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Patch, And Ball Size Suggestions?

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And did I understand you correctly when you said it has a plastic stock?
Yes.
 
That is still a pretty swell looking rifle, plastic stock and all. I'd be proud to call it my own. It's possible you might be hearing from some of the other guys here on this forum though. Plastic is almost blasphemy to a handful of purists here.
 
That is still a pretty swell looking rifle, plastic stock and all. I'd be proud to call it my own. It's possible you might be hearing from some of the other guys here on this forum though. Plastic is almost blasphemy to a handful of purists here.
I can’t blame them. Plastic has no soul. But it was free.
 
You will likely need to make several trips to get everything you need to go shooting.

Along with the obvious need for powder, patch and ball, you will need some other supplies to make your trip to the range productive and satisfying.

You have not told us about the condition of the rifle. What is the condition of the bore? Have you run a cleaning patch to see is the bore is smooth and clean? A patch with rubbing alcohol is a good idea to clean the bore from any oils or grease used as rust preservative. I recommend a solid working rod to use for cleaning and loading as the rods that come with the gun are often quite flimsy. God a cleanin/loading jag as well. A 30 caliber slotted jag to clean the CVA breech is a good addition to the cleaning supplies.

If you can, measure the land to land bore diameter to buy round balls that are aboun0.010" less than the measured bore size. I recommend that the patching be 0.015" thick and unlubricated as the prelubricated patches tend to deteriorate on the shelf. The result is poor accuracy.

You will need percussion caps, probably #11. Since the locally available powders will be black powder substitutes, I would get magnum caps.

Get an adjustable powder measure. One of the few absolutes in shooting muzzle loaders is to never load from a powder flask, horn or container directly. Besides you will want a consistent powder load from shot to shot.

Finally, get safety glasses and ear plugs so you can enjoy time at the range and not be concerned about the noise when you fire your rifle.
The lands measured .48, the grooves .51...
 
In the picture, you show the breech of your rifle with the nipple and drum plug removed. That's all you need to remove to clean the rifle. There really isn't a necessity to remove the drum plug (some call it a clean out screw), but it won't hurt either unless the plug threads interfere with the nipple threads. Use anti-seize lubricant when replacing the nipple and plug. Tighten to snug is good enough.

Your bore measurements show a groove depth of 0.015". Good for cloth patches. If you shoot a bullet, you may find an over 'powder wad is necessary to limit gas cutting.
 
Earlier I mentioned CVA Deerslayer bullets, but the CVA owners manual for your rifle reminds me that they were called Buckslayer bullets.
Here's a manual with a variety of maximum loads near the end.--->>> https://cva.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Side-lock.pdf

There may be other CVA barrels that fit that stock, and wood stocks that fit that barrel.
The way to be sure is to measure the barrel diameter across the flats.
The rifle is very similar to the CVA Bobcat which was a popular model sold by Walmart.
The Walmart model was .50 cal. with a 1 in 48*: twist and could often be found for sale for $79 - $99 which made it popular.
Now days they can cost more if found in good shape.
CVA also made some Bobcat models with a wood stock in different calibers.
Sometimes these rifles are parted out on eBay, often overpriced but still gives a person options if they want a different barrel or twist rate.
Yours may have been sold by another major retailer and given a different name and faster twist rate.
The manual even refers to one model as a "Bobcat Mountain Stalker" because they were pretty much the same rifle.
 
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Thank you! I’ll try to get some of each. Depending of course on what’s available at the shop.
Find some other ml shooters, and see what you can beg/borrow before you go off and buy a bunch of stuff you will never use. I have found most of the folks to be pretty accommodating. I note that it says right on the barrel to read the instructions; I would think that there are recommendations for loads in there somewhere. That fast twist suggests long projectiles. Good luck with the round ball 'tho. Some combination of load, ball and patch should work fairly well at least.
 
