racks-n-beards

I did not see this forum til after I posted in teh firearms review forum.

Here is my question.

Lookin to buy a new muzzle loader. I have been looking at the CVA optima pro. Seems to be a nice gun with a lower price.

You hear nothing but good bout the thompson OMEGA's and Knight rifles but the price is a bit higher.

If any of you have experience with any of the mentioned guns I would love to hear about it?. Pro's and Con's

Thanks

Advancammo

I would go with the CVA. Easy clean. Accurate. Light weight. Durable. You can get a package job through Cabela's. Catch them on sale more often then not. $160.00 to $200.00. The clean up takes no time at all. Shove a tooth pick in the bore breach. Spray Windex down the barrel. Run a patch up and down barrel. Remove tooth pick. Blow out Windex. I know it is kind of weird putting your mouth on the end of the barrel, but it works. (make sure gun is not loaded!!) Best thing about the CVA is that,all the "Turkey Hunters" are using them.

cayugad

First off there is really no comparison between the Omega and the Optima. The Omega is a better rifle in my opinion. The fit and finish, the known customer satisfaction, the known out of the box accuracy, the excellent customer service provided by Thompson Center Arms, make this a better place to put your sporting good dollars. The Omega is a rifle that will last you a life time and be backed a life time. The Optima I just can not say that about.

To cut to the chase, the Optima has a BPI barrel made in Spain. There have been some recent reports of the BPI barrels failing and blowing up. I have no details or first hand knowledge of the incident(s) but there is more then one incident which I have read about. For that reason I would never endorse another one. I own a CVA and I shoot it. Does it make me nervous, well I never load it hot. I limit the rifle to 100 grains of Goex 2f. But I do think about it.

It all boils down to quality of steel and the way the company barrels are proof tested. Thompson Center tests their barrels and stands behind their safety. BPI does minimal testing of the barrels. Enough to allow them to be shipped out of Spain anyway. Does CVA do further testing of the barrels.. I can not answer that nor will CVA from my understanding. All they tell you is the rifle is safe.

Right now there are some excellent sales on the Omega. I would go that route. If just for the piece of mind. I am not trying to start any one rifle is not safe, discussion. I am only giving my opinion of what I feel is a better choice.

Roskoe

Cayugad is right on the money here. Did you see the post from DMurphy about the Z5 Omega for 169.95 at Walmart? Get down there before they are all gone.

yakfisher

I called a few of the Walmarts in my area and they haven't reduced the Omega yet. They have done a slight reduction on the CVA Black Diamonds and the Staghorns. I am wondering if that might have been a mistake. By the way I agree with cayugad and Roskoe. You get what you pay for! I would go with either a TC Omega, a Knight Bighorn or a Knight Disc Extreme. All three are excellent rifles. I own a Bighorn. It is a really nice rifle. I will probably buy an Omega sooner or later.

setter77

I bought the CVA Kodiak pro, my first ML. I did a little reasearch before choosing and haven't heard anything bad on CVA. In here was the first I heard of the weak barrels. I am very happy with mine and it shoots more accurate than i can shoot it.