Ruger Kodiak & CVA Scout - Range Report

Under ominous clouds and muggy temps, I hit the range this afternoon to try out my two new handguns.

The Ruger Kodiak was up first and I set the chronograph up and the target at 25 yards.





I had the range all to myself due to the weather. Which, I like.

Started off with the reduced (Trail Boss) 250gr RFHP loads. Due to the weight of the gun, these suckers were cupcakes in recoil! And, they shot very well at 25 yards (.416" three shot group) at a velocity of 867 fps as compared to the 917 fps out of my 4" Mountain Gun. That'll work.

Then, I moved the sights and stepped up to 10 yards to confirm zero. Three in the paster offhand and I was happy. I'll carry that load and this gun with no problem.

Loaded up the rip-roar 325gr WFN-GC rounds and let fly at 25 yards. Yeah.........a substantial difference in recoil compared to the reduced 250gr loads. But, not such as to be painful. Whether the weight of the gun or the design of the grip........it ain't all that bad. While I felt it in the web of my hand, I could shoot it with no problem. A box of 20 rounds would wear you out. It hasn't the palm smacking, pain inducing results I get with my .454 Bisley, though. The one that hurts so good.

A 2.75" barrel throwing 325gr hardcast bullets at 1,123 fps and grouping about 1" at 25 yards will satisfy me for now.



I am very pleased with this gun and would have no problem carrying it with the 250gr reduced loads for concealed carry or the 325gr heavy loads for the field.

The computer is giving me grief so I'll post this and add some video and the CVA next.

Slo-Mo Video:

250gr RFHP

http://s26.photobucket.com/user/lovinmycaitlynn/media/Shooting/250gr%20RFHP_zps6x2061cx.mp4.html

325gr WFN-GC

http://s26.photobucket.com/user/lovinmycaitlynn/media/Shooting/325gr%20WFN-GC_zps9iklaabp.mp4.html

That's pretty impressive.

Next up was the CVA Scout in .243 Winchester.

Even though it has a 1-10" twist barrel, I decided to try my 105gr A-Max loads in it first. Just for laughs.

Set the target at 50 yards and bore sighted the scope. Fired a round and adjusted the scope. Moved the target to 100 yards and saw what appeared to be a slightly sideways bullet hole that resulted from the 50 yard shot. I didn't have high hopes for 100 yards.

Fired three at 100 and yep...........a pattern.

Switched to some 95gr SST loads I made years ago. And.............another pattern. Albeit, a smaller one.

Last load I had with me the 87gr V-Max hand loads that shoot so exceptionally well in my rifles. Maybe...........just maybe...........

And............



That .321" three shot group in the bottom left surprised the crap out of me!!!!! This is $300 pistol with a factory set 2.5 pound trigger and all I did to it was clean/lap the barrel and mount a scope. Are you kidding me?!?

That's not even a load made for the gun! But, I'll take it!

Recoil is minimal. Even without a brake. But, with the scope I have mounted.......it ain't no lightweight.

The grip feels fine while shooting. Only complaint is the trigger guard and that extended lever to release the action. It's long and too close to the grip. Preventing a two hand grip on the gun. I had to modify the way I hold the gun on the rest and haven't really found a comfortable. I'll keep messing with that.

Now that I have fired cases, I'm going to measure the throat and work up some loads with the 85gr Sierra BTHP-GameKing. That is my go to lightweight bullet for hunting with the .243 Winchester. It has performed exceptionally well in both my .243s and my 6x45 AR. I have no doubt it'll work equally well in this pistol.

It's crazy how well the 87gr V-Max shoots. I don't even varmint hunt! It's just a target bullet for me and works well for head shots on deer (took one that way last year).

I've NO regrets buying this gun. Hell, CVA..........if you're listening........build one in .308 Winchester and I'll buy it right now!!!

Only change I think I'll make..........I do think I'll mount that 2-7x Vortex scout scope I have coming. Just to make the gun handier to use in the field. But, I'll leave the Leupold on during load development.

If if you've ever considered buying the CVA Scout pistol............DO IT!!!

That's one helluva group, Zee. I'm kind of surprised the SST's didn't do better, though.

Seems like CVA is onto something with their single shot handguns. I've heard nothing but good things about them.

The CVA is something.
Can't believe how good it shoots for the money.

It really is surprising to me as well. With inexpensive rifles, I often change the trigger or stock and they shoot well. Simple mods.

This sucker.......is straight out of the box.

Did you shoot the 95 grain SST or 105 grain A-Max loads through a chronograph?

The 105gr A-Max was in the upper 2,400s. Didn't save the velocity.
The 95gr SST clocked 2,608 fps.

When I handload the 85gr Sierra bullets, I'm going to ramp up the powder to gain as much velocity as I can.

Here are my nit-pick issues with the CVA.

The he trigger heard is too close to the grip to afford a two hand grasp or a half hand/rear bag grip. The action lever gets in the way. I have Carney hands and it's too close.



The top of the grip where the trigger guard recesses is injection molded plastic and has very sharp mold edges that will need to be filed down and rounded.



