Phil from Maine

Thanks for all the info guys/women I am very new to this idea and will be shooting a CVA Wolf ( breakdown ).. This info may become very helpful once I get things figured out for a bit.. This trip around though I ordered out some white hots for my powder until I get my kit and can start figuring this stuff out.. Then I can work on my bullets from there..

d.winsor

Here is some other stuff for you to consider. If you don't have a cleaning procedure for your Accura V2 this should do it.

For cleaning Inline muzzleloaders at home when you use Blackhorn 209 powder. (This procedure can be modified to work with any gun shooting black powder substitutes or BH 209)

Products I use are:
1 = Hoppe’s Elite gun cleaner. http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/124...ProductFinding
2 = Birchwood Casey 2-in-1 Bore Cleaner. http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/birc.../0000000085474
3 = Slip 2000 Gun Lube http://www.slip2000.com/slip2000_gunlube.php
4 = Slip 2000 Carbon Killer http://www.slip2000.com/mm5/merchant...tegory_Code=CK

Links are provided for a description of the product only, I am not necessarily promoting the suppliers listed.
IF YOU HAVE A CAMOFULAGED MUZZLELOADER UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES USE BIRCHWOOD CASEY 2-in-1 BORE CLEANER, UNLESS YOU CAN REMOVE THE BARREL AND GET IT AWAY FROM THE CAMOFULAGED COMPONENTS OF THE GUN
If you have a camouflaged muzzleloader barrel use Hoppe’s Elite gun cleaner, it will not damage camouflage stocks or camouflage barrels.

My cleaning procedure at home:
When start cleaning my gun at home, I remove the barrel from the gun, then I remove the breech plug, If you use Teflon tape remove it at this time, your threads of the breech plug will be clean.
Shake the Carbon Killer well. I wipe down the breech Plug and use my drill bit to clean the flash channel, then I carefully use Carbon Killer with a Q-tip to clean the flash channel, and I then suspend the breech plug in the jar of Carbon Killer on a short piece of wire. Put the red plug that came in the Carbon Killer lightly in the bottle, this will make your Carbon Killer last longer, it keeps the air from reacting with the Carbon Killer. Let your breech plug soak while you clean your barrel.
I have Hoppe’s Elite gun cleaner in the bore from the range, so I use a Phosphor bronze bore brush (if you have a nitride treated barrel or such use a nylon bore brush, if a brush is allowed by the manufacturer), I use 10 strokes then dry patch the bore dry.
Next I use Birchwood Casey 2-in-1 bore cleaner, I do this to remove any plastic from the bore caused from using sabots. Use a damp patch and swab the bore. Let this stand in your barrel 10 to 15 minutes, next using the proper brush, I give the bore 10 more strokes, then dry patch the bore. Since I don’t know if Birchwood Casey will react with the oil I use, I use a damp Hoppe’s Elite solvent patch in the bore again and then dry patch the bore. Your patches should be coming out white by now.
Next I use the large brush in the CVA breech brush set and put a Hoppe’s Elite gun cleaner patch on the brush. Then I push this into the breech end of the barrel about ½”, I turn the brush clockwise, the brush will start pulling itself in, I do this until the brush is just about in the barrel. Then I turn the brush counter clockwise to back the brush out of the barrel. Next I do the same thing using a dry patch, then I do the same thing using a Slip 2000 Gun Lube patch. Your patches should be coming out white by now. At this time use a Slip 2000 gun lube patch to lubricate the bore.
Now remove your breech plug from the Carbon Killer and wipe it down with a clean rag. Since my flash hole is a 1/8” in size, I use a Q-Tip and carbon killer to clean out the flash hole. Use caution doing this, if you kink the Q-Tip pulling off cotton to make it the proper size for the flash hole, or kink the Q-Tip using it in the flash hole, or kink the Q-Tip because it is too tight in the flash channel, throw the Q-Tip away and get a fresh one, otherwise you may end up with ½ of a Q-Tip in your flash hole. You may want to eliminate the Q-tip totally, but I think using it does a better job. If you do end up with ½ of a Q-Tip in your flash hole for any reason, I wouldn’t know how to tell you to get it out. Be sure to replace the red plug seal in your Carbon Killer bottle and put the top back on, to maintain the Carbon Killer strength.
Now use a Q-tip to put a lightly lubed Slip 2000 gun lube in your flash hole, wait about 10 minutes this will allow the Slip 2000 gun lube to work, then use a dry Q-Tip and chase the flash channel. Apply slip 2000 gun lube to the breech plug. If you use Teflon tape (which I recommend) or Breech plug grease, use it now and install the breech plug in your barrel.
For a CVA muzzleloader you should clean your firing pin assembly every 6 months, sooner if the range time gives you a dirty breach area.
Clean your stock and breech assembly, lightly oil the breech assembly and the outside of the barrel. Reassemble your muzzleloader. In a month, 2 or 3 months you can come back and run a lightly lubed patch down your barrel and it will come out white. When you use Slip 2000 Gun Lube, your muzzleloader can be stored for up to a year without any problems, probably more.

