First Time Out

[The New Guy]

Finally got to go shoot my son's new CVA Mountain Stalker .50 cal yesterday. Well, new to him anyway. We picked this up at a pawn shop back in December. This was my first time shooting a BP gun and I will certainly not be my last!!! I had a blast. I wish I had had more time so I could have spent the time sighting it in. There's always next time, right. Here are a few target pics starting with a clean gun. I shot 12 rounds with no swabbing in between and i never felt the patch hang up in the barrel due to possible fouling. I was using .480 RBs, 60 grains of Triple Seven FFG, and Bore Butter as a lube. As you can see from the pics, it was shootin high and left. I have since learned that I could have used two patches to get a tighter fit in the barrel since I'm using a small ball. With the setup I had, I could start the ball with nothing more than my thumb. Question, If I sight this gun using a .480 PRB and get my local shop order/stock .490 balls, will I have to resight later?

1st time out

2nd set of three shots

3rd round

4th and final round of the day

Keep in mind that the only knowledge I have about BP shooting has been learned here on this site. Keep up the great work guys. New shooters like me need your continued advice and know how!!!

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Those targets are pretty good for the first time out. :thumbsup:
I would suggest you use .490 cal balls. That should tighten up your group. I use pillow ticking for patch material and a good lube.

For a charge, start out with 60 grains. Increase or decrease the charges 5 gr at a time. You'll find that the rifle will shoot better once you dial in the best powder charge for that rifle. Don't shoot the maximum load the manufacturer suggests the rifle can handle. You will waste powder and accuracy will suffer. There just isn't any need for that. You might find the rifle will perform best with a 50 to 70 grain charge. If you can find black powder, try FFFG. It will burn cleaner.

Set your target at a certain distance. Start out at 25 yards and see where the rifle is hitting. Move out to 50 yards and do the same. Use the same powder charge for both distances to see the difference in where balls strike the target. Adjust your charge slightly the farther out you go after you see where you are hitting.

Shoot from a sand bag rest for all of your shots until you figure out how the rifle performs best. Once you get it just about right, the rest will be up to you.

Enjoy your rifle :thumbsup:

 

[ohio ramrod]

Finding the ideal combination of patch/lube/ball/and powder charge is what makes this game so much fun. Just remember to change only one vaiable at a time. It is best to start with low powder charges and move up. A small ball and thick patch (or two). Will shoot fairly true. :idunno:

 

[SgtSchutzen]

You didn`t say how far from the target you were shooting but those are decent groups for a first time out with a new to you rifle. Get some .490`s and play around with your powder charge to find the load that groups best. After you find your load then adjust your sights into the bull :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

Changing from a .480 diameter ball to a .490 ball will add 10 grains of weight to the ball.

I would think that this small increase wouldn't be noticeable.

Also, even though the .490 balls weight is more the ball will fit tighter in the bore which will do a better job of sealing off the powder gas behind it.
This might result in a slight gain in velocity.

It might shoot a little higher because of the velocity change but all in all I'm betting you won't see a difference.

 

[The New Guy]

You are right. I forgot to mention that I was only 25 yards out. I'm going to go back out in the next day or two and try shooting with a double patch on those 480 balls and try to use them up until the 490s come in. Since I live in a small town my only option is a small local gun store they only stock the 480s and in a very limited supply. Like one box on the shelf at a time. Hopefully, I can convince them to start stocking the 490s for me since I have just agreed to purchase a fixer upper .50 cal from a fellow member. checks in the mail!

 

[Rat Trapper]

Rather than depend on the local shop to get you the needed size balls, order them from Midway or Midsouth shooters supply.

 

[10_point]

Save your self a lot of money and cast your own ,by time you get a melt pot,molds,and lead you can cast up a lot of balls and bullets for what you are paying for the ones you have now. And it feels great when you do good shooting with the stuff you made your self.Also you can cast up a lot of diffarent styles of ammo also, pick up a lee pot and lee molds and handles(they are cheap in price) and cast away. cause when you shoot a lot of factory made stuff it can get expensive real fast, once you got all the main items it is only lead you need and that is a fair price item to get.

 

[Horizontal Hunter]

You are off to a good start. Working up a load is a lot of fun. When you take the time to work up a load those Mountain Stalkers can be great shooters. I know that mine shoots well.

