arrived via the FedEx truck late this morning.

Trigger is exceptionally good with no take up, grit or creep. It would rate excellent except for some overtravel which could be eliminated if one wished to add a screw. I can easily live with it and I'm very picky about triggers. The ofishul DFK scales indicate a pull of 1 lb 10 oz which is very near the claimed pull weight.

Those same scales show the rifle (sans sling) to weigh 6 lb 14 oz. Apparently the CVA weight figure included all accessories. In addition to the sling, the rifle comes with a substantial breech plug tool with a solid rod for torque, filler screws for the empty scope mount holes, a 209 capper-decapper tool, a bullet seater for the ramrod which should be suitable for most pointed bullets, and a small hex wrench for adjusting the iron sights. The hammer extension comes already mounted on the hammer's right side.

The sights look to be of reasonable quality with green rear and red front fiber optics. Positioning of the scope mount holes will allow easy placement of a scope to nearly anyone's liking, including my own. The rear sight sits far enough forward that it would probably allow most to mount typical scopes without having to remove that sight.

The bore looks perfectly done and feels the same after removing all shipping preservative. A .501 conical easily started with thumb pressure and felt consistent as it traveled down the bore. The conical was very lightly and evenly engraved by all 8 lands.

The breech plug is a hex-head type with a slightly concave face. I understand the plug to be identical to that used in the Optima Elite so replacements are readily available. The plug comes with a neat coating of a silver colored anti-seize (which I promptly removed).

Exterior metal finish is very nicely done in a fine matte stainless. The finish appears constant from barrel to receiver section in spite of the difference in metal used.

Removing the forearm allows for take down and reveals the barrel's serial number along with three proof? marks. These markings are unlike those from some earlier CVA inlines and there is no mention of 700 kp/cm².

The barrel includes nicely done fluting. Usable barrel length measured 25.25", sacrificing 3/8" to the recessed crown and another 1.375" to the breech plug (total barrel length of 27"). The internal crown looks very nicely done. The barrel has a couple of unusual touches. The muzzle is slightly radius'd inward at the muzzle, perhaps to shave a bit of weight and achieve a unique appearance. The two ramrod thimbles appear to be made of thin spring steel in blue finish and attach to the barrel by tension as each side sits in a nicely done barrel groove. The thimbles themselves look flimsy by comparison to most but will certainly be adequate. The lack of screws used in their install may allow for a thinner barrel wall. The ramrod included is a thin black-anodized aluminum tube with a pressed in threaded accessory insert on one end, and a bottleneck taper of the other. The bottlenecked portion houses the internally threaded insert which allows the built in extension to be securely retracted or extended. The attached jag actually looks like it would work to hold a patch while providing an end suitable for seating many bullets. As mentioned earlier, there is also an additional seating jag included for bullets with more pointed ends. The rod measures 23.625" but extends to 25.75".

Fit and finish are much better than any other CVA inline I've seen. The welds on the barrel lugs are absolutely the best I have seen - the steady hold of a robot "hand" is evidenced. Barrel to frame clearance shows my eyes no gap. The interior of the alloyed frame is equally well done. The rifle's stock finish is black with spiderweb. Toning down the white of the spiderweb would have made for a more subtle appearance - but synthetic stocks are rarely viewed as things of beauty. I would have also preferred not to have a second cheek-piece but can understand the rationale and I'm sure some left-handed shooters appreciate that effort. The stocks have a molded pattern at the areas of grip. The recoil pad is slightly undersized compared to the butt of the stock, leaving a slight step at that junction. I find a slightly undersized pad to be less a problem than one over-sized, but it would be nice if the manufacturers could master the pre-fits.

If this thing handles and shoots conicals well...