Why Shoot 100 Grains of Powder Instead of 150 Grains, and Why BPI Built Bergara Barrels for the T/C Encore with CVA’s Mark HendricksGrains
Question: Mark, what percentage of CVA rifles is sold to deer hunters?
Hendricks: The vast majority of our CVA rifles are sold to deer hunters.
Question: Why should deer hunters load with 100 grains of powder instead of a magnum charge of 150 grains?
Hendricks: Most hunters always have believed that the more powder they use, and the bigger bullets they shoot, the better their odds for bagging bucks.
Question: Why isn’t that true?
Hendricks: For an animal the size of a deer, even the bigger deer in the Midwest and Canada, you don’t need the high velocities that 150 grains of powder produces when you’re shooting a 270- or a 300-grain bullet. As a matter of fact, too-much velocity can over-penetrate the deer. With 100 grains of powder, recoil is very manageable for the average shooter, the bullet performance is what you expect, there’s much-less smoke to deal-with after the shot, and your gun will generate about the same bullet weight and velocities as a .45-70 cartridge. That 100 grains of powder easily will take deer out to 200 yards with your muzzleloader, depending on your shooting-skill level.
Question: Why did BPI start developing Bergara Barrels to fit the Thompson/Center Encore rifle frame?
Hendricks: BPI-has a very-modern, state-of-the-art barrel factory with the capacity to produce more barrels than we can use just for our CVA guns. So, we began exploring options on what we could do in the interchangeable barrel market that we already knew how to do well. Because the Thompson/Center Encore barrel was tapered and had lugs that attached to the pin through the receiver, we realized that making Bergara Barrels for the Thompson/Center Encore frame would be a simple process. Also, many of the hunters who shot Thompson/Center rifles weren’t satisfied with the delivery and the accuracy they got with their Thompson/Center barrels. These shooters switched to Bergara Barrels, because not only did we have better barrels, but the barrels were substantially less expensive than the Thompson/Center barrels. Due to the honing process we use, the Bergara Barrel is a very consistent one with better accuracy that’s easier to clean.
Question: How much-more accurate is the Bergara Barrel compared with the Thompson/Center barrel?
Hendricks: We guarantee that the Bergara Barrel in the same caliber and format as a Thompson/Center barrel will be more accurate, or we’ll refund your purchase price.
Question: How successful have Bergara Barrels been with hunters who use Thompson/Center barrels?
Hendricks: Sales have exceeded our expectations. It’s been a very-good project for us.