I recently purchased a 45 cal CVA Optima with a 26 inch barrel. I am having some difficulty getting a 100 yard group that I can live with. I use 777 powder and have tried PowerBelt, Hornady, and Shock Wave bullets in various sizes. I wet and dry swab between shots. I have a Nikon Buckmaster scope. If anyone has this SAME rifle that shoots well, please share the bullet type and powder charge and any other info that might help. I'm getting a little frustrated.

From some of those that I have talked to and what I have read on message boards, you might have some trouble finding the right everything to make the rifle shoot the way you want.

Contact Cecil at Precision Rifle. you can email him. Tell him what rifle you have the the problems you are experiencing. I am sure he can suggest a bullet and sabot combination they sell and a powder charge that will get you shooting groups that you will find most acceptable....

They really have some great bullets. They are a little expensive, but I bought some of their Silver Lightening 300 grains and the groups I shot with them were outstanding.....

i have the big brother to your optima. i have a 50 cal. optima pro. i too had alot of trouble getting the accuracy that i wanted. but i took advice i got from other message boards and dropped my charge down to 100 grains, under a 300 grain hornady sst. don't know if i helped, but hoped i did.

You don't say what powder charges you've tried. The bullet is only half of the equation. You can work up a charge for a given bullet, or you can find a bullet that will work with a given charge.

I'm not a fan of pellets. Just don't buy into the notion that there is any practical advantage, and they cost more. They also make it more difficult to vary your powder charge incrementally until you determine the optimal charge for a certain bullet. I shoot lead conicals that I make, so in working up a load, I only vary the charge. I suspect that if you start at a "light" charge and work up in increments of 5 grains, you'll see a trend of good accuracy up to a point and then group size will start to increase. When accuracy is no longer "acceptable" you know you've reached the limit for that projectile.

You also don't say what your groups have been. They may be ok, or they may be terrible. Point is, you may be expecting too much. You'd be right to be aggravated at 6" groups at 100 yds, but 3" groups are another story. That may be the best you'll do with a certain gun/load.

CVA and Traditions tell complaining shooters that 5" groups @ 100 are acceptable. Now insisting on 2-1/2" groups.... Knight, T/C & Austin/Halleck would check out your rifle & replace/repair what's necessary. For instance: Knight Rifles guarantees 2-1/2" accuracy -- T/C replaces barrels quite often on complaints -- Austin/Halleck has been known to bed/float stocks to please customers. ML shoppers need to research manufacturers before buying & how does that saying go....

... hhmmm

Well, yeah. And if you think about it, they are probably right for about 90% of the hunting that is done with muzzleloaders. I would be happy enough if someone told me that my bullets would always hit within 2.5 inches of where I aimed, on shots at game within 100 yds. So, a 5" group is good enough for me for the hunting I do. In fact, I shoot most deer within 50 yds, so now we're talking about no more than 1.25" deviation from the point of aim.

BUT folks that like to shoot, and know that they should be hitting better than the gun is able will always be trying to improve. What percentage of those folks buy CVA or Traditions to begin with? Of course they will produce the occasional great shooter too, but one way of controlling price is to ease up a bit on overall quality, and quality control.

personally i think CVA makes a pretty accurate muzzleloader. it just took me sitting down and listening to people who know better than i (when i first started i put 150 grains of powder down the barrel and went from there) and just preactice. learning your weapon. i know i can shoot better groups than the inch and a half two inch groups i shoot, and shooting the gun even more will help. on a different note i read in a black powder magazine/book (don't remember which) that 45 caliber muzzleloaders are a little more particular about loads and charges than 50 caliber muzzleloaders. not an excuse for bad groupings or defense of a gun maker, just an observation.
but with a scope you should definitely be shooting tight groups. so all i can say is keep practicing and experimenting and you will find what works eventually.