I own the Traditions Trapper and T/C Patriot both and I can give you a fair side by side comparison. The Trapper is indeed higher quality than I've seen from the CVA's that I've handled. It's also an extremely accurate gun. It will easily shoot with my Patriot.
The trigger on the Trapper can be adjusted down to mere ounces and is wonderfully crisp and predictable. It does have a lot of overtravel though. I had to stone out a lot of gritty creep on the Patriot's trigger to get it to shoot good. I still think I prefer the Trapper's trigger, even with the overtravel. I'm going to see if I can't figure out a way to install an overtravel limiter.
The Patriot is a little lighter and more balanced. The Trapper is more muzzle heavy, but it's also a bit more stable because of it. The Patriots sights are better, but the thin front blade on the Trapper is good for fine target work.
From a rest, the Patriot turns in slightly tighter groups, but offhand, the Trapper holds it's own and I often shoot better with it. It's really too hard to call. I'd hafta say it's a dead even tie between the two of them and I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite.
If you can't find a Patriot, get the Trapper and know it's as close as you're likely to find. It's an outstanding value for the price. If you do find a Patriot, be prepared to do some gunsmithing on the trigger parts to get rid of the annoying and gritty creep. A problem that the Trapper doesn't have.
