reputation for "catastrophic failures" resulting in serious injuries. Should I be concerned? Or am I just being a nancy? :idunno: Thoughts and experiences good and bad with CVAs would be appreciated.
Cheers~
MSM

 

[buford87]

I have no knowledge of the C.V.A. stalker, I have owned a few C.V.A. frontier rifles and now have a mountain rifle. The only problems I've had is very heavy trigger pulls and trouble getting pyrodex to ignite. I decided years ago to use only real black powder and I am still working on the heavy trigger pull.....................watch yer top knot.............

 

[VEARL]

I bought one a few months ago.
Been working up a load for a 250 Gr.Lee REAL Bullet I am now using 70 gr of BP with an lubed OP wad. I have had no problems with the rifle firing this load.
I don't think I would go to real heavy loads in this gun. I do believe that with 70 gr. of BP it will bring down a deer at my 75 yd max range for hunting.
My groups with this rifle are well withing a six inch bullseye target at 75 yds.

 

[Rifleman1776]

entire article about these weapons having a reputation for "catastrophic failures"

An "entire article"? What publication was that article in? Who was the author? What proof or documentation did he share?
I suspect this was not in a major publication. Those magazines are after advertising revenue and negative reports do not make advertisers happy.
If, however, the article is credible you have raised a serious issue.
OTOH, my gut tells me there is no cause for concern. But, please note, my "gut" is not your safety angel.

 

[Horizontal Hunter]

I have no knowledge of the C.V.A. stalker, I have owned a few C.V.A. frontier rifles and now have a mountain rifle. The only problems I've had is very heavy trigger pulls and trouble getting pyrodex to ignite. I decided years ago to use only real black powder and I am still working on the heavy trigger pull.....................watch yer top knot.............

I have a CVA Mountain Stalker in .50. It is a good shooter and I have absolutely no concerns in shooting it. My experiences are identical to what Buford posted. The trigger is on the heavy side but it is a field rifle not a target rifle for me.

I have probably read the article(s) you are referring to and there is no way to know whether or not the shooter was experienced, overloaded, double loaded, or short seated the ball in any or all of those cases.

Use real black powder, I use Goex, and work up a load staying within the parameters listed in the owners manual and you should be fine and you will probably find that it shoots really well with the right load.

Bob

 

[spaethjm]

The CVA guns that were recalled were inline rifles.
I know of no recalls on Side hammers. I know I had one of the recalled got a new barrel from CVA.

 

[ebiggs1]

In August 1997, CVA implemented a Voluntary Recall of all In-Line rifle models with serial numbers ending in 95 or 96. If you have a CVA In-Line model with such a serial number do not use or allow anyone else to use the gun. If you have one of these rifles, call CVA immediately at 770-449-4687 for complete details and replacement barrel.
In May 1999, Blackpowder Products, Inc. purchased the assets of Connecticut Valley Arms, Inc. and now operates under the trade name of Connecticut Valley Arms and/or CVA. Any claims relating to the above described Voluntary Recall should be addressed to Connecticut Valley Arms, Inc., not Blackpowder Products, Inc. Blackpowder Products, Inc. assumes no liability for any products manufactured or sold prior to January 1, 1998.

This is probably what you or the other person saw. It does only indicate it is with pre-new CVA owners and only in-line muzzle loaders.

 

[Jumpshot]

just read an entire article about these weapons having a reputation for "catastrophic failures" resulting in serious injuries.

Let me guess... written by Randy Wakeman?

 

[zimmerstutzen]

There is so much emphasis on Magnum Muzzleloading from the so-called in-line gurus, that some poor fools are overloading their side lock guns. "I use 28 pellets of Whupp Butt Platinum powder under a $17.89 lucite tipped special Moon Shot laser guided bullet from Mercury Arms, and I can skin elephants at a half mile" or "My uncle Billy shot a deer through both eyes at 3 miles with that load." This idiot's bravado has newbies trying to emulate their loads. And of Course there will be blood from catastrophic failures. Not the gun's failure, ... the shooter's failure to use common sense.

