Cva wolf final impressions. Long review.

[Half-Cocked]

I have had an opportunity to thoroughly RANGE test the CVA wolf. I'd like to give my final assessment after dealing with some issues.

The overall construction
and look of this budget riffle is impressive.

Everything is nice and tight and the seams are very tight. It looks sleek and modern the plastic used is not feel cheap.

Also mine is stainless which seems to have a cerakote type finish. Easy to wipe down and feels nice to the touch.
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The action and trigger
are remarkable simple non adjustable not too heavy with a bit of uptake a clear wall and a nice break. Overall a pleasure.
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The sights.
Mine came with iron sights. They are metal and we'll constructed. Although I have not used them much they are quality.

I don't like the fact the aftermarket rails feature weaver style. It's just my personal opinion but I wish the Weaver style of rails would die and just go away.

There are picatiny options they cost slightly more and to be honest it is worth it for this rifle.
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The breachplug
is absolutely fantastic and has never left me with a misfire. It has never been too stiff to take out with anything other than my hand. I quickly removed the anti-seize from the factory and added the thin layer of Grease.

As a practice after every shot I open the breach wipe it off a little put a pin in the hole a drill bit on the other side even though it's not necessary.

the only thing that I don't like about the design of the breach bug is the large cavity that you can't get to in the middle that will inevitably store black powder and is hard to clean even with the good soak you don't know what's behind there.

However the breach plug if it ever does need to be replaced is available and is not that expensive. matter of fact I don't know the exact price but I can guarantee you it costs less than a clip for my Sig p320.
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The recoil pad
Though being a bit stiff is more than adequate and provides comfort in the lighter loads that I use.
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Disassembly and cleaning
Is amazingly easy and a pleasure once you find the right type of cleaner to use.

Many cleaners work and I have tried many of them. The simplest cheapest and extremely effective is simple dish soap and hot water. Followed by an evaporative spray cleaner such as alcohol mixed with water. Dried thoroughly with a light coat of oil applied.

The breach plug is a bit of a concern when cleaning.if you read the paragraph on the breach plug you'll understand why.
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Repeatability and fouling.
I swab between every shot and remove and wipe the breachplug every shot. While doing those two things I have been able to shoot this rifle repeatedly literally all day at the range.

My only limitation is when I run out of swabs or the range closes. the design of the CVA breach plug is remarkably easy to remove. although a 209 primer pry cap tool is included I've never needed to use it.

Honestly this in line in particular is an excellent design for keeping clean while shooting and cleaning after you're done.
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The big factor ACCURACY
Accuracy is incredibly good for a rifle in this price range I don't know what the average muzzleloader shoots.

I have not heard of a sub MOA muzzleloader they may exist out there but my limited experience I haven't heard of one.

That being said this thing is remarkably accurate I can tell you that if I was aiming at a deer I could hit it where I want at 50 yards within an inch.

That's pretty damn good and I'm not a great shooter nor have I 100% dialed in my loads. I pretty much started with a minimum load and stuck with it.
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The issues
my particular issue had something to do with the rifling upon inspection of other CVA rifles none of the other CVA rifles that I have inspected have the same issue that I did I'm still a little sore about that but the gun even with its issue shoots remarkably accurate and I'm willing to live with it.

As at this point it's more of an internal barrel cosmetic issue that doesn't seem to be affecting accuracy or rusting as I originally thought.
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Cost per round and using premium versus cheap bullets
I have now and will always start out with the cheapest ammo in any firearm if it shoots with the cheapest ammo and it shoots well why spend more.

I use a very cheap non-jacketed lead hollow point bullet the 45 caliber sabotted for the 50. If I played with more expensive bullets I probably would be getting better groups.

For the purpose of this rifle though the cheap bullets work just fine.
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Last thoughts and would you recommend it to a friend?
Honestly don't think for the price you could do better. I don't even think if you spent a little more you would do better.

