Open letter to CVA Paramount and MRX 1-22 twist rifles

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I have a cva kodiak 45 magnum for over 2 years,but have never shot it.Cva sent me an email to send it back in because they were going to destroy it because they are not going to make them any more.I sent it back and got a bran d new cva Wolf in return.Never fired and still in box.3 weeks later I got the kodiak back and a letter said they had rebuilt it and at no charge to me.Both might be going up for sale once I make up my mind.
I would sell the wolf to buy a nice scope for that kodiak. Is yours blue or SST? Either way you will like that kodiak.
I have a theory about the CVA 45 barrels being uneven. It may be controversial. It seems, to me, as tho the problem started around the time the covid outbreak was getting going over in Europe. Some may recall that Spain was the hardest hit early on and had what seemed to be the longest out of control infection rate. I know how it affected business here in Michigan where we got off relatively easy. CVA doesn't make amy claims about that but the timing seems, to me, to be more than coincidental. My pre covid Accura .45 doesnt feel uneven to me and shoots a lot of dif bullets very well. Maybe i should loan it to a more objective shooter to test my theory?
 
I’m also wondering if this .45 bore issue affects any of their cartridge guns? I have wanted a Scout 45/70 sst smokeless conversion from Hankins but i don't want to risk $1k and find out that Ive got a sketchy barrel. I think sending that $ to Mark Woodman for a sml Omega barrel may be a better use of my $.
 
The kodiak is black with a factory camo and I think I sent the bp to a member here to have a vent liner in it to shoot bh 209.After cva rebuilt it,it really feels and looks great.The Wolf is nitride finished and has a sage brush camo on it and a few accessorities with it.I will probaly never shoot either since I am trying to piece a knight mountaineer 45 cal 1;20 twist barrel.So they both may be up for sale.The Wolf is a 50 and all I have is stuff to shoot a 45.Sitting in the box in the spare bedroom.
 
Supposedly, and have been for a long time. Even before Bergara was a respected maker. The Electras had Bergara stamped on them, and the Kodiaks are from the same era and supposed to have the same barrels just without the Bergara stamp. Both were/are great shooting guns Not many better guns than the Kodiak .45, which is a ‘kind of’ clone of the Omegas. Now that ive got another 45 Kodiak i may be able to let go of my 45 Accura LR.
If your 45 Accura LR is an Accura V2 45 LR I'll give you your asking price no questions asked. I have Accura V2 Plains Rifle in 50 cal and if I'd known what the fools at BPI had planned I'd have bought a 45 cal LR when they were still available. You couldn't give me one of these new ones...no Thank you. My Paramount is quite enough of their nonsense...
 
I’ve never been a fan of the powerbelt design.When they first came out my bil was using them and we noticed how as you pull the plastic skirt off with your hand, they were inconsistent as to the amount of pressure it took to pull them apart. One would be real easy and the next required some force.
When we found skirts that nearly made it to the 100 yard target, and others that were only 35 yards down range, I knew these were not going to work for me.
And now you have this issue with barrels that only like powerbelts?
No thanks CVA, no thanks!
I noticed this on other 50 cal powerbelts too. found the plastic all over the range with various distances while the hornady sabots all were within 10 yards
 
I have an Accura .45 LR. Sabotless bullets sized to .4515 fit nicely. I did send it back because the first barrel was inconsistent diameter. It shoots .40 caliber bullets in a light blue sabots just fine. I killed an elk with it two years ago. Send me a PM if you're interested.
 
I just bought a 45 cal Accura MR-X and I am hoping I didn't make a mistake here.

I will know when I work up loads next week here. I have so far

Hornady 180 Gr XTP 40/45 Sabot
Hornady 200 Gr XTP 40/45 Sabot
PowerBelt ELR 285 Gr
Cutting Edge 240 Gr All Copper 40/45 Sabot
and Dead Center 195 Gr 357/45 Sabot


I will report back on my findings when I run them through the gun.
 
I just bought a 45 cal Accura MR-X and I am hoping I didn't make a mistake here.

