Bore Butter......
 

Well I stopped by Bass Pro the other day, and got to talking with the guy there in the ML section. Told him my woes with my grouping. He thought my barrel may not be seasoned, so he sold me some deep cleaning stuff from TC, and some bore butter from them also. Anybody ever hear of this stuff? Suppose to make your barrel seasoned, whatever that means. Anyways I'm gonna give it a try. I deeped cleaned it already and the stuff is in the barrel now. Says you can also use it to lube your sabot's. Anybody here do that? I also picked up some Pyrodex RS/ FFG, Barnes SBT's in 245 grn., T/C XTP's in 240 grn., and some Hornaday SST's in 250 grn., also have on order some Maxiball, and Maxihunter. I've never shot loose powder before, so this will be a new experience. Any suggestions on powder charge? and what not to load too. I don't want to overcharge with powder. It is a CVA, hunterbolt magnum. I removed the scope and reinstalled the rear sight as suggested from F.Gander, and NC Hawkeye. Hope to get out next week after doing some improvements on the stock.

RE: Bore Butter......
 

I think your going to get mixed reviews on the bore butter. I don't use it myself but to each their own. I have a cva optima and it likes 90g of 777 FFG, 777 primers and 300g hornady xtp in a mmp sabot. I might suggest starting at 80-90g and work up from there. I am only looking for 100 yard max range and have not found it necessary to go beyond 100g of loose powder. Good luck and have fun!

RE: Bore Butter......
 

A lot of time you get wonderful information from store personal. Other times, they do not know what they are talking about. To season or not to season.. that is the question. I do not season my barrels. I used to but it lead to accuracy issues. So I cleaned the bore butter out of my barrel and never put it back in them.

Most books like from T/C will tell you not to lube your sabots. The sabot is the lube. Although some people do, and report good results with it. I do not.

For a powder charge try 90 grains of loose powder. And those bullets you purchased. I do not think you would need the bore butter in the barrel, but you do what you feel best. I would shoot on a clean barrel with 90 grains of Pyrodex and those 240 grain XTPs. Start at 50 yards, and be sure and swab the bore between shots... Good luck with your rifle.

RE: Bore Butter......
 

When it comes to CVA's you cant beat a powerbelt just to start off with.

295 grain aerotip with 80-90 grains Pyrodex seem like a good starting place. the 385 grain great plains conicals are another were to look at.

Maxi balls and hunters should also do good with 80 to 90 grains. I dont like them for hunting due to the bad performance i got on game, but if they shoot good on paper, thats all you'll need to get an idea on what it likes.

RE: Bore Butter......
 

I had planned on running a couple of patches thru to clean out the butter befor shooting. The guy told me that was best. I will continue swabbing between each round also. I'm gonna set another target stop 50 yards from my bench, and start with open sights. I plan on being there awhile. It's nice to have your own shooting range. If I get bored, I might bring the bow with and do alittle string action too! Here's my youngest last week with the 22-250.

RE: Bore Butter......
 

Here's the results from their shooting. Trevors is on top, Brandons is on the bottom. Center was for practice. Each had a 5 shot group. The hole way at the bottom and to the left is Trevors first shot of the day. He was a little surprised with the light trigger. LOL

RE: Bore Butter......
 

Well...He saw you coming...Not a word of truth to it...

How do you season steel??? I have several cast iron fry pans that are 40 years old or so, still use them, they will "season" with the different tastes and oils as you use them through the years, not so with gun steel...

I started shooting flintlocks back in the 70s...I NEVER heard of seasoning a barrel until I started seeing advertising on this stuff in the early 80s, if I remember correctly...During this time I was doing some competive shooting, one of the members of the local club used axle grease to lube his patches...He built longrifles during that time and several of his won at Friendship...

Now, I'm guessing you are using an inline, don't put BoreButter down the barrel...The custom made flinters that I use have cut riflling, .015 deep, made for patches...A inline has button rifling, .004-.006 deep...According to the Knight tech I discussed this with a few years ago, with the shallow rifling on inlines the BoreButter can build up in the grooves, which hinders the sabot trying to grip the rifling, ruining accuracy...

