CVA Hunterbolt; have to cycle bolt twice before it will fire

I have a 1999 CVA Hunterbolt 50 caliber muzzleloader. If I load the gun, cycle the bolt, and take the gun off of 'safe,' it does not fire when I pull the trigger. The firing pin/anvil does move forward, just doesn't ignite the primer. If I cycle the bolt again and pull the trigger, it fires. This happens every time that I shoot it - never fires the first trigger pull.

The gun is well used but generally clean. Serial # 61-13-XXXXXX-99

I'm using 100 grains of Pyrodex 50/50 pellets, 295 grain Powerbelt bullets, and #11 primers.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance for your help.

Re: CVA Hunterbolt; have to cycle bolt twice before it will

Welcome to the forum!

On first trigger pull and the hammer falls does it actually strike the #11 cap? Is the cap distorted at all?

Since this is a "Well Used Rifle" (nothing wrong with that) When the plunger/hammer is all the way down in the forward (Fire) position is it sitting on the end of the nipple? Does it have any play back and forth or does the spring keep it firmly against the nipple? If it don't contact the nipple or there is a little play in the plunger back and forth when the hammer is in the fired position, that could indicate a broken or collapsed plunger spring.

Without a load in the rifle you can test this by just putting the cap on the nipple and then pull the trigger. Cap should fire. Don't dry fire without the cap as it will damage the nipple.

Pellets also don't always work with #11 caps. You can try the #11 mag caps and I would use them anyway. Most #11 rifles work better with Loose powder as it is easier to ignite. Pyrodex pellets are also "treated" on one end with a little black powder to help with ignition. Make sure the darker end of the pellets go down the bore first. Of course this all depends on if the rifle will pop a cap by itself with no load in the rifle.

Re: CVA Hunterbolt; have to cycle bolt twice before it will

I agree with Shaun, the bolt needs to be dismantled and cleaned and the plunger spring examined corrosion or powder residue could be keeping the spring from working properly or the spring has lost some tension.

Re: CVA Hunterbolt; have to cycle bolt twice before it will

Thank you both for your responses - I was a bit intimidated by taking the bolt apart but that route makes the most sense. Thanks again; I'll report back as to the results.

Re: CVA Hunterbolt; have to cycle bolt twice before it will

vulbus said:

Thank you both for your responses - I was a bit intimidated by taking the bolt apart but that route makes the most sense. Thanks again; I'll report back as to the results.

Click to expand...

You can get a manual from CVA on their web site. I think this is the one you might need. Check out page 15. Looks like an allen headed screw in the end of the bolt cap holds it all together. Just go slow and pay close attention to where each part is as you take it apart. looks like it is just a body, spring, striker and screw so should not be that bad.

http://cva.com/pdf/CVA%20In-Line.pdf

If not go through the list here and see if you can find it.
http://cva.com/rifle-and-muzzleloader-o ... anuals.php

Re: CVA Hunterbolt; have to cycle bolt twice before it will

Definitely want to dismantle the bolt. I had a Hunterbolt and it seemed to suck fouling straight into the bolt innards. Good shooter, just needed to remember the bolt at cleaning time.

Re: CVA Hunterbolt; have to cycle bolt twice before it will

It's a piece of cake, put a allen wrench in the back, turn it counter clock wise to disassemble, the first turn will de cock the bolt then when re assembling the bolt, the last turn will re cock the bolt.

Re: CVA Hunterbolt; have to cycle bolt twice before it will

Thank you all for your help and input. You were correct; dis-assembly, cleaning, and reassembly of the bolt was a piece of cake. It was dirty but after soaking, scrubbing, oiling, and reassembling, the undesired behavior continues.

I did some testing and dry fired the rifle without a primer on the nipple. I know I shouldn't but tried it once to see if if it was a cocking/safety/sear issue. However, after adding a primer and cocking it once, the primer was still not popped. What I did notice is that the primer was noticeably "smashed" and bulged out a bit after firing it (as stated earlier, this first trigger pull with the primer on the nipple does not ignite the primer). Cocking and firing again popped the primer as expected.

