First range day for optima pistol

I cast a bunch of conicals up of the two styles I'm hopeing it likes and a few others I had laying around which are 395gr Lyman Great Plains and 415i bullet both sized to .503, 260gr, 320gr Lee REALs and a 450gr .501 Lee. Scope is a burris 7x

25yds both reals shot 2" with 70gr T73f and a chedite 209 very comfortable to shoot.

Problem #1 just because .503 fits in my optima rifle doesn't mean it will in the pistol. I just ordered a .501 and .502 sizer for the 395GP and 415i I did get them down the bore but they were too tight they shot about 4" with 70g and 90g T7.

Next up is the 440gr "pig snout" .501 now this bullet loads really easy so I started at 70g T7 and a RIO 209 at 25yds 4" group I continued to 90gr group was about 3" so I moved out to 50yds and tried 100gr T7 this is where the group got puzzling 2 shots 2" vertical then 6" left at exact same elevation 2 shots 2" vertical I'm thinking my scope might be acting up. I will be installing open sights for the next time. Has anyone else tried conicals this heavy in the optima pistol before.

A couple interesting finds this evening while cleaning the optima pistol. First thing I noticed was the scope all the way forward against the front ring I always set my scopes at least 1/2" away from the turret housing so the rings don't damage the scope. I torqued the base to 20in lb and rings to 15in lb when I installed the scope so I'm not sure how it moved. 2nd find the scope base was broken in two pieces at the front ring when I removed the base the break looked just like pot metal so cva must cast the scope rail I'm not impressed. Oh well I was going to install open sights on it any how for legal hunting here in washington. Overall I still really like the pistol just got a few hiccups to work through.

I would order a set of Warne, Maxima, CVA V2, steel, 2-pc bases, #M980/982M. These will fit a CVA Optima V2 rifle, or pistol. Then, depending upon your inclination, I'd order the type of steel scope rings from Warne that you prefer. For myself, I chose the Q-D lever, 1" rings that will fit the Weaver Classic, 2.5-8×28mm, black handgun scope that was on the pistol when I traded for it used.

By-the-by, I had Levi Reed, at LR Customs, in Utah, thread the muzzle of my Optima V2 pistol with 5/8"-24 threads. I purchased both of his MZ REX2 muzzle brakes in .50 caliber for the pistol. There is a brake designed for lead conicals, and another brake with a slightly larger bore for plastic saboted bullets. Levi test fired the pistol with a 385 grain, .45 caliber lead conical in a sabot. He's a big man with strong hands. He compared the pistol's recoil, w/o the brake installed, to that of a stout .44 Magnum round; and the recoil with the brake installed, to that of a mid-level. 38 Special round.

I have not yet fired a single shot through this pistol. I sent it to Doc White directly after I received it in trade for a T/C Renegade rifle. Doc was supposed to create a set of replacement stocks that would mimic the stock design of his Javelina, .50 caliber, G-series, inline pistols. He made a very limited run of 50 of these hunting pistols in the early 90's. What distinguished these pistols from any other muzzleloading pistol that was ever made was the short, slightly rearwards facing, stubby, pistol grip that was an integral part of the forearm.

This short pistol grip in the forearm allowed the shooter to use a push-pull motion with the weak hand pushing forward against the forearm's pistol grip, while simultaneously pulling rearwards with the strong hand that held the primary pistol grip. In addition, Doc installed a sling swivel base in the bottom of the primary pistol grip, so that a tactical, single point, sling could be attached to the pistol. The sling would be worn cross-body, around the strong arm's shoulder, and be adjusted so that the sling formed a tight Isoceles triangle that connected the shooter's body with the extended pistol. Kinda like a modified Weaver stance with the weak hand fully extended in front of the shooter's body. Doc claimed to have been able to easily handle stout loads of Pyrodex P propellant, in conjunction with his 600 grain White bullet. I know that he shot a couple of really big mid-Western whitetail deer with his prototype Javelina pistols and bullets in the mid-400 grain range.

Anyhow, Doc passed away without finishing the stocks for my pistol. Since I have pretty serious osteoarthritis, I wanted the Javelina-style stocks on the Optima V2 pistol to help tame the recoil with heavy lead bullets. Virtually every post that I could find online regarding the CVA Optima V2 pistol mentioned how unpleasant it was to shoot with bullets exceeding 240-250 grains in weight.

.45flint l r
How long ago did Doc White pass away? Is some one else picking up the project for you or will the muzzle brakes allow you to shoot it without the havlina add on.