Although I really wanted to hate this rifle I really do enjoy shooting it. I was worried about the recoil but it doesn't seem to recoil too much it does kick pretty good.

However this is not affecting my accuracy at all. I shot from a seated position rested on the bag one handed sniper style. Ideally this is the position that I'd like to be in a blind while hunting.

Would I recommend this rifle to a friend absolutely. I would recommend that you get the stainless steel version I would recommend that you get the scoped version.
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This has been an honest review if you have any questions please let me know.

 

[Half-Cocked]

A few additional details for those who are like me and love to research the rifles they buy. Hopefully this will help somebody who's just made the purchase or is on the fence about making the purchase.

Just thinking about this rifle made me want to bring it out and take some additional photos. A lot of times on the internet you'll see stock photos of something and you won't see detail hopefully this helps.

Here is an image of that front sight. It's metal non adjustable and we'll made. It features a red indicator and it looks a lot like the truglo sights. You can also see the factory ramrod and palm saver on the end. I have no issues with the rod. It's well constructed and the jag fits the bore perfect for swabs between shots and cleaning.



Moving on here is the stainless barrel which to me seems almost a cerakote. Not a stain on her.


A pic of the firearm and scope. Not much too be said except ain't she pretty?


The tail end showing the stock again very durable not cheap and not thin enough to collapse with normal hand pressure. Thank you to CVA for not cutting corners on the plastics.


The trigger guard is all metal the trigger is all metal and the blade itself is beveled for a comfortable fit around your finger. As mentioned above it has a clear creep well-defined wall and well-defined break. I don't know the exact pounds required but I can tell you that it is a very comfortable quality trigger.

In front of the trigger guard is the mechanism you use to break open the rifle the name escapes me at this time. It is also functioned flawlessly also constructed of all metal.



I am using a scope with a 44cm bell. here's a clearance from the bottom of the scope to the top of the rear iron sight. The rear iron sight is constructed of mostly metal is adjustable for elevation and windage. And looks a lot like the true Glow sites the rear sights have two green dots on them.

now I could remove the rear in the front sight entirely because I'm using a scope I just chose not to and even though it's a tight clearance there are no issues whatsoever.


Here's a picture of the hammer with the grooves on the breach plug that make it a snap to remove with your fingers.
The hammer itself features a spur to the side which you can adjust to the left side if you are a lefty shooter as this is an ambidextrous rifle.


Here's a close up pic of a butt pad nothing special but it does a job I'm told that you can hold 2 209 primers in the holes of the butt pad I have not tried that yet.


The front and rear sling mounts. Although they are plastic and molded into the stock I don't foresee them breaking if you use the proper sling.

 

[Half-Cocked]

Continuing from the post above...

Here are the markings on the barrel itself being that the barrel originated in Spain it's required to be fired at a proof house. In that proof house they typically put three times the normal charge of powder and fire your rifle. Then they put a regular size charger powder and test your rifle again to see if it's working. this is a requirement for all barrels and rifles or handguns that are coming out of foreign countries into the US they have to be sent to a third party proof house to ensure that the quality of construction is there and that the rifles are safe.
So if you open up your CVA rifle and you notice that it's been fired yes. yes it has.


Here's a close up pic of that thingamajig that actually breaks open the rifle allowing you to take out the breach plug or load a 209 primer. It's all metal like the trigger and smooth like the trigger.


This is definitely important and worth mentioning I probably should have given this feature more attention in the first post. The screw that I'm pointing at is the only screw that you'll need to take out to disassemble this rifle for cleaning. It's ridiculously easy and can be opened with a coin. It really doesn't get much better than that.


Some close up pictures of the stock and the texture on them I've never had an issue with slippage and I feel like I have a good grip on this rifle when I decide to shoot it that way. However I can tell you most of the time I'm shooting it with one hand with my other arm tucked underneath with the palm of my hand resting on my bicep. This is a common sniper style hold. It allows the rifle to basically fire and mitigate its own recoil. I have found it to be extremely accurate firing it that way.




