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CVA muzzleloaders unsafe?

2.7K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  CasualFisherman  
#1 ·
I looked up CVA's on the internet and found that they have a history of sending unsafe ML's to the US from Spain. In 2001 they were sued into the stoneage by hundreds of people that were injured, some seriously by faulty breech plugs and cheap steel used in many of their models. The articles said that they were marking them as proof fired when less than 4% were actually tested. The article also said that they were still producing faulty ML's made of cheap low grade steel. Can anyone shed some light on this story?
 
#2 ·
CVA used to have a reputation of being cheap, but they’ve changed a lot since those years. Unless you plan on buying one of those specific guns that had the problems a decade ago, there’s no need to worry.
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
7thcorpsFA said:
I looked up CVA's on the internet and found that they have a history of sending unsafe ML's to the US from Spain. In 2001 they were sued... Can anyone shed some light on this story?
7thcorpsFA,
It's difficult, at best, to believe what you read on the internet and as much as I'd like to say that there are some reputable reports (which there are a few), people's likelyhood to complain BEFORE paying compliments is high...very high. :p

About 3 years ago, I owned a CVA Optima Pro and it to function flawlessly. I just sold it for the same reason that I've sold all of my MLs...I don't care for all the weapon care/cleaning. There are more modern firearms that will get the job done with less "fuss". To each their own and to those that like MLs, I say great and I wish them all the best. :)

Bowhunter57
 
#6 ·
The past reports and failures, lawsuits, injuries, for the CVA's was very real. The weak barrels were exposed primarily by user error, double loads, etc.

CVA has cleaned all of that up and sells good MZ's today
 
#7 ·
the first gun i ever owned was a cva kit gun. the old cva,s were cheap guns back then. then my second gun was the cva 12 ga and 50 cal double barrel combo set and it was cheap made and was alot cheaper than another double barrel that was on the market. thats why alot of people bought them. and i was totaly satisfied with my cheap guns at that time. its what i could afford, and i didnt expect the quaility of say a t/c. but they are a completly different gun company now. the accura v2 even uses a burgara barrel, which is sopposed to be one of the top barrels in the world. i bought my son one of the v2,s last year and i wouldnt buy another brand gun right now, if i was to buy me a new gun it would be the v2. his gun is just awesome. and so far it seems to be everything they claim it to be.

cva started out to make and sell cheap guns and kits. and poor maintenance and just the fact they was a cheap made gun, got them a bad rep. but just like car companies if you continue to sell cheap made products your not going to last. so they upgraded there guns as time went on. but once you get a bad rep its just hard to ever get rid of. rememder here some yrs ago ford chevy and chys all built a bunch of cars with low grade metal. and they was nothing but rust buckets. so the toyotos got a good foot hold in the auto market. so alot of people just bought mostly toyotos. its took the major autos many yrs to build back up there quaility reps. and now most of the parts that was so bad to rust out is either plastic or lined with plastic.

cva still makes i think a buckhorn for around 175.00. but its an option that most gun companies offer. they all have a cheaper gun to compete in that market. but for the most part cva guns will cost you just as much as top of the line guns from the other companies. if i was going to buy a cheap gun i would trust the cva as much as i would trust the other cheap guns on the market. but i have been in a position where 20 yrs ago i was able to buy a higher grade rifle and i have tried them all. right now i am shooting a tc encore. but i wouldnt have any problem switching to the cva v2 if my tc ever goes bad. or if i just decide i want the cva and have the money to spare to pay for it. but i dont work anymore and almost 600.00 for the one i want is just hard to justify because i want it. again this is all just my opinion and im sure there are others that will disagree with me. but if we were all alike then everybody would want my wife,LOL. but that wouldnt be so bad, she is one of the good ones. she lets me fish and hunt and never complanes. in almost 41 yrs she has asked me to not go on a fishing trip one time. and i didnt go.LOL.
sherman
 
#8 ·
Thanks folks! I found a CVA Optima with 3X9 scope and nice case on sale at Dunhams for $299.00. Regularly was $449.00. After I got home I found out about those cheap ML's they made. I thought I should take it back at first cause I didn't want my only child harmed by something I bought for him. After starting this tread I went to a few gun guys and they agreed with what you all said. After buying him some triple 7 pellets, 2 boxes of Hornady sabots, ML cleaning gear,lube and everything else I could think of, I'm near my $500.00 limit. Now I Just need to give him the $40.00 it takes to purchase a hunting license and deer tag. Thanks a million for your help! I was really freaking out for a while.
 
#10 ·
It is true there was a handful of issues and CVAs and Traditions both import from spain. The steel was not as high of quality as those imported from Italy or US made arms. UNSAFE? I would say no. A handful of reports out of hundreds of thousands of Arms seems to be pretty good to me. Most of the incidents I read about had some component of user error to it. I own two CVAs from the late 90s and early 2000s and no issues from me. I bought one at a closeout for $59 at BPS and have shot 1000s of rounds through it. Decent accuracy and functions flawlessly nearly every time. Still shooting deer with it today.