In the Open: Test fire: CVA Scout V2

In the Open

By Jim Freeman

Test fire: CVA Scout V2

This fall, for the first time ever, Ohio hunters can use certain straight-walled cartridge rifles during the weeklong deer gun season, which starts the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Ohio’s current hunting regulations lists a slew of permissible cartridges, but all of them are straight-walled or straight-tapered cartridges, .357-caliber or larger, which mirrors what has been legal for handgun hunters.

One cartridge worthy of consideration is the .44 Remington Magnum. Originally developed for handguns back in the 1950s, it did not take long for manufacturers to start making rifles chambered in .44 Magnum. Once touted as the most powerful handgun in the world, the .44 Magnum has since lost that title, but it still remains a good choice for Ohio hunters and packs plenty of power out to about 150 yards. A variety of bullet weights are available to tackle anything from small game up elk-sized animals.

I recently had the chance to put a CVA Scout V2 .44 Magnum rifle through its paces in preparation for Ohio’s deer gun season. This particular gun is stainless steel with a black, synthetic stock and forearm. The barrel is 22 inches long and fluted with a recessed crown. A camo stock is also available as an option.

CVA is better known for its muzzle-loading rifles and the Scout bears more than a passing resemblance to some of the company’s inline muzzleloader offerings. The Scout, like CVA’s muzzleloading rifles, is made in Spain.

By virtue of its shorter break-action, the rifle gives the impression of being carbine-length while still boasting a 22-inch barrel. Overall length is 38 inches. The rifle weighs in at 5.8 pounds with the scope adding another pound, and it feels solid for its size. Length of pull is 14 inches.

The rifle comes with DuraSight Dead On ™ integral scope mounts with the base and lower half of the mounting rings consisting of one piece of alloy. There are no open sights. This particular gun came with a Konus 3X9-power scope featuring a duplex reticle with fine crosshairs, and finger-adjustable turrets. As an added bonus, this package also came with a soft case as well as the obligatory user guide and trigger lock.

Left-handed shooters will need to move the ambidextrous hammer extension to the left side of the gun, but otherwise the rifle is fully ambidextrous and even includes a cheek rest on both sides of the rear stock. The forearm has a bit of a midsection “swell” or “belly,” which in my opinion detracts from the looks of the rifle. The rifle is equipped for a detachable sling, which is not included.

For some reason the industry standard for 44 Magnum rifle barrels is one twist per 38 inches, which is good for light bullets, but not adequate to stabilize heavier, longer projectiles. However, the Scout’s rifling features six grooves with one twist per every 20 inches, which should make it friendlier to shooting longer, heavier bullets.

Pulling back on the extended trigger guard, which is made of some sort of metallic alloy that matches the finish on the barrel and receiver, opens and closes the action. Operation is silent and the barrel and receiver lock up solidly with no play. The rifle features an extractor rather than an ejector. The extractor backs the expended cartridge out of the breech enabling the shooter to grasp and removed with fingertips.

The most pleasant surprise was the rifle’s trigger, which broke clean and crisp with no slack. As a rule, when shooting a rifle and slowly squeezing the trigger, the shot should almost come as a surprise, such is the case with the Scout. It is just a good trigger.

I sighted it in to shoot about an inch high at 100 yards and got groups ranging from an inch and a half to three inches with the scope set at four-power. In fairness to the gun if I had better eyes and a better rest, I am sure it would be capable of much smaller groups. With that, zero and 240-grain bullets it should be good to go on deer anywhere from zero to 150 yards with no hold-over. This is almost identical to what I get out of my 50-caliber muzzleloader using the exact same bullet (with a plastic sabot) and 80 grains of powder – minus the big cloud of white smoke and the time-consuming reloading process.

As they say, individual results may differ and your mileage may vary.

I would consider the recoil relatively mild, but still evident – probably more than a .410 and less than a 20 gauge. I shot it wearing a thin shirt with no ill after-affects; it is not uncomfortable, but you know it is there. The CrushZone® recoil pad did a swell job absorbing impact. Report was also similar to the muzzleloader, and nowhere near as loud as a .44 Magnum handgun (courtesy of the longer barrel).

Of course, the real test of any hunting firearm/cartridge is how it performs in the field, and it remains to be seen how this particular rifle will perform, but I am confident that when the metal meets the meat the CVA Scout V2 and .44 Magnum cartridges will be more than up for the task of bagging Ohio whitetails.

Jim Freeman is the wildlife specialist for the Meigs Soil and Water Conservation District. He can be contacted weekdays at 740-992-4282 or at [email protected]