RE: Bore Butter......
 

I have used bore butter in the past with no bad results and it makes a good patch lube for PRB loads or bullet lube for conicals, but if you clean the barrel thoroughly after each shooting session I just don't buy the "seasoning" theory. If you thoroughly clean the barrel there is not going to be any bore butter left, and if you aren't getting it clean you will eventually have rust!
I use a good cleaning, followed by acomplete drying, followed by a good gun oil for rust prevention these days and get good results. Before shooting again, clean out the gun oil with alcohol soaked patches followed by dry patches (or just soak up any excess with dry patches on some barrels - each barrel will have it's own "attitude" toward what it likes and will tell you by where the first shot goes, some even demand a fouling shot).
The poor groups could be from a lot of variables. Powder type, granulation, and quantity - bullet type and weight - loading procedure - or just a poor barrel or bedding problem.
Usually about any muzzleloader can be made to shoot well with the right load combination, but there is the occasional "lemon" in the bunch. Over the years I've found a few that shot about anything you loaded in them well, but more often they prefer a powder charge in a small range (say 80 to 110 gr for instance), and a general weight range & bullet style (short or long, light or heavy).
I usually look for a bullet type & weight that gives better results in comparison to the rest, then play with powder charges - but you can reverse the procedure and figure it out, too. I would recommend varying only one component at a time when looking for that "sweet" load. ;)
Not sure of the max loads for that rifle, so I can't advise you on that issue.

RE: Bore Butter......
 

Never hurts to try things and experiment. Either you like it and it works great or it does not work out for you so you stop it. Simple as that. So good luck and have fun shooting!

Best of luck

RE: Bore Butter......
 

Sabots in your gun you should not use the bore butter. Conicals or patch round ball then use it, that is the prevailing wisdom. I use a small amount of bore butter to swab between shots in the field with my sabot guns, because I have found that my usual practice of swabing between shots at the range with a 50/50 mix of alcohol and windshield washer fluid drys out very quickly, so I am in effect swabbing with a dry patch. So I swab with bore butter, because it does NOT dry out easily, a very small amount worked into the patch, basically just tuning it yellow. I then follow up with a dry patch. So when hunting, 1 bb patch, turn over run down again, then followed by a dry patch gets most of the crud in the barrel of my Omega and Knight Disc.As for accuracy, both these guns shoot about 2" at 100 yards. I you really want to shoot a power that does NOT leave a lot of burnt fouling then shoot Jim Shockey Gold or American Poineer Powder or the new Black Horn. However be warned that JSG/APP is NOT as powerful as 777 and also not as consistent, therefore affecting accuracy. At 100 yards, this is NOT a big deal unless your shooting for 1.5" and 1" groups, then stay with 777 since it is the most consistent powder. Hope that helps you, you have a good selection of bullets to try. Sabot also makes a huge difference, and I believe I said for your earlier to buy the following sabots and keep them around:

mmp12, mmp24, mmp 3petal ez, mmp short black
Harvester Crushed rib, Harvester black sabot

If you need links on where to buy these I can provide that. Best wishes on your quest. I can tell your determined to get to the bottom of this, and I am sure you will.

If you go to the CVA site here is what they say about what to shoot:

What is the best projectile for my CVA rifle?
Answer: By far, the best performing projectile we have ever tested is the new PowerBelt™ Bullet -- which is probably best described as a bullet/sabot hybrid. Like sabots, the PowerBelt™ Bullet's patented snap-on plastic base creates a perfect gas seal, providing consistent pressures and unsurpassed accuracy. But unlike sabots, PowerBelt™ Bullets are full caliber sized, easy to load, and do not require cleaning after every shot. The PowerBelt™ is not a pistol bullet dressed up for use in a muzzleloader -- they are designed for muzzleloaders. In our tests the performance has been so superior that the PowerBelt™ Bullet has made sabots obsolete. PowerBelt™ Bullets are available in either copper-clad or pure lead. And, PowerBelt™ Bullets are legal in almost every state, including Colorado.


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