Lastly we finish off with a few pics of that magical breach plug. It has never been stuck and always opened with just hand pressure. again my only issue is that it's kind of hard to see what's behind those two holes and to make sure that you have everything out of it. However the breach plugs are cheap enough to replace if you ever have an issue which I don't foresee having an issue. Given that the material is stainless steel I doubt that I would rust on the inside just in case I do tend to pack it with a little bit more oil and then blow out the excess.


Thank you for reading this rather long-winded post or picking up whatever you got out of it again if you're on the fence I would highly recommend getting one of these.

I felt like I owed it to the manufacturer because I initially bad-mouth them because of the issues that I was having with the rifling. That issue I found was only in the two rifles that were sent to me ironically.

To this day I have no idea what was going on with the rifling inside or what material was caught in the lands however as I've stated it has not affected accuracy one bit. At least not that I can tell. It's mainly a cosmetic issue and a cosmetic issue on the inside of the bore.

However as I have stated if you do decide to purchase this rifle have a look at the lands and grooves and they will be dirty because again this rifle is proof tested from Spain. once clean just make sure that it does come clean and there's no caked on junk in there.

Many of the rifles that I've seen featured in the department stores do not have any issues I assume the majority of them don't have issues I just got unlucky.

However as I said this thing shoots straight I don't feel the need to warranty it out and I will continue shooting it and enjoying it. Happy hunting from Half-Cocked!

 

[52Bore]

Enjoy you new rifle...
Experimenting to find what shoots best is part of the fun.

 

[deerlessbob]

Excellent review. One thing you might want to watch out for is what I ran into with one my first muzzleloaders. Torquing the fore end bolt too tight negatively affected accuracy. I ended up leaving it loose in its hole and wrapping camo one strip of duct tape around the fore end and barrel. I don’t remember what model it was, but i think it was a CVA which is the brand I still shoot.

 

[Half-Cocked]

Excellent review. One thing you might want to watch out for is what I ran into with one my first muzzleloaders. Torquing the fore end bolt too tight negatively affected accuracy. I ended up leaving it loose in its hole and wrapping camo one strip of duct tape around the fore end and barrel. I don’t remember what model it was, but i think it was a CVA which is the brand I still shoot.

Thank you I appreciate your comments.

that is interesting about that fore end bolt I never would have thought that might affect accuracy. The way I do it I usually don't Crank it down I just tighten it so it's fairly tight and then the screw head slot is in line with the barrel. It's a little OCD but I actually do tighten that screw pretty much the same way every time I disassemble the rifle. Very interesting though.

 

[GM54-120]

Here are the markings on the barrel itself being that the barrel originated in Spain it's required to be fired at a proof house. In that proof house they typically put three times the normal charge of powder and fire your rifle

If its for export outside the CIP coutries the proofing for MLs is not required in Spain. IIRC only Italy requires all barrels to be proofed. That proof mark equates to way under 20kpsi so its hard to imagine its been tested with a triple load. A 3 pellet load easily makes over 29kpsi. Can you imagine just a 6 pellet load?

The US has NO laws requiring foreign made MLs be proofed before they enter the USA. NONE whatsoever. Pedersoli is the only company i know of that tests/proofs every single rifle/pistol ML they ship anywhere.

 

[Half-Cocked]

If its for export outside the CIP coutries the proofing for MLs is not required in Spain. IIRC only Italy requires all barrels to be proofed. That proof mark equates to way under 20kpsi so its hard to imagine its been tested with a triple load. A 3 pellet load easily makes over 29kpsi. Can you imagine just a 6 pellet load?

The US has NO laws requiring foreign made MLs be proofed before they enter the USA. NONE whatsoever. Pedersoli is the only company i know of that tests/proofs every single rifle/pistol ML they ship anywhere.

