# Cva Optima v2 or Wolf?



## big country rnr

Can y'all give me some pros and cons on each gun. New to muzzleLoading.
Just give me your opinion.


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## FrontierGander

either gun will do the job great. I owned the v1 optima and still own the v1 wolf. Theres just some minor changes with the v2 like the breaking lever.

 I'd personally go with the v2 optima since there isn't much of a price jump, plus you can get a thumb hole stock version is thats what you like.


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## Chase4556

If your on a budget, I have the Wolf and its a great gun for the price. I can, and have, knocked down a pig at 200yds. It will shoot 1 1/2 inches at 100yds with 240gr Hornady XTP loads over 100gr of triple 7 pellets. I like it. And for $220 shipped to my house with a scope, I can not complain in the least. If you are looking for a budget setup, I recommend it.


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## Marlin_444

Can't go wrong with either; I have the Wolf and Optima Pro Magnum...  Shoot'em up !!


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## goshenmountainman

I have the accura V2, sub 1-inch groups at 100yds with 240 XTP and blackhorn


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## Marlin_444

Good shootin Goshen Mtn Man !!


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## Swamperdog

I picked up a CVA Wolf on CL for $120 with a bunch of ammo, powder and accessories over the holidays.  It's a great shooting gun but there are two cons:

1. The position of the break action button will cause it to push in and drop your primer on the trail when wearing heavy clothes using a sling.  Sling and carry it upside down and the problem goes away.

2. Watch out when you clean out the firing pin housing.  The little spring will disappear on the floor somewhere if you're not careful.  I've lost it twice and had to crawl around on the basement floor for 15 minutes looking for it!

Tip: You can fit two extra primers in the screw holes of the butt pad.

Mine came with fiber optic iron sights and a weaver mount.  I'm using iron sights for now.  

I bought a BH209 plug for it but haven't switched to BH yet.  I've got too much Pyrodex around to justify buying anything else.

- Swamperdog


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## collardncornbread

Swamperdog said:


> I picked up a CVA Wolf on CL for $120 with a bunch of ammo, powder and accessories over the holidays.  It's a great shooting gun but there are two cons:
> 
> 1. The position of the break action button will cause it to push in and drop your primer on the trail when wearing heavy clothes using a sling.  Sling and carry it upside down and the problem goes away.
> 
> 2. Watch out when you clean out the firing pin housing.  The little spring will disappear on the floor somewhere if you're not careful.  I've lost it twice and had to crawl around on the basement floor for 15 minutes looking for it!
> 
> Tip: You can fit two extra primers in the screw holes of the butt pad.
> 
> Mine came with fiber optic iron sights and a weaver mount.  I'm using iron sights for now.
> 
> I bought a BH209 plug for it but haven't switched to BH yet.  I've got too much Pyrodex around to justify buying anything else.
> 
> - Swamperdog



I have been shooting a TC Omega for 4 years. after 3 shots with Pyrodex pellets I need a hammer to load it.And cant hit a 24" target at 75yds. Powder ring about 6" from bottom of barrel.
Pyrodex loose powder is a lot better. BUT.
I bought a 10 oz can of Blackhorn last year.
Now the pyrodex is just in case I ever run out of blackhorn.
Much cleaner burn. Better accuracy for me.
Went to Pyrodex loose powder. Problem was less. But


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## Chase4556

collardncornbread said:


> I have been shooting a TC Omega for 4 years. after 3 shots with Pyrodex pellets I need a hammer to load it.And cant hit a 24" target at 75yds. Powder ring about 6" from bottom of barrel.
> Pyrodex loose powder is a lot better. BUT.
> I bought a 10 oz can of Blackhorn last year.
> Now the pyrodex is just in case I ever run out of blackhorn.
> Much cleaner burn. Better accuracy for me.
> Went to Pyrodex loose powder. Problem was less. But



I picked up a can of Blackhorn yesterday at BP and shot it today at the range. I too was using the 777 pellets, and would have the powder ring you talk about. I never had an issue with accuracy after a couple shots, but I had to scrub pretty good to get rid of the powder ring. 

