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Lesson learned cleaning the muzzleloader

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Lesson learned cleaning the muzzleloader

Old 02-17-2020, 10:56 AM
  #1  
Fork Horn
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Default Lesson learned cleaning the muzzleloader

My friend and I have CVA Optima muzzleloaders. I always clean mine thoroughly after each use making sure to remove and clean the firing pin. My buddy isn't so thorough with his. He generally cleans the barrel and outside but had never pulled and cleaned the firing pin.

We were out sighting in the ml's this year for deer season and after his first shot he was loading for a second. He put the primer in and closed the action and BANG! Gun goes off. Luckily we always subscribe to the #1 safety rule and the gun was pointed in a safe direction. I asked what happened and he said he didn't know just closed the action and it went off. Looking at the firing pin it was stuck out. Not cleaning it caused it to get stuck out and when the action was closed it contacted and activated the primer. Lesson leaned. Always clean the firing pin in your break action muzzleloader.

Just thought I would write this up so it may save someone else from having a bad day at the range or in the field.
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Old 02-17-2020, 12:29 PM
  #2  
Typical Buck
 
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Unless he slammed the hell out of the action, closing it should not have enough energy contacting the primer to set it off. Just pressing the primer isn't what makes them go bang. It takes a pretty good directed amount of energy to set off a primer. If all it took was pressing hard on a primer to set it off, they wouldn't be anywhere near safe to ship or carry. I would say there was something else going on like he goofed and had his hammer back or something along those lines.
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Old 02-17-2020, 03:25 PM
  #3  
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I somewhat agree with Hunterslife on this. The Optima as well as the Accura both have a transfer bar system. There is no way the hammer could have struck the firing pin unless the hammer WAS back AND the trigger was pulled. Even if the firing pin was protruding some closing the action would have pushed it back into the recess hole.
In any event, your friend should contact CVA and as a minimum order a new hammer spring. (they will probably just send him one). Then clean everything good. even if you have to scrub everything down with hot soapy water. Just rinse with hot water and dry then spray with a quality gun oil.
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Old 02-18-2020, 04:07 AM
  #4  
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I agree with the others above on their Firing Pin conclusion as I've been shooting CVA's for over 25 years. The Firing Pin would have pushed back in if stuck or he'd of had to really slam the action shut hard and had the pin really stuck (froze) in there for this to happen.

CVA does carry a Firing Pin Kit, but I think there still "sold out" of it as a month ago I went to get some replacement parts and the firing pin kits were sole out but they did have the parts separate, firing pin, firing pin housing, firing pin screw and firing pin o washer, all this stuff is cheap. I doubt you'll get them to give up anything for Free I tried that with the Optima Pro I got that was found in the garbage. I figured since it had a supposed "Lifetime Guarantee" that I could at least get the firing pin stuff and a possible breech plug out of them but no go.

I asked about the "Lifetime Warranty" and what if I needed parts for my first generation ACCURA and they said good luck finding parts. I won't get into that any longer as I love my CVA's and won't bash CVA, I just wish they had parts for older CVA's and I'm not talking too old just back to 15 years ago doesn't seem that old to me.

Anyway I always clean each and every part of My MLer (ACCURA) after each outing, it still has the same breechplug and firing pin assembly as it came with and the parts are as good as the day I got it. Treat your MLer good and it will treat you good.
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Old 02-18-2020, 06:58 AM
  #5  
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How soon people forget what happened when a firing pin bushing was adjusted too tight and the action was snapped shut....It goes bang and a firing pin can freeze up solid in that same bushing.

So yes it can happen. You can get spare parts at mbsport also.
In stock for about $13
https://www.mbsportinggoods.com/cva-gun-parts.html

Shhh dont tell anyone that "the just a better gun" is impervious to corrosion related failures.
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Old 02-18-2020, 10:05 AM
  #6  
Typical Buck
 
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I still call BS on that firing pin bushing being adjusted to tight malarky. Again you would have to slam the living hell out of the action to get the energy to set off a primer. In a hammer fired setup.
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Old 02-18-2020, 12:16 PM
  #7  
Fork Horn
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You all can call BS all you want but that is exactly what happened. The hammer was not cocked and the trigger was not pulled. We could not even push the firing pin back in the hole to get a screwdriver on the part that holds it in. Had to hammer it back. It was stuck completely out. When the breach was closed (its a break action) the firing pin contacted the primer just as it would if the hammer hit it.

I'm not going to argue about what I know is true. I just wanted to make others aware of what can happen if you don't clean the firing pin when you clean the rest of the gun. Thanks for your input.
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Old 02-18-2020, 05:30 PM
  #8  
Fork Horn
 
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I ordered two firing pin kits from mbsports (link above) an received them couple weeks back. $12.99/kit same price as CVA....shipping was a tad high tho.
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Old 02-19-2020, 08:14 AM
  #9  
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In stock here too
https://www.muzzle-loaders.com/acces...-fire-kit.html
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Old 02-19-2020, 06:40 PM
  #10  
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Man knowing how simple that set up is with the bushing, spring and firing pin a rifle must surely have been neglected for the firing pin to seize itself in the bushing and protruding to boot. Especially since the OP's friend had already taken his first shot. I mean, if the firing assembly was loose enough for the hammer to move the firing pin forward, and even if the spring was corroded enough so as it wouldn't bring the pin back to its "rest" position, you would think that closing the action would be sufficient to push it back.
I could see the pin seizing and not allowing the hammer to force it forward. Something in my mind seems amiss!
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