Cva optima v2 muzzleloader bullet question??

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livetohunt228

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Hey everyone! Happy Holidays!! Looking for some advice, suggestions or knowledge. Bought my 1st muzzleloader over the summer, it's a CVA Optima V2. I love it! Shot it throughout the summer and shot a few different loads but settled on 2 triple seven pellets(100 grain), a 250 grain Shockwave sabot bullet and a 209 primer as it was hitting the most consistent. I got the gun shooting pretty decent out to 100 yds. As someone who doesn't and hasn't shot guns much, I was very happy to be consistently hitting the target at 100 yds. Now fast forward to muzzleloader season. I shot a nice buck, shot him at 63 yds, broadside and ended up hitting him a little farther back from where I was aiming. Got on the 1st spot of blood which was very hard to find, found it maybe 60 yds from where I shot him, it was where he entered the timber so some blood was see able on some light brown colored grass. I followed a very sparadic blood trial, a drop here, a drop there for another 40 yds. Found my best spot where the deer must of stood for a moment and that was the last spot of blood I/we found. Decided to back out and get on it 1st thing in the am. Got back out at 1st light and picked up the track and could not find another drop of blood from the previous spot the night before. So I decided to walk in circles looking for blood and or the deer and eventually went up hill a bit to a really thick area. I got on a deer trail that ran E to W and stopped and looked up, then down several times before to my absolute surprise, looked forward and saw him laying there. I couldn't believe it. This was now roughly 200 yds from where I had originally shot him. Was truly beyond excited!! Too add to the story, my brother who I was hunting with also shot a great buck using the same load except he was using 150 grains of triple seven. He shot his at 70 yds and again we had no blood. It only went 50 yds as he double lunged it and there was barely any blood where we found him laying. Upon gutting him it remained all inside and it was with a pass through, both deer had pass throughs. We're mostly bow hunters and are used to getting good blood after our shots. My concern is the amount of blood that was put out from both these deer. I'm talking barely anything. I've heard that muzzleloaders don't necessarily put out good blood trails, don't know if this is true or not but I can't imagine this is normal. Or is it? Is it the bullet... the Shockwaves? Anyone experience this issue with this bullet or others? I'm new to this and this is the 1st deer either of us have taken with a muzzleloader. Any advice or knowledge would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!!
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Re: Cva optima v2 muzzleloader bullet question??

may want to ask this question in the inline forum this is the big game hunting forum..
 
Re: RE: Re: Cva optima v2 muzzleloader bullet question??

dbowling said:
may want to ask this question in the inline forum this is the big game hunting forum..
Ok, thank you!

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Re: Cva optima v2 muzzleloader bullet question??

There's been discussion about different bullets and how they perform. Personally I think both loads you mentioned using these bullets is sufficient IF the bullets make contact with bone somewhere along the way. I used XTPs again this fall but I know that the deep curls I also have on hand shoot so close to identical as the XTP loads I use that I can go from one bullet to the other accurately and both of these bullets do good with loads similar to what you mention and both will open up pretty darned good without connecting to bone. Both are hollow points.....I have little faith myself in ballistic anything.

You seem to have this black powder stuff down pretty good and appear to be observant of what's taking place, so I suggest picking up some XTP and Deep Curl bullets in the weight you shoot now along with some better sabots and play this off-season. Work up a load you like with either or of these bullets and it next fall.
 
Re: Cva optima v2 muzzleloader bullet question??

dbowling said:
may want to ask this question in the inline forum this is the big game hunting forum..

Don't want to come off wrong here as I am new too but I have the same question and I have a pack of the same bullets. Deer are considered big game here in Wisconsin and I want to know if I need a different bullet or more powder or what, to blow through one of these big bucks consistently.
 
Re: Cva optima v2 muzzleloader bullet question??

There's a definite correlation between the bullets and how fast they need to be moving at any given range to open up for good blood showing.

Lots of posting has been done on Hornady bullets, the XTP's and others as well as Speer Deep Curls and the Barnes line. Another is the Lehigh Bloodline. There's tons of written stuff here.

I feel that one should shoot hot enough to assure bullet function within the expected shooting range yet still hang onto the tightest grouping possible. Many use charges of different powders between 90 and 120 grains, some weighed, some measured by volume, using bullets from 240 grains to 300 grains. You really need to shoot the various bullet/sabot/powder variations to find what will work for you as each person and gun handle things differently.

My advice is to shoot a lot and to shoot thru those variables using the different components. Keep the targets and record the external variables like wind speed/direction, humidity that day, primers used, charge and powder along with bullet/sabot. When all is sais and done use the load, based on your saved paper data, that is the heaviest you can handle comfortably.

I buy my bullets in bulk as well as my sabots and I stay completely away from any powder that is sold as a pellet or stick simply because they take away any manipulation of the charges. I use the blackhorn powder in all my guns, but the granular form of black powder and Pyrodex or Triple Seven is entirely appropriate to try as well. I also opt to weigh my charges, but the volume measure will be fine too. Weighing each charge I admit is an individual quirk and probably no better than the measure tube.

If you spend some time reading back thru the old postings it won't take long to see what bullets are preferred and which ones are not supported by the masses here. Its pretty interesting reading.
 
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