CVA made some good firearms, some fair guns and some crap. Use common sense and everything should be fine.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Hello, I am not new to firearms, but new to muzzleloaders. I just purchased a CVA Stalker and just read an entire article about these weapons having a reputation for "catastrophic failures" resulting in serious injuries. Should I be concerned? Or am I just being a nancy? :idunno: Thoughts and experiences good and bad with CVAs would be appreciated.
Cheers~
MSM

The writer is a moron who is on savages payroll. :hatsoff:

The stalker is safe. The only CVA's that had issues were the 95 and 96 year inlines, the sidelocks were never affected by this recall.

 

[MadScotsMan]

Thanks for all the input. I feel a lot better! I am researching proper loads, but I discovering how difficult black powder is to come by.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Pyrodex RS or Pyrodex P will work just fine. Its a lot easier to find as you'll find out.

 

[Ron_T.]

I have two (2) older percussion cap CVA black powder rifles... both are "plain-Jane" type rifles with painted black hardware, but have double set triggers and adjustable-for-elevation-and-deflection rear sights. Both are .50 caliber rifles.

One rifle is what I'd call a "standard" CVA in "good" condition weighing 7¼ pounds with "Gamester Hawken" on the barrel with a 28-inch barrel with 1:48 twist. I designated this rifle as my "target rifle" for use in shooting in my black powder club's monthly rifle matches.

This rifle has put 5 round, patched balls inside a 1½ inch orange target paster at 25 yards shooting a "target load" of 47 grains of Swiss FFFg Black Powder with a .060" over-powder vegetable fiber wad and a Hornady .490 swagged rifle ball patched with a .017" well lubed, demin patch lubed with a mixture of bee's wax and Crisco off of a solid bench-rest with a rifle rest and sandbags.

The other older CVA rifle is in excellent condition, weighs 6½ pounds and has "Hunter Hawken" on its 24-inch barrel with a 1:48 twist. It is a much shorter, handier little rifle which I have designated as my "hunting rifle". It seems to be slightly MORE accurate than the larger CVA rifle and, off the bench-rest, shoots 3 inter-locking shots into the center of a 1½" bright orange target paster at 25 yards with a hunting load of either 65 grains or 70 grains of Swiss FFFg using a .060 vegetable fiber over powder wad.

This shorter-barreled CVA rifle seems to be slightly more accurate than the longer-barreled CVA rifle when shooting off the bench-rest, but it is slightly muzzle-light and, thus, not quite as accurate when shooting it off-hand compared to the 28-inch barreled CVA.

I've shot up to 90 grains of Swiss FFFg Black Powder in each of these rifles with good accuracy and no apparent ill-effects.

Their Spanish-made barrels seem to shoot with good to very good accuracy.

I hope this information helps you... :thumbsup:


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

 

[Ron_T.]

As an after-thought concerning finding and buying REAL black powder... try talking to other traditional (non-in-line) black powder shooters (shooting flint-lock or cap-lock rifles or smooth-bores) you see at the local rifle range and ask them where they are buyng THEIR real black powder.

I believe you'll find that in most areas, there is at least one such individual who stocks REAL black powder and is willing to sell it to others at reasonable ($14-$16 per pound for Goex) prices. In my area (around Dayton, Ohio), there are a couple of such individuals.

They may sell only Goex or only Swiss Black Powder... or they may sell both brands. I've found that Swiss Black Powder is considerably more expensive ($22-$24 per pound vs. Goex at $14-$16 per pound), but Swiss burns a little cleaner, seems to be easier to clean the rifle in which it is used and uses lesser amounts of powder to produce the same muzzle velocity that Goex produces.

However, either brand of REAL black powder will ignite more easily in either a flint or cap-lock (percussion cap) rifle whereas there is often "problems" with man-made black powder (Pyrodex, Triple 7, etc.) igniting reliability in "traditional" muzzle loading rifles and smooth-bores.

I would have added this information to my last post, but the time-limit on my last post had run out before I tried to add this information.

I hope this additional information helps as well... :wink:


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.