I have read these forums for several months now and I'm aware that most people here prefer TC over anythingelse out there. I have beenstudying the CVA Optima and the Traditions Pursuit lines. Is one of these guns superior to the other? Are they both made by BPI? I really want to get a new gun in the next month or so and I'm undecided. I like the TC guns, but they are a little out of my price range. I want a break open over a drop breach. I do like the Omega, but there again with a stainless barrel and or a camo stock they are muchmore expensive. Any input is appreciated.

Both Traditon's Pursuit and the CVA Optima are made in Spain and are BPI. So are the Winchester, New Frontier, and some other brands. But your question reference the two rifle are yes,both made by BPI.

You will hear alot of how superior T/C is over CVA or Traditions but I think that is a thing of the past. Traditions and CVA is just as good as a muzzleloader as any other. I might get it in the mouth for this but I think the major reason the encore or the omega are more popular is beacuse they advertise more. Every hunting show you watch they shoot the encore or the omega. Take Jim Shockey for example how long was he saying knight knight knight is the best now its T/C T/C T/C. My first muzzleloader was a Traditions pursuit LT and all the trigger problems have been address and fixed and the barrel will not blow up on you. They are great muzzleloaders for the price. I don't want to offend anyone this is just my opinion and to each his own. Good luck at the range or in the field.

I was told about 6 months back that Traditions was not part of BPI. I thought they were and told them what i wanted to buy * my current traditions kentucky rifle* and they said they had no clue because they are not part of traditions. Who the heck no anymore these days. But yeah, cva, winchester, traditions are all great companys. I shoot the winchester x-150 and have zero complaints. Also owned a cva staghorn and was very happy with it. Personally, i wont buy a TC because they are over priced and from what i see on forums, they only shoot well with a couple of bullets. Buy what you can afford untill you can buy what you really want. I wont buy another inline due to the Winchester being accurate and very well built. It has the 26" fluted stainless steel barrel, camo stock and fiber optic sights. Great shooting gun. My ex girl friend paid $340 because i wanted the kit with it. haha that kit was crappy so just make sure you buy your gun with out the kit and buy your own powder holder and bullets. The kits most muzzleloaders offer are cheap and only useful at the range. The cva wolf looks like a good inline Or the NEF, i held one of those a few months back and looked at it good. That to seemed to be a good muzzleloader. I shy away from wooden stocks for inlines tho. If you hunt in wet weather they tend to swell.

I had a Traditions Pursuit LT with the terrible trigger. The whole gun did not impress me as the quality was obviously lower than american made stuff. If you want a break action I suggest either the H&R Sidekick or the NEF Huntsman. The Huntsman will take a shotgun barrel so you have to deal with it as a firearm. Both are american made and have good customer history. The plastic carriers do not impress me so I replaced mine with the .25ACP breechplug conversion and like it a lot more than the Traditions Pursuit LT that I had. In fact I traded the Pursuit with a scope for a used Huntsman without a scope and I feel I got the best of the deal. There was another Pursuit owner that could not get the primers to fire as the firing pin was way off center. I have not read one bad report from the NEF or H&R. By the way the price is about the same as the Spanish rifles.

Optima shoots great and very little recoil. Great gun you can't go wrong with.

Honestly, I think in terms of barrel quality, the NEF is superior not only to Spanish rifles but also to T/C. I am almost totally pleased. The only thing I would change is for NEF to lap the barrel before cutting and milling. Took close to 300 rounds of conicals to smooth the burrs out of my barrel. There are absolutely no tight spots in mine, it's built with very tight tolerance. I can't say that for my T/C hawken, which I might add, will never have the range potential of the NEF even though they sell for 3 times as much.

Another thing, the NEF sidekick can be purchased with a SS barrel for about the same price as the nickel-plated pursuit.

Happy Hunting, Phil

I have the CVA opotima with synthetic stock. The only thing I would do different would be to get the stainless barrel. Besides that, mine shoots great with no problems.

When you talk stainless barrels the Tradtions and CVA cost just as much... if you look around you can pick up an Omega from a private seller at a good price. You don't see them too often mainly because most keep them because of their accuracy.

As others have said if cost is an issue get the NEF/HR fit, finish, price, etc. is much better than most spanish barrel importers.

Well I have the CVA Kodiak, Omega's compitition, and like it a lot. I think that both CVA and T/C make good and bad guns. I have read post that say the same. If the luck I've had with my CVA I will probably buy an Optima Pro.