new to blackpowder shooting

[retired]

Hi. I am new to the blackpowder shooting sport,I have a cva 50cal optima.I am have a problem getting it to shoot a good group.I am using 777 100gr and power built bullets 295gr. Do I need to work up to that load or am i doing something wrong? In the past I did alot of reloading for smokeless powder, Rifle and pistol. But this loading seems to be alot different. I want to hunt with this rifle in Texas this year.Also do you know of a good book on blackpowder loading. Any help would be a blessing. Thanks Retired.

[mrkirker]

First, you need to decide if you want to shoot Black Powder or one of the subs (777, ect.) that are on the market today. 777 and their ilk are NOT Black Powder. Check out Midway's book offerings, and I think Lyman has a good book on Black Powder, by the way. (I loaned my copy out, and it hasn't made it's way back home.)

I have zero experience with these subs. However, the same rule should apply when working up a load for any firearm. If you want to go the 777 route, it sounds like you might want to spend some time with the bench using different loads AND rounds.

I noticed that the guys shooting the substitute propellants seem to have to clean their muskets pretty often or they suffered a drop-off in accuracy due to 'char' building up in the groves. Could be a pain in the a**, but you might want to brush & swab out after every couple of rounds. (I swab after every 10, but I'm shooting B/P with sized, well-lubed rounds.)

Just a thought,
Aim Fast - Shoot True!

[AngelDeville]

I'm not too up on the substitutes either but 100 grains seems a little hefty of a load...

check manufacturers data, and start with min loads and work up in 5 grain increments until you find an accurrate load. cleaning after every 5-10 shots.

also patching affects accuracy.

[inplanotx]

Originally Posted by retired

Hi. I am new to the blackpowder shooting sport,I have a cva 50cal optima.I am have a problem getting it to shoot a good group.I am using 777 100gr and power built bullets 295gr. Do I need to work up to that load or am i doing something wrong? In the past I did alot of reloading for smokeless powder, Rifle and pistol. But this loading seems to be alot different. I want to hunt with this rifle in Texas this year.Also do you know of a good book on blackpowder loading. Any help would be a blessing. Thanks Retired.

I would say you have answered your own question here. At the Hodgdon powder page it seems you decided to just jump to a max load. Working up a load is done to see where in the min max range YOUR rifle likes its load. Here is the Hodgdon 777 data:

PYRODEX® & TRIPLE SEVEN™ PELLET DATA
NEVER Exceed the Loads Listed Here


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

50 Caliber Muzzleloading Rifles

Power Belt Loads

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bullet
Powder Charge (Gr.) Pellets Used *Velocity (FPS)

295 Gr. Power Belt 80 One 50 cal. / 50 gr. + One 50 cal. / 30 gr. 1431
295 Gr. Power Belt 90 Three 50 cal. / 30 gr. 1484
295 Gr. Power Belt 100 Two 50 cal. / 50 gr. 1555

348 Gr. Power Belt 80 One 50 cal. / 50 gr. + One 50 cal. / 30 gr. 1351
348 Gr. Power Belt 90 Three 50 cal. / 30 gr. 1417
348 Gr. Power Belt 100 Two 50 cal. / 50 gr. 1469

405 Gr. Power Belt 80 One 50 cal. / 50 gr. + One 50 cal. / 30 gr. 1100
405 Gr. Power Belt 100 Two 50 cal. / 50 gr. 1386

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


HODGDON POWDER CO., INC.
THE BRAND THAT'S TRUE

Start at the min value and work up to the max. I do not know if you are using the granular 777 or the pellets. In working up a load, I would start with the granular. Hope this helps.

IPT

[retired]

Thanks for all the Info. I see that black powder is about the same as smokeless powder. I have read some of the other post and have pick-up some great info from them. So know I am working up my loads the right way. I can not wait to go hunting with my new rifle. Retired.

[armedandsafe]

The primary difference I find between smokeless powder load development and BP/substitute load development is the amount of powder required to make a significant difference. Smokeless loads will often show a difference with an adjustment of a couple of tenths of a grain. BP/subs show a diference on the order of 2 1/2 grains adjustment.

The biggest problem with load development is having to go shoot all those different loads. Ahhhh, shucks,,,I have to go shoot AGAIN?

Pops

[rockloc]

yeah i have a CVA inline and i tryed all kinds of powder, bullets, ect, and i found that 2 50 grain 777 pellets and a horniday sabot shoot very accuratly, i accually shot a deer in the heart last year at 200 yds and dropped her in her tracks