Question: Tony, BPI (Black Powder Products, Inc.), which owns CVA, sells interchangeable Bergara barrels for the CVA Apex. What barrels besides the .50-caliber barrel do you use and why?

Smotherman: Bergara makes many different barrels for the Apex and the Thompson/Center Encore rifles. There are several reasons why a hunter may want to purchase an interchangeable barrel of a different caliber. One reason is the ability to easily change a muzzleloader from a muzzleloader rifle to a centerfire rifle. My first choice for a second barrel is a .243-caliber Bergara barrel. When my two young sons, 13-year-old Alex and 10-year-old Andrew, go with me to the range, I’ll have a rifle set-up with the .243-caliber barrel for them to shoot. I can train them to shoot a rifle with the .243, because it has little recoil, yet is still a deer-caliber rifle. The boys can get accustomed to learning to squeeze the trigger, rather than pulling the trigger, and they can get used to recoil, without becoming fearful of the kick. They can shoot that .243 all-day long without getting a shoulder bruise, and it helps them to shoot a rifle without flinching in anticipation of the recoil. The .243 has plenty of knock-down power to take-down a deer in any hunting situation. A friend of mine actually hunts mule deer with a .243. With the .243, my sons can practice with me on the range, and then when we go hunting, they have a rifle they’re comfortable shooting that they can shoot accurately and use to harvest deer.

In less than 30 seconds after I shoot my .50-caliber rifle, I can remove the .50-caliber barrel and replace it with the .243-caliber Bergara barrel. Then Daddy’s gun becomes their gun. Their scope is mounted to that .243 barrel, so they don’t have to wait a long time to begin shooting after I’ve finished shooting. Each Bergara barrel I have has a new scope mounted on it, and that scope stays on that barrel. So, when I change-out barrels, I also change-out sighting systems. One advantage of the CVA Apex is that the barrel and the Apex’s platform is pieced together so tightly that once I have a particular caliber sighted-in, even when I change barrels, I don’t have to re-sight-in the scope, because the scope on each barrel is dead-on when it’s put on the Apex. Also, with the .243, I can take my boys hunting with me. Whether we’re in a ground blind or a shooting house, if a big buck I want to take doesn’t show-up, but one of the boys wants to take a doe, I easily can change-out barrels. Then my boys can take does. The interchangeable barrel system makes hunting more fun for me and my family.

As I opened the box, I noticed several things when I received my new CVA Accura V2.  The first was how stylish the stainless steel looked against the Real Tree AP covered stock.  It looked like a finely crafted work of art.  As I touched it, I noticed the smooth feel of the stock.  The ambidextrous stock was comparable to the stock on a fine custom gun. When I shouldered the gun, it felt as good as it looked.  It just seemed to “Fit Me.”
  This gun has the reputation of having one of the best trigger pulls that exist.  So of course, I just had to check it out by doing the unthinkable – dry firing the gun.   Many muzzleloaders have a long, heavy pull.  The Accura trigger pull was crisp and sharp. It lived up to all the hype and was simply amazing. 
    After adding a set of DuraSight scope mounts and a 4X14 Cabelas Powderhorn scope, I anticipated this gun would be a tack driver.  At the range, I quickly found out I was correct.  I shot three rounds just to pattern it.   All three shots of the Platinum 300 grain Powerbelts lapped each other at 50 yds. Soon after twelve more shots, I had the 45 caliber Accura V2 sighted in and patterning so well that I was ready to back up to 75 yds.  A few shots later and a little more fine tuning, I moved back to a 100 yd shot.  After a few more rounds off the bench, I was shooting sub 1″-1″ groups consistently.  The powder load that seemed to pattern the best was 110 grains of powder. 
     I was fortunate to be heading to Southern Illinois the following week.  There I would be able to see if the gun performed as well in the field as it did at the range.  Let me say the Quake “Claw Sling” was truly the “cats’ meow,” as it did not slide off my shoulder and made the gun truly easy to carry. CVA’s bullet guiding muzzle allowed the bullet to be easily started by hand.  There was no need to lap the barrel on this gun.  The bullets slid right in.  I spent the next few days in search of the ever-elusive white tail.
   On the third day of hard hunting, my chance finally came.  I had a mature tall-tined whitetail running toward me from a quarter mile away.  He soon closed the distance, and ran right at me. 
   Confident in how my gun shot, I centered the crosshairs on the bottom white patch of his neck and squeezed the finest pulling trigger I have ever felt.  The gun simultaneously went BOOM and through the smoke, I could see the Powerbelt hit its mark as the tall-tined whitetail did a nose-dive into the plowed field. 
  As my friends and I looked at the deer, I looked down at my new weapon. I said a quick thank you for the blessing the Lord just gave me. I knew right then I was truly shooting the finest production made muzzleloader on the market. This gun really does shoot as well as it looks.

