As the CEO of Blackpowder Products, Inc. (BPI), I’d like to provide you with my perspective into what has become “the CVA muzzleloader story” on this website. Over the past several years, right here on Guns and Shooting Online, you may have noticed some articles that presented an extremely negative picture of both Blackpowder Products, Inc. and our CVA muzzleloading brand. Most of these relate to Connecticut Valley Arms, Inc.’s 1997 Voluntary Recall. These articles were written from an outsider’s point of view, using only the information that was available to outsiders. Here, as an insider, I would simply like to provide some clarity as to what happened in the past and some insight into what CVA is today (in 2010).

First, as for the past, back in 1997, Connecticut Valley Arms, Inc. did initiate a Voluntary Recall of one design of an in-line gun that was made in 1995 and 1996. Most of these guns were sold under the model name of Apollo, but there were also various other names. All, however, can be identified by a serial number that ends in -95 or -96. Unfortunately, both before and after the recall was issued, a number of people were injured with these guns. However, Connecticut Valley Arms, Inc. took responsibility at that time by issuing the recall and by settling virtually all of the claims related to the recall guns.

Today, BPI (the current owner of the CVA brand) is continuing the recall effort in an attempt to find all of these guns. So far, about 96% of the approximately 55,000 recalled guns have been accounted for. The CVA Voluntary Recall remains in effect and BPI continues to mention this in our CVA catalogs and on our CVA web page. We will continue to do so until every recall gun is found. Other than the Voluntary Recall of these 1995 and 1996 guns, no other CVA gun model has ever been recalled for any reason.

Now, in regard to the present, the guns that are being marketed under the CVA brand in 2010 bear little if any design similarity to those that were recalled in 1997. In fact, none of the barrels we use today are sourced from outside vendors. (CVA muzzleloaders built as late as 2004, such as the Kodiak, were still using extruded steel barrels. -Editor.) Rather, they are all made in the Bergara Barrels factory, a facility that is wholly owned by our parent company. In addition to building the barrels for all CVA guns, Bergara Barrels also makes after-market barrels, as well as providing barrels to other gun manufacturers. The bores of all barrels are all drilled on site at the factory from cylindrical bar stock. Because of our direct control over the barrel making processes, today’s CVA guns, when used as instructed, are as safe as other muzzleloaders on the market. Also, in terms of materials and construction, we feel they are of equal, if not superior, quality to those of any of our competitors. You can see a detailed video of this entire barrel making process at www.bergarabarrels.com.

As a potential or present CVA owner, it is essential that you are able to use our guns with total confidence. Certainly, reading articles like those I mention above can understandably shake that confidence. While there is nothing that we can ever do that will erase the history of a product recall in 1997 (and other Corporate misdeeds, such as marking guns with phony proof marks well into 2006. -Editor), I do hope that I have provided you with a balancing perspective that will fairly counter some of the outdated and/or inaccurate information that you may have read. If you’d like to learn more about today’s CVA guns and why they have been the #1 selling muzzleloading guns in the USA for over a decade, please check out our website at www.cva.com.