CVA Accura cap firing issues *Updated 10/7* - CVA has released a new BP

[andersonjk4]

I have been having the same issues as many on here with the new CVA NW edition rifles.  I have gone through two rounds with CVA without any improvement.  I called them the first time and they sent me an upgraded firing pin assembly which seemed to help a tiny bit but still not anywhere near where it should be.  So I called them back and they told me to send the rifle back to them and they would fix it and send it back.  Well I got the rifle back yesterday and they didn't change/fix/replace a single thing.  They just said they cleaned it, lubed it, and test fired 5 primers without a misfire.  and that I should make sure the primers are fully seated and to clean the rifle frequently.  Well I took the rifle out of the box after they had it all cleaned up and lubricated, took out a cap, pushed it onto the nipple as hard as I could with my thumb, cocked the rifle, pulled the trigger.... and nothing. Cocked the rifle and tried firing again and with the second strike the cap fired.  I tested about 10 more caps and not a single one fired on the first try.  Most would fire on the second hit from the firing pin, but a couple didn't fir at all.    I am beyond frustrated at this point.  I am using RWS 1081 Musket caps that have been stored in a nice dry location since April when I bought them.  Could I have gotten two bad cans of musket caps?  I know there are a few people who have found some work arounds to get the rifle to shoot (trimming springs, unscrewing the BP, etc.) but I feel like a brand new rifle shouldn't need a work around.       

[Sabotloader]

I have been having the same issues as many on here with the new CVA NW edition rifles.  I have gone through two rounds with CVA without any improvement.  I called them the first time and they sent me an upgraded firing pin assembly which seemed to help a tiny bit but still not anywhere near where it should be.  So I called them back and they told me to send the rifle back to them and they would fix it and send it back.  Well I got the rifle back yesterday and they didn't change/fix/replace a single thing.  They just said they cleaned it, lubed it, and test fired 5 primers without a misfire.  and that I should make sure the primers are fully seated and to clean the rifle frequently.  Well I took the rifle out of the box after they had it all cleaned up and lubricated, took out a cap, pushed it onto the nipple as hard as I could with my thumb, cocked the rifle, pulled the trigger.... and nothing. Cocked the rifle and tried firing again and with the second strike the cap fired.  I tested about 10 more caps and not a single one fired on the first try.  Most would fire on the second hit from the firing pin, but a couple didn't fir at all.    I am beyond frustrated at this point.  I am using RWS 1081 Musket caps that have been stored in a nice dry location since April when I bought them.  Could I have gotten two bad cans of musket caps?  I know there are a few people who have found some work arounds to get the rifle to shoot (trimming springs, unscrewing the BP, etc.) but I feel like a brand new rifle shouldn't need a work around.     

I would really like to see that rifle - wish you were driving down to Moscow.  What I would really like to see is the BP and if it could be converted to a #11.  Crap! it would even help if you could change the nipple to get a better fitting nipple.

Which brings me to another thought... all nipples wear out eventually - so you have to replace the entire BP instead of buying a $4 nipple?

Another thought - you might get some CCI musket caps and try them. They are somewhat larger (post diameter) than a RWS, as the RWS is built on the metric system and the CCI on the inch.  I guess am really think you might have better luck with the CCI's. I am sure they will fit looser and be more susceptible to moisture, but they will probably go off unless they get wet.

[brianb231]

You should PM Brianmtsinc. He had the same exact issues with his.

Brianb231

[andersonjk4]

Thanks Sabotloader.  I called CVA again this morning hoping I would get to talk to one of their service tech's, but only got a customer service rep.  He was fairly helpful and went and talked to the guy who 'worked' on my rifle.  He said the rifle was "smacking the crap out of the caps" when he tested it.  And I wouldn't disagree with that, the pin is leaving a fairly pronounced indent on the cap.  I asked what kind of caps they use and they said the same RWS 1081 caps.  The customer service rep is sending me a new breech plug and another firing pin assembly.  So at least I will have a spare breech plug to experiment with.  I would really like to modify a breech plug to be able to put replaceable nipples in it and convert over to #11 caps.  I sent a big long email to CVA about a month ago sharing my opinion on the lack of a removable breech plug among other issues I have noticed with the new NW rifles.  I never did get a response back from them. 

