Cva optima v2

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livetohunt228

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Hi everyone! New to the site, muzzleloaders and was hoping for some insight or suggestions. I bought a CVA Optima V2 and decided on shooting a 50 caliber Shockwave bullet, along with (2) 50 grain triple 7 pellets and a 209 primer. After shooting the gun just 1 time, it's beyond difficult to get the 2nd bullet started in the barrel. It's just to tight and with using a bullet starter, I literally have to push with ALL my might to get it started. Once down several inches it then pushes down fairly easy with the ram rod. I notice if I clean the barrel after every shot it's much easy to get the bullet started but I've read reviews where guys/gals can shoot up to 5 shots before needing to swab the barrel. Would a different bullet maybe push down in easier? Could it be a defect in the gun that I should contact CVA about? There's just NO WAY It should be this difficult to get the bullet started after only firing the gun once unless I'm completely clueless, which I'm not ruling out. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Re: Cva optima v2

Did you give the barrel a good cleaning before shooting it the first time? If not, then maybe there was extra preservative gunk towards the muzzle. I would use 50 or more strokes of JB bore paste to clean/smooth the barrel up.

How does the crown/bullet guiding muzzle look? Any dings, dents, etc.?

Maybe try a Harvester crush rib sabot with the SST.

IMO, 5 shots is a lot with T7 pellets. I would clean after every shot, it should help with accuracy and gives your barrel a chance to cool off between shots. Sabots do not like hot barrels.
 
Re: Cva optima v2

You really need to get an assortment of bullets and weights along with a couple kinds of sabots, including crush ribs, and then try other propellants. I'd be ditching the T7 pellets and if you insist on using T7 get the granulated product. Personally I'd suggest the BH209 powder.

I'm kind of in Buckdoehunter's camp on the barrel cleaning.....something is amiss and I think most likely was something found in the barrel. Still, you need to shoot the gun a bunch to get the most out of the guns potential. One bullet/sabot combo and pellets isn't going to be a very fair measure.
 
Thanks for the advice! I've shot 15 bullets through it so far, all 250 grain Shockwaves. Buckdoehunter, everything looks fine with the barrel from what I can tell. After cleaning it, when holding it up to the light it looks good. I think I'm going to try a couple different bullets and CVA recommends using White Hots so maybe I'll give that a try instead of the triple 7. Just hope there's nothing wrong with the barrel. I have no problem cleaning it after every shot though if that's what's necessary and of course getting the best accuracy is a plus in doing that. Thanks again!

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Do you guys think only being able to shoot 1 shot though before it being next to impossible to push another bullet in without cleaning it means there's something wrong with the barrel? Should I contact CVA? Its all new to me so I don't really know much about muzzleloaders and the different loads and what not

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Re: Cva optima v2

livetohunt228 said:
Do you guys think only being able to shoot 1 shot though before it being next to impossible to push another bullet in without cleaning it means there's something wrong with the barrel? Should I contact CVA? Its all new to me so I don't really know much about muzzleloaders and the different loads and what not

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I very much doubt you have a barrel problem. This is one of the "Learning curves" you will get when getting into Muzzleloaders.

While I don't have a CVA, I have used Pellets in the past and still use loose T7, Pyrodex and Black. I think it is normal to need to swab between shots using those powders and especially when using Pellets. Fouling is usually heavier, plus pellets usually produce a heavier crud ring. As mentioned you could also try a different sabot to get a smaller loading diameter combo. The "Load and shoot several times" you probably read about much more likely to be with guys shooting Lead Conicals, not Sabots. You can also do that with sabots when using Blackhorn 209 powder. If you don't want to swab between shots, you would be better off getting a Blackhorn/Loose powder Breech plug for your CVA and switch to Black Horn powder.
 
Re: Cva optima v2

I also have a CVA Optima V2 rifle/nitride barrel. My gun likes and shoots very well a 300gr. .452 XTP in Harvester crushrib sabot and 90gr. BH209. I can shoot and load at least eleven times before needing to clean out the breechplug of Blackhorn carbon. Loading is smooth with just enough pressure that a short starter is not needed. Give that load a try!!
 
Re: Cva optima v2

I have an optima V1 that has a tight barrel as well. My Barnes took way too much force to load even before I shot. I got some sabots to try out and see what loaded best and did some research. I wound up replacing all of the sabots that came with the Barnes bullets with crush rib sabots. I now have great accuracy (120 gr of loose pyrodex) and can go several shots without swabbing, the downside is that I pay for a premium bullet and still have to spend another $8 or so for a package of different sabots.
 
Re: Cva optima v2

Cleaning with T7 is not uncommon after every shoot get some Windex and very very littlie mission the patches and us this to clean after every shoot. and before you shot your gun clean all the oil out of the barrel before you shoot it this will help some. plus you my what to look at this for some help with sabots and bullets. viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9798 plus you need to clean your gun every time after you shoot it before you put your gun up very good our it will rust so clean will and oil.
 
Re: Cva optima v2

Try the 250gr Hornady SST’s with the red easy glide sabots. Their the same bullets as the Shockwaves but they will slide down the barrel a whole lot easier. My son and one of my hunting buddies both have CVA Optima V2’s and both of them will shoot 3 shot groups under a inch with the hornady’s. Both of the shoot 3 777 pellets and my son shoots a 250gr and buddy shoots a 300gr bullet.
 

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