Picked up a CVA Hunter .44 magnum

[Elias Graves]

I've been itching for a big bore something for a while but didn't really "need" any more guns but I couldn't pass up on the great price of this thing. I intend to keep it as a truck gun.
Took it out this weekend and I gotta say I'm very impressed for the price. It's plain Jane, to be sure but it locks up tight, doesn't leak around the breech and seems to shot straight. The trigger is exceptional. Maybe a 3# pull, no creep. It's nice and crisp.
I shot 50 rounds of 240 gr hard cast rounds through it. Managed this at 50 yards with a 40 mph cross winds. Ugh.





A hit on some angle iron shows what a brute this is.


it reduced 10# chunks of concrete to dust! Oak logs just exploded. I'm a big bore fan now!!!




It came with the cheap 4x Bushnell scope, which is ok but is obviously a cheap scope. That's gonna have to get changed but other than that, no complaints. A great bargain.

[Elias Graves]

[izzyjoe]

Cool, I noticed that they also have them in 35 Rem, I may have to look into that.

[Tatume]

Welcome to the list. Very nice rifle, and good choice of cartridge. The 35 Remington would be good too; both are excellent hunting cartridges.

[kungfustyle]

They are great guns. For the money you can't beat them. Great recoil pads on them too.
What was the bore when you slugged it or did you? My Rossi was .432 so I had to get a new mold for it.

[Elias Graves]

Have not checked the bore yet. Fired 50 rounds of 240 gr lead and they flew just fine, though.
Im sure that .35 is a beast. Would love to try one.

With th this one, I was kinda looking for a medium sized gun. The Mauser is a bit big for fun shooting at the farm and the .22 is, well, a .22. This fits right in between. I also like the idea I can carry it empty in the truck and have a round loaded up real quick if need be.

[Wayne Smith]

For a farm/truck gun, why change out a cheap but useful scope? If it doesn't do the job that's another issue. You may be surprised how long it lasts.

[Freightman]

That is my next CVA I have 7mm08 love it very good shooter only shot lead from it don't have any idea how it shoots jacketed.
Oh yes I have a cheaper scope on mine N-C Star works fine.

[Elias Graves]

Took it to the farm this weekend to shoot up another box of shells.
The rifle continued to impress with accuracy and ridiculous simplicity. I had two folks who rarely shoot hitting gallon jugs at 30 yards after a round or two.

Everything was was going along just fine until "click" but no boom. I gave it a couple of minutes to sit and opened the breech. The mark on the pin was very shallow.
Closed the breech, cocked it and it fired normally.
After another 5 rounds, it happened again.
Three rounds after that, I get nothing but click now.

I'll have to get it checked out.

[curator]

The CVA Hunter and its design counterpart, the H&R Handi-rifle should not be dry-fired. Sometimes as few as 2 or 3 dry-firings and the firing pin breaks. Replacing the firing pin is easy and inexpensive if you have a set of "blind pins" to be able to reassemble the action. Several tutorials on youtube on how to do this. When our local Boy Scout Camp was using the H&R shotguns, I would buy firing pins by the dozen to keep them working. I have not repaired a CVA Hunter but a friend has one also with broken firing pin that he keeps threatening to bring by the shop. He did dry-fire it "a couple of times." With the action open, hold the trigger back to engage the hammer-block safety and push the hammer forward. The firing pin should protrude from the action face. If not, there's your problem.

[Elias Graves]

CVA opened a repair ticket. Shipping it off to get it checked out.

[Elias Graves]

It's back! Repair ticket said the firing pin needed adjustment.
Got a new scope for it while I was waiting for it to return and put that on today. It's a 2.5x20. Will have to get out for some shooting this weekend!

[shoot-n-lead]

I like the looks of it!

I have the pistol verson in .357...man, that thing is a shooter.

[Elias Graves]

I like the looks of it!

I have the pistol verson in .357...man, that thing is a shooter.

I would love to have a 357 version! 38 special is a lot cheaper than 44 mag. 45 cents a round is the cheapest I've found. If anyone knows cheaper, let me know, please!

Yes, the gun is a great shooter and it hits really hard. It still hasn't had 100 rounds through it but it appears to shoot where you point it.

The new scope is lower power than the first but has better glass and the eye relief fits better.

My complaints are few. The for end could be a little wider and rounder on the bottom.
The black plastic looks cheap. There are better looking synthetic stocks out there.
The recoil on this gun is fairly mild, so a good cushy pad isn't a big deal but their "crush zone" pad would crush nothing but your shoulder with a 45-70 version.

[Elias Graves]

Got to slip out and shoot a little. Everything is back in order. New scope sighted in...I love the 2.5x! Super fast target pickup.

Not it sure why but this gun is just plain fun to shoot. I was a little worried the single shot aspect would bug me but so far it's good. I don't have to scrounge the dirt for brass that went flying and I never liked loading magazines much anyway lol.

[Elias Graves]

Wow, I do like 44 magnum in a rifle. This is 8 gauge steel.

[Texas by God]

Ok Elias- quit having fun plinking and show us what it'll do on bags on paper! Best, Thomas.

[TCLouis]

I shot one in 7-08, trigger was great.

Never did nail down a good cast load!

Nother roundtoit sitting there waiting on me.

Size and weight of that gun would make it great in 44 Mag . . .

BUT

Even better in 357 Mag

[bluelund79]

That's a good looking 44. Thanks for sharing, love the target pics

[Hiwall55]

Does anyone have one in .35 Whelen, that one would be a great caliber to shoot cast in a single shot. Reform brass from 30/06 and shoot cast 158 grain to 250 grain and have a 14 twist barrel.
Sweet!