Testing the CASCADE XT, CVA’s Precision Rifle

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

CVA makes a name for itself in the world of precision rifles. Not long ago, CVA introduced its first bolt-action, the Cascade. It was well received as a quality rifle available at a fair price. Building on its success, CVA is now introducing the Cascade XT. This new rifle is a more precision-oriented version of the original that is sure to perform.

Barrel and Brake

The XT offers a heavier #5 fluted 4140 Bergara barrel. Its extra thickness adds stability and the ability to handle more shots before becoming warm and losing precision. The fluting helps remove excess material cutting the weight to 6 pounds 11 ounces. I would not consider it a lightweight rifle but it’s not bad considering its bias towards precision.

The muzzle comes fitted with a sleek omnidirectional muzzle brake. The brake does a great job of mitigating recoil, but it may come at a cost. The omnidirectional design means it diverts combustion gasses in all directions, including straight down, toward the ground. If you do a lot of shooting in the prone position, that can be an issue. As the hypersonic gasses expand, they kick up debris and send it back toward the shooter. That isn’t so much a problem when shooting over moist grass but getting a face full of dirt and sand with every shot in dryer environments will, quite literally, put a bad taste in your mouth. 

Thankfully under the brake, the muzzle is threaded 5/8X24, so you can replace it with whatever brake or suppressor mount you desire. The rifle also comes with a thread protector so you could go without any device on the muzzle.

Precise Expectations

CVA offers a one MOA guarantee for the Cascade XT, claiming that every rifle is capable of one-inch groups at one hundred yards. My 6.5 Creedmoor model did not disappoint. I got ½ MOA groups with two of the four factory loads I tried. 

Hornady 140gr ELD Match is the best, with its smallest group measuring only .35 inches. Federal’s 135gr Hybrid Hunter is not far behind, with its best group measuring right at .5 inches. Federal’s group was slightly larger, but I think ½ MOA precision from a non-match hunting load is pretty impressive. It seems that this rifle prefers a bullet weight of around 135 or 140 grains. I tried a heavier load and a lighter one, but neither did as well.

General Features

The trigger is adjustable between two and four pounds. Mine came set at the bottom of the range, breaking cleanly and consistently right at two pounds. Not only is the trigger’s function clean and crisp, but so is its form. The trigger has a broad smooth face that guides your finger into the same location for each pull. The back of the trigger has twin scallops that reduce its thickness while retaining rigidity. The trigger is one of the components where the craftsmanship is easy to see.

The safety is a simple two-position lever located just behind the bolt handle on the right side of the rifle. It is easy to manipulate whether you are shooting right or left-handed. The safety does not lockout the bolt, so you can still manipulate the action while the rifle is on safe.

The Cascade features a three-lug bolt with a seventy-degree throw. The short throw angle makes for quick follow-up shots and leaves plenty of room between the large bolt handle and the scope.

With chamberings in .223 Rem, 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Win, .450 Bushmaster, .350 Legend, 6.5 PRC, 7mm Rem Mag, and .300 Win Mag, this rifle can meet a wide variety of needs.

Stock Talk

SEE MORE: Budget Rifle Showdown: Savage vs. Mossberg vs. Howa vs. CVA

The stock offers a few good features including dual forward sling studs and a removable spacer to adjust length-of-pull. Unfortunately, it does have the hollow plastic feel that’s synonymous with many mid-tier rifles. I initially mounted my bipod on the forwardmost sling stud but quickly found this to be a bad idea. The excessive flex in the stock affected the rifle’s overall stability and made shooting to the rifle’s full potential unnecessarily difficult. I somewhat remedied this by moving that bipod to the middle sling stud. This section of the stock still has some flex, but it is not as bad as the very front. 

Mounting Optics

This rifle comes with a monolithic rail for mounting optics. All my bolt guns have this type of mount, but this one gave me trouble. When I tried to mount my scope I found that I was unable to position It so that I would have proper eye relief. The scope body near the objective lens would hit the front of the rail before it was in position. I could get higher rings so that the scope would clear the rail but I prefer to mount my scopes as low as possible. The solution I found was to remove the spacer from the stock. Doing this moved my head one inch closer to the scope and resolved the eye relief issue. 

The magazine is a double stack double feed with a four-round capacity. Its polymer construction feels sturdy and it fits flush inside the magwell. Spare magazines are priced reasonably around $25 but they can be hard to find in stock. 

CVA Summary and Overview

Pros:

• Bergara barrel
• Superb accuracy
• Second bipod mounting position
• Good trigger

Cons:

• Long scope rail
• Flimsy stock

Not many rifles under a thousand dollars can punch out half MOA groups. For that reason, I believe the $799 MSRP is very fair. That being said, the only thing holding this rifle back from leveling up from mid to high tier is the stock’s lack of rigidity. It is more flimsy than I would like, but that’s alright. It seems like CVA chose to blow the budget for this rifle on a phenomenal action and barrel and was then relegated to using a cheaper stock to keep it in the mid-tier price range. While this is just speculation, if it were true, I’d support it because it produced a rifle of incredible value in terms of functionality.

Overall I have enjoyed this rifle and I am excited to see what comes next as CVA continues to make a name for itself in the world of bolt-action rifles. Until then, I will be sure to recommend it to anyone interested in long-range hunting or target shooting but who doesn’t have the budget to go straight for a top-shelf option. 

Be sure to visit CVA’s Website for more details or to find a dealer near you. 

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