By John Zent

Electronic ignition makes the CVA Electra one of the most technologically advanced guns on the market. Despite the irony—this cutting-edge marvel is in fact a modestly priced muzzleloader—the Electra offers forward-thinking solutions to age-old shortcomings in firearm performance.

   Printed circuit boards make today’s consumer electronics vastly more reliable than the previous gadgetry that relied on rheostats, tubes and hand-soldered wiring. But, can the new technology prove as durable and foolproof as a simple mechanical device like a trigger? In time that question will be answered for owners of the CVA Electra, a muzzleloader whose trigger is the switch in an on-board electronic circuit.

The circuit board that holds the key to Electra’s operation is mostly contained within the stock and surrounds the trigger mechanism. Similarly unconventional, the trigger mechanism has no sear and does not release a hammer.

   Rather than utilizing a chemical flame that erupts from a primer or percussion cap, the Electra ignites its charge by means of an arc of electrical current that jumps between contact points located on the breechplug face. And the system changes more than that end result. Lock time is almost instantaneous, and elimination of the primer results in greater shot-to-shot uniformity and greatly reduced fouling.
   Over the past year I’ve had ample opportunity to work with the Electra, both at the range and while hunting. Several NRA colleagues have test-fired it too, and while we differ in our assessment of certain performance aspects, we agree wholeheartedly that based on innovation alone the CVA Electra merits a close look.

Electronic Controls
   Since the advent of the percussion cap, ignition has been actuated by releasing the energy stored in priming compounds. Strike it with a sharp blow, and the result is a chemical chain reaction generating sufficient heat (flame) to ignite an adjacent powder charge. For nearly 175 years, muzzleloaders largely utilized No. 11-type caps for that purpose, then took a step forward in the 1990s when inline guns were outfitted to use significantly hotter 209 shotshell primers.

A two-position toggle switch serves as the Electra’s safety. Located behind the safety is a red LED that alerts the shooter to the status of the circuit board. A steady glow indicates the system is charging, which takes about 15 seconds, while a blinking lamp means the rifle will fire when the safety is slid forward.

   In a sweeping change, ignition energy in the Electra comes from a familiar 9-volt battery. Close the circuit by depressing the trigger, and electrical current flows from the battery through a small circuit board to the breechplug. There, in an arrangement similar to a spark plug, it completes the circuit by arcing between contacts. In the process, the spark ignites the propellant.
   In making that delivery, a capacitor is used to increase the voltage, and the resulting spark is five times hotter than that generated from a 209 primer. The entire process from trigger activation to firing is measured in millionths of a second, markedly faster than lock times of even the best custom firing-pin assemblies.
   The circuit board also governs system readiness and safety. Located directly behind the trigger guard is a circular control switch clearly marked “OFF” and “ON.” The switch rotates 360 degrees, but lacks positive stops, and in fact one needs only to turn it either direction just past “OFF” to light the red LED, indicating the circuitry is now activated. After a 15-second interval, the red lamp begins blinking, signaling the gun is in firing mode. At this point, the shooter must slide the tang safety forward to release the trigger and fire the rifle. After ignition, the system is deactivated for another 15 seconds, a minimum time it would take to reload. The system remains inactive until the trigger is released, and a slight amount of trigger overtravel resets the safety.

The trigger pull is unlike that of any other muzzleloader—or breechloading firearm for that matter. A nominal amount of movement is required to close the circuit, but that movement has a distincly different, non-mechanical feel.

Muzzleloading Simplified
   Anyone who operates a cell phone will find the Electra rather elementary, and in several respects it is easier to use than previous muzzleloaders. Foremost, you simply skip the entire primer step. The familiar procedures for safely loading the powder charge and projectile are the same, but then the process becomes notably more convenient. (Providing, of course, you remember to turn on the switch!)
   Naturally, questions arise about battery life and reliability. Any 9-volt will do the trick, although lithium batteries are supplied and recommended by the manufacturer. Certainly, emergency battery replacement will be more easily accomplished than finding primers in some inconvenient time or place. CVA says that typically 500 ignitions can be expected, but that number may decrease in cold temperatures. The circuitry is not affected by static electricity and is well shielded from wet weather. However, in testing for NRA by former Shooting Illustrated staffer J. Guthrie, total submersion in water did cause system shutdown.
   Owners who practice shooting their Electra will see the advantages of its lightning-fast lock time. In the time it takes a conventional trigger to release a sear and a hammer to fall and strike a primer, the shooter’s natural wobble changes point-of-aim and degrades accuracy, particularly in real-life field-shooting situations. Because the electrical surge is so much faster, shots from the Electra ultimately will be closer to the shooter’s intended point-of-aim.

