cva optima v2 pistol

[JIMYJAC]

looking to add a pistol to my collection. Has anyone have any experience with this model. Likes, dislikes? Thanks

 

[strong eagle]

i have one. very accurate. kicks way too much. i had a shoulder stock built for it. waiting for the money so i can make it into a rifle by putting a barrel liner in it with a 1/15 twist .358 barrel and shooting paperpatched bullets for target in it. way way too too much recoil for a muzzleloading hand gun. if you can handle recoil more than a 44 mag, go for it. it will shoot mmp sabots with a 300 grain 451 or 452 bullet in the same hole at 50 yards and shoot as far a a good rifle way out their. again, recoil is the problem. i put a after market breech plug for 209 powder in it and its a shooter. now some day as money allows i with make it a tack driving target rifle. have a nine power scope on it.

 

[JIMYJAC]

got a 45lc and with bear loads thats all the recoil i want to handle in a handgun. Maybe my good idea isnt so good. Thanks

 

[McClura]

I have one and I only use 70 grns. of 777 with a 245grn power belt bullet. With the 4x scope the recoil is not an issue for me. It has taken 2 deer and shot clean through both. Any more powder than that seems to be a waste. There are some bullets, like the sabot/bullet combo that just don't shoot unless you bump the powder charges up some from 70 grains. I think with the sabot it needs more powder to seal the gas and get the bullet spinning. Just my thought, not sure. 
I have it loaned out right now to a friend that is going to use it in South TX for hunting pigs on a ranch. 
I was shooting for years the Encore 209x50 pistol barrel with a 4x scope but after handling the CVA, which is much lighter, I traded the Encore barrel for a Encore 15" 22 WMR barrel.
Can't go wrong with the Optima pistol.

 

[JIMYJAC]

Thanks for the input. Just talked to CVA and they have discontinued them. Really no good reason except rep said folks were having a hard time shooting it. Seems odd. Been shooting my 45lc lately gotta make a deer load up for it! But i have always desired a bp pistol. Seems like a good one with the right load. Thanks again.

 

[patocazador]

I have an Optima pistol. I shoot 40 grains by weight of BH 209 and a 240 PT Gold with crush fit sabot. It is VERY accurate. As with any pistol of that type, you really need a rest for accurate shooting. Offhand is OK for close-up shots but a rest is always better.

 

[JIMYJAC]

handgun shooting seems to be a perishable skill. i am right handed and left eye dominate. i don`t patch my eye, i have trained myself to keep both eyes open and line my sights up under my left eye. Seems to work well.If i get the optima i would hunt with a rest out of a blind. Good advise Thanks

 

[strong eagle]

my son is right handed and left eye dominant also. when he started hunting deer at 8 years old he learned to shoot his .270 left handed. still shoots a rifle that ways.

 

[CTom]

Hi guys, I'm new here and just found this year old thread that I'd like to comment on.

I have the Optima pistol, second version. It carries a red dot with a 2mm dot. Deadly accurate out to 50 yards delivering 1.25" groups of 5 shots and 2" at 100 yards.

My current hunting load for deer is 63 weighed grains of BH209, green crush rib sabot and 240 grain, .44 cal, XTP bullet. I'm getting an average chrono'd speed of 1550fps. 80 weighed grains of the 209 powder and same bullet/sabot combo averages out to 1475 fps, but on full sized deer and chest shots the bullets may or may not open up real well as based on exits wounds. The heavier load is a sure thing with exit wounds easily in the 2" - 2 1/2" range. Yes the heavy load is heavy on recoil....much like a 454 Casul, but its only one shot.

While I have take a couple deer at 50 plus yards with the pistol, I try to keep my shots at or under 25 yards and have taken several deer inside this range. They either are dead before they hit the ground or are dead and don't know as they travel a few yards. The kills are impressive. I'm super satisfied with the load I shoot but I am very serious about getting rid of the lead part of the equation and have some Barnes coppers all ready to go to the range. Since I favor closer targets I will likely be turning down the powder weigh a hair as long as the current tight group holds together.

To cut down on abuse at the range while  getting this gun dialed in I shot at 15 yards in groups of three shots. Once the three holes were touching, I stretched it to 25, then 50, making any small adjustments as I went. This was done over a period of time doing the 15 yards first, then the 25 another day and finally the fifty on yet another day. I have proofed the patterning out to 100 yards but on an animal I am not too comfortable with a shot at that range, but I am confident that a deer would drop easily with the current load.

The gun requires a rest to shoot accurately regardless of load used....its the forward heavy balance that calls for a rest. I hunt from an elevated 22 foot stand with three and a half foot sidewalls which offer a perfect rest. My closest shot has been at 12 yards.

My advice with this gun is to shoot it as heavy as the grouping allows. Many of the bullets offered may work great at short ranges but if  a longer shot is taken one has to be certain that the bullet will have the retained energy to perform as its intended at that range. The 240 grain pill I shoot from this pistol has done its job at 50 yards nicely but unless its shot from a rifle with a heavier powder charge it will loss too much energy  beyond that mark fairly fast. Overkill at the gun club is one thing, but not in the field on a game animal. Remember, its only one shot in the field.

I'll also note here that I have done the 70 grain weighed charge with a 300 grain .44 XTP and that can be downright un-pleasant. I've also run .45 cal 250 grainers thru the gun but the accuracy lies in the .44 cal fodder for me..