After the first shot of the day on the range here is the procedure I use:
Never use Birchwood Casey 2-in-1 Bore Cleaner at the range if you have a camouflaged barrel or stock. If you get it on your hands or if it gets on your gun it will damage the camouflaged finish of your rifle.
After the first shot I use Hoppe’s Elite Gun Cleaner on a patch, patch the barrel using both sides of the patch. Then using one side of a patch, I dry patch the barrel, save this patch. Then using a patch lightly oiled with Slip 2000 Gun Lube, I swab the barrel, then I take the saved patch and turn it over and dry patch the bore, save this patch and use it for your next Hoppe’s Elite patch. Now I load and shoot. Repeat the procedure after the shot.
When you are done shooting and before you leave the range, put a damp patch using Hoppe’s Elite Gun Cleaner down the bore of your muzzleloader, make sure to draw the patch up and down a few times. On your way home this will give the Hoppe’s Elite time to work.

Shooting Blackhorn 209 they say you don’t have to swab between shots. Using that procedure at the range I adjusted my sights accordingly. When I would go to the range my first shot would be 4” to 5” out of the group, then my gun would group to POA. I tried Cleaning out the oil in the barrel with alcohol before I shot, I tried cleaning the barrel out with Hoppe’s Elite before my first shot. I tried cleaning out the oil in my barrel with Hoppe’s and alcohol. I tried firing 3 WW 209 primers before my first shot. I tried using Hoppe’s elite gun cleaner between shots, I did not try fouling my barrel because I knew that worked on the range. Actually it is impractical where I live to foul my barrel before loading. I do not like hunting all day with a fouled barrel and I will not let my muzzleloader set in that state overnight much less for days or weeks at a time.
After applying every option I could dig up, nothing seemed to work. In the past I had always cleaned my barrel at home and when I went to hunt or shoot the, the next time there was no problem. I have a .54 caliber T/C Renegade that using a 430 grain Maxie bullet, I had to foul the barrel for the gun to get rid of first shot fliers, I used Pyrodex Select at the time and swabbed between each shot (no lube) still first shot fliers. With the same gun I went to a T/C 3 piece sabot and never had first shot out of group problems. From that I think that if all else fails one might try changing bullets or sabots.
I began thinking that the only time the first shot problem occurred was when I took my muzzleloader out of the safe and went to the range, then my first shot would be out of the group. So I decided to try the range procedure above, it is not so much work that it would not be feasible, so I gave it a try.
Now with the range procedure I use with Blackhorn 209 powder in my Accura V2. I have no first shot fliers, I adjusted my scope with this procedure, now when I take my gun to the range my shots and groups are spot on from the first shot to the last.
You can use this procedure any way you want, for any powder you want to use. You can modify it for any make or model of muzzleloader, or for the chemicals you like to use. If you are looking for a method that will stop first shot fliers this is it, I do believe. It will definitely increase the accuracy of each shot, as all shots will be exactly the same, from cleaning to loading to shooting. The home procedure will set your muzzleloader up for long term storage without any worries.
If you have tried everything else to eliminate first shot fliers, if you need a good cleaning procedure for home or the range, or if you just want to use some of the procedures, I hope this helps.

pooldoc

There are several things that may help your accuracy. 1) Switch to Black Horn 209. I measure by volume and then weigh the powder to be consistent. No crud ring problem either. I pop 2 caps before I load and use consistent pressure on the ramrod. 2) Change bullets; both accuracy and effectiveness will improve using Barnes, Hornady, Nosler or Harvester bullets. Currently I'm using Hornady's 300gr. SST for all my hunting. Hornady has just released a new MonoFlex solid copper bulletin in 250 gr. that looks like a Barnes. Have not had a chance to try it. 3) Use a Federal 209A primer. 4) Experiment with different sabots, based on bullet(s) you end up with. I use Hornady's 3 pedal Low Drag(EZ Load) sabot on their bullets and either a Black or Red Harvester Crush Rib sabot on everything else. Use as many of the same components as you can when working up a load. Saves a lot of time. I started by loads at 90 gr(Vol) and worked up to the 110 gr load I use. I like the heavier bullets because they have better down range performance at 125 yd plus shots we have in West Texas.
All the Barnes I have recovered expanded properly and retained 99% of their original weight. I use a Lead sled from time to time when testing loads, but until you get used to it it's tough to shoot a real tight group. I have 3 Knights, all with bare primer conversions and a new Redemption and all are capable of producing 3 shot 100 yd, groups of 1 inch or less. It took about 4 or 5 months to get it all together, primarily due to the fact that our 90+ daily temps don't let you shoot many rounds at one time. Hang in there. I've parked all my other guns and shoot nothing but MZ's year round.