CVA Accura MR Black Nitride

Hey gang, I'm an Iowa boy looking forward to the start of Iowa early muzzleloader season which happens at sun up tomorrow.

I just purchased the gun listed in the thread title and thought I'd give you guys a heads up on this rifle. Two things: #1 I went home the after the first evening at the range and was dejected thinking either my new gun was junk or the new Nikon 2-7x muzzleloader scope was faulty. An 8 inch group was all the better I could get the Accura to produce no matter what powder and sabot/bullet I used. I tried Pyrodex, Pyrodex Select, Tripple Seven, Tripple Seven Pellets and BKH209. I tried 240 grain Scorpion sabots, 240 grain Hornady XTP sabots and I even tried some Knight 250 grain sabots. I tried loads that ranged from 70 grains through 130 grains. It didn't matter. I was at the range for 4 hours and came home dejected. A call to the friend who recommended this gun to me solved most of the issue. As it turns out the only bullet that these rifles shoot well9at least his and mine) is the CVA PowerBelt and a few copycats of the Powerbelt......the Scorpion version being one. I bought a package of the 245 grain Powerbelts and then headed to the range the next morning. I'm all smiles now. My first 3 shot group came in at 1.75 inches at 100 yards. No matter what powder I chose 100 grains of it would produce groups of 2 inches or under. So guys, go with the Powerbelt or Scorpion copycat to start with and you'll save yourself some time and grey hairs. this leads us to #2 thig to be aware of. DO NOT put a bipod on the front sling swivel stud and then torque it down, Doing so will put much upward pressure on the front of the stock and will mess with the guns harmonics. The stud is located in a curved portion of the stock and tightening the bipod will result in the flat surface of the bipod to pull down on the stud and force the the front of the stock up. My buddy learned the hard way. He warned me and i'm passing it on. He is a gunsmith for Brownell's(credibility is everything).

Good Shooting EKC

Lots of bullet sabot combos will shoot 1" or better through that muzzleloader.

Is this your first muzzleloader??

This has been your experience, but certainly not true for all MR's. I wasn't there to experience your shooting, but it's not normal.

Did you keep the flash channel cleaned out in the breech plug?

Did you use the BH breech plug when you shot BH 209?

Did you let the barrel cool off between shots?

Did you get all the factory gunk out of the bore before shooting?

What primers did you use with what powder?


Although Powerbelts can be accurate. The terminal performance is in question. Not a popular choice for those who have tried other bullets.

I sure would not want a rifle that only shoots one bullet well. I find that hard to believe and certainly not the norm according to many reviews of the Accrua MR.

So guys, go with the Powerbelt or Scorpion copycat to start with and you'll save yourself some time and grey hairs

Click to expand...

Sorry but i think i will have to pass on the PBs or Sabertooth bullets. There are many full bore projectiles that cost less and have better terminal performance.

I would think you could get other bullets to shoot well. Not same model but my Apex likes several combos of bullets and powders.

I know u are all sighted in with the 245gr bullet but a heavier bullet, like the 295gr one, would be a better choice and try not to push the 245gr one too fast, 100gr is almost overdoing it, or the bullet May fragment bad and not penetrate. I shot a doe at 40 yds with the 245gr power belt and never did recover the deer, no blood and fresh snow on the ground. Some have had great results with the 245gr power belts but not me.

Glad you got better groups with rifle. Good luck to u. I'm on vacation and going bow hunting tomorrow and taking the kids out for the early muzzy season sometime this week.

I am very experienced with muzzle loaders. Have owned dozens of them since the early 70's. I've watched them evolve from a 100 yard maximum capability to what they are now. I currently own a TC Thunder hawk, TC Fire hawk CVA Wolf and an Knight KP1. They all shoot very respectable groups with multiple load combination. That's not to say they hit point of aim with multiple loads from the same zero.

The reason I made my first ever post was to get some feed back and see if anyone else had the same results as my friend and I....or if someone was going to contest what I said maybe they would shed some light on what it is that they are using.

I have read dozens of reviews on this gun and the one thing that they all have in common is the bit about Powebelt bullets being the most accurate projectile for this gun. Some reviews are saying that black nitride barrel will allow as many as a dozen shots without swabbing the barrel. I found that 4 straight without swabbing when using any sabot meant that a hammer was required to seat the sabot the final few inches. My first shot on the hunt will be from a clean barrel so its my practice to swab after every round.

If someone has a pet load for the Accura Mr with other than a Power belt bullets Id be interested to know what your using as I'm not a fan of Powerbelt. So far it,s the only accurate choice that I have found.

elmerkeithclone said:

I am very experienced with muzzle loaders. Have owned dozens of them since the early 70's. I've watched them evolve from a 100 yard maximum capability to what they are now. I currently own a TC Thunder hawk, TC Fire hawk CVA Wolf and an Knight KP1. They all shoot very respectable groups with multiple load combination. That's not to say they hit point of aim with multiple loads from the same zero.

The reason I made my first ever post was to get some feed back and see if anyone else had the same results as my friend and I....or if someone was going to contest what I said maybe they would shed some light on what it is that they are using.

I have read dozens of reviews on this gun and the one thing that they all have in common is the bit about Powebelt bullets being the most accurate projectile for this gun. Some reviews are saying that black nitride barrel will allow as many as a dozen shots without swabbing the barrel. I found that 4 straight without swabbing when using any sabot meant that a hammer was required to seat the sabot the final few inches. My first shot on the hunt will be from a clean barrel so its my practice to swab after every round.

