Connecticut Vally Arms – celebrating 55 years and going strong with

Connecticut Valley Arms (CVA) was first formed in 1971 to manufacture traditional sidelock muzzleloaders that were offered fully assembled or in DIY kits, both of which became immediately popular with American shooters. The timing couldn’t have been better because the revival of using muzzleloaders for hunting was gaining a steady following. Thompson Center Arms (T/C) had come out with their “Hawken” rifle in 1970, and being none too pleased with shotgun slug performance back then for local deer hunting in the shotgun zone (where muzzleloading rifles were allowed), I had opted for a .54 caliber.

A deer hunting buddy of mine observed how well my muzzleloader performed, and being a bit frugal, he purchased a .54 caliber CVA “Mountain Rifle” DIY kit, and his finished product turned out to be a real dependable dandy. The fact is, CVA muzzleloaders became top shelf items almost overnight and are now the most popular muzzleloaders in the world.

What helped to invigorate the growing interest in hunting with a muzzleloader was the 1972 movie “Jeremiah Johnson” starring Robert Redford. I’ll never forget Michigan holding its first muzzleloader deer season in December 1975, of which I was an avid participant. Having already been using a muzzleloader during the November regular firearms deer season, it was a wonderful extension for me.

About 40 years ago, I spotted a CVA .32 caliber “Squirrel Rifle” DIY kit on the shelf of a local hardware store, and being an avid squirrel hunter I decided to give it a whirl. I soon found myself toiling away on the workbench in my garage and discovered the meaning of “lock, stock and barrel”, but fortunately the kit came with great directions! Being a very accurate, sleek and lightweight performer, it remains to be a favorite of mine for squirrel hunting. Nothing beats combining some old-time nostalgia with a favorite outdoor pastime.

When inline muzzleloaders first came into vogue during the 1980’s, CVA was quick to see the writing on the wall and their top-break action design for more easily putting on or removing a primer, not to mention making matters more weathertight, quickly became highly popular with hunters. I’ve lost count of the different CVA models featuring the top-break design since then, with a continued innovative effort to make the product line better than ever. I do like the unique PalmSaver knob now attached to the ramrod for more ease in shoving matters down the barrel.

In 1999, the CVA brand became part of BPI Outdoors which entails all sorts of outdoors and shooting related products. The CVA manufacturing facility is in Bergara, a small town in northern Spain, a region with centuries-old history of making fine firearms. Bergara rifle barrels are topnotch with a well-earned reputation for quality and accuracy.

Due to the muzzleloading world going from patched roundballs to sabot ammunition, I can remember when CVA first brought out their “PowerBelt” muzzleloader bullet in 2002. At that time, it was a plain lead hollow-point with a thin plastic cap attached to the base which held everything secure against the powder charge as well as forming a good seal when matters were touched off. I discovered it was quick and easy to shove down, even with a fouled barrel, and it has become my “hefty” favorite for both my traditional and inline big bores (unlike sabots which use sub-caliber bullets, the PowerBelt is full-caliber size). It is American-made by Accura Outdoors in Nampa, Idaho and is also available in copperplated hollow-point or poly-tipped bullets and is one of the most popular hunting bullets today. It is very accurate while featuring both great expansion and penetration.

In 2010, CVA decided to make the move into using its top-break rifle design for centerfire ammunition. The first would be the “Apex” which featured interchangeable barrels, soon followed by the “Scout”. The Apex, although having its fans, was short-lived and phased out, with only the Scout remaining because it was more budget friendly, which it remains to be. At present, CVA no longer offers firearms which can handle interchangeable barrels.

The CVA Scout rifle is a very simplistic, dependable and rugged design I do admire, and it functions much like the single-shot shotgun I began my hunting adventures with. Featuring a rebounding hammer, there is no manual safety to deal with, just cock and fire.

When Michigan’s Limited Firearm firearms Zone entailing straight-wall cartridges came into being in 2014, the CVA Scout in .44 Magnum was a popular choice, and my neighbor says it is still all he requires, however that was the most potent straight-wall deer round for it. When Randy Brown of Randy’s Hunting Center in Bad Axe worked with Ruger to come out with an affordable rifle using the effective and potent .450 Bushmaster caliber in 2016 which immediately became very popular, other gun manufacturers noticed, with CVA coming out with its Scout rifle in .450 Bushmaster. I know quite a few local deer hunters who use their CVA Scout rifles in .450 Bushmaster to great effect and swear by them. When the new .350 Legend came out in 2019, CVA added it to its Scout line, with .360 BuckHammer and .400 Legend soon following, representing a nice selection of straight-wall cartridge options for CVA Scout fans.

Also in 2019, CVA brought out the “Cascade”, its first centerfire bolt-action rifle which offers budget-friendly quality that includes straight-wall calibers in the lineup.

A couple years ago, CVA brought out the Scout Pistol which featured a 14-inch barrel and came in a variety of calibers including the .350 Legend, and being an avid handgun hunter, this sure caught my eye. However I got wind CVA was bringing up all sorts of innovation to the Scout line, which would be unveiled at the January 2026 Shot Show in Las Vegas. I was like a little kid who had been waiting for the Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog to show up to peruse and put items on the wish list when the CVA website finally popped up, and I sure wasn’t disappointed with all the new and upgraded Scout-line offerings, including certain temptations – yep, folks, picture a kid in a candy store! The Scout TD (Takedown) rifle immediately caught my eye, and it can be conveniently disassembled minus any tools, much like my old single-shot shotgun. I could readily picture it chambered in .400 Legend and with a suppressor attached to its threaded muzzle, but I decided to hold to the original course and just stick to the Scout Pistol.

Now called the CVA Scout XP Pistol, it features a more compact 11.5-inch barrel with a picatinny rail optics mount and improved ergonomic grips and yep, folks, it was love at first sight! I immediately went to Randy’s Hunting Center and put one chambered in .350 Legend on order. However, it is clearly in demand with dealers all over the country and being out of stock it’s presently in a holding pattern waiting to finally become available before coming in for a landing. Some things are truly worth anticipating and waiting for.

For more information, go to www.bpioutdoors.com.

Author
Recent Posts

Tom Lounsbury

Tom Lounsbury has been an outdoor writer and photographer for more
than 40 years and has had his weekly radio show, “Tom Lounsbury
Outdoors” for more than 20 years. Tom grew up on a farm in
Michigan’s Thumb, and it is where his first outdoor adventures began
as a kid accompanying visiting pheasant hunters into the field during
the “pheasant hunting heyday” of the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is a passion
he still has to this day and being the 4 th generation to own the family
farm, he has put most of it into conservation programs with a focus on
wild pheasants, which in turn helps all wildlife.
Being an outdoor communicator, Tom appreciates all the outdoor
adventures he experiences in different places, and especially the
people he meets in which to share them.