Bought Son A Muzzleloader for Bday

zant · #1 05/02/10, 05:07 PM

We bought our oldest a CVA muzzleloader for his 33rd bday...Realtree stock/foreend,.50cal,scope bases,complete starter kit,molds,100lbs lead.....We don't know the first thing about muzzleloaders but it should be a learning experience...Any suggestions,tips,etc?? THX

lostspring · #2 05/02/10, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zant

We bought our oldest a CVA muzzleloader for his 33rd bday...Realtree stock/foreend,.50cal,scope bases,complete starter kit,molds,100lbs lead.....We don't know the first thing about muzzleloaders but it should be a learning experience...Any suggestions,tips,etc?? THX

Is that correct, 100lbs of lead? Wow!

backwoodsman · #3 05/02/10, 05:20 PM

Read, read and reread the owners manual. They are lots of fun to shoot and hunt with but you have to follow safety procedures. Nice gift, very nice of you and congrats to him. Inlines usually shoot conicals and sabots better then patched round balls. Never ever shoot smokeless powder in a muzzleloader. Always make sure the bullet/projectile is pushed all the way down on the powder. No smoking while the powder is out etc, those are a few of the main rules we follow.

TedH71 · #4 05/08/10, 08:36 PM

CVAs are good muzzleloaders to start with because they're usually the cheapest. I had one. I had fired it maybe 8 times before I had to sell it. Now I wouldn't mind re-starting my interest in muzzleloading guns but would probably buy a handmade one but they're rather expensive.

**alleyyooper** · #5 05/09/10, 09:14 AM

These persons are a bunch of helpful people. I think they only have black powder of a sub running thru their viens.

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/black-powder

Al

backwoodsman · #6 05/10/10, 03:56 AM

Ted its not as expensive as you think. My wife had a custom .50 po boy Kentucky/Pennsylvania percussion rifle built for me for Christmas a few years back and it was around $600. Custom guns from a good shop are well worth the money. Alot of the factory guns are good too and well worth the $250+ for factory sidelocks. Ive got some inlines but they get used less and less every year.

pheasantplucker · #7 05/12/10, 06:29 AM

I have a .54 Hawken which I absolutely love to shoot. I'd suggest he go to a library and look up books such as Muzzleloader Guide, etc. There is too much info out there, and he needs to be clear about measuring powder, seating the ball correctly, swiping the bore, etc. It's a very fun way to spend an afternoon, but there is much he needs to know before he just goes out and experiments. Safety is #1. congrats!

ace admirer · #8 05/19/10, 02:57 PM

purchase pillow ticking at walfart, find powder on sale at walfart also. lee makes several lead bullet molds to convert the lead to useable ball or bullets.

zant · #9 05/21/10, 09:59 PM

When I got home,we shot about 20rds through it...What a bbbblast!...I think I found a new addiction....LOUD,push not shove,and accurate,well at 65 yds,which was the length of the range at my friends house...Now gotta cast up a bunch and try powder instead of pellets...Why did'nt anyone tell me they were this much fun??

Ray · #10 05/22/10, 08:11 AM

I been shooting original muzzleloaders for decades, and love them, I shoot rifles, and revolvers, and have accumulated several hundred pounds of good soft lead, the kind used for the old telephone cables and splices is great, you might need to harden it a bit for some rifles, just add a few wheel weights for hardening. Its nice to build a fire and smelt the lead outside where its safe to breath unleaded air, to make and clean the lead for ingots to make the round balls or minie balls with later. getting some rifles sighted in to shoot perfect at long range can is an art that has mostly been lost, but those that research and keep at it will gain knowledge that others will never know. Many folks quit shortly after they start because they can't sight one in accurately at 100, yds, and every other bullet goes somewhere else, but just a little care and you can hit the same hole at 100 yds nearly every time, open sights. if I can anyone can. I can take a muzzleloader that others say won't shoot straight and mess around with it a little, and find what it takes to hit center every time. Its not the muzzleloader its the shooters knowledge of muzzle loading and the fine art of fine tuning the load. Its a bit of a challenge that is quite pleasing and fun to do. its taken hundreds of hours to learn what I know if the art, and even if you would give what you've learned to someone only one in a thousand would be able to comprehend and use it properly without having the determination to go through the long process of pure experience, the best teacher, best wishes, ray

backwoodsman · #11 05/31/10, 01:47 PM

Love my powder burners. They are addictive.