Connecticut Valley Arms, better knowns as CVA, has made a name for themselves with a wide variety of popular muzzle loading arms over the years. In more recent years they’ve broadened their range to include centerfire rifles aimed at the hunting public. Today we are taking a look at what one of those rifles, the CVA Cascade LRH can do.
The LRH is one of CVA’s more recent releases. All CVA Cascade actions use a round steel receiver, housing a three-lug bolt. That robust bolt has an oversized handle and is secured by a bolt-stop at the rear of the action. While the Cascade appears to share some aspects with the popular Remington 700 platform, it’s not a clone like so many others.
Securing the Cascade action to the stock are two action screws on either end of the magazine well. That centralizes the compression of the stock/chassis at the center of the strong points of the action rather than at the very end of the tang of the action, which can cause flexing issues.
CVA uses barrels from their sister company, Bergara. Using a slightly heavier profile for the LRH model offers a more rigid barrel from which to launch projectiles. The LRH barrel is fluted and features a radial muzzle brake mounted using 5/8-24 threads for mounting a suppressor.
A 700-style trigger ensures the Cascade has clean ignition and spent cases are pulled by a sliding plate extractor before being thrown clear by a spring plunger. Cartridges are fed from a proprietary detachable polymer magazine.
The LRH model brings a few features that different from the original Cascade, adding in a flat-bottomed forearm with dual front sling studs. An adjustable height comb, coupled with a spacer adjustable-length of pull makes the rifle customizable.
Before heading to the range to see what it could do, I needed to prepare it. The rifle is chambered in a variety of calibers, but the one I have is chambered in .25 Creedmoor. For that I needed to crank out a few handloads since they aren’t readily available at my local retailer.
Mounting a scope like the US Optics LXR 4-24 in a set of Vortex 34mm rings makes a perfect companion for the LRH. Adding other basics like a sling, bipod and a suppressor round out the rifle.
My initial testing was promising, after trying a few different types of ammunition and finding the one that best performed. The Cascade LRH produces sub-MOA groups without a problem, and getting 1/2-MOA groups wasn’t terribly hard either.
I immediately noticed how smooth feeding from the polymer magazine was. Much like the other CVA Cascade rifles I have, the slippery magazine feeds the cartridges so smoothly you almost can’t tell if a round is being chambered or not. I also looked at getting additional magazines for the rifle, and was happy to see flush-fitting three-round mags are only $35. Extended 10-rounders are only ten dollars more.
The magazine release is a small trigger-like button in front of the mag well. It’s recessed to avoid accidental release, but it’s ideally positioned to reach with a finger. Magazines drop neatly in the palm of your hand.
Adjusting the stock to fit was easy using the thumb-wheel to get the perfect comb height for the scope. That’s important as we took the rifle into the Rocky Mountains to push its limits. After all, with a name like LRH, I had to see what it could do in this big country of the west.
For that I would take the rifle and the rest of my gear for a hike into the same canyons where I chase elk and mule deer in the fall. Typical shots in these parts can be anywhere from 100 yards across a field, to an opposing canyon face half a mile or more away. That’s where this rifle was meant to shine.
The closest simulation I can make to actually testing a hunting scenario was to pick out targets at random. I spotted an open patch of dirt with something like a stick or small rock standing out in it. I then ranged it before taking up a shooting position and dialing the elevation on my scope.
A quick evaluation of the wind and its expected effect on my shot influenced my hold before carefully breaking the shot. I watched the bullet impact the dirt, leaving a mark, if not completely obscuring the stick or rock I was aiming at. I then evaluated my calculations. Had that been a buck, would I have hit it?
The more you get out and play this game, the better you get at first-round hits.
After spending an afternoon repeating that process at various distances, angles and elevations, I was quite satisfied with the performance of the Cascade LRH. Hitting targets comparable to a deer’s vitals was very doable within the reasonable effective range of the cartridge.
I ended up being quite happy with the CVA Cascade LRH, with very few complaints. In fact the only thing I might change is still a toss-up for me. While I like the proprietary magazines’ function, they have a slightly shorter internal length than the more popular AICS magazines used by nearly every manufacturer at this point.
I love the flush-fitting and smooth-feeding CVA magazines, but I often wonder if I’d prefer the AICS mags that my other rifles use. It’s not a big deal either way, just something to think about. The hunting purists out there may say this rifle might also be a touch heavy. Traditional hunting rifles tend to weigh-in under nine pounds, whereas the Cascade LRH configured as you see it is closer to eleven pounds. Obviously that has a lot to do with how I chose to set up the rifle, and I’m okay with it as is. But even if you configured the rifle without a suppressor and a lighter scope, it will likely weigh a little more than you typical hunting rifle.
Other than that I give the Cascade LRH high marks. It looks good while cycling cartridges smoothly and hitting targets accurately at distance. There’s just very little to dislike about this rifle. I would happily take it on one of my hunts this fall. It gives all the performance hunters need for a price that’s pretty reasonable considering the competition.
Specifications
- Caliber: .25 Creedmoor
- Barrel Length: 24-Inches
- Barrel: #5 Contour Bergara fluted
- Barrel twist rate: 1:7.5-Inches
- Capacity: 3+1 (10-round magazines also available)
- Weight: 8.5 pounds
- Muzzle: Radial brake mounted on ⅝-24 TPI
- Trigger Adjustable: 2 to 4 pounds
- Stock: Synthetic adjustable comb and LOP, dual front sling studs
- Finish: Cerakote
- Scope Rail: 20 MOA cant
- MSRP: $979 to $1,049