Another best load ?
03-02-2005, 01:23 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: fayette county, Il
Posts: 691
Another best load ?
I have a CVA Optima.
Before i spend alot of money on alot of different bullets, can someone head me in the right direction. I don't think I want to use sabots, but I will.
What loads work best for you?
Before i spend alot of money on alot of different bullets, can someone head me in the right direction. I don't think I want to use sabots, but I will.
What loads work best for you?
03-02-2005, 01:45 PM
#2
Typical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Michigan
Posts: 771
RE: Another best load ?
There really is no magic load that works with all rifles.
You did not mention powder choice but basically, you start out lower charges if using loose powder and work your way up within the loading limitations of your rifle. You will eventually find the sweet spot where the accuracy dials in with a given projectile and a recoil that you can be comfortable with.
Occasionally, you will find a projectile that your rifle just will not shoot. It happens.
If you are using pellet's, then for hunting start with one 50gr pellet and run a few shots through your rifle. Then go with two 50gr pellets and see how things fair.
Folks that start out shooting pellets can often go through the most heartburn finding different loads/projectiles that work well.
I might suggest for less expensive shooting, get some Ox-Yoke Wonderwads in your caliber and try a box of Hornady Conical and load the wad first on the powder followed by a conical. Very easy loading.
Also you could go with some powerbelts in the 295+ gr flavor. Easy to load and normally work pretty well.
Sabot's that are really effective are Hornady XTP (easier loading) and SST (more difficult). I'm a big fan of the SST's.
Lastly, don't forget you can likely shoot Patch and Roundball with an Ox-Yoke Wad over the powder and one pellet or 40-70gr powder. This is the least expensive shooting, good out to about 50 yards, great for small game and plinking.
You did not mention powder choice but basically, you start out lower charges if using loose powder and work your way up within the loading limitations of your rifle. You will eventually find the sweet spot where the accuracy dials in with a given projectile and a recoil that you can be comfortable with.
Occasionally, you will find a projectile that your rifle just will not shoot. It happens.
If you are using pellet's, then for hunting start with one 50gr pellet and run a few shots through your rifle. Then go with two 50gr pellets and see how things fair.
Folks that start out shooting pellets can often go through the most heartburn finding different loads/projectiles that work well.
I might suggest for less expensive shooting, get some Ox-Yoke Wonderwads in your caliber and try a box of Hornady Conical and load the wad first on the powder followed by a conical. Very easy loading.
Also you could go with some powerbelts in the 295+ gr flavor. Easy to load and normally work pretty well.
Sabot's that are really effective are Hornady XTP (easier loading) and SST (more difficult). I'm a big fan of the SST's.
Lastly, don't forget you can likely shoot Patch and Roundball with an Ox-Yoke Wad over the powder and one pellet or 40-70gr powder. This is the least expensive shooting, good out to about 50 yards, great for small game and plinking.
03-02-2005, 07:10 PM
#3
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
RE: Another best load ?
Since you do not want to use sabots then go to Powerbelts. CVA rifles tend to have been made to shoot them. I would suggest getting a pack of the 245, 295, and 348 grain powerbelts. There is no need to load over 100 grains of powder. If your shooting pellets then two pellets should be fine. Your rifle will tell you which of the three it likes best. I used to think the 348 grains was the best for my rifle until I shot some 245 grain Aero Tips the other day.
Start them out at the 25 yard line and see how tight they group. At that distance they should at least be touching. My CVA Staghorn the other day shot three 245 grain Aero Tip Powerbelts and it looked like a perfect three leaf clover. That was at 30 yards shooting 90 grains of Goex 2f. My rifle has a RED DOT sight.
Since you're just starting to find the load, be sure and swab between shots. I personally use a mixture of 50/50 isopropyl alcohol 91% and car windshield washer fluid in my inlines. I wet a patch and working in short strokes work from the muzzle to the breech. After the wet patch a dry patch is a good idea.
Also when you look at a powerbelt, you will see a plastic button or base on the bottom of the conical bullet. Pull the button off. You will see a lead spike off the base of the conical. Put a drop of oil or a bit of lube on that spike then replace the button and load as normal. This will help the powerbelt shed the plastic button faster after leaving the barrel and give you better accuracy.
If you want to plink, get some loose powder and some 245 grain Buffalo Ball-ets. I load 90 grains of loose powder and they shoot very well.
Start them out at the 25 yard line and see how tight they group. At that distance they should at least be touching. My CVA Staghorn the other day shot three 245 grain Aero Tip Powerbelts and it looked like a perfect three leaf clover. That was at 30 yards shooting 90 grains of Goex 2f. My rifle has a RED DOT sight.
Since you're just starting to find the load, be sure and swab between shots. I personally use a mixture of 50/50 isopropyl alcohol 91% and car windshield washer fluid in my inlines. I wet a patch and working in short strokes work from the muzzle to the breech. After the wet patch a dry patch is a good idea.
Also when you look at a powerbelt, you will see a plastic button or base on the bottom of the conical bullet. Pull the button off. You will see a lead spike off the base of the conical. Put a drop of oil or a bit of lube on that spike then replace the button and load as normal. This will help the powerbelt shed the plastic button faster after leaving the barrel and give you better accuracy.
If you want to plink, get some loose powder and some 245 grain Buffalo Ball-ets. I load 90 grains of loose powder and they shoot very well.