The safety is redundant (hammer must be cocked), flimsy, turns too easily (accidental engagement), and is begging to hang up on something and get ripped off.



The scope base only has three slots and the middle one is useless for scopes. Might be used for red dots. But, I'd like to see multiple slots to allow multiple rings or a broader option for scope placement.



As for the Ruger Kodiak, the front sight sucks and I replaced it right out of the box. The trigger is rather heavy and my spring kit should arrive Monday to replace the factory springs and hopefully lower the pull a couple pounds. Other than that, it's good to go.

Your groups with the Kodiak are amazing! Can you post a photo showing how you use the rest with it. I have problems trying to use a rest with a revolver.

I don't have a photo of that particular gun on the rest. But, I shot it the same way I shoot my other revolvers. Butt of the gun on the rear bag and the frame in front of the trigger guard on the front bag.

Relax the shooting hand to allow free motion of the trigger finger and grip firmly with my support hand to control recoil.

As you may know, the same spring powers both the hammer and trigger return on the Redhawk. Using a lighter spring will reduce trigger pull, but will also reduce hammer impact. You may want to try ammo with different primers to be certain of ignition under all conditions.
I think EGW makes a picatinny rail for the scout that might give you more options on mounting rings.
Nice groups with the Redhawk, I wouldn't have thought that short barrel could shoot that well.

Yeah, I'm aware of the hammer impact but, thanks for the heads up and consideration.

I'll check into EGW. Sweet!

It surprised me as well. But, it's sight alignment, sight picture, and trigger control. Same as a longer barrel. That, and a good load...........and flinching the same way every time............lucked out.

Score!!!!!!

http://www.egwguns.com/index.php?p=product&id=672

I love you, man.

One thing about EGW rails is that they sit up quite high, you may even want to use lower rings, just something to be aware of.

I tried Medium rings first. But, the scope bell touched the barrel. So, I had to swap to my X-High rings. If the EGW is a higher base, I might be able to switch back to my medium rings. That would be nice.

Done!!!

It took 3 range trips to finally get my hunting load for the CVA. The groups kept getting smaller and there was no sign of pressure in the brass. So, I just kept upping the powder and heading back to the range. I had a target accuracy of .5" or less and a target velocity of 2,800 fps.

The CVA beat both with ease. No group was much more than an inch and the standard deviations kept getting smaller as I put more powder in the case.



I settled on 45.0gr H4350 which is a grain and a half over the Hornady book max, but it shoots beautifully with no pressure issues.

Final velocity: 2,875 fps
Group size: .280" for 3 shots



I had some rounds left over, so I send them at the 300 yard steel target.

http://vid26.photobucket.com/albums/...psew8zwgsq.mp4

The trigger, while nice out of the box at 2.5 pounds, is still a little heavy for bench work. I found myself pressing and pressing for it to go off while keeping the reticle on target. It's funny how you get use to lighter triggers and even 2.5 pounds seems to take tons of pressure to fire while your at your NRP.

I've now pulled the 4.5-14x Leupold off the gun and replaced it with a Leupold FXII 6x rifle scope. It's much lighter and handier. Simplifies things and frees the bigger Leupold up for other projects.

With this lighter bullet, the CVA is about a 300 yard gun. About 2,000 retained fps at that distance and I can do that with a 6x scope.

I..........LIKE...........THIS..........GUN!

Nope. I found the load for mine. I'm nit gonna chase that dragon... Not going to go home and see if I can get mine to group tighter....

Hate you.

Here is the Scout with the 6x Leupold FXII.

Great shooting!
That pic of Danny though...

You know you saved it.

:-)

I didn't......Yet!

Were you using the rifle data or handgun data? I've noticed they tend to reduce the maximums shown for the same bullet weight/powder combination somewhat when showing loads for Encore handguns compared to their rifle data. I can understand why they'd do that for, say, the 45-70 Contender data, but it seems a little excessive to do that for the Encore data.

I based off Hornady Rifle Load Data which was 43.4gr H4350 for an 85/87gr bullet.

I used 43 grains with the 87 HPBT in my rifle and it was scary accurate. Glad to see it's shooting good.

Another thing I've noticed about Hornady is that their maximum loads tend to be less than what other sources publish. For example, my Hornady 8th Edition says 61.9 grains of IMR 4064 is the maximum charge for a 150 grain bullet in a 300 Win Mag, but my Lee 2nd Edition lists a maximum of 65.5 grains.

[quote=TN Lone Wolf]Another thing I've noticed about Hornady is that their maximum loads tend to be less than what other sources publish. [/quote

X2
I have seen hornady max below other sources minimum.

X3

I found my Ruger 44 Backpacker loves full load 180 grain XTPs. I also loaded some 270 grain WFN cast from an accurate mold and found that gun to be very accurate.

I second your opinion on the cva. I have the 243 and it has been lights out accurate and for the price is just plain ridiculous. My soms 300 blackout is exactly the same. Best deal in single shots on earth!

Fantastic write up. Good job all the way around.

I have some shopping to do...

Thanks