So, could it be the nipple is not allowing the primer to seat all of the way? I considered that the firing pin/anvil could be worn but I would expect that it would not fire the primer even on the second trigger pull if this were the case. Is a way to measure the "headspace" in a muzzle loader? Not sure if that's the correct term since I am used to cartridge rifles but I am referring to the distance between the anvil and the nipple.

Again, thanks for all of your help.

Re: CVA Hunterbolt; have to cycle bolt twice before it will

Your nipple might be a wrong fit for the primer you are using. What brand primer? RWS are known to be tighter than CCI's. If you are able, switch either the brand of nipple or primer to get a better fit that will allow proper seating of the primer by hand. I like a really tight primer fit for the weather seal benefit but too tight and you get what you are experiencing. Some folks have polished the nipple with some emery cloth or super fine sandpaper by chucking the nipple in a drill carefully, as not to damage the threads, and gently removing a little material. Remember, you can always remove more metal, but it's a real booger to put metal back on..........

Be blessed.

Re: CVA Hunterbolt; have to cycle bolt twice before it will

Read first few paragraphs, may apply to your rifle

http://dixiegunworks.com/shoptalk/shop_talk_3.pdf

Also, have tried different caps? Brands?

Time for a new nipple?

Re: CVA Hunterbolt; have to cycle bolt twice before it will

vulbus said:

I did some testing and dry fired the rifle without a primer on the nipple. I know I shouldn't but tried it once to see if if it was a cocking/safety/sear issue. However, after adding a primer and cocking it once, the primer was still not popped. What I did notice is that the primer was noticeably "smashed" and bulged out a bit after firing it (as stated earlier, this first trigger pull with the primer on the nipple does not ignite the primer). Cocking and firing again popped the primer as expected.

So, could it be the nipple is not allowing the primer to seat all of the way? I considered that the firing pin/anvil could be worn but I would expect that it would not fire the primer even on the second trigger pull if this were the case. Is a way to measure the "headspace" in a muzzle loader? Not sure if that's the correct term since I am used to cartridge rifles but I am referring to the distance between the anvil and the nipple.

Again, thanks for all of your help.

Click to expand...

When you dri-fired without a cap did the striker/hammer contact the nipple? It should leave a bit of a mark on it and can even start mushrooming the nipple tip, you can redress it with a file if need be but if done a lot will shorten the nipple. If it is mushrooming the tip of the nipple then the cap is not going to seat on it well. I agree with the others in that you either have an issue with the caps themselves or that you have a nipple that is a tad short, either due to the wrong one or a worn one. I am assuming that you are using #11 caps and not #10's. Let us know what brand and size cap you are using. Also I would recommend you get a new nipple of the right size. Since it is a CVA it most likely has metric threads. If it is not the caps or the nipple it could still possibly be a slightly compressed/collapsed Spring in the bolt, if it is collapsed a little it may not drive the hammer/striker all the way or have the proper strike force. I would start with the caps and nipple first. Make sure that the striker is hitting the end of the nipple. You could try taking a piece of heavy target paper and place it over the nipple, then pull the trigger, remove the paper and see what it looks like. You should see that it more or less cut though that paper or a least came close to it. If not then either the nipple is too short or you have a problem with the spring not driving it all the way, loosing force at the end of the travel of the striker. Also remember that the cap also acts as a cushion between the striker and nipple to prevent damage to the nipple. Dri-firing with nothing between them will damage the nipple. If you don't want to pop a cap then you should put a little piece of leather or something in there to prevent them from contacting but in this case if it were me I would be placing a cap on it since that is the issue you are trying to resolve. Later you can make up a little cap from leather to place in there and prevent dri-fire damage.

Keep digging you will get it.