Editors Note: Wildgame Nation is a reality hunting show on the Outdoor Channel that takes an inside look at a dad and two sons who run a real American outdoor company named Wildgame Innovations. This show documents the lives of Bill, Matt and Ryan Busbice with a reality-style approach that shows them hunting, traveling and working together. Today Big Bill gives us a look into a hunt with his CVA Accura V2.

I was once crossbow hunting in early October right when the mosquitoes are as thick as Mississippi mud. After seeing nothing but young bucks and does I caught a glimpse of a mature buck with a monster body. As he came out of the bushes I could immediately tell he was an instant shooter, probably a good 5 to 6.5 years of age. As I begin to raise my crossbow, I am discovered by a doe and any chance I had of getting a shot was now gone. I walked away feeling discouraged but knowing that he may of won the battle but the war is not over.

Fast forward a couple of weeks to the beginning of Muzzleloader season in Louisiana, I begin to plan for an evening hunt and started to think of which spot to go to and all of a sudden I remembered “the one that got away”. It had been a slow season thus far and I knew this buck was still in the area. As I got into the stand after pouring out some Sugar Beet Smash, 3 does came walking out and headed straight to my attractants. In no time, my hunting spot had turned into a doe play ground. A few hours passed without any sign of my buck or any big shooter buck for that matter. Just when I was about to pack it in I caught a glimpse of antlers moving up and down in a thicket 200 yards out. As I look through my scope, I could not believe what I was looking at, it was him! The one that got away has returned and I knew right then and there it was time. After checking a few scrapes he slowly makes his way to a clearing about 100 yards out. This old wise deer was quite skittish and I knew my window of opportunity was closing.  With the deer in my sights, I cocked the hammer on my CVA Accura Muzzleloader, took a deep breath, and let one burn. After the smoke cleared all I saw was horns and white belly.

That was one of the most rewarding whitetail hunts that I had ever made.  It is not very often that you get two chances at a mature buck, and even more surprising was that I dropped the largest bodied deer I have ever taken in Louisiana with one shot.  This buck had a live weight of 247 pounds shattering the property record by 14 pounds.  All I got to say is that this buck really ate his WHEATIES, or in this case, his Sugar Beet Smash! This hunt will always be a great story to tell, and it is all thanks to my CVA Accura muzzleloader.

Editors Note: O’Neil Williams Host of O’Neill Outside  shown on the Versus Channel and Co-Host of CVA’s Muzzleloading Basics, O’Neill tells us about a Whitetail hunt that took place in Georgia this season.

My cameraman, Jeff Alligood, and I had been the stand since 1:00 P and, after a short nap which seemed like an hour but had been only 10 minutes or so, we were simply covered in Whitetails.   The stand was in the middle of a pasture with white oaks scattered about dropping their bounty.   The pasture was only about 100 yards wide but spread out to over 180 yards south and north.   I was equipped with a 50 caliber CVA  APEX making the three shooter bucks at the southern end out of range.  

November 16th, 67 degrees and 35 whitetails and nothing to harvest.  Yet.

The very kind land owner, Roddy Sturdivant, lets me tape a show here each fall.   We see many animals and, occasionally, a genuine shooter.   I’ve been hunting here eight years and, by way of being selective, only taken one buck but many does.  You can’t eat antlers.  Anyway, Roddy had spotted an elegant 8-pointer a couple of days before our arrival and, judging his age at 5 or maybe 6 and a 150+ inch antler growth, he told me to lay off that one if he dropped by.

