CVA Optima snapped in half!!!

Crazy $hit happens when hunting but if I hit some black ice on the road and totaled my truck I definitely wouldn't expect Ford to send me a new one.

I had a situation where I broke the eye piece end of my Leupold scope I was hunting with a friend he pointed me in the direction where I would come across a tree stand found it There was a rope hanging I pulled and it seemed in good shape so I tied my rifle bolt open unloaded I got to the platform just as I got my hand on my rifle the rope gave way Rifle fell straight down and the scope it a step and broke the eye piece off I called Leupold and told them exactly what happed they said to return it to them about 2 weeks later I received a new scope with a notation no charge I really believe honesty is the best policy I CVA is going to make it good I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth

I had an opportunity to interact with both Traditions and CVA in the past year.Traditions basically gave me no satisfaction (thumbs down).Cva onthe other hand replaced a broken Blazer with a brand new Optima.Much better customer service imo.(thumbs up).Dropping a weapon out of a tree is not normal use of that gun. Having said that, I' ve never seen a gun break like that. It must've landed weird.

I recently bought the NW edition Optima V2. Have yet to shoot it. Hopefully it stays intact when firing. I have the optima V2 pistol and have run several hundred rounds through it now with no issues.

I'm assuming that the rifle hit pretty hard, however that rifle breaking like that, sure would make me a little cautious of any of those rifles, or rifles manufactured of the same material.
If someone just had a rifle fall over, it would be wise to check it thoroughly for any possible hairline cracks.
The .... possible.... outcome shooting a rifle with just a crack in the frame could be a disaster.

All things being equal, CVA's are cheaper for a reason. Make your own assessment/decisions.

fishhawk2700 said:

All things being equal, CVA's are cheaper for a reason. Make your own assessment/decisions.

Click to expand...

The paramount isn’t cheap,but I doubt you could break that one in half.

I have more respect for CVA than ever before, totally un-necessary for them to step up like they did for something entirely your fault.
Consider yourself lucky, I doubt TC or any of the others would have done what CVA did for you.
Hopefully you'll learn something from this.

michiganbowbender said:

I have more respect for CVA than ever before, totally un-necessary for them to step up like they did for something entirely your fault.
Consider yourself lucky, I doubt TC or any of the others would have done what CVA did for you.
Hopefully you'll learn something from this.

Click to expand...

I hope CVA learns to not use pot metal in firearms. No one is really to blame here. The hanger broke and it fell. I didn’t drop it. So many great ones on this site act like they have never dropped a gun or bow. My brother had a sling stud pull out of the stock 2 yrs ago and dropped the gun. I guess he should learn not to use a sling huh.

ohihunter2014 said:

I hope CVA learns to not use pot metal in firearms. No one is really to blame here. The hanger broke and it fell. I didn’t drop it. So many great ones on this site act like they have never dropped a gun or bow. My brother had a sling stud pull out of the stock 2 yrs ago and dropped the gun. I guess he should learn not to use a sling huh.

Click to expand...

Yes, at some point everyone of us has done something. I carelessly leaned my rifle up against my bench and turned around. The rifle slammed to the concrete and hit directly on the parallax adjustment. I called Nightforce in a panic and all they did was giggle and tell me to send it in and they'd check it. Fortunately they had the last laugh, nothing was wrong. Now that won't happen again, as I have covered broom handle holders mounted to the bench to lean the rifle in. Yup, ship happens.

If you don't mind, from what height did the rifle fall? Did the rifle hit on a rock, stump root that would cause the break?

ohihunter2014 said:

I hope CVA learns to not use pot metal in firearms. No one is really to blame here. The hanger broke and it fell. I didn’t drop it. So many great ones on this site act like they have never dropped a gun or bow. My brother had a sling stud pull out of the stock 2 yrs ago and dropped the gun. I guess he should learn not to use a sling huh.

Click to expand...

