Hi i bought a CVA Hunterbolt 50 caliber muzzleloader laster and shot a few deer with it. My question is should i be firing a primier through my gun before i load my gun?

many people pop a 209 primer or two in order to insure the breech plug is clear of any obstructions. Then they load as normal...

if you shoot the primers but no black powder, is cleaning neccessary?

QTompkins2005

Primers are non-corrosive, but they do leave a nice layer of black soot in the barrel especially the chamber area so I patch that out. Probably is not necessary but it makes me feel better.

a lot of folks will fire the 209 before they load up. If i were you I'd just hold up my barrel to the light to see if you can see light coming through the breach.

QThompson as for whether you have to clean 209 primer fowling, it depends on who you ask. I was told by other posters, you do not have to. I think as far as letting it sit there a couple days, even a week would not be a problem. This is never the case with me. I clean my rifles every night and start the next day with a clean fresh rifle. While others don't do this cleaning ritual as I do, and that's fine, I never worry about primer ignition or a fowled barrel.

Have you ever seen how easy it is to clean a rifle that was shot one or two times in a day? Nothing to it...

After arriving on the scene, I alcohol-swab the bore to rid the bore of any gun oils. Then I fire three of the hottest 209 primers available (Federal 209A's) -- then install a 40 grain REAL BLACKPOWDER (Schuetzen or Goex)charge with an empty sabot holding the powder in -- thendo a dry swabusinga 3" patch -- then load my first Triple Se7en powder & bullet load for hunting or range work.

I've done this the last two times at the range. My first & 2nd shot groups were within 2" both horizontally and vertically. Seems to work for me.

Triple Se7en are you saying you fire the 40gr charge with empty sabot before you start the real shooting? Never heard of that being done before, but I haven't been around the smokepole that many times yet.

Yep!... it's called a fouling shot! But by doing this with real black instead of a substitute powder, you decrease the moisture-absorption that fouled substitute powder barrels see after a full day hunting in higher humidity areas of our country. I've seen my fouled substitute powder barrel release a stream of water from the bore when tilted downward at the end of a long hunt. I live right smack-middle inside the Great Lakes region thou... lots of humidity here.