This week, I finally upgraded my CVA Optima's scope to a Nikon Force XR 2.5-8x28mm - my preferred scope on all of my other hunting handguns:
Between the heat and a drone flight I had to make, it was late in the afternoon by the time I got everything outside to sight in the Optima. Because it was fairly late, I decided not to set up the chronograph. That would be just another piece of equipment to have to adjust every time I moved the target.
My first order of business was to get the scope dialed in at 25 yards. Once I adjusted my rest to accommodate the Optima, I measured out 80 grains of Blackhorn 209 powder and poured it down the muzzle, then inserted a 200 grain .452" Berry's plated hollowpoint into a Harvester Crushed Rib sabot, which I seated firmly on top of the powder charge. I decided to go with 80 grains because that powder charge worked quite well with the 240 grain XTPs I tried last year. The first shot was quite low and to the left, so I adjusted accordingly. However, my second shot showed I overcorrected the right adjustment and under-adjusted the height. I wanted to fire another shot prior to further adjustment to be sure, but something strange happened.
When I squeezed the trigger, the Optima didn't sound as though it fired, creating only a strange popping noise. I thought my primer had misfired, so I held it firmly on target for a minute to ensure it wasn't a hang fire. When I felt it safe to do so, I removed the primer to see that, yes, it had gone off. Then, when I picked up the Optima, some unburned granules of BH 209 fell out of the muzzle. Puzzled, I removed the breech plug and saw a fair amount of unburned powder along the bottom of the barrel. I also discovered the sabot on the ground about ten feet in front of the table, completely undamaged save for rifling marks on the petals. The bullet was nowhere to be found. I'm still trying to figure out what happened. . . .
Anyway, I swabbed the barrel, reloaded, and fired another shot. This one went off without a hitch, and landed near the previous shot:
Yes, I'm still using the 22 target from last week.
I adjusted the scope back to the left, then set up at 50 yards. The first shot landed below the previous two 25 yard shots, so once again I made some adjustments to the left and up. The second shot went right through the bullseye. Not bad, especially considering that was only the fourth shot I've ever fired at that distance with the Optima:
Now came the real test. I set the target back at 100 yards, this time with the intention of firing a 3-shot group, then making any further scope adjustments based on the group, rather than a single shot that might not be indicative of where the shots are hitting relative to the crosshairs. After three shots, I went to check the target:
That's about a 2" group at 100 yards. Not bad at all with a muzzleloading pistol, and honestly, much of that was probably me rather than the Optima. I haven't been practicing over the last few months, barring last weekend. With much more practice, I could probably tighten that up to 1".
One last adjustment - 1 MOA left, 1.25 MOA up. One last shot:
Grazed the top of the bullseye at 100 yards with a muzzleloading pistol. Heck yeah.
I'm very happy with this set up. Last year, I mentioned that the Optima pistol had a lot of performance potential that was limited by the fixed 2x power Nikon. This afternoon's range session confirmed this for me. I'm fully confident that after a bit more practice, I could easily take a deer at 100 yards with the 200 grain Barnes XPB, possibly even 150 yards if the load is powerful enough.
That brings us to the load's performance. I'm planning to shoot through the chronograph tomorrow to determine how fast 80 grains of BH 209 propels a 200 grain bullet. I know it'll push a 240 grain XTP to 1,480 fps, so the 200 grain bullets should be going well in excess of 1,500 fps.
The recoil seems less severe than with the 240 grain XTP, no doubt due to the lower bullet weight. While it's still not pleasant to shoot like my 221 Fireball Encore, it's at least marginally more comfortable.
Can't wait to shoot it again tomorrow.