I will know when I work up loads next week here. I have so far

Hornady 180 Gr XTP 40/45 Sabot
Hornady 200 Gr XTP 40/45 Sabot
PowerBelt ELR 285 Gr
Cutting Edge 240 Gr All Copper 40/45 Sabot
and Dead Center 195 Gr 357/45 Sabot


I will report back on my findings when I run them through the gun.
Pay attn to how consistent the loading pressure is all the way down the barrel, clean and fouled. I expect the 240s and the ELRs to group best.
 
I just bought a 45 cal Accura MR-X and I am hoping I didn't make a mistake here.

I will know when I work up loads next week here. I have so far

Hornady 180 Gr XTP 40/45 Sabot
Hornady 200 Gr XTP 40/45 Sabot
PowerBelt ELR 285 Gr
Cutting Edge 240 Gr All Copper 40/45 Sabot
and Dead Center 195 Gr 357/45 Sabot


I will report back on my findings when I run them through the gun.
I hope you didn't either! We'd really enjoy hearing your results!
 
Pay attn to how consistent the loading pressure is all the way down the barrel, clean and fouled. I expect the 240s and the ELRs to group best.
I pushed a few different projectiles down the barrel the other night and I don't seem to have the inconsistencies others have reported. It does seem a tad oversized for my liking. The 180 XTP with blue crush rib are questionable for sure. The ELR had a tad more resistance by feel anyway. My guess is a heavy powder charge will do better to expand the sabot cup but with how loose they seem to be I am scared they may back off the charge while I carry the gun.
The Cutting Edge 240 are the tightest by far but that is in conjunction with a parker productions sabot. Followed next by the Dead Center 195s with their own sabot.
I plan on making this all into a youtube video late next week and I will for sure post reports on my findings.
 
I pushed a few different projectiles down the barrel the other night and I don't seem to have the inconsistencies others have reported. It does seem a tad oversized for my liking. The 180 XTP with blue crush rib are questionable for sure. The ELR had a tad more resistance by feel anyway. My guess is a heavy powder charge will do better to expand the sabot cup but with how loose they seem to be I am scared they may back off the charge while I carry the gun.
The Cutting Edge 240 are the tightest by far but that is in conjunction with a parker productions sabot. Followed next by the Dead Center 195s with their own sabot.
I plan on making this all into a youtube video late next week and I will for sure post reports on my findings.
A heavy knurl might be beneficial on the looser bullets.
yep, knurl up those XTPs and/or try them in a tan sabot.
 
So I finally was able to get to the range yesterday and test out the Accura MR-X will do some more shooting today as it's late here LOL

Ran the following:
200gr .40 Hornady XTP in a blue crush rib sabot with 70gr by weight BH209 average velocity was at 2025 SD 23 and grouping was about 1.7"
I then went to 77gr by weight of BH209 and was seeing 2139 average fps and SD 37 and the groups did tighten a bit I think Michigan Muzzy is correct and these will be great to 200 with the tan sabot.

I used those 200 XTP to get the scope adjusted and then I moved up to some heavier bullets

240gr .40 Cutting Edge Raptors with a tan sabot on top of 84gr 209 average velocity 2139 as well and less than a inch at 100 yards and seemed to like a fouled barrel as my end shots really tighten up. If it wasnt for the first shot is would be 3 shots in a row touching

Then I went with the ELR 285s with 84 Gr BH209 average velocity was 2057 and a Standard Deviation of 21 and these literally touch each other at 100.

The bore seems very symmetrical with no choke points even when fouled so I think I have a good shooter here. More to come in a day or 2
 
So I finally was able to get to the range yesterday and test out the Accura MR-X will do some more shooting today as it's late here LOL

Ran the following:
200gr .40 Hornady XTP in a blue crush rib sabot with 70gr by weight BH209 average velocity was at 2025 SD 23 and grouping was about 1.7"
I then went to 77gr by weight of BH209 and was seeing 2139 average fps and SD 37 and the groups did tighten a bit I think Michigan Muzzy is correct and these will be great to 200 with the tan sabot.

I used those 200 XTP to get the scope adjusted and then I moved up to some heavier bullets

240gr .40 Cutting Edge Raptors with a tan sabot on top of 84gr 209 average velocity 2139 as well and less than a inch at 100 yards and seemed to like a fouled barrel as my end shots really tighten up. If it wasnt for the first shot is would be 3 shots in a row touching

Then I went with the ELR 285s with 84 Gr BH209 average velocity was 2057 and a Standard Deviation of 21 and these literally touch each other at 100.

