bigbulls

I have a CVA hunter bolt with a 1 in 32" twist barrel. I have been trying to get Hornady great planes 385 grain bullets to shoot all day today and it aint workin.

Does any one have a load that they have found to work in their CVA. Keep in mind that I have to use full bore bullets and loose powder. I live and hunt in Colorado. I know there is some experimentation to do but I' m trying to get a starting point here with out spending a lot of money.

Also what would you use to fill the butt of that rifle. It is too light and kicks like a mule. I was thinking about filling it with sand box sand to absorbe a lot of the kick and add some weight.

One more thing, a sight to replace the crappy plastic one that is on there now. Can' t use a scope.

Thanks guys.

cayugad

My friend has that same rifle in a .54 caliber and I know what you mean by kick like a mule. He tried lots of different loads and finally settled on 80 grains of Pyrodex Select loose power and a 426 grain buffalo bullet. He also shoots some 300 grain hand cast bullets I make with the same charge and great results so he claims. As for filling the butt with sand to get some weight, I have no idea, but it will be interesting to see what you come up with...

recoiljunky

I don' t know about a load for the gun.

Fill the stock with lead shot (like what' s used for reloading shotgun shells).

handloader1

A friend of mine uses a 370 gr. T/C Maxi-Ball with 100 grs. FFg he averages 1.75" -2.00" at 100 yds. Good shooting!!

Jorgy

Bigbulls, welcome to the world of ML! Personally, I have shot great plains bullets before, and I have never gotten good accuracy either. I shoot a knight wolverine .54 I' ve tried lots of different bullets over the years and have gotten stuck on the black belt bullets. they have the little plastic thing on the end (colorado acceptable) come in a few different weights and have alway shot really well for me. Sorry I can' t help you with your specific setup.

There is a gun shop (can' t for the life of me remember the name) down on Colfax and somewhere between Federal and Wads that I would recommend to you. I think it' s the best for ML here in the metro area. Lots of choices for anything you want.

bigbulls

I not too new to the ML world but this is my first inline. Me and my grandfather used to go quite a bit and I always used his Hawken with patched balls and Hornady XTP sabots shot surprisingly well too.

However, having to use a full bore conical in an inline is new. The black belts or the powerbelts (same thing) were going to be my next bullet to try.

I know the gun shop you are talking about. Been there a couple of times just looking around. I' ll have to go check out his ML stuff.

With 125 grains in it this thing kicks harder than any gun I have ever fired. If the sand doesn' t work I' ll try the lead shot. Gonna get me a Simms recoil pad also.

Thanks guys.

RKenSprac

Last year, just prior to the Elk hunt I bought some Hornady 385 gr bullets for my .54. The first day at the range the were hitting all over the place, so I threw them back in my shooting box and returned to my old load. Which was 90 grains of 3fg black powder and a sabot.

Last weekend I bought a pound to the new 777 stuff (3fg) and I started with my proven load, reduced the charge by 10 grains, and tried the sabot. I was happy with it. Thought I' d have some fun with the Hornady bullets - use them up. Well they performed great! I' ve got to go out to the range and really spend some time on working up a load. I don' t why the 777 works better than black powder, but I had a very noticable improvement. I know some guns like some loads better than others.

BTW - I was shooting a Lymans Great Plains Hunter .54

Shooter Dan

I' ve gotten good accuracy using 295 gr Power Belts and 90 or 95 grains of 777. When I shoot Maxi Ball I use 80 grains of 777. I have a CVA MagBolt 50cal which I' ve been very happy with for 2 years now. I bought the CVA fiber optic sights for it but I don' t recommend them. There are better after market fiber optic sights out there for the CVA but I just can' t think of the name of the company right now that puts them out. Last fall I mounted a Bushnell Trophy on it and I usually get 2 inch groups at 100 with the scope and with the fiber optic sights. I' m usually involved in handgun shooting but since getting the CVA at the Bass Pro Shop in Charlotte, NC I' ve grown to like muzzleloaders.

kevin1

I bought a CVA Hunterbolt 209 2 years ago , and the danged trigger spring broke on the 12th shot !! [:@] Even so , loaded with a charge and bullet that I was very comfortable with that thing wouldn' t hold a 2" group at 25 yards regardless of the charge . I' ve heard both good and bad about CVA products , but I' ll never buy another one . Save youe pennies and invest in TC or better .