Not to sure about the ins and outs of the proofing regs. Not really important in the context of reviewing the rifle what I did want to say is that it was was fired. in addition the ones that I see in the store are fired so if it has a proofing mark on the barrel itself it has been proof I don't know where I picked up the triple load thing. I believe that was from pietas factory tour where he mentioned them going to the proof house being tested with the triple the recommended load of back black powder and then subsequently being fired with a regular load. Again a point I made but not really important for the purpose of the review of the rifle. for me it was a little bit of a shock that the rifle was fired I had no idea that they did that. However after looking at several other CVA rifles I noticed that they seem to be fired whether it Cabela's or Bass pros or Dunham's all the ones that I look like more than machine grease and once the breach plugs were removed sure enough that's The Tell-Tale sign. in addition when a barrel has been proof there is a proof mark on the barrel thus name proof mark. Looking at my CVA barrel it's not stamped with anything however it does have a QC code on the side I don't know if that has anything to do with the proofing or not. again not a big deal and not that important but if somebody does purchase one of these rifles and notices that it has been fired could be helpful to them facts muddled as they may be. I mean seriously unless you work for them how would anybody know any of this stuff?

 

[Smyrnagc]

I bought a CVA Wolf from Muzzleloaders.com and went and checked it and it has not been fired, nor is there any grease or fouling in the bore. Looked at the original box and paperwork and nothing stating that it was tested/fired before shipment. Interesting...

 

[Half-Cocked]

I bought a CVA Wolf from Muzzleloaders.com and went and checked it and it has not been fired, nor is there any grease or fouling in the bore. Looked at the original box and paperwork and nothing stating that it was tested/fired before shipment. Interesting...

Honestly not sure I can tell you the places like Cabela's and Bass pros do not accept any returns on firearms if you have an issue they will return them to the manufacturer so I don't think their customer returns that have been fired but every time I pulled out a breach plug you can see that a 209 primers been in there been fired and after firing you know muzzleloaders now I know what to look for and I see that they have been fired. At least in my area I doubt the employees are taking them out back and shooting them.

 

[Half-Cocked]

You know I suppose if nothing else we could shoot an email over to cva/bpi and just ask do they test fire their barrels or not.

it never hurts to ask and I just did below a copy of an email I just sent them so we'll find out soon.

Hi I have a quick question regarding your CVA rifles. I just wanted to know if they are sent to a proof house for testing or our test fired at the factory at all? And if so is it every barrel that gets tested or is it just a certain product line.

The reason I ask is when I purchased my rifle new I noticed that it had been fired. So I went to another store and I noticed that that one had been fired as well and cleaned up. These stores typically do not offer refunds on any type of firearm so I did not think that they were returns.

however if you can enlighten me as to the process I would be very appreciative myself and several others are very curious about this.

 

[Half-Cocked]

Speaking of questions I'm not trying to get in pissing match of any type here but. I did a quick search on whether firearms need to be proof from foreign countries the department of Justice has a 200-page PDF file broken down by country that shows the regulations and stipulates which countries are required by US law to be proof before they can be sold or transferred in this country.

Below our screenshots of the Google search question and the link to the PDF file.

I am by no means an expert but this is just what I pulled up from a quick web search based on suspicion.




Disclaimer before anyone jumps my back on this I don't know if this applies to muzzleloaders as well

 

[Smyrnagc]

Spain?

 

[Half-Cocked]

Spain?

Very interesting I reviewed that document and it did not mention Spain however another search based on do rifles need to be sent to a proof house if they're being exported out of Spain led me to Wikipedia page which explained the CIP and the countries involved Spain being one of them.

So although it's not a US requirement for Spain apparently the US does require it from certain countries and Spain must require it of Spain their rules to export. Again I'm not sure if any of this applies to muzzleloaders as well.

Kind of a side note from the purpose of the post which was the review of the rifle but interesting fact to try to nail down anyway.




Hopefully I'll hear back from CVA soon and I can post what they said and hopefully the person is actually knowledgeable enough to know and not just a salesperson in some other office I guess we'll find out.

