# Newbie looking for some advice



## fastj14 (Mar 9, 2009)

Hello all. I am brand new to muzzleloading. I had been wanting to get one for several years so I just recently purchased a .50 cal CVA Optima pro. Has the camo thumbhole stock with the nickle barrel and I put a 3x9x40 scope on it and had a friend bore sight it for me. I have never shot this gun. None of my close friends or family are real familiar with muzzleloading. This gun will take the magnum loads. My main question I guess would be for someone with this gun or one similar. What is the best sabot and powder combination to shoot? I will primarily be using this gun for hunting whitetailed deer. Also what kind of range will this gun have? 100? 150 yards? Thanks in advance for any help. John


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## wburns (Feb 27, 2009)

I use a TC Hawkens (old style) so I can't be certain on some things. But I have had good luck with powerbelt bullets (which are also recomended for your gun by CVA). They are nice because they shoot better after the barrel is dirty (one or two shots) I tend to use 100 grains of Triple 7 which burns much cleaner than most powders I have tried. A good 245gr bullet would be a good choice for whitetail.

You will find that a lot of black powder guns are finickey and there is no one right bullet powder overall combination in general. Basically get a couple of good sabots and a couple different powders. Start of around 85-90 gr and work up in 5 gr incremints. Your guns max load if it is rated for magnum loads is 150gr according to CVA. Check your owners manual to be sure. You will likely see your groups tighten up as you increas powder to a certain point and then they will start to open up again. I have found 100gr of powder to kill very cleanly. I prefer loose powder but you may find you get good results with the pellets. They are nice due to ease of use but in the field it does not make much difference as you don't shoot much anyway. As far as effective distance I will not shoot past 100yds due to I can only use open sights and 100gr of powder. If you shoot more powder I suppose the effective range goes up. Someone else may have better info on that.


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## fastj14 (Mar 9, 2009)

Thanks for the reply. I was planning on using those powerbelt bullets as well. I'm anxious to take it out and shoot it some but I want to make sure I have everything I need, ready to go when I do.


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

Try blackhorn 209 and shockwave 250gr sabots or Barnes Tipped TMZ 250gr sabots before you try any thing else. I used a few different types of pellets and a few different bullets, including powerbelts and these two bullets shoot the best, almost identical, groups out of my CVA Kodiak Pro. Blackhorn is an excellent powder for many reasons, most important to me is you never have to give your gun a "bath".


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## fastj14 (Mar 9, 2009)

Thanks for the reply man. What do you mean by you never have to give your gun a bath? Is it just a cleaner powder or what? Thanks again.


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

I know it isn't a big deal really, but I just can't get over the idea of pouring water into a firearm, or like some, actually letting it sit in a bathtub soaking in water. It just goes against every thing you learn about keeping a firearm in good working order, but yet you are supposed to do this to clean the thing. Blackhorn and Hoppes is the way to go!!! :2cents:


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## wburns (Feb 27, 2009)

I have had great results with CVA Bore foam cleaner. I used to do the hot water and soap method to clean the barrel. It never hurt anything as I have shot the rifle for almost 20 years now. Just it is very messy. The bore foam you spray in the barrel and let set for a couple hours or so and run some patches through. If Hoppes works, thats great, as most people have it for their other rifles. Make sure you clean the gun after every use or it will rust up on you.

Stay away from pyrodex it burns messy. Sounds like laite319 has some great suggestions for powder and bullets as well. Also swab the barrel between shots to maintain accuracy. The only bullets I have found that I don't have to do a lot of swabing is the powerbelts however I have not tried the ones recommended in the previous post. If the Blackhorn powder burns as clean as laite319 says then that will reduce swabing of the barrel even more. What happens is the powder leaves a residue behind after each shot and after awhile (3-4 shots sometimes less) it effects bullet performance and accuracy.


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## fastj14 (Mar 9, 2009)

Thanks guys, I will keep all of this in mind.


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## rasmusse (Oct 24, 2006)

I use a T/C Encore .50 cal for elk with a 405 gr. Powerbelt over 115 grains of 777. It is accurate to at least 100 yards, one bullet went clear through a 650 lb cow at 83 yards. My Encore is more accurate after an intial fouling shot is fired. You will need to spend some time at the range to see what combination of powder and bullet is best for your rifle.

I use boiling water and dish soap for the intial cleaning. The boiling water quickly evaporates and doesn't leave any moisture in the barrel.


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## fastj14 (Mar 9, 2009)

So using boiling water, how do you get enough to soak the whole barrel in? And what would you do about the scope? Thanks.


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## wburns (Feb 27, 2009)

Most of the time you put the hot water in a bucket with some soap. I do not boil it, I just run hot water till it is at max temp from the tap. Since your gun has a removable breech plug, remove the plug and put one end in the bucket and pour a little of the hot water and soap down the other end of the barrel. Insert the cleaning rod and brush and start running the rod up and down the barrel. The brush will act as a plunger sucking water in and pushing it back out. Your scope would not be submerged in water if you use the bucket method as long as the bucket is lower than your scope while it is standing on end. Since most scopes are water proof any water spilt on them would not harm them. One trick to keep it off of the scope lens would be to put scope cap covers over the scope while cleaning. Also it is very messy so either clean it outside where the dirty water can run on the ground or do it in the bath tub where any water being spilt can be rinsed down the drain.


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## rasmusse (Oct 24, 2006)

Sorry I forgot to mention the bucket. It really does work well and you will be able to clean out all the fouling. The hotter the water, the quicker it will evaporate from the barrel.

I don't use a scope on my Encore because Colorado requires iron sights. Shouldn't be a problem though with the method described above.

I have also heard of using hot water and Murphy's Oil Soap which is said to eliminate the need to oil the barrel after cleaning. I may try that too.


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## fastj14 (Mar 9, 2009)

Thanks i'll keep that in mind for cleaning it if I ever get to shoot it lol. I've been wanting to since I got it and have just been too busy lately.


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