CVA mountain rifle loads?

[wileynet]

just squired a CVA mtn rifle from member here ant have some recommended loads for both round ball and conicals

[Ladobe]

CVA's factory recommended loads for their MR's...
45 .440RB 50-80FFG
50 .490RB 50-100FFG
50 conical 50-100FFG
 
I've used both ffg and fffg in my first year 45 MR, and it is very forgiving, not picky at all on loads.  It shoots very well, most accurate muzzleloader I've owned (bunch of CVA's and TC's).   While I have the molds for 32-54 maxi balls, I don't shoot them, only RB's.

[wileynet]

Thanks that was what i was looking for, did not want to use sabboted bullets i kinda believe its takes away from the traditional muzzleloader

[Rock Home Isle]

just squired a CVA mtn rifle from member here ant have some recommended loads for both round ball and conicals

My son just sighted his .50 calibre Mountain Rifle in over the weekend. He was loading 70 grains of FFFg as a target load. He was using pillow ticking for a patching material and Moose Milk as a Patching Lube. This will be a nice plinking, target shooting, and small game load for his .50 calibre.
 
The gun seemed to foul after only about 6 or 7 shots in a shooting string. Recovered Patches were not torn or ripped and looked like they could be loaded and used again. Taken together, this indicates to me that the barrel may not be seasoned properly...or not seasoned at all. The gun also seemed to be tight at the muzzle, very difficult to get the ball started. So we'll do a light lap on the barrel and season it before we go back out to the range. That should hopefully improve things...but accuracy out of this guns is simply great. He's very happy with the accuracy.
 
We're planning a friends & family BP Elk Hunt in the coming fall; so next time out to the range, we'll work up a nice RB hunting load that he can use on Big Game and then look at how accurate the gun is with a stout hunting load behind a conical bullet.

[nw_hunter]

just squired a CVA mtn rifle from member here ant have some recommended loads for both round ball and conicals

My son just sighted his .50 calibre Mountain Rifle in over the weekend. He was loading 70 grains of FFFg as a target load. He was using pillow ticking for a patching material and Moose Milk as a Patching Lube. This will be a nice plinking, target shooting, and small game load for his .50 calibre.
 
The gun seemed to foul after only about 6 or 7 shots in a shooting string. Recovered Patches were not torn or ripped and looked like they could be loaded and used again. Taken together, this indicates to me that the barrel may not be seasoned properly...or not seasoned at all. The gun also seemed to be tight at the muzzle, very difficult to get the ball started. So we'll do a light lap on the barrel and season it before we go back out to the range. That should hopefully improve things...but accuracy out of this guns is simply great. He's very happy with the accuracy.
 
We're planning a friends & family BP Elk Hunt in the coming fall; so next time out to the range, we'll work up a nice RB hunting load that he can use on Big Game and then look at how accurate the gun is with a stout hunting load behind a conical bullet.

These are not cast iron barrels, and unlike frying pans do not need to be seasoned! They are made out of quality steel.Unless the patches are being torn, and they slide down the barrel smoothly, why would you need to lap it? Sometimes changing the lube you use will allow for more shots before swabbing.Spit patches work great and helps to keep the barrel clean between shots.


I use 3f black in all my guns and a good target load for most would be in the 50 to 60 gr. range.
About 10% less than 2f is the norm. 70 grains of 3 is between 80 and 85 of 2f.Which would make a great hunting load.Most of the old timers I shoot with work up a load until the groups start to suffer. Then back off about 5 grains and use that as their hunting load. When your punching paper, the lighter loads shoot tighter and don't thump ya in the jaw or shoulder. Lets ya enjoy the outing a little more

[lrrice]

My rule of thumb has always been to start at 1 gr per caliber and work up in 5 gr increments until the groups begin to loosen up then back down a bit.  My MTN rifle likes about 70 gr behind a round ball.  I spit patch when target practicing and don't have to clean it very often during a session (make sure you take plenty of water or you'll get cotton mouth pretty bad).  Also, mine has a 1 in 66 twist and is incredibly accurate with rb but conicals fly out in patterns not groups.  Also, I like my patches to be lightly scorched.  If they're burnt through, your power is all burning before it leaves the barrel and if they're not scorched, you have unburned power behind the ball when it leaves the barrel.  I second that there is no need to season.  I went down that road once an wound up with some dark spots in my bore for the trouble.

[beaverman]

Wiley, is your barrel marked Made in the USA? or does it say spain?

[Ladobe]

A little MR history since the Made in USA was brought up again... before the rumor mill starts churning with hearsay.   
 
"Made in USA" has no real significance other than a barrel so marked was made during the first 3 years or so the Mountain Rifle's were first produced by CVA.   Since furniture changed with the not USA marked version starting sometime in about 78, it is a clue to the age of the stock/furniture.   But it is still not 100% as many transition MR's had mixed furniture until the old parts were used up, parts have been swapped around by owners since, MR's have been restocked, rebarreled, etc.   MR stock woods also changed over the years... maple to birch to walnut.
 
So Made in USA is a ruse of sort most commonly associated with MR'
s that have barrels so marked.   Those MR's usually bring a higher price mostly because buyers think they are getting a Douglas, Sharon or some other US made barrel.   In fact all of the production MR barrels were Spanish made from day one, most of them are not marked Spain, many do not have proof marks.
 
The prototype MR did have a Douglas barrel (not Sharon. not XXX).   I've also heard of two others made about the same time for personal friends that also have Douglas barrels, very high grade wood and extra adornments, but I was never able to confirm them.   Those 3(?) if they still exist would be the most collectable MR's and be worthy of very high prices.
 
Source: the horses mouth so to speak, from Steve Chapman who was a neighbor that always hung out in the shop of Don Kammerer at the time.  Don's the gentleman who designed the MR and built the prototype for CVA, then traveled to Spain with CVA's President Dave Silk several times to teach them how to make barrels for the MR's.   The barrels may have been made at first by Santa Barbara Sistemas who made CVA's early revolvers, etc, but that's just speculation on my part as I don't know for sure or how early CVA first started dealing with BPI/Dikar (who eventually bought CVA in 1999).
 
All FWIW from personally doing a lot of research for years on the MR's, and still adding to the MR database when something new comes up that is verifiable.
 

[P.A. Myers]

Ticking is fairly thick, try some of the thin precut/lubed patchs. I have never had 777 in  any reasonable amount roast a patch.  Real fff BP usualy will.

                                                                  P.A.

[Ron T.]

I have two older CVA Hawken percussion cap rifles... both are .50 caliber and I use the same powder, the same patches and the same vegetable fiber over-powder wads in all loads for both rifles.

I've shot up to 90 grains of Swiss FFFg powder in the Hawken with a 28-inch barrel which is my "target" rifle.  My "accuracy load" is 47 grains of Swiss FFFg with a .490" Hornady swaged, patched lead rifle ball.  I use .016" cotton denim for patching and a mixture of bee's wax and Crisco oil for a lube.  This load shoots all 5 shots into slightly less than a 1 inch group in the center of a bright orange target sticker at 25 yards.

My "hunting" CVA Hawken Carbine has a 24-inch barrel and shoots 3 over-lapping, "clover-leaf group" shots into the center of the same bright orange target sticker @ 25 yards using 65 grains of Swiss FFFg.  Adding 5 more grains of Swiss FFFg (totalling 70 grains) causes the "group" to move up about 1 inch and open up slightly, but not much.

I "limit" my 65 grain hunting loads to a maximum range of 80 yards (or less) when hunting whitetails.

I hope this helps you...   


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.