 

[Half-Cocked]

Based on this from cva's website we know that all their barrels are manufactured in Spain. So now what we need to know for certain is does Spain require Spanish made barrels and rifles to be proofed before exporting to another country. That would also be referable proof. Also most importantly we need to know if that law in Spain applies to muzzleloaders as well.

 

[GM54-120]

Notice how it says CIP countries just like i said. CIP standards only apply to CIP members. Not to exports to non CIP members. There is no federal law/regulation in the USA that requires ANY ML to be proofed....period. Savage and Pedersoli are the only ones i have seen claim to test fire every ML they shipped. Only Pedersoli has claimed to fire every one with a proof load. It was right on their website. All centerfires fall under SAAMI standards. So they are far more regulated.

Frankly i cant imagine they test fired a ML with a corrosive powder and left enough fouling to be so noticeable. Its a known fact they use a long term storage product before it gets on the slow boat from Europe. Might not use it on the nitride but its been in every bore ive inspected.

 

[Half-Cocked]

Notice how it says CIP countries just like i said. CIP standards only apply to CIP members. Not to exports to non CIP members. There is no federal law/regulation in the USA that requires ANY ML to be proofed....period. Savage and Pedersoli are the only ones i have seen claim to test fire every ML they shipped. Only Pedersoli has claimed to fire every one with a proof load. It was right on their website. All centerfires fall under SAAMI standards. So they are far more regulated.

Frankly i cant imagine they test fired a ML with a corrosive powder and left enough fouling to be so noticeable. Its a known fact they use a long term storage product before it gets on the slow boat from Europe. Might not use it on the nitride but its been in every bore ive inspected.

Maybe that's what I'm looking at then that long-term storage product that you mentioned. Sure as heck looks like something's been fired around the primer though.

So if I understand correctly what you're saying is that these regulations are for the people participating in the CIP so if a CIP country exports to a non-cip country proofing of the barrel is not required.

 

[Half-Cocked]

I tell you if that stuff is the long-term storage product that they speak of that I had so much trouble with that would be my only gripe about this rifle. Otherwise the thing is absolutely gorgeous.

Now a very long time ago I purchased Molson nagat and another 8 mm rifle that I've forget I think it was a Turkish anyway when I purchased it this stuff looked like it was packed in axle Grease thick grease all up and down the bore all over the outside and the whole thing was in one big plastic bag.

Even though it was an absolute mess every bit of that grease came off fairly easily. When I purchased my pietta it was coated in a very light oil. And I know for a fact that that black powder Cap and ball revolver coming from ITALY was proofed as it was stamped on the barrel as well as mentioned in the piada factory tour that it's a requirement of Italian law.

But that's something entirely different. Then what we were talking about just a moment ago I realized that.

And I'm kind of straying between the proofing issue and my own issue with their long-term storage product. I can't tell you whether proofed or not and whatever the cosmetic issue of my inner barrel was at the time of my purchase I ended up being extremely happy with this rifle.

Now I'm going to the range tomorrow but unfortunately I won't be taking the CVA wolf we have a new Savage access chambered and 30-06 to sight in at 100 yards. I also need more range time with my Sig to get comfortable with the sites.

However I do promise some groups from the CVA wolf to post from my not to spectacular shooting. I'll do my best and I assure you if it's bad or there's a flyer it was me I know that this rifle is probably more accurate than I am. I feel that that would be an excellent way to finish this review.

 

[snapbang]

Torquing the fore end bolt too tight negatively affected accuracy.

I do precisely this when I reassemble my Wolf. Once the screw engages I count the revolutions and at the end I have the screw slot line up with the barrel. 5 turns for me.

 

[Leigh Clambakes]

I'd bet your scope's objective bell is also slightly smaller than 44 cm. Probably millimeters, 44 mm.
I think 44 cm would be close to a foot and a half, which would be an impressive diameter as far as light gathering, but would make for an awkward mounting arrangement.