You have nothing to be ashamed of

Does anyone know if the mr is made from the same alloy, I hear they shoot fantastic, but the way that gun broke is bothersome

dwm said:

Does anyone know if the mr is made from the same alloy, I hear they shoot fantastic, but the way that gun broke is bothersome

Click to expand...

It is made from cast aluminum alloy. Lots of gun makers use cast aluminum alloy for frames. Alloys can differ. The same way lead bullets are made with different metals added to change their hardness and performance.

michiganmuzzy said:

It is made from cast aluminum alloy. Lots of gun makers use cast aluminum alloy for frames. Alloys can differ. The same way lead bullets are made with different metals added to change their hardness and performance.

Click to expand...

Thank you, so probably the same as optima

dwm said:

Thank you, so probably the same as optima

Click to expand...

Probably identical metal, and casting process.

Holy blowback, Batman!

You needed an o-ring, years ago. Or the shim kit for your firing pin bushing.

There seems to be more to this story. Thought I remembered something from a couple years ago. Found it. I'm pretty sure you probably had fire come through the trigger group too, after now seeing your pictures. You had a serious primer headspace issue we tried to help you address 2 years ago.

https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/threads/what-the-heck-happened.31367/

Something also going on in these pictures. The inside of the receiver is so filthy with primer carbon and blowback, you couldn't of seen a crack if there was one.

Look at where your primer is sitting against your standing breech/firing pin bushing. I'm surprised the firing pin can even set off the primer, as far off center as it is. I think your frame might have been compromised a little over 2 years ago when you were fitting your BLACKHORN breech plug? Did you try slamming it shut, before you fully seated the plug initially?



Closer shot.


The purple shows the hinge pin for the latch. The blue shows the diameter of your firing pin bushing. The yellow shows the diameter and position of your primer on relation to the firing pin bushing. My Optima Pistol is centered.



You can't even hardly see the BLACKHORN stamping on your breech plug, so if there was a crack in the casting it would have been even harder to see.


Everything circled in red is suspect.


I would imagine CVA would like to see this, as it is possible there might have been a bad batch of alloy. Their Metallurgists can test that in the lab to determine whether it's that, or possibly a fluke bad casting with possible voids.

I think CVA has a responsibility to investigate this, and I have no doubt they will take care of you. They could just wash their hands of it, if you read what I highlighted in bold in the Warranty below.

Are you there original owner and did you register the warranty, or did you buy it used? Either way, I would be respectful if requesting a replacement. They didn't forget to clean it, and they didn't drop it.

"LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY

CVA warrants all factory-finished firearms to be free of defects in workmanship or materials for the lifetime of the firearm. This Limited Lifetime Warranty only applies to the original consumer owner. This warranty is put into effect by the return of the authorized warranty card within 15 days of purchase and is not transferable.

Any covered CVA firearm or part thereof that is returned postage paid to the Repair Center will be repaired or replaced to our commercial standard, free of charge, and returned to the consumer postage prepaid. This warranty does not cover damage to any structures, buildings, vehicles, persons or animals, or any other damage resulting from careless handling, improper loading, rust or corrosion, neglect, improper maintenance or customer alterations.

CVA reserves the right to refuse to repair or replace any firearm or parts thereof damaged by any of the above. The warranty does not cover normal wear of any part, metal or stock finish, cost of inconvenience due to product failure, or transportation to the Repair Center."

https://cva.com/warranty/

michiganmuzzy said:

Probably identical metal, and casting process.

Click to expand...

They look like investment castings, but the Accura MR is a different profile than the Optima V2.

Busta said:

They look like investment castings, but the Accura MR is a different profile than the Optima V2.

Click to expand...

If you look at the PR, MR, and Apex, they all have the same profile and even fore end. The LR and the Optima look like similar profiles, but I've never had an Optima so im not 100%. they all are probably made in the same place from the same alloy. Maybe even by the same robot.

Busta said:

They look like investment castings, but the Accura MR is a different profile than the Optima V2.

Click to expand...

I agree with you that this has been a longer issue with his gun for sure.