northwoods87
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- Feb 5, 2022
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I'm looking at picking up a muzzleloader in the near-ish future, mainly to extend my hunting season by a bit but also for something new to fiddle with at the range. I'm getting stuck on my options though & looking for some community feedback on the best way to go. Right now I'm hung up between a 'plain' CVA Optima V2 with the nitride barrel, an Optima V2 LR (nitride as well) with thumbhole stock, and Accura MR-X with the nitride barrel. It sounds like for the relatively modest upcharge, nitride is worth it vs. plain SS, right? My pros and cons are working out to:
- Regular Optima V2 - lowest cost & is going to serve my needs absolutely fine, it sounds like. Comes with a scope mount but is set up for iron sights as well, so I'd have the option of either (and it'd be nice to have an iron sighted option, especially for late muzzleloader season. I don't have to worry about fogging up a scope that way). Cons - not the best cheek weld for a scope, although probably no worse than my 'regular' Model 700 rifle
- Optima V2 LR - *man*, does that one feel nice in the hands. With the thumbhole stock, cheekweld through a scope looks great. Cons - scope only, and I'm not sure about the thumbhole stock while wearing heavy winter gear / gloves.
- Accura MR-X - Most expensive, but feels (and looks!) great. Can go with either a scope or irons, and with the adjustable comb on the stock, I'll be good with either as far as cheek weld / alignment goes. The light weight might be nice for public land hunting where I'm trekking in a ways. Downside is that it's the most expensive of the bunch by far.