It may look more like a PC’s mother board than the internal workings of a muzzleloader, but the electronic ignition system on the Electra eliminates the need for a primer.

   To fully realize the accuracy potential a couple of range sessions may be needed to get accustomed to the trigger. Since there is no sear release, the shooter never feels the working of mechanical linkage or hammer fall. Instead, our test rifles demonstrated a bit of creep against light, smooth resistance, then BOOM! Normally we don’t want creep, but in this case it’s beneficial, since the gun fires without any pull-weight stop. It’s different, but once mastered is akin to having a fine custom trigger.
   Another telling factor in regard to accuracy results from removing primers from the equation. Though hot-firing 209s are favored for reliable wet-weather ignition and for thoroughly burning large powder charges, they have also become the wild card in muzzleloader performance. The 209’s initial blast is strong enough to shove the load forward before powder burn initiates, and because this effect is inconsistent from one shot to the next, it is a ballistic variable that can negatively impact accuracy. For this reason special muzzleloading 209 primers have been introduced, but it stands to reason that eliminating the offending component altogether effectively eliminates any problem.
   No primer also means a bit less fouling, since the particulates that primers leave behind are absent. Cleanup is simplified too, because of the Electra’s closed breech. Other muzzleloaders, from flinters on up to present-day inlines, have a touchhole of some kind to permit entry of the ignition spark. But those openings work both ways, and blowback routinely fouls the plug itself, along with receivers, triggers and hammers, and it is has been known to corrode scope finishes. There is no such blowback with the Electra.

A rotating power switch resides just behind the Electra’s trigger guard. Turning the switch in either direction to the “ON” position permits electricity to enter the circuit board.

   Supplied with the Electra is a stiff brush for use in cleaning the breechplug’s contact points every half-dozen shots, and CVA recommends complete disassembly and breechplug removal for a thorough scrubbing about every 50 shots.

Looks Can Be Deceiving
   Little about the Electra’s outward appearance suggests its radical nature. The electronics have been incorporated in a way that is hardly noticeable and not out of character with familiar firearm aesthetics. The battery fits neatly into the stock’s pistol grip and can be accessed directly via a grip cap secured by screws. Forward of the trigger guard and protruding about an inch below the fore-end’s bottom line is a metal housing that helps contain the circuit board. It resembles traditional extended box magazines—the British Enfield comes to mind—and thus is not a glaring oddity, though a bit curious for a muzzleloader.

Because the Electra has a closed breech, there is no blowback from ignition. Markedly less external fouling is one advantage the Electra has over other modern muzzleloaders.

   The molded synthetic stock sports almost-classic lines when compared to the severe pistol grip/slab buttstock configuration common to popular break-open muzzleloaders from CVA and others. It contains pressed stippling on the grip and fore-end as well as integral sling swivel eyelets. The butt features an ambidextrous Monte Carlo comb to promote proper eye alignment with a scope or the provided fiber-optic sights, and it sports a recoil-taming CrushZone buttpad.
   The 26-inch barrel is fluted, comes with an attached ramrod and features a counter-bored muzzle that makes it easy to start the bullet even when wearing gloves. Like most CVAs nowadays, the Electra is equipped with a high-quality Bergara barrel whose 1:28-inch twist is geared for shooting PowerBelt or saboted bullets.
   At this point three variants are offered—blued metal/black synthetic stock , stainless/black and stainless/Realtree APG camo, but CVA says its is considering adding a walnut-stocked deluxe model.

While the Electra continues to prove itself afield, CVA CEO Dudley McGarity admits most sportsmen are still a little skeptical until they get behind the trigger.