The other nice thing is that they are inexpensive. Last December I hunted all day in a steady rain/freezing rain on the last day of our ML season and at the end of the day the gun still went bang like it was supposed to.

I put the Williams fire sights on mine as I was having trouble seeing the factory ones at dusk and dawn.

Bob

 

[MSW]

welcome to the hobby/addiction/pastime/passion muzzleloading thingie. yes, you would do well to get some .490 roundball and try that.

yes, you should get a melting pot and a mold and some scrap lead (you want pure lead, not the alloy from wheel weights, this might take some searching, but once you find a source, you'll realize very substantial savings, and casting you own bullets is fun- at least, i think so) be careful when you cast: wear shoes & socks, wear long sleeves, wear heavy leather work gloves and something on your head to keep the sweat from dropping into the melted lead. Track of the Wolf has cast balls in small quantities, and you might want to see what patch/ball combination your rifle likes before you invest in a mold.

you should consider buying Dutch schoultz monograph. he can be reached at
http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/

this little pamphlet will tighten your groups (well, actually, the instructions, if followed, in this little pamphlet will result in smaller groups, but you get the idea). Dutch is a great fellow, and the pamphlet is really a good bargain when you consider what even a half hour of decent coaching would cost you.

what appeals to me about the whole blackpowder deal is the pace and the discipline. you are, in effect, creating each cartridge right there in the rifle. you must be in full concentration, and you must hit the first time. this is much more contemplative than centerfire shooting. (again, just my own opinion).

Sgt Schutzen's advice is good: don't tinker with the sights until you get a really tight group on a repeatable basis.

good luck with your new project. go forth, and

make good smoke!

 

[Ron_T.]

I have two older CVA percussion cap .50 caliber rifles and use Hornady swagged .490" rifle balls and standard CCI #11 percussion caps in both rifles.

My "target" CVA Gamester Hawken rifle has a 28 inch barrel and shoots .490" balls into single, inter-locking group in the 10-ring of the target (off the bench) at 25 yards with a load consisting of 47 grains of Swiss FFFg powder with a 16/1000ths denim patch (which "mikes" down "hard" to 6/1000ths of an inch) using a .516 vegetable fiber wad between the powder and the patched ball. I use a bee's wax/Crisco Vegetable Oil mixture which cakes up as a fairly soft solid mixture as a patch lube.

My hunting rifle is an older CVA Hunter Hawken Carbine with a 24 inch barrel. My deer hunting load is 65 grains of Swiss FFFg with the same components as above and shoots 3 inter-locking shots into the center of the 10 ring at 25 yards off the bench.

I limit my hunting range to 75 yards due to shooting iron sights with 76 year old eyes... and this load gets the job done and very accurate out to that range.


Make good smoke... :thumbsup:


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

 

[Ron_T.]

Incidentally, I got the vegetable fiber over-powder wads from:

John Walters
500 N. Avery Dr.
Moore, Oklahoma 73160
Phone: (405) 799-0376
[email protected]

John is an old-fashion kinda guy. If you order 1,000 wads, he'll send them to you along with a bill... and he claims he's never been cheated by anyone not paying for his fine wads.

The use of the vegetable fiber wads puts a barrier between the hot powder gases and the cotton patching material which eliminates burnt patches... and burnt patches create inaccuracies.

Tests also indicated that the use of vegetable fiber wads tends to increase muzzle velocity about 100-125 fps... and best of all, the wads are bio-degradable.

A "WIN/WIN" situation...!


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

 

[The New Guy]

Thanks for all the advise. I looked into midway and midsouth and there shot is much cheaper. I also went back out to the range yesterday and tried doubling up on the patches since I'm using a .480 ball and the accuracy was greatly improved. However, it was a bear to get started down the barrel. A three shot group was much closer to center at 25 yards from bench on the first three shots. see below. I did notice that the first time I went out I shot 12 shots with no cleaning/wiping and they all preformed well. yesterday using two patches the first three shots were fine and the next three were flyers! Once I get some .490s I'll really start truing up this gun but finding the right load. Until then I'll just go out and shoot up what I have. I'll also look into the fiber wads and the pamphlet that was recommended. Thanks guys.