CVA Wolf

I just won a CVA Wolf .50 cal muzzleloader in the Fox Lake Conservation League 52 week raffle (Southern MN, near Fairmont)…

Anyone use this gun? Comments, either good or bad???

I guess it comes with scope mount, rings and scope. I assume the scope probably isn’t a VX-III or Monarch, but I can always swap it out if I want. WI only allows 1x power scopes for muzzy season anyway, although I heard that this law is under review for next season. (??)

I own a TC Encore muzzleloader and love it, but I just swapped out the muzzy barrel for a 7mm barrel, so it will be nice to have another muzzleloader and not have to mess with swapping barrels again!

Will this CVA be somewhat comparable to the TC? I have heard good things about CVA, but have zero experience with them. They are quite a bit cheaper than the Encores… This gun will most likely not see any sort of extreme use.

Any comments?

Thanks!

Mike

I shoot a CVA and my dad a TC. Sell the CVA and keep the TC. My CVA is only 3 yrs old, but I’ve had more problems than I can speak of. It was probably the worst outdoor investment I’ve ever made. I actually spoke to a rep for them when I bought it and he said that they’ve had lots of problems in the past, but the newer ones were great (I bought one of the new ones he spoke of.)

Maybe the new Wolf is better, but it would be hard to trust them from my experiences.

Jonny P owns one I believe? Johnny you in here?

Joel

Sell it I don’t own one but everyone I know that does wishes they had a TC.

I’ve owned a CVA optima for about 5 years now and have nothing but positive things to say about it. The Wolf is definately a entry level gun and their lower model but I have a friend who ownes one and have never heard him complain.

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Jonny P owns one I believe? Johnny you in here?

Joel

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Yes I am and I do own that exact gun. First off it should not be called a Wolf but a “Mule”; it packs one hell of a punch. For me up here in the northern MN brush country the short and light set up is great. I have taken bear, deer and a few other critters with it and have few complaints. One bad thing is the stock iss SUPER noisy, any little bump or twig scrape is amplified times ten.

I’m shooting 150 grains of triple seven powder pushing a Thompson Center 250 grain Shockwave with both great flight and game impact. With a zero at 100 yards I have 1.5″ drop at 200 4″ at 250 and 12″ at 300…400 just aim at the sun and hope or roll the bullet in like a bowling ball and trip the critter.

One thing you will want to look out for is the scope mounts they are pretty cheap. I ended up using quick release mounts from Cabelas and a 2.5×9 scope with ranging lines for muzzloaders and I love it for out of state hunts and bear huntung. That and like any muzzle loader you are going to want to keep it clean to prevent hammer failure (won’t lock if dirty).

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First off it should not be called a Wolf but a “Mule”; it packs one hell of a punch.

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I take it that the “CrushZone® Recoil Pad” that they advertise isn’t worth a whole heck of a lot as a recoil reducer??

Thanks for the review JP!

Mike

Oh the recoil pad works…thank god. The first time I shot it I thought I was over charging it with the loose powder I was using at the time. Its a wild one but surprisingly accurate for a short barrel .50 cal mag.

I looked back in my records and for MN deer hunting I was loading 100 grains of Triple seven with a 250 grain shockwave while using open sights. Looks like I zeroed at 50 yards with a 3″ drop at 100 and 12″ at 150 and a note that said “Much less kick!”

It is also a bear killing machine. I took a 300lb bear a few years ago at 50 yards and punched clean though dropping the bear on site…once the smoke cleared I could see it had knock down power.