Defining Innovation
   For a couple reasons, the Electra represents considerable irony. Though electronic ignitions have previously been developed, building one into an old-school, load-through-the-muzzle firearm might seem like a gun designer’s idea of a practical joke.
   It’s not, and it is actually more practical to use electric current to ignite a powder charge held directly in the breech end of the barrel rather than powder confined within a brass case. Previous electronic-ignition sporting arms functioned only with specialized caseless ammunition, a drawback to potential owners for reasons of cost and availability. The Electra uses standard blackpowder and approved substitutes, along with popular muzzleloader bullets. Beyond that, the new CVA is the first electronic gun aimed at a relatively large market segment like muzzleloading big-game hunters.
   CVA’s company history feeds the sense of irony, too. Heretofore, it has been deservedly known for great value in providing guns that are both capable and affordable. Over the past decade CVA made waves, constantly upping its market share by underselling the competition. CEO Dudley McGarity calls this “disruptive innovation” based on the economic alternatives that it affords customers.
   Where CVA has not been so active is in developing new technology. The Electra changes all that. McGarity sees this as further disruptive innovation, though he clarifies that in this case it is based on technological breakthrough rather than pricing.
   True to CVA’s roots, however, this innovation is hardly expensive by any measure of today’s firearms market. Current base-model pricing from Cabela’s is $499.99. McGarity said that while the gun is holding its own, sales don’t match the volumes generated by other recent CVA models. He acknowledges the company needs to better educate shooters about its merits.
   It remains to be seen to what extent muzzleloading hunters take this latest technological leap. Over the past two decades, this shooter group has been receptive to change despite a background heavy in tradition. In hopes of attaining greater effectiveness in the field they have repeatedly embraced new ideas. The CVA Electra promises no less, but must overcome notions that it is straight out of science fiction.

Unjustly Short-Circuited?
   Ideas, even patents, for electronic guns go back more than a century, and similar ignition systems have been utilized successfully by the military in artillery pieces and aircraft armament. Commercial makers have worked on concepts that proceeded to various stages, the most recent being the Remington EtronX introduced in 2000. That rifle debuted to considerable attention from the firearms press and by all accounts deserved every bit of it. Geared to varmint shooters who demand—and have a track record of paying serious bucks for—enhanced accuracy, the EtronX was a long-distance tackdriver whose right-now lock time made it easier than ever to hit tiny targets at extreme ranges. Upon seeing the first one at our local gun shop I wondered if I was witnessing a real change in the future of shooting.
   But it was not to be, or at least not yet. While the EtronX attracted a cult following, it never tallied sufficient sales for a big company like Remington to keep it in the line. Most put the blame on the initial cost of the gun (about $1,999), and the cost and availability of the special ammunition it fired. I don’t know how many thousands of units it takes to make a particular gun profitable, but that rifle, at that price, in that market niche apparently didn’t clear the bar.
   So that leaves only the Electra, a mid-priced muzzleloader that fires conventional loads, and yet offers a number of practical advantages.
   And what might the future hold? Certainly the electronic lock-time speed would seem relevant to all sorts of difficult shooting tasks. Long-range rifles for hunting or military/security applications would echo what the EtronX was trying to accomplish. Handguns might be a logical next step. Perhaps all match guns, where the slightest wobble can toss a shot out of the X-ring and cost a competitor points. I’ll stop short of making bold predictions, but the principle seems too good not to help shooters in the long term.
                                                         —JZ

The Electra At Work
   I had practiced enough with the Electra to know what to expect. Nonetheless, it required a bit of faith when I drew a bead on a bull musk ox and eased my test rifle’s trigger in the culminating moment of a trek to the Canadian arctic.
   Preparing for the hunt, I had fired dozens of rounds through the groundbreaking electronic-ignition muzzleloader. I knew it would ignite, and I knew that if I shot straight it would hit where the crosshair was pointed. But this time it really counted. The trigger pull was smooth and light, ignition came as a booming surprise, and I could see the hairy beast lurch even before I heard the slap of the bullet strike. Later I would observe that the 405-grain PowerBelt hit precisely on point of aim, passed completely through both shoulders and came to rest just under the hide. There is no better confidence builder than that kind of performance.
   My only problem: Yeah, I began reflexively fumbling for a primer when reloading in those exciting moments immediately after hitting the musk ox.
   CVA publicist Chad Schearer, along to film TV footage, had enjoyed the hunt so much that he subsequently invited me to experience it—and his company’s new rifle—in one grand adventure. The irony of hunting an ancient game species in a place just now catching up to the modern world was not lost on us and we joked that I have the distinction of being the first man ever to take a musk ox with an electronic-ignition muzzleloader. For further details on this intriguing hunt, contact one of the world’s truly great outfitters: High Arctic Lodge, Fred and Dawn Hamilton, (800) 661-3880, www.higharctic.com.
   Upon my return from the Arctic, other hunters asked how the Electra represented an advantage over conventional muzzleloaders. As detailed herein, replacing the primer with an electrical arc means cleaner shooting, improved trigger function and a lightning-fast lock time that promotes field marksmanship. If that’s not enough, shooters inclined to embrace new technology will have the satisfaction of standing on the cutting edge of firearms design.
                                                         —JZ