BH 209 Virgin

[sfcsmart]

Good morning folks and howdy from East Texas. I've been hunting with an old CVA Wolf for several years now. It has always worked with just about anything I pushed down the barrel.
I'm waiting for my upgrade to get here. I ordered a CVA Accura LRX .45. I've got never really got into the science of the whole muzzleloading thing, but I am about to.
I found a couple bottles of BH209 and studying to find the right starting point. So far my setup will be:
CVA Accura LRX .45
Variflame Conversion with LR Primers
+/- 80 grains BH209
Bullet???????
I'm leaning on the Arrowhead or Fury. I don't have access to a chronograph. My longest shot is about 269 yards on deer and hogs.I do not want to have to size my bullets so that narrows the field. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ElDiablo]

Welcome from Colorado!

The bullet is arguably THE most important decision. So, you’re shooting a .45 and you don’t want to have to size the bullets. I don’t think Fury makes a “universal” (no sizing required) .45 bullet. So, you’re considering a sabot/bullet? There are several good choices in .40 - Fury, Barnes, etc.

 

[snapbang]

I've been hunting with an old CVA Wolf for several years now. It has always worked with just about anything I pushed down the barrel.
I'm waiting for my upgrade to get here.

I smile as I read this. Welcome. And thank you for describing so accurately the mentality of this group. We have good enough but just gotta see how the next gun, powder, projectile shoots. Your in good company.

 

[ElDiablo]

I smile as I read this. Welcome. And thank you for describing so accurately the mentality of this group. We have good enough but just gotta see how the next gun, powder, projectile shoots. Your in good company.

 

[snapbang]

Nailed it. Well done

 

[retrieverman]

I’m in east Texas too and have burned up quite a bit of BH powder, and the most I’ve used is 70 grains by weight.
I’ve spent a lot of money on “premium” bullets in the last 20 years since I started hunting with a muzzleloader, but I’m using all cast lead bullets in all my muzzleloaders now because deer and pigs really aren’t that hard to kill.

 

[sfcsmart]

I've read that there variable tolerances in CVA barrels. This is why I'm considering a saboted bullet. I want something that has good terminal performance at the ranges that I listed. I'm getting a little long in the tooth and. can't quite afford tromping around trying to find a deer without a blood trail.
Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[sfcsmart]

You are so right about deer and hogs not being that hard to kill. The hogs, I'm not that worried about recovering.
I know I'm over thinking the whole process, but I just want to play with the cool kids.

 

[280Bravo]

View attachment 43728

Yep, that's me.
Always looking and looking and looking and so on.

 

[sfcsmart]

If you had to pick one .45 bullet, fury or arrowhead, what would most of you choose? I don't want to have to size so I'm pretty sure I will go with a sabot. What are the thoughts of the veterans?

 

[ElDiablo]

You need a .40 cal bullet if you’re shooting it with a sabot in a .45 rifle. So which .40 bullet would I choose if I could only pick one?

A Fury .402 Star Tip 225/250/275 gr or a Barnes .40 195 gr. Probably the Barnes if I had to pick one.

 

[ElDiablo]

And, I doubt that you’d have any luck getting a (275 or 300 gr) .40 XLD with sabot to shoot in your 1:22 twist barrel. But maybe.

 

[Svashtar]

I was just having a conversation this morning with guys on the Long Range Hunting Forum about Blackhorn 209. About four years ago I stocked up on everything powders and primer, but didn’t have a 209 inline at the time and got no Blackhorn and I’m kicking myself every day for not thinking ahead. I have pounds of Goex, Pyrodex, Triple 7, 209 primers, every variant you can think of, but no BH209. At the time I could’ve got it for $15-$20 a pound, but now I’ve seen it going as high as $160 a pound! I’ll just have to get by with a standard shot shell 209 primer and whatever black powder stuff I have which seems to have been working well so far, but I’ve heard great things about the Blackhorn as far as power and easy cleanup.

As for bullets, I was going to try .45 Cal Hornady 230 grain XTP’s in my .50 with sabots. Not sure why they wouldn’t work? If there is please educate me, thanks.

 

[ElDiablo]

I’ll just have to get by with a standard shot shell 209 primer and whatever black powder stuff I have which seems to have been working well so far, but I’ve heard great things about the Blackhorn as far as power and easy cleanup.

As for bullets, I was going to try .45 Cal Hornady 230 grain XTP’s in my .50 with sabots. Not sure why they wouldn’t work? If there is please educate me, thanks.

If you can’t find Bh209, then 777 is the next best thing, IMO. Nothing wrong with a 230/250/300 gr .45 XTP. Probably one of the most frequently used muzzy bullets on deer.

 

[LBAhunter]

View attachment 43728

^^^^^me^^^^^ really guns in general.

 

[LBAhunter]

You are so right about deer and hogs not being that hard to kill. The hogs, I'm not that worried about recovering.
I know I'm over thinking the whole process, but I just want to play with the cool kids.

The cool kids don't smoke....lol....

 

[LBAhunter]

You need a .40 cal bullet if you’re shooting it with a sabot in a .45 rifle. So which .40 bullet would I choose if I could only pick one?

A Fury .402 Star Tip 225/250/275 gr or a Barnes .40 195 gr. Probably the Barnes if I had to pick one.

This^^

 

[LBAhunter]

Good morning folks and howdy from East Texas. I've been hunting with an old CVA Wolf for several years now. It has always worked with just about anything I pushed down the barrel.
I'm waiting for my upgrade to get here. I ordered a CVA Accura LRX .45. I've got never really got into the science of the whole muzzleloading thing, but I am about to.
I found a couple bottles of BH209 and studying to find the right starting point. So far my setup will be:
CVA Accura LRX .45
Variflame Conversion with LR Primers
+/- 80 grains BH209
Bullet???????
I'm leaning on the Arrowhead or Fury. I don't have access to a chronograph. My longest shot is about 269 yards on deer and hogs.I do not want to have to size my bullets so that narrows the field. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Call MMP and Harvester. Have them send you some sabot samples to try for 45.

 

[sfcsmart]

If anyone is interested, BPI gives a great Military discount. They give 20% off with the code mil20. Also Leupold has a VIP program that knocks a chunk off of their scopes.
All you have to do is send in a copy of a DD214 and after approval, when you sign into your account, the discount is there.
Thanks for everyone's point of view on my post from yesterday.

 

[gman57]

Welcome from NC, enjoy the forum