I was looking into this muzzleloader pistol. Wanted to get some feedback first, if anybody has this setup.

A quick forum search will turn it up. It is well thought of by everyone that has one. reflex264

http://www.handgunhunt.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/123198/page/0/fpart/1

This one has a hunting story and some good info on the Optima. I considered getting one, but since my state currently only has 1 week late muzzleloader season I opted for a contender that I could get a muzzle loading barrel for should the season improve or the mood strike me.

Great gun accurate reliable and a great deal

Thanks for the feedback. I ordered one last night!

I bought a CVA pistol last year and love it. Scoped with a Bushnell red dot. 80 grains of 777 with a T/C 240 gr. Zeroed at 50 yards.

I have a Bushnell halo sight on mine two pellets of triple seven and 230 grain power belt 2" at 75 yards. Shot three animals (deer) last year DRT. 20 yard scamper lights out.

Just ordered the optima pistol myself. Picked one up from cabelas for a little less than 270 shipped. I guess I'll have about 10 months to play with it before our muzzleloader season comes in next year.

I just received a copy of cdnn catalogue. They had them priced for $200.00 wished it came a week earlier.

Ordered one from CDNN on Friday for $200 + $20 s&h. It showed up this morning.
One issue I see is because of my very large hands, my middle finger knuckle comes right up against the back of the trigger guard. Could be painful with a heavier load.
Other than that i like it.
won't get to shoot it till I gather components and the temp warms a bit. 7 degrees today

Jeff

Hey Jeff, so your new gun was not blemished in any way? I have heard of a couple guys getting less than perfect examples from CDNN. The boxes were unopened so they came that way from CVA. Made me a bit gunshy of ordering one.

Hi Rod,
No blemishes that I can see, and I've been fondling it all day on and off. LOL. Tooo cold outside so it's an R&R kinda day.
I've looked it over pretty thoroughly and don't see any issues although the rifling looks a little funky.
Here's some pics of the actual gun.
http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=692

Jeff

Edit: just noticed a small rub mark on the hammer and no screw in the hole that would be for the front sight.

I have had one for a couple of year and love it. It is sooooo accurate. I got the BH 209 breechplug and have been using that powder.

mike.44,
Had you tried any other powder before settling on the Blackhorn.
I had recently purchased some Pyrodex P for my flintlock rifle and then found out from others that it's hard to light in a flintlock.
When I ordered the Optima, I figured I could use the Pyrodex P in it. However, the P is a fffG equivalent and the manual for the Optima calls for ffG only.
I thought about using the P at a reduced load but am leary of doing so.
I've always used the fffG blackpowder (the real stuff) in my flintlock rifle and my Ruger cap and ball pistol with no issues.

Jeff

I put the Bushnell Trophy on mine. 30mm tube, with the red/green dot.

I picked mine up yesterday. Just pulled it out of the box tonight. So far I am unimpressed. Mine was ordered from cabelas. The crown had meal shavings literally hanging from it still attached. I then removed the breech plug and noticed the rifling was flattened for the first .05 or so inch only on the left side of the barrel. These things seem to have a reputation for accuracy and the crown is probably not a big deal since the last bit of barrel is overbore for easy bullet starting. The grip shape is nice but is sharp against my middle finger where it is cut out for the release lever/trigger guard. I plan to email cva pictures and seeing what they say before I shoot it. Did anyone else have similar tooling/machining

O

Eric,
Your post caused me to go and inspect mine once again. Muzzle looks fine. Rifling looks fine, not flat on one side as you mentioned, but as I previously mentioned, the rifling on mine looks a little funny in the grooves. Don't know much about the finer points of rifling but it looks like it was cut with a tool half as wide as the grooves and then was moved over slightly and cut again. I'll try to post a better picture.
As far as the grip, it's a bit small in my hand to begin with and yes, there is a bit of a sharp edge. I may take a bit of sandpaper to it just so it's not a cutting edge.
Wish I could find a spare grip so I could play around with some customization and see if I can make it fit my hand better. If anyone has a source for grips please let me know or maybe I'll try calling CVA.

Jeff

Great Pistol that works great with my Universal Bullets as tested by known author and hunter Hovey Smith see video bellow.
http://youtu.be/dTnG1x-orSk

Jeff, I shot my CVA Optima V2 muzzle loading pistol a few days after Christmas. I too have big hands and had no problem with the trigger guard. I was shooting two 50 gr pyrodex pellets. Recoil was strong but not like my 454.

I really like the gun.

Michael

You can view my older post on my first kill with my V2. A great gun for the money. I use 80gr BH209 with a 240gr XTP in a sabot. Comparable to my 44 Magnum revolvers.

Maybe it's my grip. I'll have to experiment.
Just put one of these on my Optima and it feels quite a bit better than the hard plastic. A little pricey for what it is.
http://tuff1.com/gun-grips-tuff1-boa-grip-the-worlds-best-universal-gun-grip