The bore seems very symmetrical with no choke points even when fouled so I think I have a good shooter here. More to come in a day or 2
I'm sure the vast majority of the MR-X and LR-X rifle are just like this rifle. But many aren't...these rifles are a roll of the dice. I'm really glad you got a good one.
 
Dear CVA as a fan of your muzzleloaders I regret to write what I'm about to write, however if someone gets hurt because of others not speaking up I sure would not feel right about that. I've been a big fan of the Acura 50 cal 1 and 28 twist five different rifles I shot each for a year and then I gave them away to help others learn .I was excited about the Paramount 45 Cal I brought one of the first ones to come out shot it a lot,, ended up just putting it in the closet because of the bore dimension's
CVA chose from the beginning to make their 45 bore fit their bullet,, I suppose in a business conceptual sense that seem smart,, I do not think they thought through that concept thoroughly . What will happen when an inexperienced shooter chooses to try a different bullet than the factory recommended bullet,, can an inexperienced shooter rely on the bullet to stay seated firmly on the powder column? And what about some of the paramounts that have such loose bores that even their factory recommended bullet is risky about staying seated? I just purchased a MRX Acura 45 Cal 1 and 22 twist the only bullets I can safely seat in this rifle is the factory 280 eld all other bore riding bullets and even 40 cal bullets in a Sabot are too loose in this rifle. I know I guess many will say send the rifle back the problem is I'm convinced that this problem is not just in the rifle that I brought every Paramount shooter that I've talked to the last couple of years has the same issue an oversized bore I'm convinced all of the Acura 45 Cal rifles that are currently being sold here in America have the same bore dimensions or similar, again if you're only going to shoot their bullet I guess everything might be fine but it seems like there's some issues even with their bullets. The Paramount has enough barrel shank and a strong enough barrel that maybe somebody could get away with the bullet falling off the powder column and still firing the gun, the Acura with the thinner barrel worries me I'm afraid someone is going to lose a hand or an arm.
Again to those at CVA if you change your bore dimensions back to an American 45 cal guess what your bullets will still work in the rifle you can still sell your bullets!!!
I will say this to all of you considering buying one of their 45 Cal 22 twist I would really think hard you're going to be very limited to what you can shoot in that rifle ,,will they shoot the 280-285 elds accurately I believe most of the rifles that you buy will ,,are you going to be able to shoot another bullet in it safely I do not think so and I sure am worried that someone inexperienced buying that rifle is going to be missing a hand. Just my personal opinion but I would not buy that rifle unless you are a very experienced muzzleloader shooter, to those that are I don't think you'll have any problems,it's the inexperience person trying a rifle out new that I'm concerned about.
What risk is there in an un seated bullet? Are you just speaking for accuracy? Because the myth of a ill seated barrel turning a gun into a pipe bomb is an urban myth, carried over from old twisted soft steal.

It has been debunked time and time again. Here is a good video from 8 days ago that may put your mind at ease. Otherwise use your ram rod to check your bullet before pulling the trigger.

 
What risk is there in an un seated bullet? Are you just speaking for accuracy? Because the myth of a ill seated barrel turning a gun into a pipe bomb is an urban myth, carried over from old twisted soft steal.

It has been debunked time and time again. Here is a good video from 8 days ago that may put your mind at ease. Otherwise use your ram rod to check your bullet before pulling the trigger.


Urban myth? Debunked time and time again? I’m not so sure.

The video shows a light charge of black with a patched round ball. That’s probably a different universe from a common hunting load like 120 gr of BH209 and a 300-350 gr bullet. I wouldn’t try a short-started bullet w the latter.

I was just talking w Marlowe Richards (the guy that took over the White inventory from Doc) recently. He said back in the day at White they tried to blow up barrels. If the conical was within 6” of the powder - no issues, I believe he said. Further and you might bulge the barrel. Double charge it and it would likely explode.

So “pipe bomb” with a short-started bullet may a bit dramatic but certainly something Id be concerned about!!
 
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