Sabotloader - I am planning on traveling to Colfax on Saturday to go bird hunting.  A trip to Moscow afterword wouldn't be too far out of my way.  Especially to have another experienced set of eyes check out the rifle.  Send me a PM if you would like to try and meet up on Satruday afternoon/evening and take a look at the rifle.   

Here is a picture of a cap after a single strike from the firing pin.

[Sabotloader]

Thanks Sabotloader.  I called CVA again this morning hoping I would get to talk to one of their service tech's, but only got a customer service rep.  He was fairly helpful and went and talked to the guy who 'worked' on my rifle.  He said the rifle was "smacking the crap out of the caps" when he tested it.  And I wouldn't disagree with that, the pin is leaving a fairly pronounced indent on the cap.  I asked what kind of caps they use and they said the same RWS 1081 caps.  The customer service rep is sending me a new breech plug and another firing pin assembly.  So at least I will have a spare breech plug to experiment with.  I would really like to modify a breech plug to be able to put replaceable nipples in it and convert over to #11 caps.  I sent a big long email to CVA about a month ago sharing my opinion on the lack of a removable breech plug among other issues I have noticed with the new NW rifles.  I never did get a response back from them. 

Sabotloader - I am planning on traveling to Colfax on Saturday to go bird hunting.

Shoot I am headed out of town to Kennewick Sat morning and will not be back till Sunday evening - dang I would like to see that set up.  The real crucial thing about the conversion of the break open 209 rifle to a cap gun is the distance of the nipple stack from the face of the receiver when the rifle is closed.

  A trip to Moscow afterword wouldn't be too far out of my way.  Especially to have another experienced set of eyes check out the rifle.  Send me a PM if you would like to try and meet up on Satruday afternoon/evening and take a look at the rifle.   

Here is a picture of a cap after a single strike from the firing pin.

OK so now looking at the picture and I wish I could see it in real life - it looks to me kinda like the top hat of the cap is bottoming out on the face of the breech plug - not allowing the ignition edges of the of the cap to reach the top of the bevel on the nipple that causes ignition! 

Here is a pic of my 1081's they do not have the top hat and possible could be a little shorter than the one shown in the picture...



Check your PM

mike 

[andersonjk4]

Thanks Sabotloader.  I called CVA again this morning hoping I would get to talk to one of their service tech's, but only got a customer service rep.  He was fairly helpful and went and talked to the guy who 'worked' on my rifle.  He said the rifle was "smacking the crap out of the caps" when he tested it.  And I wouldn't disagree with that, the pin is leaving a fairly pronounced indent on the cap.  I asked what kind of caps they use and they said the same RWS 1081 caps.  The customer service rep is sending me a new breech plug and another firing pin assembly.  So at least I will have a spare breech plug to experiment with.  I would really like to modify a breech plug to be able to put replaceable nipples in it and convert over to #11 caps.  I sent a big long email to CVA about a month ago sharing my opinion on the lack of a removable breech plug among other issues I have noticed with the new NW rifles.  I never did get a response back from them. 

Sabotloader - I am planning on traveling to Colfax on Saturday to go bird hunting.

Shoot I am headed out of town to Kennewick Sat morning and will not be back till Sunday evening - dang I would like to see that set up.  The real crucial thing about the conversion of the break open 209 rifle to a cap gun is the distance of the nipple stack from the face of the receiver when the rifle is closed.

  A trip to Moscow afterword wouldn't be too far out of my way.  Especially to have another experienced set of eyes check out the rifle.  Send me a PM if you would like to try and meet up on Satruday afternoon/evening and take a look at the rifle.   

