CVA’s Accura MR Black Nitride Rifle Review

By Dr. Jim & Mary Clary

Los Lunas, NM -(AmmoLand.com)- CVA went all in with the Accura MR Black Nitride, deciding to base it on their premium Accura V2 rifle with its Bergara Barrel. And why not?

If you already have a top selling, full featured rifle, it just makes sense to add a bit more to make it even better. The black nitride process has greater wear, corrosion resistance and lubricity when compared to blued carbon steel or untreated stainless steel. The lubricity aspect is what appealed to us, given the potential for an increase in muzzle velocities and greater ease in reloading for second or third shots.

For those not familiar with black nitride metal treatments (the technical description of the process is salt bath ferritic nitrocarburizing), they are used in many industries to significantly harden the outer layers of steel parts to make them more durable and more corrosion resistant. In fact, when used for rifle barrels, it is more corrosion resistant than chrome lining. The same black nitride process is used by several automobile manufacturers to harden the moving parts in their engines, rings, pistons, etc. Because muzzleloaders are susceptible to corrosion, this treatment goes a long way in substantially reducing the possibility that your gun will be ruined by corrosion.

Features and Specifications:

• 416 Stainless Steel 25 inch Fluted Nitride-treated Bergara Barrel with 1:28 inch Twist Rifling
• Bullet Guiding Muzzle
• QRBP – Quick Release Breech Plug
• DuraSight DEAD-ON One-Piece Scope Mount
• Ambidextrous Realtree MAX-1 Composite Stock with rubber grip panels
• CrushZone Recoil Pad
• Quake Claw Sling
• Solid Aluminum PalmSaver Ramrod
• Adjustable Neutral Center of Gravity Trigger
• Trigger Guard Actuated Breeching Action
• Reversible Cocking Spur
• Drilled and Tapped for Scope Mounts
• 40 inch Overall Length
• 6.35 pounds Total Weight
• 14.5 inch Length of Pull
• Lifetime Warranty
• 2015 MSRP : $584

Before we get into how this rifle shoots, we would like to talk about the Bullet Guiding Muzzle. Having shot CVA’s on our last hunt, we kind of took for granted its benefit: i.e., no canting or deformation of the bullet as you load it into the barrel prior to using the ramrod. However, on the range earlier this month we had the opportunity to load and fire several other brands of muzzleloaders (they shall remain nameless except in personal communications). With the sole exception of the Savage 10ML II, which is no longer made, all of the others required us to literally pound the bullet starter to get a second and third round loaded.

Not only was it hard on the hands and a pain in the butt, but it required far too much time for there being any possibility of an effective second shot. Not so with the Bullet Guiding Muzzle, on our Prickly Pear hunt, we both reloaded in plenty of time for a second shot (which wasn’t needed). In our tests on the range with the Accura MR, we’ve loaded and fired ten rounds, without swabbing and without any difficulty. You can’t appreciate the bullet guiding muzzle until you’ve had it and then don’t have it.

Another feature we like on the Accura MR is the DuraSight One-Piece Rail Base/Ring System.

Again, it is something that we took for granted as being a really cool extra benefit on CVA rifles. The DuraSight mount makes it very easy to mount a scope and is inherently more stable than standard mounts. The reason being is that there are fewer screws involved that can come loose over time. It just makes sense… a one-piece base mount with two top rings versus a system with two bases, two ring bases and two tops…… three to six. No contest on that point.

If you get the idea that we are really impressed with this gun, you are right. All that remains is to see if it shoots like it handles. The trigger pull on the Accura MR was 3 lbs out of the box, very crisp and without creep.

Here are the loading components that were used to test the .50 caliber CVA Accura MR rifle.

We adjusted it down to 2 lbs to match our target rifles. CVA should be commended for not installing a “lawyer’s trigger” on their rifle. With a target rifles’ trigger pull, it was easy to shoot accurate groups.

During this testing, we fired multiple three 3-shot groups (and a couple of 4-shot groups) at 100 yards with each bullet listed below, letting the barrel cool between shoots. In our first tests we used two IMR White Hots pellets and standard Winchester 209 shotgun primers. We used a Sinclair tripod front rest and rear bag for stability to get the greatest possible accuracy from our testing. With the black nitride treated barrel, we did not have to swab between shots. However, we did clean the barrel between each group.

Accuracy With 2-50 grain IMR White Hots Pellets

• Harvester Scorpion PT Gold 300 Grain: Smallest Group 1 1/4″ – Largest Group 1 1/2″
• Harvester Scorpion PT Gold 260 Grain: Smallest Group 3/4″ – Largest Group 1 1/8″
• CVA AeroLite 250 Grain: Smallest Group 1.0″ – Largest Group 1 1/4″
• Hornady SST* 250 Grain: Smallest Group 7/8″ – Largest Group 1 1/4″

*Note: The bullet shot was the Traditions packaged version of the Hornady SST, sold as the “SMACKDOWN SST”, with a yellow polymer tip.

We repeated our tests with two Hodgdon Triple7 pellets and standard Winchester 209 shotgun primers. The results were very similar. Once again, with the black nitride treated barrel, we did not have to swab between shots, only cleaning the barrel between each group.

Accuracy With 2-50 grain Hodgdon Triple7 Pellets

• Harvester Scorpion PT Gold 300 Grain: Smallest Group 1 1/2″ – Largest Group 1 5/8″
• Harvester Scorpion PT Gold 260 Grain: Smallest Group 7/8″ – Largest Group 1 1/8″
• CVA AeroLite 250 Grain: Smallest Group 1 1/8″ – Largest Group 1 3/8″
• Hornady SST* 250 Grain: Smallest Group 1.0″ – Largest Group 1 1/4″

*Note: The bullet shot was the Traditions packaged version of the Hornady SST, sold as the “SMACKDOWN SST”, with a yellow polymer tip.

With its black nitride Bergara barrel, the Accura MR leaves nothing to be desired. Even if you already have a favorite muzzleloader, you should consider buying this one. You won’t regret it.

James R. Clary, Ph.D.
Contributing Editor, Guns & Shooting Online
Field Editor, Universal Hunter Magazine
Associate Editor, N.A. Muzzleloader Hunting Assoc.

Mary H. Clary, B.S., R.N.
Women’s Editor, Guns & Shooting Online
Associate Editor, N.A. Muzzleloader Hunting Assoc.
Field Editor, Universal Hunter Magazine