I'm pretty impressed with the Blackhorn so far. I didn't get to shoot much today, but here is what I found.
Worked from 85gr up to 100gr. I shot once at the beginning with 100gr 777 pellets and the 240gr XTP loads to confirm it was still zero'd as I left it. It was. 

With a 100gr load of Blackhorn, I was shooting with the same POI as the 777. Awesome. I did not get to try a heavier load, but will see what 110gr and 120gr will do. No need to go over that. 

I was using the 777 primers as well. Worked great with the pellets. However, with the Blackhorn there was a delay between when the hammer fell, and the rifle went off. I am not used to this, and did not like it. Luckily for me, I was previously told to ditch the 777 primers if I went to Blackhorn, so I picked up the regular remington sts primers, tried those out and bingo. Instant ignition. 

I fired two shots before cleaning it. Loading too the same amount of effort as the 777 pellets after the barrel was fouled, but what I did see is that running a swab through the barrel cleaned it right out. I did not have the powder ring that I got with the pellets. Like I said, it never gave me issues before, but I figured its better to not have it. 

My question is, do y'all measure out your powder in the funnel before every shot, or is there a way to use "quick loaders" with the loose powder?


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## merc123

Swamperdog said:


> Tip: You can fit two extra primers in the screw holes of the butt pad.



I just bought a CVA Optima V2 and it came with a DVD.  It had some hunting footage at the end and I watched the hunter pull his primer out and put it somewhere on on the butt.  I was wondering what he was doing and now I know.  Thanks for this!


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## misterpink

I have an Optima v2 with the cheap Konus scope package.  Barnes SpitFire T-EZ 250 grain bullet over 2 White Hots pellets gives me a 1-1.5" group at 100 yards.  Easy cleaning.  Clean it after every outing.  Great rig.


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## merc123

big country rnr said:


> Can y'all give me some pros and cons on each gun. New to muzzleLoading.
> Just give me your opinion.



Optima vs Wolf

26" fluted barrel vs 24" non-fluted
41" overall length vs. 39"
6.65 pounds vs. 6.25
Break action is different between the two

Supposedly longer barrels have higher velocity and better powder burn.  Larger charges and a longer barrel means more room to burn powder down length of barrel.  They can also be more accurate than shorter.  Nothing of this is from my own mind and thinking, just what I read when doing the comparisons myself.

The fluted barrel probably doesn't do too much other than make it lighter weight than if it wasn't fluted.  

The break action on the Optima, for me, felt better and more fluid.  You could easily grip the stock with your hand and flip the barrel down as with the Wolf you had to move in front of the trigger guard to do the same action.  I didn't think it made much difference until I started shooting and it was much easier to hold the gun on my leg and flip the breech open to remove the primer.

Clean up was easy.  Even with having to remove the forearm I have about the same amount of time with cleaning this as I do my regular guns.  Stainless doesn't show fingerprints like my blue guns and I like that.

I didn't notice the barrel length until I put it in my gun cabinet with my others.  It is noticeably longer than my other guns but did not really notice it when shooting.  

Shooting was a snap.  The "easy load" barrel or whatever they call it was awesome.  I could push the bullet down the barrel with my thumb so the nose was flush, even after 6 shots without cleaning.  That was with the powerbelts.  The sabot style rounds like the Shockwaves took a little bit more effort but not much.  

So far with some wobbly bench rest shooting I tried the 295gr power belts that came with the cleaning kit and 100 grains of 777 pellets and it was alright.  I was shooting dead on at 25' and 8" low at 50'.  I switched over to a 200gr and 250gr T/C shockwave and was hitting dead on and to the left at 50'.  I plan to experiment with the shockwaves from a real bench rest so I can get a better zero on the scope.    

For the price difference I went ahead and got the Optima V2 with stainless barrel and black stock.  BudsGunShop.com has the cheapest prices of ANYWHERE and they can ship the Optima to you directly in GA without a FFL transfer.  I was able to get the local Cabelas to do somewhat of a price match to Bud's ($25 off) and a 5% military discount (~$20) so my before tax cost was identical to Bud's before taxes.  Basically I paid $19 more to have it in my hands that day.  Really $4 more after you get the $15 shipping insurance coverage Bud's offers.  Send me a PM if you want to know how I did it.


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