I got a .50 cal. CVA optima today for christmas. It has the black stock and blued barrel. its MY gun and its my first muzzleloader.
Merry Christmas everyone

OhioHunter222

Well, Merry Christmas to ya! I hope you have fun shooting the heck out of that gun...but!, let me be one of the first to warn you "ML'ingIA" - Muzzleloading is addictive.

Congratulations on your excellent present. Be sure to read and understand the manual fully before you try to shoot the rifle. Also a good cleaning is also necessary. I am sure that you will have many many wonderful times out shooting the rifle.


It sounds like Santa Claus was real good to you. Be sure and let him or her know!! Congratulations on the new rifle. Keep us posted on how well it shoots for you.

Welcome to the Muzzleloader Rifle Fraternity. Using a bore brush, clean her well with a quality non-blackpowder solvent to remove storing greases. Shooters Choice or Birchwood Casey 2 IN 1 Bore Cleaner are very good &keep things like lead, copper & plasticfouling to a minimum.Use an oil afterwards that says it prevents rust.... not inhibits rust.

Get the CVA breechplug grease & grease generously - covering all threads. I think the T/C-packaged bullets are the best ones to get you started. Get a pack of Cheapshots (240 gr) and T/C Shockwaves (300 gr) to start. I suggest buying FFF or (P) pistol powder in loose granules. Pick any brand you like & start with 80 grains at the range. Winchester 209 primers are the easiest to find & make a nice starter primer.

yea im going tomorrow to get some bullets, i think i will try some powerbelts. i got enough powder to last me and my dad so that should be okay. but i have heard good things about powerbelts about them being easy to load and good shooting, and since this is my first ml i have ever hunted with, it will be nice to have a bullet that loads sort of easy.

Get the 295 gr for that CVA. Remove every Powerbelt skirt before loading to make sure they slide off & on easy. Twist & turn them also. They need to be loose for consistent shot groups. The Powerbelt design I like best are the copper hollow-points. The lead ones fragment too much & ruin alot of harvest meat sometimes.

A-Hi-O, Congrat's on your xams gift! Learn all you can and be safe!

its gonna be sweet next week we are all going shooting in an area close to home so that we can shoot our muzzys because nobody has shot theres in a while. my uncle got an optima too so me and him are gonna sight in our guns while everyone else is gonna have a fun day shooting