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GregK
09-16-2011, 04:25 PM
I picked up a new CVA Apex 50 cal muzzleloader a couple weeks back. I immediately had hang fires & no fires. I called CVA & found out that with loose powder ( I use BH209 exclusively ) you have to buy the optional breech plug. I didn't like this, but Dudley McGarrity at CVA got it worked out for me, so other than having a gun that I couldn't shoot for a week, all else has been great.

Range results;
The gun seems to like the .452 Speer Deep Curl hollow points in a crush rib sabot on top of 90 grains of powder. Viewing the target with the 4 shot group, the first shot was high & just me getting settled in. That is a recovered & very nicely expanded 300 grain Deep Curl in the next 2 pics. I really like the expansion & toughness of this bullet. The Apex also shot the 44 cal 240 Speer DCHP well, but the green Harvester sabot loaded much stiffer than the black crush rib with a 45 cal bullet. I then switched to the 45 cal XTP (not the mag) in a crush rib & it shot well, so now I just have to choose my bullet, adjust the scope & I'm ready.

GregK
09-26-2011, 01:42 PM
Picked up a new scope for the Apex. It's a Hi Lux Leatherwood Buck Country 1.5-6x42. The clarity & sharpness is every bit as good as my Zeiss scopes & Leatherwood scopes are some of the toughest on the market. I am also trying Buffalo bullets, 285 grain spitzer boat tail hollow points as well. As soon as it quits raining & the wind settles, I'll have a range report :)

GregK
10-06-2011, 08:50 PM
Finally got out to spend some real time shooting this thing. The thre best shooting combinations were Dead Center 44/300, Buffalo 45/285 spitzer hp, & Speer 451/260 grain hollow points. The Speers were the best with a 5/8" group at 100 yards. The bullet was pushed by 90 grains (by volume) BH 209 powder & CCI Mag 209 primers.

The Hi Lux Leatherwood Buck Country scope is bright & clear. As good as my Zeiss Conquests! And for a lot less money. Tracks true & holds perfectly. If you need a scope, you should take a long hard look at Hi Lux!

GregK
10-09-2011, 09:03 PM
2 of the bullets that I am working with on the Apex.

Speer Uni Core .451 260 grain hollow points in black Crush Rib Sabots

Buffalo SSB .451 285 grain Spitzer hollow point (all lead) with provided sabot

They both shoot pretty well with 90 grains of BH209 & I want to compare a different bullet's terminal performance because I am shooting XTP's in my TC Impact rifles.

GregK
11-05-2011, 02:24 PM
Ok.....I have some serious range time in with the Apex & it's working great.....after some tweaking.

As I mentioned, you have to buy a "special" breech plug if you wanna shoot loose powder (that fact alone sticks in my craw) Well, after installing the plug as per their directions, after a few shots the gun didn't want to break open. According to CVA, the breech plug wasn't seated tight enough. Now they give you a little "L" shaped tool that only turns the plug so far b4 it hits the scope on one side or the receiver on the other. What I ended up having to do to seat it properly was take the barrel off which is ok, since it's designed that way. I had to hole the short "L" end into the notch in the plug & hit the long end with a hammer, then drive it back with the hammer & then re-seat it by hand. Now it works perfectly :)

Bullets.....This particular gun shoots most different weights & brands pleanty good enough to kill a deer out to 100 yards. It does seem to like some of the lighter ones for the tightest groups. I am hunting with the Barnes 44 cal XPB 225 grain in a green Crush Rib Sabot with all holes touching at 100 yards. Hornady 44 cal XTP in a green Crush Rib are at 1 inch.

I am a little disappointed in their camo finish as it's rubbing off of the stock where my thumb rides. We'll see what they do.

The fit seems to be very good with a tight quiet lock up & break open, & a fantastic trigger If CVA would do just a few small things different, this would be an incredible gun instead of an upper level gun. TC's Encore is & always has been a premium (although mine had a crap trigger) & now Knight is back. Maybe this will put enough pressure on CVA to finish the job they started with this rife & not make excuses.

GregK
11-10-2011, 07:09 PM
One more trip to the range tomorrow. Gonna try the Hornady .475 cal 325 grain XTP Mag in a Harvester crush rib sabot, pushed by 100 grains of BH209. Shot this out of my TC thru my chrony & got 1743 fps. Should really pack a punch!

EricF517
11-13-2011, 10:45 PM
Finally got out to spend some real time shooting this thing. The thre best shooting combinations were Dead Center 44/300, Buffalo 45/285 spitzer hp, & Speer 451/260 grain hollow points. The Speers were the best with a 5/8" group at 100 yards. The bullet was pushed by 90 grains (by volume) BH 209 powder & CCI Mag 209 primers.

The Hi Lux Leatherwood Buck Country scope is bright & clear. As good as my Zeiss Conquests! And for a lot less money. Tracks true & holds perfectly. If you need a scope, you should take a long hard look at Hi Lux!

If that one round on the right isn't a flyer I think I would be sticking with it. Then again you seem like me when it comes to my 308, always trying to sqeeze a little more out of it.

GregK
11-14-2011, 11:27 AM
If that one round on the right isn't a flyer I think I would be sticking with it. Then again you seem like me when it comes to my 308, always trying to sqeeze a little more out of it.

Actually, it wasn't a flyer, but rather a bullet that I had loaded, decided not to use, & just let go at 100 yards. I may use that Uni core bullet as it did group REALLY well, but I would love to see the close range damage done by the 475 cal 325 grain XTP!