CVA Mtn. Stalker .50

[The New Guy]

I recently purchased a CVA Mountain Stalker Rifle for my son who wanted a Muzzleloader as an accessory to his Boy Scout O.A. Native American Regalia. We looked for a "dummy" replica for awhile then found this gun at a pawn shop while visiting family out of town. Since it was only $99 and looked to be in good shape we figured what the heck and bought it. Up until a few days ago I new nothing about BP rifles and I have read many, many, many post on these forums which have enlighted me and raised more questions.

I have downloaded the CVA owners manual and have read it cover to cover and they do not recommend ever removing the breech plug. Why is this and would it hurt removing it? I would like to inspect that end of the barrel, if possible, to make sure its clean. I've since learned that fouled barrels are a real concern with these guns.

Also, I've noticed that the youtube vids I've watched, and the websites I've visited learning about muzzleloaders, don't mention lubing the ball patches. The guy at the local outdoors store sold me Bore Butter for the patches along with $130 worth of stuff he said I needed. A gun cleaning kit was among these items since this is our first gun.

If our first shoot goes well, I can definitely see us making our own homemade stuff to replace all the store bought stuff I just purchased. This definitely seems like a fun hobby.

I welcome any advice any of you can give. We hopefully plan on taking this out to the range this weekend.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

do not EVER remove the breech plug. You do that and you are SOL as those barrels are impossible to find.

Cleaning jag
bore brush " Nylon works best IMO"
ball puller
nipple wrench

Those are the basics to keep get the bore clean and remove/install the nipple.

Most cleaning kits they sell are junk and not made for a traditional muzzle loader.

 

[Zonie]

Welcome to the Forum. :thumbsup:

The breech plug on a traditional muzzleloading rifle does not have to be removed. Indeed, it is not designed to be easily removed and if your CVA Mountain Stalker is like most traditional CVA muzzleloaders you would have to remove the drum before you could remove the breech plug.

Removing the drum is not without possible problems too as the alignment of the nipple depends on it being tightened correctly.

Trust us when we say it's best to just leave things in that location alone.

As for the patch lube:
All cloth patches need to be lubricated before they are shot.
The lube not only lubricates the bore as the patch is being rammed and shot but it provides some softening for the powder fouling that is created.

Your Bore Butter works pretty good and IMO should be applied to the patch right before loading.

You don't need a lot of it. Just enough to lightly cover the outside surface of the patch.

If you would rather speed up the loading process you can lube your patches ahead of time but you will need something to store them in to keep them dust free.

By the way, any vegetable cooking oil, olive oil and even spit can be used as a patch lube.

Your percussion CVA can shoot either real black powder (which works best) or any of the granulated synthetic black powder replacements.

The replacements often have a habit of igniting slowly so you may notice a slight pause after the cap fires. This is not true with real black powder which will fire when the cap does.

With ALL of these powders, cleaning your gun is absolutely necessary as soon as possible.
Plain old water with a little soap in it works best. (Most of the barrel cleaners on the market are little more than soap and water sold for $3.00/ounce).

Be sure to dry your rifles barrel and lightly oil it with a good rust preventative.
I've found that Birchwood Casey Barricade is excellent for the task.

Read all you can about loads for your gun here and have fun.

 

[The New Guy]

do not EVER remove the breech plug. You do that and you are SOL as those barrels are impossible to find.

I just assumed that since this gun was only $99 and looked relatively new it would be commonplace. Thanks Kentuckywindage for the for the list of stuff I still need.

since Zonie mentioned loads for my gun, the CVA manual recommended I start with 50gr but the only measure sold at my local store is a 60 to 100 measure. Do I need to try and locate a 50? I remember reading someplace that more is not better and a 50gr load should be more than sufficient for range shooting. The range will probably be the only action this gun sees since we are not currently hunters. :wink:

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Nope, i can give you a load for it right now.


80gr Pyrodex RS, 250 REAL with lubed wads and you're all set. This has the 1:32 twist correct? Should be stamped somewhere on the barrel.

 

[Don]

The 60 grain to 100 grain measure will be fine. I have three rifles very similar to yours and they are all good shooters. There is a small light that can be dropped down the bore to illuminate it so it can be examined for damage or cleanliness. Keep reading here and other places and keep asking questions and before you know it you and your son will be enjoying a very satisfying hobby.

Don

 

[necchi]

Here's why you don't pull the breech plug,
Long story short it's crossed drilled and threaded for saftey and well, you don't need to remove it for service or cleaning,, :wink:

 

[boar]

To look down the barrel, I use a spent .38 nickel case, drop in empty barrel and shine a light on it. You can put tin foil on it if you want. Dilly

 

[The New Guy]

I can't find a twist rate on the barrel anywhere but this is stamped and I have no idea what it means:

Although, the downloaded manual states the Mountain Stalker has a twist rate of 1:48

Necchi, Thank you. I appreciate the clear explination.

Boar-dilly, what a great idea! I dont have any spent shells but I did make do with something similar using the new barrel light i just purchased and it worked great. It seems I got the barrel a lot cleaner than I thought I did.

 

[Zonie]

The markings you have shown are the Spanish Proof Marks the barrel receives after it has been proof tested.

Don't worry about the pressure the marking indicates. (700 kg/sq cm = 9954 psi) The barrel is good for far more pressure than that before it could cause a problem.

As was mentioned, a 60 grain load will be fine for starters.

As your new to this muzzleloading thing I will mention that each gun will have one and usually two different powder loads it will work well with.

Part of the fun is finding out which one is best.

Most folks have found that starting with a light powder load like your 60 grains is a good idea.

After shooting a 5 shot group, remove the target and put up a new one. Then increase the powder load by 5 grains and shoot another 5 shot group.

You will be looking for the smallest group size, not the location on the target.

Keep up this 5 shot, +5 grains testing until you find the one that gives the smallest group.

Then, you can begin adjusting the sights to put the point of impact at the point of aim.

Have fun.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

take a picture of the other side of the barrel where it says Mountain Stalker.

Mine has Mountain stalker and then directly below it, .50cal 1:32 twist.

 

[The New Guy]

Thanks for all the input Zonnie. If the weather holds, out and my local shop gets in my rounds, then we'll go out shooting this weekend.

Here's the pic you asked for Kentucky

 

[Horizontal Hunter]

It is the same as mine. 1:48 twist. Mine shoots very well with an 85g of Goex ffg, .018 TC pre-lubed patch, and PRB. The same amount of powder with a bore button and Maxi-ball also shoots well.

It is a good shooter if you take the time to work up a load and it is a great field gun as it is inexpensive. The last day of our muzzleloader season I hunted all data in a steady freezing rain/rain and at the end of the day it still went bang with no problem.

The only time I ever had problems with misfires is when I was using the substitute powders. Stick with real black powder and a spitfire nipple and you will not have any issues. The factory nipple on mine didn't last very long until it cracked.

ETA:
The rear site looks to have been changed from the fixed buckhorn style to an adjustable site.

Welcome to the fun,

Bob

 

[necchi]

Finding Twist Rate, a helpfull thing to know; http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/239243/