im gona be using pellets and i dont know what grain to use 100 or 150 im pretty sure my gun can use a magnum load. its a cva optima 209 .50 cal. thanks

You can buy 50g and 30g pellets so you can customize your load a bit more than just 100g + 150g. If you use two 50g and one 30g you have a 130g load or three 30g for 90g ect...

Your load will depend on the kind of projectile you want to shoot. Some of them you will find will do better at 100 grains. Others might do better at 120 grains. It is all a matter of trial and error. That is why a lot of shooters use loose powder. We custom the loads a little easier to fit the projectile. You will probably find that most of the projectiles you shoot will do just fine with 100 grains or two pellets. There is no sense beating your self up and wasting money at the same time with the 150 grain charges.

ok another question will 100 grains with a .50 cal sabot carry enough punch out to 100-150 to down a deer?

yes that charge is more then enough to take a whitetail out to 150 yards based on some of the different balistic tests I have seen, and from some of the hunting experiences I have read. I have never personally had to use a muzzleloader over 90 yards hunting. If you place the shot in the right place, the projectile will do the rest on the thin skinned deer.

For long range shooting you might want to look into some Shockwaves, Barnes Expanders, or some Buffalo Bullet SSB's. Those are my favorite anyway. I use the Barnes Expanders in my Knight rifle, and the other two in my Black Diamond XR. I shoot powerbelts in the CVA Staghorn Magnum but because of the no scopes allowed in muzzleloading season around here, would not shoot over 100 yards personally unless all was perfect, and I mean perfect.