CVA WOLF opinions and load recommendations?
 

Considering getting a muzzle loader because why not have more guns and a new way to hunt? But I have done my research and totally understand that the best way to do things is to buy a bunch of stuff, and just shoot and figure it out, problem with that is i am a broke college kid hardly getting by as it is. I was wondering if any of you wise hunters could just point me in a certain direction. not necessarily a load set up but a starting point at least, I want to avoid draining what little money i have. Also do you recommend i get a scope or just stick with the fiber optics?

When talking muzzleloader and being broke would require more info. What and where you hunting or you just plinking? Personally, your range for effective killing say a deer would be 100 or less so I would not add a scope. I'd take the rear sight off and add a peep. I'll have to repost the web sight that has one made for CVA for about $60. I'd go with loose powder. I prefer Alliant Black MZ. Good powder with easier cleaning. Pyrodex RS is cheaper but takes more cleaning. Projectiles,,,this is where you spend the money. What bullet is legal in your state is one question. Simple is power belts. I am not a fan and don't use them. I have friends that shoot them with CVA Wolf and get good results. I personally shoot the Acura with 400 to 450 gr lead conical that I cast myself. There are some sources on the web for these. Lot more shooting required to find the right one. I think you would need a .501 conical to work with the Wolf. Sabots may be better if legal. Buy some
50 Cal Harvester ribbed ones and a box of your choice of .429 300 gr pistol bullets. Look at Hornady. Maybe this will help.

Thankyou for the information! I am in WI. I was looking at hornady SST and blackhorn 209 because of the clean burning i read, but also looking at the triple seven pellets. If i find 30 grain pellets can i put three in the gun at once? or is the max two?

Welcome to the Black Powder forum young lady. There are a lot of Crotchety Old Guys here with whom I'm afraid you'll have to put up.

That being said, here are some opinions from one of the COG's.

1. I think a Wolf is a decent choice for a first time muzzleloader.

2. You'll likely find the fiber optic sights adequate. If you decide on a scope I greatly favor Simmons 4X ProDiamond shotgun scopes. I have this scope on a half dozen muzzle loaders (both in-lines and sidehammers). They are inexpensive, clear, hold adjustment perfectly and are tough as nails. See them here.


3. I'd stay away from pellets. Loose powder like Triple Seven or Pyrodex RS is a much more versatile option.

4. In my experience, loads in the 75 to 90 grain range produce the best accuracy and provide all the power needed for deer out to 150 yards.

5. Bulk bullets and sabots, while seemingly more expensive upon initial purchase, provide the most shooting with the least expense in the long run. I recommend a purchase from Graf & Sons.

6. There are many proven bullet/sabot combinations with bullets that are very effective for deer. Here are two I suggest you consider. You may want to play around with other bullets later, but either one of these two are great for starters.

- Hornady 240 grain .429 XTP in Harvester green sabot.
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog...productId/6530
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog...productId/5479

- Hornady 300 grain .452 XTP in Harvester long black sabot.
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog...productId/6558
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog...productId/5480

7. There are other sabots available in bulk, though I've always found Harvesters the best. Also there are a number of various premium bullets out there at a premium price. They won't kill deer any quicker or deader than XTPs or Speer Deep Curls (an excellent bullet). I'm a frugal COG and don't fool around with premium bullets any longer.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Welcome again and enjoy the sport.

Awesome advice! much appreciated. I will look into what you have named on here.

Semisane is right on. If I were you I'd order myself a box of 300 gr Hornady XTPs in either .44 (.430") or .45 (.451") and either Harvester green crush rib for trhe .44 cal or black crush rib for the .45 cal.
https://www.cabelas.com/browse.cmd?c...&CQ_zstype=REG
https://www.cabelas.com/product/Horn...1.uts?slotId=2
https://www.cabelas.com/product/Horn...3.uts?slotId=6
You will also need a calibrated powder measure. This is my choice: https://www.cabelas.com/product/Thom...5.uts?slotId=0
Another nice item is a range rod with the appropriate sized jag for cleaning as well as some good black powder solvent and rust preventative oil. Oh yeah, you're going to need 209 shotgun primers to get your rifle to fire!

Grafs has really good Harvester pricing, good bullet pricing and a $7.95 flat rate shipping. Very hard to beat the total price.

Personally i prefer .451-.452 bullets. Overall i find them easier to get them shooting well and you have more sabot choices.

Muzzle loading is fun and relatively easy. You will purchase more components than with a shotgun or rifle. Cleaning after each use is important as the powders tend to corrode steel. 777 is the worst. Blackhorn is a great powder. I shoot 100 grains by volume of Blackhorn loose powder. Going to start weighing my powder as I recently learned that volume measurements have more error when reproducing each load. 100 grains by volume ranged from 72 to 76+ grains. Not a huge difference when considering the minute amount of powder in a grain let alone a tenth of a grain by weight. I would scope the gun for maximum potential. CVA makes good firearms.Try to find someone who has one and get their advice. Jumping in head first will likely create havoc and confusion. Could be a safety issue or two.

Pyrodex is worse than Triple7 in terms of corrosion. Really bad actually.

Yep. You can get away with not cleaning a gun until the day after a shoot with Triple Seven. Perhaps more depending on location and humidity. Not so with Pyrodex.

That don't matter to me because I clean my guns as soon as I get home. If I can't do a thorough cleaning immediately I at least swab the bore with Barristol or other BP solvent.

another good muzzleloader is a t/c impact. it has a removable 1" spacer on it & could make the gun a better fit . they run around 200 dollars & there are set up's with scopes for around 275. i myself use blackhorn 209. i've used it all but like the bh209 the best. but to each there own. some people like chevies & other's like ford's but you will find once you get started with muzzy hunting you will want to leave the centerfires @ home . but whatever you get good luck& welcome to the muzzleloader forum section.

I am not one to give a whole lot of advise on here as there as so many more knowledgeable BP enthusiasts to give advice. However, since I do own a CVA Wolf and it is my only muzzleloader I hunt with, I would like to say that I use 110gr. of Blackhorn 209 under a 250gr. Barnes TEZ bullet. That combo has performed very well in my Wolf and I did purchase the Blackhorn 209 quick removable breech plug as well and highly recommend it. The Barnes bullets are quite expensive but I dont really do a lot of shooting. I sight my gun in every year and use maybe ten rounds so I really do not go through a whole lot of em. Their performance on game is always reliable as long as I do my part and make a good shot. I also have a Leupold VXIII 3X9 mounted on it. This is my favorite gun to shoot and has taken quite a lot of deer and a few nice bucks. One was a nice nine pointer that I shot the second week of BP season and showed on the Deer forum if you want to check it out.

Well my post was in response to Roger saying Triple7 is the worst. Its hardly the worst. Pyrodex is far worse. I would go as far as to say its worse than some real black in terms of corrosion. Ive seen 3 sheets of steel that had all 3 burned on them and left in a garage for several days IIRC. After 4 days in a garage they were cleaned and the plate with Pyrodex had by far the worst pitting. The plate with Triple7 didn't look too bad at all.

The Speer .429 240gr and 270gr softpoints are also worth considering. Cheaper than a XTP and a "bonded" jacket type construction. Really its a plating but a very well done plating.
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog...roductId/17354

These are a bargain at under $13/50 and since they are most likely also intended for 444 Marlin they should be excellent for a upper level ML load too.
Rons test with 80gr of BH209 https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/bla...blackhorn.html

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog...roductId/17355