Earlier I mentioned CVA Deerslayer bullets, but the CVA owners manual for your rifle reminds me that they were called Buckslayer bullets.
Here's a manual with a variety of maximum loads near the end.--->>> https://cva.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Side-lock.pdf

There may be other CVA barrels that fit that stock, and wood stocks that fit that barrel.
The way to be sure is to measure the barrel diameter across the flats.
The rifle is very similar to the CVA Bobcat which was a popular model sold by Walmart.
The Walmart model was .50 cal. with a 1 in 48*: twist and could often be found for sale for $79 - $99 which made it popular.
Now days they can cost more if found in good shape.
CVA also made some Bobcat models with a wood stock in different calibers.
Sometimes these rifles are parted out on eBay, often overpriced but still gives a person options if they want a different barrel or twist rate.
Yours may have been sold by another major retailer and given a different name and faster twist rate.
The manual even refers to one model as a "Bobcat Mountain Stalker" because they were pretty much the same rifle.
Would definitely like a wood stock, over the plastic. If it’s not too pricey...
 
Find some other ml shooters, and see what you can beg/borrow before you go off and buy a bunch of stuff you will never use. I have found most of the folks to be pretty accommodating. I note that it says right on the barrel to read the instructions; I would think that there are recommendations for loads in there somewhere. That fast twist suggests long projectiles. Good luck with the round ball 'tho. Some combination of load, ball and patch should work fairly well at least.
It didn’t come to me with instructions. But Between member input, and the link Articap posted I’m sure I’ll come to some reasonable choices to get me started.
 
I'd use 50 grains of powder as a testing load, with the old rule-of-thumb being one grain per caliber when starting out with a new to you barrel.

So the powder types I currently have are appropriate for rifle?
LD
So the powder types I currently have are appropriate for rifle?
 
I've never had any trouble with Pyrodex in my CVAs. Just please remember to clean it soon afterwards. All propellants are corrosive!
 
I'm no expert, but, here goes....
Loyalist Dave gave a pretty good recommendation with the grain-per-caliber measure. But, would you happen to have any more info on the rifle? I have one that looks exactly like it(your rifle), save my rifle has a wood stock. Both rifles look to be the same length wise, in addition to shape and over all appearance. My rifle loves 60-65 grains (of real black powder) though.

Just a side note: I use 60-65 grains of real bp 99.99% of the time. The other 0.01% belongs to the gun when I double the charge (not recommended!:D). Unless you want a really big boom, a rush of smoke, and a actual recoil, I suggest you stay away from "big charges". I have done "huge charges", and those are a definite stay-away if you don't want a "kick in the teeth"!;)
 
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Please be aware that all of the grain measurements we talk about are volume equivalent measurements. Muzzleloaders are charged with powder based on a volume that is equivalent to that weight of black powder. Pyrodex is much lighter (less dense) than black powder. Use a volume measure to load powder in your rifle.
 
Pyrodex is a less denser product than black powder. I'm no math whiz but that 65 gr. Charge of black powder would be about 58 grs. of Pyrodex. It is about 20% isn't it guys? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Please be aware that all of the grain measurements we talk about are volume equivalent measurements. Muzzleloaders are charged with powder based on a volume that is equivalent to that weight of black powder. Pyrodex is much lighter (less dense) than black powder. Use a volume measure to load powder in your rifle.
Thank you. I do. I have a measure, and I fill it to that level with both powders. Scale not used. I heard from research that even though “grain” is measured in weight; when in BP... Grain is a measure of volume, relative to volume of BP.
 
Pyrodex is a less denser product than black powder. I'm no math whiz but that 65 gr. Charge of black powder would be about 58 grs. of Pyrodex. It is about 20% isn't it guys? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Actually, Pyrodex is close to 30 percent lighter than an equal volume of black powder.

That makes the volume of "65 grains of black powder" of Pyrodex weigh about 45.5 grains actual weight on a weight scale.

For those who aren't familiar with Pyrodex, although it actually weighs less than real black powder, it has about the same energy of an equal volume of black powder. That's why we can use a black powder, powder measure to load it with.
 
Thank you. I do. I have a measure, and I fill it to that level with both powders. Scale not used. I heard from research that even though “grain” is measured in weight; when in BP... Grain is a measure of volume, relative to volume of BP.
Correct. Pyrodex and the other substitutes, as well as BP itself, are measured by volume. The manufacturers balance out the burn rates by of substitutes varying the texture and density of them. The volume of a grain is based on the volume of water weighing one grain.
 
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