If someone has a pet load for the Accura Mr with other than a Power belt bullets Id be interested to know what your using as I'm not a fan of Powerbelt. So far it,s the only accurate choice that I have found.

Click to expand...

CVA owns Power Belt

Not exactly. A parent company owns both of them. You're right that CVA will push only Powerbelts because of that.

Powerbelts will work if you can always hit the animal at the right fps. Not too fast, or they break up. Not too slow, or it doesn't expand at all. Way too much trouble, and at some point you'll get it wrong, and they'll fail.

Much better choices available, and almost all of them are cheaper.

"I have read dozens of reviews on this gun and the one thing that they all have in common is the bit about Powebelt bullets being the most accurate projectile for this gun."

While I'm not sure where you read this, especially "dozens" of times, but you need to find a better source & an honest source for your information because it is simply not true. The MR is one of the consistently most accurate rifles that CVA has built. In your original post you don't mention how/if you were swabbing between shots & were you swabbing when using BH209 (not needed with BH209) You also list several bullets that you call "sabots" The sabot is the plastic sleeve that encases the bullet & there are different types. Just because the Harvester PT Gold comes with a Crush Rib sabot does not mean it will be accurate in your gun. My CVA APEX was the perfect example. Load anything in a Crush Rib & it shoots so bad that you want to wrap it around a tree. Switch out the sabots to Harvester EZ Load & it shoots 1 inch groups at 100 yards with almost any bullet you stuff down the barrel. Choosing the right sabot is CRITICAL! I can't stress that enough. Once you find the right combo you will be much happier. Do yourself a favor & keep trying until you find an accurate load. There are so many bullets that are far superior to the Powerbelts for accuracy & terminal performance & for less money- Greg

I have this same gun and have shot several hundred rounds over the summer through it trying different combos of bullet, sabot and powder. You will find that the barrel is over sized slightly which is one reason you are not getting tight groups you need a bullet sabot combo that fits the barrel. The worse ones I used are Crushed Rib sabots they load great but are to loose after talking with Harvester about this they confirm that many other MR users have the same issue and recommend a thicker sabot. My gun also does not shoot 300 Gr bullets well but 240-260 gr bullets shoot like a dream. 777 pellets and loose powder shoot just fine but what I find shoots best for me is White Hots I have not and dont plan to use BH209. My pet load is 100 Grs White Hots a Orange MMP sabot and a 250 Gr Barnes TSX FN .458 bullet I do not need to swab between shots and it is 1 inch accurate at 100 yards.

I have the same rifle and have spent the summer trying to find a good combo myself. I've settled on 90g Blackhorn and Hornady FPB 300g. Just under 1" groups at 100y. They are hard to start initially but once tapped in they push on down fine. I did shoot the PB 245g and had a good group but after reading about their terrible performance decided to steer away. I'm staying away from sabots because I plan on using it out west.

It appears the OP did not stick around for more than a day after his 2 posts in Oct. 2014. 2 post reviews such as this often make me wonder. :huh?:

I know the OP is not around any more but would like to add my 2 cents, FWIW. Carlos at ED's gun shop suggested that we use Barnes 290 gr T-EZ bullets in our 3 Accuras and we have found them to be very accurate using 100 gr of T7 or BH 209. We also tried the powerbelts but were not impressed with them as the T-EZs. We don't have enough experience to say one is better than the other but we will use the T-EZs for our deer hunting.

I know the OP is not around any more but would like to add my 2 cents, FWIW. Carlos at ED's gun shop suggested that we use Barnes 290 gr T-EZ bullets in our 3 Accuras and we have found them to be very accurate using 100 gr of T7 or BH 209. We also tried the powerbelts but were not impressed with them as the T-EZs. We don't have enough experience to say one is better than the other but we will use the T-EZs for our deer hunting.

I know the OP's pain, my optima v2 seemed very picky. Didnt like 250gr at all. the 300gr hornady SST with 90 gr of powder seemed to be what it liked the most.

Have a MR on the way and will start sighting it in when it arrives, nothing worse then waiting until last minute to find a combo. Hoping it likes the 300 gr XTP and harvester sabots.

I must be the luckiest slob in the world. All my CVA's would shoot anything.

Muley Hunter said:

I must be the luckiest slob in the world. All my CVA's would shoot anything.

Click to expand...

im unlucky. If it can go wrong it will for me lol.

Muley Hunter said:

I must be the luckiest slob in the world. All my CVA's would shoot anything.

Click to expand...

Same here. I tried very hard to find something my Optima wouldn't shoot. Didn't happen. Bullet size didn't matter. Crush Ribs didn't fit very well. Too loose. The smooth short ez loads were perfect. I decided on the 300 grn Thor and 100 grns of black horn. Inch and one half at 100 yds all day long. I clean out the bp every six or seven shots with a drill bit.

rangerod said:

Muley Hunter said:

I must be the luckiest slob in the world. All my CVA's would shoot anything.

Click to expand...

Same here. I tried very hard to find something my Optima wouldn't shoot. Didn't happen. Bullet size didn't matter. Crush Ribs didn't fit very well. Too loose. The smooth short ez loads were perfect. I decided on the 300 grn Thor and 100 grns of black horn. Inch and one half at 100 yds all day long. I clean out the bp every six or seven shots with a drill bit.

Click to expand...

Good choice on the Thor. I'll probably settle on the 250gr Thor for elk, deer, and bear with Schuetzen black powder 80-90gr.

I've also started shooting the Thor's out of my Redemption and the Vision with promising results although more work to do. The Redemption loves the 300 BE. All three guns shoot the .503 with the tightest fit in the Optima.