Here is a picture of a cap after a single strike from the firing pin.

OK so now looking at the picture and I wish I could see it in real life - it looks to me kinda like the top hat of the cap is bottoming out on the face of the breech plug - not allowing the ignition edges of the of the cap to reach the top of the bevel on the nipple that causes ignition! 

Here is a pic of my 1081's they do not have the top hat and possible could be a little shorter than the one shown in the picture...

Check your PM

mike

I don't see your picture.  But now that you mention it I do notice the "brim" of the top hat looks very close to bottoming out on the BP.  I will have to try to modify the caps to get some more clearance and see if that is the problem. 

[Sabotloader]

You are correct I forgot to paste it..

[andersonjk4]

I was finally able to get a definite resolution to my cap firing issue. After dealing directly with CVA which included getting a new firing pin assembly, sending the rifle back for repair, and getting another firing pin assembly and new breexh plug. Non of which solved the issue. I got a hold of the guys at Muzzle-loaders.com to see if they had any suggestions. After talking to them on the phone they said they would help me return the rifle to CVA and send me a new rifle ASAP. I paid for overnight delivery and got the new rifle Tuesday afternoon. I tested several caps that night and had no failures. So I was very optimistic. Well I was able to shoot the new rifle on Wednesday afternoon and a little more yesterday. Not a single failure to fire. After getting the new rifle, I believe the problem with my first rifle was a weak hammer spring. There is a noticble difference in spring strength when you cock the hammer. And after getting to shoot the rifle with consistency, I really like it. I think CVA has ironed out the issues the first rifles had. Now I just need to find a buck to really put the rifle to the test. I can't thank the guys at Muzzle-loaders.com enough and I will definitely be going back to them for all of my muzzleloader needs.

[nwhunter]

Good to hear that. I was a little worried reading about your issues as I had bought the same gun. I havent had any issues so far with mine. Heading to Oregon tomorrow to hunt blacktails so will see how it does in the field. nwhunter

[kevinlisa06]

Glad you got everything figured out and everything is in working order!


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[andersonjk4]

Thanks guys. I'm very glad everything has worked out. For those nervous about the new CVA NW editions. I think they have solved the issues with the caps not firing. The first rifle I got was one of the first they produced. As I was on a pre-order list. I think some of those early rifles had weak hammer springs. I think the current productions have solved this issue.

[andersonjk4]

I saw Myrtle Creek Inc.'s post saying CVA had released a new Breech Plug for their NW edition rifles.  I called them this morning to order one and sure enough they have released a new BP that they claim will fix the misfire issues.  I asked the customer service rep (who was very helpful) what was different about the new plugs.  He said that they determined that old plugs which had the nipple machined into the breech plug was too soft of a metal for the nipple to be made of.  He explained that because this is a break action gun CVA didn't want to make the nipple replaceable because if the nipple was replaced with a longer version then their is a possibility that a capped nipple would contact the back of the action as you closed the rifle and cause the cap to go off.  Their solution was to make a BP with a threaded nipple, so they could get it made out of a harder material, but then the epoxy the nipple into the BP to make it non-removable.  They also modified the barrel end of the BP to be more reliable with pelletized powder.  The original NW BP had a deep chamber that opened up most of the length of it.  This allowed for a very short (~3/8") flash hole that opened up to the chamber.  But this chamber wasn't big enough for pelletized powder to get that close the flash hole.  They have went away from the chamber and now have the tiny flash hole the whole length of the BP.  I personally don't like this change because I have no plans to ever shoot powder pellets.  A really long, tiny, flash hole just seems like it will be easily blocked and cause more hangfire issues.  Once I get this BP and have a chance to test it I will post up my thoughts.  I already am thinking about ordering a second one to "play" with and have a machinist drill out the backside and re-create the chamber of the original BP.     

It cost $31 including tax and shipping to get one ordered.  Hopefully I will have it next week sometime.  If you want to order one call BPI outdoors at 770-449-4687.