Well, the other two eights remained out of range for my muzzleloader but, I know you can guess, the one he’d warned me about showed up about 5P and made a spectacle of himself chasing the does to and fro.  Jeff and I exited the stand about dark thirty and slipped out.

My grandson, Travis, is in college on Tuesdays so I’d invited him to come over on Wednesday for a hunt.   Knowing the likelihood of a long shot, he picked his Optima Elite with a 270 barrel.   No short range for him.   Travis, with Jeff on camera, took their positions in the same stand in the middle of the long, narrow pasture under the oaks.  O’Neill was relegated to a smaller field about a half mile away.

No sooner than they began to see the grey morning show up, the majestic eight, Roddy had warned us about ambled under the oaks and stood proud and bold.  Other bucks and several does migrated in to sample the food source.   At 8A the story changed when a mature 12 pointer appeared in the midst.   As he sniffed around and attempted to gather a doe into submission, Travis’s CVA Optima Elite barked and 70 yards away the 12 became this year’s trophy.

Editors Note: Tony & Angie Walker, Hosts and Producers of The American Way TV show on the Pursuit Channel. The American Way is a complete high energy outdoor adventure ride, that is home to all you working class, blue collar outdoor junkies. Tony tells us about his daughter Breeann’s success with the CVA Wolf.
 
When it comes to the Walker family the glue that holds us all together is our love of the outdoors and especially the excitement of matching wits with Midwestern whitetails . It is a year round adventure for us , we are either hunting whitetails or managing our place to prepare for the following season … This heritage has been passed down thru generations of our family and it has been one of our greatest joys to share this love of the outdoors with our children ! Angie and I introduced all of the kids to hunting at an early age , taking them to the blinds with us when we had to carry them on our shoulders , And none has been more eager to embrace her heritage than our youngest child Breeann ! A lot of great hours spent in the blinds over the years watching deer and playing with Barbie dolls and coloring books . The last 3 seasons have been tough for Bree , she learned that hunting is about patience and that we don’t always get a buck , even when you do the right things and put your time in ….. So although she had managed to take some does, her 1st buck had to this season eluded her ! Deer season here at the Walker place really starts taking shape in July when the trail camera pictures start coming in and nobody was more excited than Bree when we started seeing a great crop of big bucks . This was all the motivation she needed to take her CVA Wolf and spend the summer putting countless rounds thru it to make sure she would be ready when her moment came …..Well that moment came at last , this past opening weekend of Indiana’s firearms season ! The 1st day of season was crazy , lots of bucks running and chasing does and the rut was kicking in , but unfortunately for all the bucks we had seen, none ever gave Bree a clean shot ! As day two arrived Angie and I decided that we would take a ground blind and set it up in a fence row where we had caught a pattern , deer were crossing in a low spot and heading to one of our Tecomate food plots and we were fairly certain that this could be Bree’s big day … after a couple hours of sitting the deer started moving but to our disappointment they were using another crossing a couple hundred yards from our blind ! At this point Bree was starting to give Angie and I the LOOK ! You know the one that says , ( I thought you two said I would see a buck here !! LOL!! ) And fortunately for us shortly afterwards he appeared …. He slipped up on us as so often they do and chaos ruled the blind as we were trying to adjust the shooting sticks , cameras and get this beautiful buck stopped and turned for a safe broadside shot ! After what seemed like an eternity , Breeann’s journey towards her first buck ended with a perfect shot and her buck on the ground !!! For those of you who have not shared the excitement of seeing your child harvest their first animal , to see the tears of joy and to know the next generation is molded and on their way we can only tell you it’s one of the greatest moments you can ever share with your children !! So the youngest member of the Walker family is on her way , and we can only hope that down the road , the Lord willing she will be passing this heritage on to her children …. The glue just got stronger for the Walker family and the best is yet to come, Congratulations Bree on a great buck !!!!!